Homemade Burrito Bowls

And here we have the Homemade Burrito Bowls that I’ve been leading up to all week! I thought about making individual recipes for the sauteed black beans and the hot corn salsa, but I opted to just include the making-of here. That way this is more like a recipe more than a “How to Assemble a Homemade Burrito Bowl.” Feels more purposeful, see?

In case you missed my earlier posts, you’ll need one of the recipes I published earlier: either the Jalapeno Lime Chicken or Crispy Fajita Jackfruit. You’ll also need my Chile Queso, Pico de Gallo, and Cilantro Lime Rice recipes. Or use storebought versions or make your own favorite recipes if you have them. That’s the beauty of a bowl: you do you!

What You’ll Need to Make Homemade Burrito Bowls

Feel free to jump to the full recipe, but here are useful notes about the ingredients you will need to make this Homemade Burrito Bowls recipe:

• Cilantro Lime Rice: The bed of our burrito bowls! You can also use plain rice if you’re not into cilantro and lime flavors. Oh, my Spicy Yellow Rice would be killer!!
• Chile Queso: My Chile Queso calls for regular ol’ Velveeta, but I swapped that out for white Velveeta so it was more similar to Chipotles. I also added some diced tomatoes to it, but didn’t feel like it really added much, so when I made it again I stuck with my regular recipe, just with White Velveeta. If you just wanna heat up a jar of Tostitos Queso that’s quite fine.
• Jalapeno Lime Chicken or Crispy Fajita Jackfruit: You need a protein to bring the Homemade Burrito Bowls together and I provided options! Choose chicken or jackfruit. Alternatively or additionally you could also use my Spicy Citrus Marinated Skirt Steak. I’m a chicken and steak girl, myself so I highly recommend doing this. Oh, Chicken Tinga is an option too!
• Pico de Gallo: I’m not even gonna lie, I am quick to pick up a batch of The Pick’s Spicy Pico de Gallo when I don’t feel like mincing a bunch of stuff. These bowls are involved enough, shortcuts are welcome!
• Black beans, fire roasted corn, diced tomatoes with green chiles, green chiles: I used canned beans, canned corn, canned green chiles, and canned Rotel for the diced tomatoes and chiles. Feel free to you use frozen or fresh versions, if that’s what you have on hand or want to use.
• Monterrey jack cheese: Any cheese you want should be fine. I think Chipotle uses a blend of white cheddar and Monterrey jack but I’m not sure and that’s likely proprietary anyway, so use what you like.
• Garlic, bell peppers, red onion, shredded lettuce, minced cilantro: So yeah, even if you buy your pico there’s a healthy amount of dicing and mincing to do. Garlic and cilantro for the corn and black beans, red onion for corn and for the charred veggies as well – along with the bell peppers. I buy my lettuce already shredded, but you can use a food processor a cheese grater and a head of romaine or iceberg.
• Fajita Spice Blend, Kosher salt, granulated sugar: The only seasonings needed for our Homemade Burrito Bowls. You’ll use them as needed, to taste. The sugar is optional: only add it if the salsa seems very acidic and the flavor of the corn is diluted from it. It won’t make anything sweet, it’ll just bring out the corn flavor.

How to Make Homemade Burrito Bowls

Full instructions are included in the recipe below, but here is a basic overview of what you’ll need to do. If it’s not quite clear enough then check out my YouTube tutorial:

• Make a Plan. You’ll need to decide if you’re making everything all at once. If not, just make all the components in whatever order feels right and skip the all the instructions – just jump down to the last one. Continue reading if not.
• Start the big things. Begin by starting the marinade process for your protein. Let it rest on the counter while you start on the Cilantro Lime Rice. While you’re waiting for it to come to a simmer go ahead and start on the Chile Queso, too. Turn the oven on to it’s lowest setting: it will house the cooked food while we wait for other Homemade Burrito Bowl components. 
• Begin with beans. Grab a medium saucepan and place it over medium-low heat. To it, add all of the ingredients for the black beans: the beans, green chiles, jalapeno, garlic, water, Fajita Spice Blend, and salt. Stir them together and bring to a simmer, then reduce the heat to low and cover. These will simmer gently until all of the water has evaporated, which will take about 15 minutes. Stir them occasionally so they don’t stick to the pan. 
• Char the Fajita Veggies. Place a large nonstick frying pan over high heat and drizzle it lightly with vegetable oil. Let it preheat for 3 minutes – we want it screaming hot – and then pour in the sliced onion and bell pepper. Spread them into a single layer as best you can and sprinkle lightly with salt. Use tongs to toss them around as they cook, letting them char and soften just a bit. When you’re happy with how they look transfer them to an oven safe dish and pop them in the oven. 
• Make the Hot Corn Salsa. Don’t forget to keep an eye on the rice, queso, and black beans. Use the same frying pan you just charred the peppers in to make the corn salsa: reduce the heat to medium-high and add the cans of corn, diced tomatoes with green chiles, diced red onion, minced garlic, Fajita Spice Blend, and kosher salt. Stir everything together and give it a taste, and add the sugar if you feel it needs it. Cook the corn salsa, stirring frequently, for 5-7 minutes, until it’s heated through. Transfer it to another oven-safe dish and put that in the oven to rest, too. 
• It’s chicken time! Check on the beans. If they are softened and starting to break apart when you stir them they’re ready. Turn off the heat and let them rest. Wipe out the frying pan with a paper towel, then place it back over medium-high heat. Now, make the Japaleno Lime Chicken or Crispy Fajita Jackfruit according to the recipe. The rice should be ready during the same time the chicken or jackfruit is cooking. 
• Build the Homemade Burrito Bowls. It’s time to assemble the bowls! To build the bowls pictured above spoon the desired amount of Cilantro Lime Rice into a wide, shallow bowl, and spread it out into an even layer. Drizzle a small amount of queso over the top of the rice, then spoon a hefty amount of diced chicken – or whatever protein – in the center. Add the other toppings as desired on top of the rice around the chicken: the charred fajita veggies, the black beans, the corn salsa, then the lettuce, shredded cheese, and pico. Finish it with a few hefty drizzles of queso over the top of everything. Dassit! 

Obligatory Pinterest Graphic –

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