Make restaurant style chicken burrito bowls at home! These dinner bowls feature sheet pan chicken and vegetables with slow cooked chorizo pinto beans, quinoa and homemade chimichurri. Great for meal prep!
To me, these chicken burrito bowls feel like the perfect autumn or winter dinner. It’s savory, rich and comforting during the grey, cold months of the year.
But if you’re interested in a brighter, more summery burrito bowl, read on! We have suggestions at the bottom of the page for other condiments and toppings that go well with our sheet pan chicken!
Burrito bowls are the best! Which is why we all flock to our favorite fast casual restaurants, right? It’s about all the toppings! When you go to a restaurant there are so many delicious choices from salsa to beans to grains!
This chicken burrito bowl recipe will make you feel like you’re at your favorite Mexican restaurant. It’s got all the flavorful ingredients of a restaurant style burrito bowl, but it can be made from scratch at home!
To get that restaurant quality, it takes some meal prepping. We’re not just cracking open a can of plain beans. We make our chorizo pinto beans from scratch. This dutch oven bean recipe is the perfect meal prep dish!
Our pinto beans recipe makes enough to have beans and rice for dinner one night and freeze the rest for tacos and burrito bowls later! The chorizo makes the beans extra delicious, but they’re also loaded with peppers, onions and spices for authentic latin-american flavor!
Instead of a Mexican salsa, we’ve opted for a fresh chimichurri for these burrito bowls. Chimichurri is an uncooked sauce that hails from Argentina.
Chimichurri ingredients (mainly parsley, garlic and olive oil) are easy to source year round and it’s a great compliment to the pinto beans and other flavors in this dish. Added bonus- chimichurri freezes well (much like pesto) so you can make it ahead of time too!
The chicken is an easy sheet pan recipe. It’s flavored with garlic, lime juice and cumin then baked. You can prep it in advance, but it’s so easy it can be made the night you serve the burrito bowls too!
We bake the vegetables sheet pan style too. Just a little salt, pepper and oil is all that’s needed to roast the veggies to perfection. Because I was going for a more fall/winter vibe I used cauliflower, carrots and zucchini. It was mostly seasonal! But you can swap peppers and onions in if that’s more to your liking.
Finally, we make stovetop quinoa. It’s an easy swap for rice and contains more protein and less carbs than rice, making a healthier for you burrito bowl!
Chicken Burrito Bowl Meal Prep Tips
- When we make our chorizo pinto beans recipe, we divide the leftovers into small and medium sized jars and freeze them for tacos, burrito bowls and sides. It’s an easy way to make a delicious meal without having to do all the work at once.
- Chimichurri can be made by hand or in a food processor or blender. The texture of the first is more appealing, but the second way is much faster. For reference, the picture of chimichurri above is made in a blender.
- All the ingredients including the chicken, vegetables and quinoa can be prepped in advance. In fact, I made this for a meal train a while back and assembled the entire bowl (minus the chimichurri) in aluminum to-go containers. It reheats very well making it perfect for meal prep and lunches!
- Speaking of lunches, we love these pyrex storage containers. They make reheating lunch and dinner leftovers so easy!
- The first time we made the chicken in this recipe we served it with our crockpot black beans, pico de gallo, red pepper enchilada sauce and topped it with sour cream and cheese. I think the veggies were zucchini and green pepper? It was fantastic too! So, feel free to pick and choose ingredients that speak to you!
Chicken Burrito Bowl Recipe
Ingredients
Chicken
- 2 limes , juiced
- 3 cloves garlic , minced
- 1 small onion , minced
- 2 tablespoons green pepper , minced
- 1 teaspoon coriander
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1/4 bunch cilantro , chopped
- 2 large chicken breasts , cubed
Vegetables
- 1 small head cauliflower , cut into florets
- 1 large zucchini , cut into thick edges
- 3 large carrots , cut into rounds
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
Quinoa
- 1 cup quinoa
- 2 cups chicken broth or water
- 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
Garnish
- Chorizo pinto beans
- Chimichurri
- Jalapeno slices
- Lime wedges
Instructions
Chicken
- Preheat oven to 400F and line two baking sheets with foil or parchment paper.
- In a small bowl, whisk together lime juice, garlic, onion, green pepper, salt, black pepper, coriander, cumin, olive oil and cilantro.
- Place the cubed chicken on one of the baking sheets , then pour the marinade over the chicken and toss to combine
- Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until chicken is fully cooked (165F)
Vegetables
- Place the cauliflower, zucchini and carrots on the second baking sheet, then add the olive oil and toss to coat the veggies.
- Sprinkle with salt and pepper then bake 15-20 minutes until vegetables are tender on the inside but still crisp.
Quinoa
- Combine quinoa, chicken broth and salt in a small pan and bring to a boil over medium high heat.
- Once the mixture comes to a boil, turn back heat to low and cover with a lid.
- Simmer quinoa for 15 minutes or until all water is absorbed, then turn off heat and let rest 5 minutes.
- Fluff quinoa with a fork.
Chicken Burrito Bowls
- Divide the chicken, vegetables and quinoa into six bowls.
- Top burrito bowls with chorizo pinto beans, chimichurri and garnish with jalapeno slices and lime wedges if desired.
Notes
- You can use this recipe to make a variety of chicken burrito bowls. Another great way to serve this is with our crockpot black beans, pico de gallo, and red pepper enchilada sauce.
- The chicken, vegetables and quinoa can be prepped in advance. I made this for a meal train a while back and assembled the entire bowl (minus the chimichurri) in aluminum to-go containers. It reheats very well making it perfect for meal prep and lunches!
- If you have the time, the chicken can be marinated for 30 minutes, but it's not necessary.
- The chicken breasts can be swapped for 4-5 chicken thighs. Use whatever you have on hand!
Nutrition
Love this main course recipe? Leave a comment below!
You might also like:
Beef Empanadas
Beef and potato empanadas are the perfect two bite-sized snack! They are made from scratch with flavorful Latin-American spices and served with a tomato chipotle sauce for dipping.
Shrimp Tacos
Brighten up your dinner routine with these easy, 30-minute Tequila Shrimp Tacos!
Mexican Stuffed Peppers
Sweet bell peppers are stuffed with a hearty mixture of vegetables, quinoa, beans, enchilada sauce and topped with cheese and a tortilla chip crumble! Great for meal prepping!
Ben says
That looks delicious. I grew up in the south, so I’m a big fan of anything with pinto beans in it. They’re tasty.
Vintage Kitty says
Thanks Ben! Enjoy!
Analida Braeger says
We have been trying to stick to low carb diet in our house and these hit the mark perfectly! Thanks so much!
Vintage Kitty says
You’re welcome Analida! You won’t miss the carbs!
Uma Srinivas says
Burrito bowls look awesome with vegetables, quinoa, and other ingredients. Love this kind of bowls for lunch.
Vintage Kitty says
Your coworkers will want the recipe Uma! Enjoy!
Paula Montenegro says
I’m only looking for ways to use chimichurri (I’m from Argentina) and this is certainly a wonderful recipe, so vibrant and flavorful! I will be trying it soon, for sure. Thanks for sharing!
Vintage Kitty says
You’re welcome Paula! Hope you love it as much as we do!
Femi. O says
This is one packed burrito bowl…I love it! Love the use of quinoa and pinto beans especially. I can’t wait to try this!
Vintage Kitty says
It is packed! Very filling. Let me know what you think!
Paige says
I LOVE the healthy ingredients in this recipe….SO GOOD. Extra love the big chunks of chicken too, this one is a winner!
Vintage Kitty says
Thanks Paige! Yes, this bowl is very protein focused.
Sara says
i love that you added veggies like cauliflower to this bowl. I will be pinning this for my taco tuesday themed dinners. I have been looking for some new ideas to mix things up a bit.
Vintage Kitty says
Cauliflower is one of my faves. It’s the chameleon vegetable. Enjoy Sara!
Candice says
Such a delicious, and easy weeknight dinner! Chimichurri on anything is delicious but just perfect on this burrito bowl. Thanks for the great recipe!
Natalie says
This is really great dinner option for the whole family. Love the flavors and ingredients. It’s healthy and delicious. I will definitely give this a try.