I’m just going to say it… nothing beats a good chicken burrito bowl! Packed with seasoned chicken, savory Spanish rice, beans, cheese, salsa, and all the fresh toppings your heart desires. Not only do these chicken burrito bowls taste incredible, but you can also freeze them into portion sizes so you can have a single meal ready to go whenever you are. Perfect for work lunches!
These little make-ahead chicken burrito bowls are the perfect combination of healthy ingredients, super flavorful taste, they are fast to reheat and the best part of all? I get full from eating them!
And they are so versatile too.
Work at the Office? Treat your frozen bowl like an ice pack for your toppings, then by lunchtime your bowl will have partially thawed. Microwave and enjoy.
After school kids saying “I’m hungry?” Heat up a chicken burrito bowl.
Lunch at home for one? Put away that pb&j today and toss one of these in the microwave.
Want a fun dinner for the family? Individual bowls for everyone!
College kid? Make ahead a bunch of these for lunches or dinners as a thrifty meal.
Eating Keto? Just replace the rice and beans with a keto friendly Spanish cauliflower rice.
Picky eater? Customize them any way you like.
Just look at all that chicken burrito bowl goodness!
In my opinion, this recipe is the BEST using the homemade Spanish rice recipe in my cookbook Seriously Good Freezer Meals on page 296. It totally just makes the whole chicken burrito bowl just go POW! But if you don’t have my cookbook you can use a store bought package mix of Spanish rice, or head to your nearest Mexican restaurant and order yourself a family size portion of Spanish rice. Hey, no judging here guys! We are all about saving time here, right? You do what you gotta do to survive, man… to survive…
As for containers to use, you can use any microwave safe bowls or containers, and a lot of stores carry them. If you already have a bunch of those cute glass prep containers with lids, you can totally use them. Or you can order disposable paper containers online and possibly even find them at a restaurant supply store like URM Cash n Carry. But if you can’t find microwave safe disposable paper or glass bowls at your local store, go to the aisle that has all of the disposable aluminum pans and grab the aluminum bowls. They obviously aren’t microwave safe but they are the perfect size and handle freezing well. To reheat, just dump all of the contents of the chicken burrito bowl onto a plate and heat up that way. After it’s heated, add desired toppings. I personally love to add lettuce, sour cream, and sliced avocados. Yum!
Chicken Burrito Bowls
Ingredients
- 8 single serve bowls or containers
- 1 1/2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breast filets
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 2 tbsp taco seasoning
- 1/2 cup water
- 2 15 oz. cans black beans
- 1/2 cup salsa, optional
- 1 cup pepper jack cheese, shredded
- 6 cups cooked Spanish rice (for best flavor use recipe in my cookbook "Seriously Good Freezer Meals" pg. 296)
Optional Toppings for Serving
- lettuce
- sour cream
- avocado
Instructions
- Make Spanish rice, allow to cool.
- Trim the fat from the chicken filets and then cut them in half, length-wise, then slice the strips into 1/2 slices, against the grain.
- In a large skillet over medium- high heat, add olive oil and chicken slices. Sauté, stirring on occasion, for about 7 minutes, or until meat is cooked through and no longer pink in the middle.
- Add water and taco seasoning to the pan. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium and slow boil until most of the liquid has cooked off, about 10 minutes. Remove from heat and allow to cool completely.
- Drain and rinse black beans until water runs clear. Use a paper towel to blot beans dry.
- Place all 8 bowls individually on your surface. Evenly divide cooked chicken into all bowls; about 1/4 cup (60 mL) chicken to each bowl.
- Add about 1/4 cup (60 mL) black beans over chicken, dividing beans equally among bowls.
- If using salsa, spread about 1 tbsp (15 mL) salsa over beans.
- Equally divide Spanish rice over each bowl, filling bowls nearly to the top; about 3/4 cup per bowl.
- Top rice with 2 tbsp (30 mL) shredded cheese.
- Cover each bowl with air-tight lid or cover with a square of plastic wrap, pressing down, making sure to remove as much air as possible, then cover with foil. Label and freeze or keep in the fridge for up to a week.
REHEATING
- From fridge: Remove foil and plastic wrap. Place into microwave safe bowl or plate if necessary. Microwave on high covered with plastic wrap, for 1 minute. Stir. Continue cooking on high for an additional 30 seconds to 1 minute until heated through. Top with desired toppings and serve.
- From freezer: Remove frozen bowl from freezer. Remove foil and plastic wrap. Place onto microwave-safe bowl or plate if necessary. Microwave on high covered with plastic wrap, for 1 minute 30 seconds. Stir. Continue cooking on high for an additional 1 minute 30 seconds or until heated through. Top with desired toppings and serve.
Nutrition
I hope you all love this recipe as much as I do! Making a bunch of these chicken burrito bowls up ahead of time sure makes me happy every time I pull one out at lunchtime.
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SEE MORE OF MY BEST FREEZER MEAL RECIPES:
Creamy Cheesy Cilantro Chicken Taquitos (Make Ahead & Freeze)
Healthy Homemade Hot Pockets (Make Ahead & Freeze)
Best frozen Mozzarella sticks recipe
Breakfast Bowls (Make-Ahead & Freeze)
Freezer Friendly Stuffed Jalapeno Poppers
Can beef be substituted for chicken? For freezing?
Sure thing!!
Can you share some new links for the disposable freezeable containers? Thank you!!
I am working on this!!
If we were going to make these in foil pans, how long would you have to heat them up in the oven? I couldn’t find any microwave safe containers
Could you reheat these in the oven?
Yes if you had an oven safe dish, but never take a frozen glass dish and place it in a hot oven! It can shatter.
I didn’t ultimately make these as a freezer meal but I cooked the chicken ahead but just ended up just making them as a weeknight meal. They were soooo tasty. I added fresh avocado and fresh cilantro. Even my teen who doesn’t normally like Mexican food ate it! We will definitely make these again.
So great to hear that you loved them Terri, thanks for your feedback!!!
Why do you say only freeze for up to a week? Can they not be frozen longer?
They can be frozen for 3-4 months, but the recipe says to keep in the fridge for up to a week. So if you didn’t want to freeze them, you could keep them in the fridge for a week.
When do you add the taco seasoning?
Hi, it’s in step 4 when you add the water.
I was thinking of a way to make this into a casserole for a family. do you think that would work and how well would it actually warm it up in the oven instead of microwave?
I think that would work for sure! Just cover and bake until heated through!
Karrie! Your site is such a find. I’ve recently gone back to work at the hospital and even at the best of times I’m not the hugest fan of grocery shopping and cooking – so shift work has made it all the harder! I decided to buckle down today and do some ahead of time prep and I came across your site. I now have chicken strips, burrito bowls and orange chicken in my freezer ready for my next work days!
Thanks for easy to follow recipes and good writing 🙂
So happy you are saving time!!!