Chipotle Chicken Burrito Bowls

Hello, lovelies. So this time of year, I receive a lot of requests looking for inspired ideas for lunches that are nutritious, delicious, and can be made during your Sunday meal prep and enjoyed throughout the week. And today, I am sharing one of my very favorite make-ahead lunch ideas. They are these awesome chipotle chicken burrito bowls, and they're super, super tasty, but they come together in under 20 minutes. So there is a lot to love. So guys, these lunch bowls have become an absolute staple in my house because everything can be prepared in advance and then assembled just before enjoying. Now, the best part, I think, of these bowls is the amazing chipotle lime crema that tops them, and you won't believe how easy it is to make. Now, I have got some sour cream in a bowl. You could use some plain Greek yogurt here if you want to. And I'm just going to start by adding a good squeeze of fresh lime juice. I'm actually going to use an entire lime here. You could go with just half, but come on, why would you? Lime is good for stuff. And to that, I'm actually going to be adding half of a chipotle pepper in adobo sauce. So chipotle peppers are amazing because they have a little bit of heat, but they have a ton of awesome smoky flavor, and that's why I love them so much. You can see I've just minced mine up really finely. You don't want any big chunks of chipotle. You want it to be really well incorporated. And then I'm going to go ahead and add a little garlic to this. So the garlic here is optional, but let me tell you guys, you know it's delicious. I'm actually going to stop at about half a clove because, of course, raw garlic is quite a bit more potent than cooked garlic. So a little bit goes a long way. So I'm going to add about a half a clove, and I'm just going to grate it straight into my dressing. Then I'm just going to give this a quick stir with my spoon. And honestly, guys, this crema is so flavorful. You can basically add it to anything. It's really, really good when enjoyed with just tortilla chips and maybe a little bit of guacamole, serious stuff. I'll just give this a quick mix and season it with salt to taste. And there you have it. Our sauce is ready for our yummy chipotle chicken burrito bowls. I'm just going to set that aside while I get to work on whipping up the rest of the goodness that's going to be going into these bowls. So I've got a nice hot skillet heating up here on the stove. I'm just going to add a little oil to that. And I also have some rice cooking away. So I've got some white rice here. I'm cooking it according to package directions. You go ahead and use whatever kind of rice you want to in this recipe. You could also use some quinoa here. It's super versatile. And as soon as that oil is nice and hot, I'm going to go ahead and get my chicken into the pan. Now, in this recipe, I am using ground chicken. You could use ground turkey here or some ground beef or ground pork would work. You could even use some chorizo sausage here. You have a lot of great options. If you want to keep this vegetarian, you also have the option to use some ground tofu instead. The idea here is really that we just want to cook up some protein and get it nice and flavorful. Once my chicken is in the pan, it's a good time to hit it with a little bit of salt and some pepper. And then I'm going to cook it, breaking it up with the side of my spoon until it's no longer pink, which usually takes between five to seven minutes. And as soon as my chicken is no longer pink, I'm going to go ahead and start adding some veggies to this because I really want to load it with extra nutrition and flavor. I've got one onion headed in here, nice and finely diced. I've also got some bell pepper headed in here, so I've got some orange and some red. Use whatever color you like. They all taste the same. Basically, you'll notice what I'm going for here is something that's reminiscent of a fajita. So I've got the peppers and the onions. We're going to get those heating away. At this point, my peppers and onions are nice and soft. Things are smelling amazing. And that means it's time to add my finishing spices. So I have got some chili powder headed in here, as well as some ground cumin. Now, you could really experiment here with different flavors. A little smoked paprika would be delicious for more of that smoky taste. You could also add some heat with some cayenne pepper, or even some fresh jalapeno would be really, really good. As soon as those spices are nice and warm and toasted, you can basically remove your skillet from the heat, and we can get to work on assembling our bowls. What I've done is tossed my rice with just a little bit of lime juice and some cilantro. You don't have to do this, but of course, it just adds even more great flavor to these bowls. And basically, I want to start piling on some toppings. So first up, I have got some black beans here. These are just canned black beans that I've rinsed and drained. I always have a ton of these hanging out in my pantry. And I want to add a good helping of them. They're loaded with fiber and great nutrients. Speaking of fiber, we also have some corn headed in here. Now this is just some frozen corn that I thawed out. I love it because it's so easy to work with. You can really add any toppings you want here. I'm also going to be adding some tomatoes to this. So I've got some just fresh sliced tomatoes. This time of year, of course, tomatoes are oh so delicious. And a perfect complement to a bowl like this. Plus they add such beautiful color. And then it's time to get our amazing chicken in our bowl. So we're just going to load it in here. Do not be shy, it's good stuff. So full of that amazing onion and bell pepper. It's almost like a fajita in its own right. And we're just going to pile that on here. And then our final step is just going to be topping this with some of that amazing chipotle lime crema that I am such a huge fan of. I love serving this up with some fresh cilantro and some lime wedges. And there you have it, a 20 minute lunch prep that you will absolutely love. This tastiness can be stored in your refrigerator for between three and four days. So you can pack it up for lunch and enjoy it through most of the week. Or let's be honest, you can just eat it right away. Totally up to you. Smoky, spicy, a little sweet with that corn. Tons of great protein and fiber. There is a lot to love here. I hope you guys will give this recipe a try for yourselves. And if you do, be sure to tweet me, Instagram me, or Facebook me a photo. Because you know how much I love seeing your kitchen creations. Remember, this yummy recipe is being featured on our amazing meal planning site, healthymealplans.com. 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