This recipe is for how to make burrito bowls at home. As you will see, it uses a variety of many ingredients that could go into a traditional Mexican burrito. Additionally, they’re served as layers in a bowl instead. Also, this is listed in our Mexican Cuisine, Rice, Chicken, Beef, Ground Beef, Main Dishes, Beans-Peas, and Stove Top Recipes categories.

Recipe for Burrito Bowls

This is a Burrito Bowl recipe that has been designed to be made Speedy and Easy. And, it's extremely Tasty so, it satisfies all 3 of our mission statement requirements.

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Prep: 15

Cook: 30

Total: 45

Servings: servings

Calories: 579kcal

Author: Joanne Lawrence

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Ingredients

Mexican Rice

1½ cup water
½ Tbsp butter or olive oil
⅓ cup tomato sauce
⅓ tsp ground cumin
½ tsp cilantro, freeze dried
1 tsp lime juice
⅓ tsp onion powder
¾ cup white rice

Seasoned Meat

1 lb chicken or other meat diced or strips of cooked chicken, beef, or ground beef
⅓ tsp Garlic Powder
⅓ tsp onion powder
⅓ tsp ground cumin
⅛ tsp Ground Black Pepper

Seasoned Black Beans

1 Tbsp olive oil or vegetable oil
½ large onion diced
1 can canned black beans 15 oz can, not drained
2 tsp minced garlic or ½ amount of garlic powder
2 Tbsp cilantro, freeze dried
⅓ tsp ground cumin

Refried Beans

1 can refried beans 16 oz. can

Toppings (All Optional)

2 leaves Romaine Lettuce shredded
2 ozs shredded cheddar cheese
8 Tbsp salsa
4 Tbsp Guacamole or avocado
4 Tbsp Pico de Gallo
4 Tbsp diced tomatoes
4 Tbsp diced onions
4 Tbsp sour cream or Chipotle Ranch dressing

Instructions

RICE: Combine all "Mexican Rice" ingredients (except the rice): water, butter, tomato sauce, cumin, cilantro, lime juice, onion powder. Bring to a boil. Add the rice, return to a boil, turn OFF heat, cover pan, and let sit for 25 minutes (covered) on the same burner. When done, fluff it up with a fork.
1½ cup water, ½ Tbsp butter, ⅓ cup tomato sauce, ⅓ tsp ground cumin, ½ tsp cilantro, freeze dried, 1 tsp lime juice, ¾ cup white rice, ⅓ tsp onion powder
MEAT: Boil, grill, or cook the meat of choice. For example, cut up boneless chicken breast(s) into strips and boil for 20 minutes. Then, drain and cool down over cold water. Dice or cut up into smaller strips and mix up with the "Seasoned Meat" ingredients of garlic powder, onion powder, cumin, and black pepper. If not boiling meat, you can grill or cook it optionally with the seasonings already applied as a rub.
1 lb chicken or other meat, ⅓ tsp Garlic Powder, ⅓ tsp onion powder, ⅓ tsp ground cumin, ⅛ tsp Ground Black Pepper
BLACK BEANS: Sauté the onions in oil for about 5 minutes. Then, add in the rest of the "Seasoned Black Beans" ingredients (black beans, garlic, cilantro, cumin) and heat up for about 5 minutes. Then, keep warm until ready to serve.
1 can canned black beans, ½ large onion, 1 Tbsp olive oil, 2 tsp minced garlic, 2 Tbsp cilantro, freeze dried, ⅓ tsp ground cumin
REFRIED BEANS: Heat up the refried beans in a small saucepan or microwave and set aside.
1 can refried beans
TOPPINGS & SERVE: After prepping the chosen toppings, you're ready to serve!
On a dinner plate, platter, or wide bowl, serve the layers in this sequence: rice, black beans, refried beans, toppings.
Optionally, finish toppings with sour cream or Chipotle ranch dressing. Can serve alongside Tortilla chips and salsa.
2 ozs shredded cheddar cheese, 2 leaves Romaine Lettuce, 8 Tbsp salsa, 4 Tbsp Guacamole, 4 Tbsp Pico de Gallo, 4 Tbsp diced tomatoes, 4 Tbsp diced onions, 4 Tbsp sour cream

Nutrition

Tried this recipe?Let us all know how it was!

SOURCE: DarnGoodRecipes.com™

What is a Burrito Bowl?

A Burrito Bowl is a full meal of a burrito in a bowl. However, there’s no tortilla. So, after you’ve learned how to make burrito bowls at home, eat it with a fork. Plain and simple. And, in reality, you wouldn’t put all these things into a single burrito. This is a full meal, not a sandwich! So, you’re getting a lot more nutrients and great flavors. And, because it’s open in a bowl, many have changed up the ingredients in a whole lot of ways.

Most of these burrito bowls will have a lot more than what’s typically on a burrito. Because of this, you get a nutritious and very filling entire meal with this. Read on for learning how to make this healthy and delicious easy dinner. Also, it has a very surprising origin, which you’ll find out.

Burrito Bowl Homemade

Since there are a lot of ways of how to make burrito bowls at home, you can add or skip as many ingredients as you want. Also, there are some common layers that are done in a sequence but everyone does it different. So, here are some of those layers and their optional ingredients for each.

Base Burrito-style LAYERS for How To Make Burrito Bowls at Home

Rice (Mexican Rice – aka Spanish Rice, Cilantro Lime Rice, or Brown Rice)
Black Beans, seasoned
Refried Beans

Meat Layer (or skip it for a meatless burrito bowl)

Meat Choice (freshly cooked or leftover)
- grilled chicken
- steak
- ground beef)

TOPPINGS for How To Make Burrito Bowls at Home

Shredded Cheddar Cheese
Romaine Lettuce, shredded
Tomato, diced
Salsa
Guacamole or Avocado
Pico de Gallo
Corn

Garnishes & Final Toppers

Cilantro
Lime Juice
Chipotle Ranch Dressing, Creamy Chipotle, or Sour Cream

How To Make Burrito Bowls at Home: Step-by-Step

Follow the Burrito Bowl Prep step-by-step. Then, you can easily make it from scratch at home. It’s healthier than eating out. Also, you get to customize what goes in it.

cooking mexican rice for how to make burrito bowls at home

Cook the Rice. It can be Mexican rice (aka Spanish rice), brown rice, or others as shown in recipe.

cutup the cooked chicken or other meat for how to make burrito bowls at home

2. Cook and cutup the meat (diced or strips). Then, season the meat, if not done previously.

seasoned black beans for how to make burrito bowls at home

3. Season the Black Beans and heat up.

wamred refried beans for how to make burrito bowls at home

4. Heat up the refried beans.

add key layers for how to make burrito bowls at home

5. Start your base layers to build your Burrito Bowl.

add toppings for how to make burrito bowls at home

6. Add your toppings such as the Salsa, Guacamole, Pico de Gallo, or other. See the RECIPE for ingredients & entire process.

Rice for Burrito Bowl Recipe

Most will make this with a Mexican rice recipe. Also, you can use a Spanish rice or even a Brown rice if you prefer. Lastly, if you must, you could use a basic white rice recipe. Now, if you’re making a rice other than Mexican rice, just make it according to package instructions. However, we do show you how to make the classic Mexican rice for this.

The Best MEXICAN RICE Recipe

Traditional Mexican Rice Recipe

Homemade Burrito Bowl Healthy

There are healthy aspects to a homemade burrito bowl. Because of this, many will go for it because it’s protein-rich and low in fat. And, being customizable, it’s easy to go vegetarian and leave out the meat. Also, it’s not a burrito, so you’re also “breadless” without the tortilla. That will reduce the gluten intake. Traditional Mexican restaurants typically use gluten-free tortillas. Regardless, Burrito Bowls are pretty healthy and filling. Therefore, they rapidly gained in popularity.

The nutritional values are shown in the recipe. Also, here’s a great article that will help guide you on healthy customizing of your own burrito bowl. It’s “7 Reasons Why The Burrito Bowl Is The Best Meal For Weight Loss” by Derek Mulch. And, he explains how to make your choices very well.

How to Make Burrito Bowls at Home Nutrition

This full meal, using all optional ingredients, gives a single serving of about 580 calories. The detailed nutritional values are shown in the <Print Recipe> option. Finally, this recipe’s nutritional health metrics are use ALL of the optional toppings and ingredients completely.

How long can I keep a Burrito Bowl in the Fridge?

You can keep it in the fridge for about 3 days (some say 3-5) and reheat it for a tasty dinner or lunch. However, keep the key ingredients in separate containers. Then, it will still have that quality gourmet flavor. So, ensure you’ve avoided adding some of the fresh produce toppings like shredded lettuce or diced tomatoes. For this reason, you’ll have good quality storage.

What to Serve with Burrito Bowls?

A popular side are Tortilla Chips and Salsa. However, some it with Nachos and Cheese Dip. Some will make a meatless burrito bowl and then have Ground Beef Tacos along with it. Top it off with a helpful adult beverage such as a Margarita adds to the theme.

Burrito Bowl Origin

Here’s the true story about the surprising Burrito Bowl origin. So, in late 2016, the U.S. Army announced that in 2017, a new packaged to go (for field operations) chicken burrito meal without the tortilla was coming. It took hold and rapidly became extremely popular. Then, in mid-2022, it’s been trending for people wanting to learn how to make it at home. Here’s the article on the origin of the Burrito Bowl from the Army Times.

Now you’ve learned how to make to make burrito bowls at home. So, comment below and tell me how it went! What toppings did you use on yours? Did you do something different you want to share? Tell me about it.

How To Make BURRITO BOWLS at Home