Lunch · Mexican
Meal Prep Chicken Burrito Bowls
Burrito bowls are the meal prep recipe that actually survives the week. Unlike sad salads, these reheat properly, and unlike soup, they do not leak in your bag. Thirty five minutes on Sunday buys four lunches that you will genuinely look forward to by Wednesday.
The build is simple and honest. Chicken thighs cooked to 165 F with cumin and chili, rice cooked in the same flavor direction, black beans and corn straight from cans, and a two minute lime crema that makes the whole bowl taste catered.
Everything goes into four containers in layers, sauce on the side, and each bowl reheats in about two minutes at work.
By the TasteBoard team. Timed in a home kitchen, with total time added up and safe temperatures checked.
Photo: @Sharon Chen from Austin, United States / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0
- Prep
- 15 min
- Cook
- 20 min
- Total
- 35 min
- Servings
- 4
- Course
- Lunch
- Calories, about
- 540 per serving
Instructions
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Why you will love it
Thirty five minutes, one skillet and one pot, four complete lunches, about 540 calories each, an estimate.
The lime crema is 3 ingredients and it is the reason these bowls never taste like diet food.
Reheats to a proper hot lunch, chicken included, unlike most meal prep that dies in the microwave.
Costs about 2.50 dollars per bowl, and the fast food version costs triple that and arrives cold.
Gluten free as written, and kids can skip the bowl and take the components as a deconstructed plate.
Tips
Thighs over breasts for meal prep, they reheat juicy where breasts reheat like cardboard. If you must use breast, cut cook time to 4 to 5 minutes per side, still to 165 F (74 C), and expect a slightly drier Tuesday.
Cook the beans and corn in the chicken skillet instead of a new pan. The browned bits left behind are free flavor, you paid for them in browning time.
The 2 minute crema is the make or break element. Do not substitute plain sour cream, the lime is what makes it taste like a restaurant bowl.
Undercook the rice by a minute if you reheat bowls daily, the microwave finishes it perfectly on day four instead of turning it to mush on day one.
Swaps and variations
Cauliflower rice for the rice: about 180 fewer calories per bowl, both estimates, add the cauliflower rice raw and reheat the bowl 1 extra minute, it needs no precooking.
Cilantro lime rice: stir the juice and zest of 1 lime and 1 tbsp chopped cilantro into the cooked rice, this is the version that tastes closest to the chain restaurant bowls.
Vegan bowl: skip the chicken and cheese, double the beans, add 1.5 cups roasted sweet potato cubes, and use a coconut yogurt based crema. Hearty, and it keeps the same 4 days.
What to serve
Tortilla chips for scooping, which turns a lunch bowl into a lunch event.
A little extra hot sauce at the table, everyone seasons their own heat level.
These are complete meals in a container, which is the entire point of meal prep.
Storage and reheating
Keeps 4 days in the fridge, containers sealed, crema separate. To reheat, remove the pico and cheese if you like them cool, microwave the covered container 90 seconds to 2 minutes, stir halfway, until the chicken is steaming hot, chicken reheats safely at 165 F (74 C). Add crema, avocado, and cilantro after reheating. Freeze without the crema, pico, or avocado for up to 2 months, thaw overnight in the fridge, and expect slightly softer rice, it is the trade for freezer convenience.
Calories shown are an estimate from standard ingredients, not medical advice. Brands and amounts change the number.
Questions cooks actually ask
Can I use rice cooker rice?
Yes, cook the 1.5 cups rinsed rice with the broth and salt in the rice cooker, and stir the cumin in after cooking with the fork fluff. One less pot to watch, same flavor direction.
How do I keep the chicken from drying out on reheat?
Two moves, cover the container while microwaving so steam stays in, and reheat in 60 second bursts instead of one long blast, stirring between. The microwave at full power for 3 minutes is what kills meal prep chicken, not the prep itself.
Are these good cold?
The bean and rice base is fine cold, but the chicken is better warm. If your microwave situation is hopeless, pack the bowl cold and repurpose it as a cold rice salad with extra crema, which is a real thing people eat on purpose.
Can I double the batch?
Yes, the recipe doubles cleanly, use the biggest skillet you own and cook the chicken in 3 batches instead of crowding, since steamed chicken does not brown. Eight lunches fit in the same 35 minute window plus about 10 extra minutes.
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