Paleo and Whole30 chicken burrito bowl make for a fresh, inexpensive, and healthy dish for an easy meal or meal prep. Loaded with shredded chicken, fajita veggies, cilantro lime cauliflower rice, lettuce, tomatoes, and guacamole. Makes 5 servings, ready in under an hour, perfect for lunch or dinner!
Last updated on September 4, 2019.
Another recipe that it’s about time it made it’s way to the blog! I’ve been making this chicken burrito bowl for years now (they were a client favorite when I had my meal prep business) and am finally sharing! They are loaded with protein, veggies, and healthy fats and a staple in our house and make a great option for meal prep!
I’m guessing mostly everyone has had or at least heard of Chipotle by now. It is pretty much like Mexican fast food, but so much better than your typical Taco Bell. The idea of how they serve is pretty genius and really started a whole new fast food revolution.
Side note – did you know Chipotle was started by Steve Ells with an $85,000 loan from his father. He had originally planned to use funds from the first Chipotle to open a fine-dining restaurant but since the restaurant was so successful, he decided to stick with it. It’s now worth $200 million… 🤑🌯
Anyways, if you’ve had Chipotle, you get where this idea came from. It’s basically their chicken burrito bowl, but made at home, which saves you some money! I also opted to use cauliflower rice to keep them paleo and Whole30 friendly and lower carb, but you can totally use what you like (white rice, brown rice, quinoa…).
Whatever you want to use, you can’t go wrong!
Chicken Burrito Bowl Recipe (Paleo/Whole30)
The beauty of these bowls is they make 5 servings and can be ready in under an hour! I’m all about making meal prep as easy and streamline as possible and these follow suit. A lot of the time is just the veggies cooking in the oven too. Here is what you need:
- shredded chicken
- bell peppers
- onion
- mushrooms
- taco seasoning
- cauliflower rice
- tomatoes
- lettuce
- avocados
- cilantro
- lime juice
- garlic powder
- red pepper flakes
- oil
- salt and pepper
First start off by prepping your chicken. You can either make it homemade in the crockpot or Instant Pot, or just buy a rotisserie chicken at the store. I usually put a bunch of chicken breasts in the Instant Pot and let them cook while I prep everything else.
Then prep your veggies. Chop up the peppers, onions, and mushrooms and toss with avocado oil and taco seasoning. Roast for 40-45 minutes until softened and a little crispy around the edges. Chop the lettuce and tomatoes as well and set then aside.
When the veggies are almost done, make the cauliflower rice. Heat up a large pan and add the rice and garlic powder, let it cook for 7-9 minutes, and then remove from heat and stir in the cilantro and lime juice.
Next make the guacamole by mashing together avocado, lime juice, cilantro, red pepper flakes, and salt and pepper. Finally you just need to assemble! I like to use a big bowl – first start with a bunch of lettuce, then some fajita veggies, chicken, cauliflower rice, diced tomatoes, and guacamole on the side. Top it all off with some chopped cilantro and lime juice and you are ready to eat!
From a rough breakdown, this homemade chicken burrito bowl costs about $2.50 per bowl (give or take). At Chipotle, I’m pretty sure you will be paying at least $8, plus some more money for guacamole. If you are trying to save some money this year or just stay on track with healthy eating, meal prep can be a great way to do that!
How to Meal Prep Chicken Burrito Bowl
These homemade burrito bowls are great for meal prep! Here are a few tips to help keep everything fresh throughout the week:
- prepping – you can prep and cook all your ingredients according to the recipe directions if you want to grab a ready to go meal (for lunch). Or you can simply chop and cut everything up (fajita veggies, lettuce, tomatoes) and store it in the fridge. When it comes time to cook, simply toss it with the oil and spices and roast – this would be a good option to save some time at dinner.
- storage – you can go two ways on how you want to store these. If making them for a grab-n-go lunch, you can fully assemble the bowls. If making them for a dinner option, prep and roast the fajita veggies and shredded chicken store them in separate bowls. Once dinner rolls around, simply heat up the chicken and veggies, make the guacamole, and then cut up the lettuce and tomatoes.
- guacamole – if you make the guacamole in the beginning of the week, it will brown throughout the week. It still tastes the same though! If you don’t want it to get brown, don’t make the guacamole and just wait till the day of to cut up an avocado.
- heating them up – we personally enjoy these cold, but I know that not everyone likes cold food (or maybe more people don’t lol). Simply store the components separately and heat them up separately, or store the lettuce, tomatoes, and guacamole in a separate container if bringing it to work and just heat up the chicken, veggies, and rice in another container.
- best storage containers – these meal prep containers on Amazon are great! They keep everything fresh and are better for the environment since they are glass!
Other meal prep ideas with chicken
BBQ Chicken Twice Baked Sweet Potatoes
Chicken Burrito Bowl (Paleo/Whole30)
ingredients
Chicken Burrito Bowl
- 5 cups shredded chicken 500 grams/18 ounces)
- 2 large head romaine, chopped (550 grams)
- 2 large tomatoes, diced (225 grams)
- lime wedges and chopped cilantro for serving
Fajita Veggies
- 5 bell peppers, sliced (800 grams)
- 1 large onion, sliced (300 grams)
- 2 cups mushrooms, sliced (13 mushrooms/250 grams)
- 1 tablespoon taco seasoning
- 1 1/2 tablespoons avocado oil
Cilantro Lime Cauliflower Rice
- 1 tablespoon avocado oil
- 5 cups riced cauliflower (500 grams)
- 1/2 tablespoon garlic powder
- 1/2 cup packed cilantro, roughly chopped
- 2 tablespoons lime juice, divided
- salt and pepper, to taste
Guacamole
- 2 small avocados, deseeded (200 grams)
- 1 tablespoon lime juice
- 2 tablespoons packed cilantro, roughly chopped
- pinch of red pepper flakes
- salt and pepper, to taste
instructions
- If needed make the shredded chicken. You can also use any kind of leftover chicken or store bought rotisserie chicken.
- Make the fajita veggies. Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit and line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Add sliced peppers, onion, and mushrooms in a large bowl. Add 1 1/2 tablespoons avocado oil and taco seasoning and mix until veggies are coated. Spread out on baking sheet and bake for 40-45 minutes until soft.
- While veggies have about 10-15 minutes left, make cauliflower rice. In a large nonstick pan over medium heat, add 1 tablespoon avocado oil and let it get hot, about 30 seconds. Add rice and garlic powder and cook for 7-10 minutes until soft and cooked through. Remove from heat and stir in 1 tablespoon lime juice and chopped cilantro.
- Make guacamole. In a small bowl add avocados, 1 tablespoon lime juice, cilantro, red pepper flakes, and salt and pepper. Mash until combined.*
- Assemble bowls. Divided lettuce, diced tomatoes, fajita veggies, and cauliflower rice between 5 bowls or meal prep containers. Top with each bowl 3/4 cup shredded chicken. Serve with guacamole, cilantro, and a lime wedge. Can keep in the fridge for up to a week.
notes
nutrition
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Tommy M says
That was a ton of work for an absolutely mediocre dish. No flavor. Who cooks fajita veggies in the oven? Needs all sorts of sauces and seasonings to make this palatable.
Kelly says
Sorry, you didn’t enjoy it, Tommy. Thanks for giving it a try.
Dan says
Looks tasty
Kelly says
Thank you!