Chicken Burrito Bowl
Use leftover rotisserie chicken thighs to make this shredded chicken tinga over cilantro lime rice and all the fixings.
Did you know you can repurpose cooked chicken in more ways than you could ever freaking IMAGINE? Don’t be afraid that it’s already cooked. It doesn’t mean it will easily overcook when reheated, especially using dark meat. I’m shredding both chicken thighs off of some leftover rotisserie chicken to cook in a chipotle tomato stew that I’ve coined as quick tinga chicken. The smokey flavors mixed with the tomato base and broth make the chicken extra juicy. We’re making burrito bowls tonight, topped with our quick chicken tinga, cilantro lime rice, corn, black beans, avocado slices, and tomato wedges. To finish our bowls off we’re drizzling over all of the sour cream your heart desires and some lime wedges. You can make this for a weekend lunch or weeknight dinner, either way, it takes less than twenty minutes to feed the whole family.
We made this as a part of a test to utilize a whole rotisserie chicken.
To see how they stack up, read on here:
Four Recipes and One Rotisserie Chicken. Let’s Make Lunch!
You can see the other three chicken recipes here:
Rotisserie Chicken Noodle Soup
Chicken Pesto Pasta Salad
Chicken Caesar Salad Lettuce Wrap
This is one of those recipes that you use leftovers in your fridge, so if you don’t have it, use what you got. A jar of jalapeños? Perfect! Last night’s roasted zucchini or asparagus? Toss it in! Don’t worry if you are missing any of these ingredients because there is always a substitute.
Mexican food is usually one of my go-to cuisines when it comes to leftovers and burrito bowls especially when I have leftover takeout white rice. Those restaurants would always send so much white rice with your order and I’d spend so much time asking myself what I can do with this rice besides stir fries! This cilantro lime technique is foolproof and will make you think twice before throwing that leftover rice away next time. All you have to do is toss the leftover rice with a little lime juice, lime zest and chopped cilantro for the base of our burrito bowls. Citrus and herbs are all you need to make miracles happen when repurposing leftovers. You should see how tasty rice gets tossed with pesto or chimichurri.
Sometimes I think I never used to make burrito bowls because I could buy a delicious one at Chipotle, but I now know they are ultimately better when made from scratch at home. Know that you are not limited by the ingredients in this recipe only the ingredients you have in the kitchen. Try making this with broiled fish, seared steak, leftover beans, leftover vegetables, or even tofu.
Chicken Burrito Bowl
Diet: Gluten-Free
For quick chicken tinga:
- 2 skin-on cooked chicken thighs, shredded
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 1/2 onion, diced
- 5 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 chipotle in adobo, minced
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 cup Roma tomatoes, diced
- 1 cup chicken broth
For assembly:
- 1 avocado, sliced thin
- 1 1/2 cups Roma tomato, quartered
- 1 cup black beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 cup yellow corn
- 2 cups cooked white rice
- 1/4 cup cilantro
- 2 limes, juiced and 1 zested
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- 2 tablespoons milk
Preparation
- Saute onion and garlic in a pan with vegetable oil over medium heat until onions start to turn translucent.
- Add adobo, cumin, tomato, and chicken broth, and bring to a boil. Season the mixture, then reduce broth to low and add cracked pepper, then shredded chicken. Reduce the mixture until very little sauce remains.
- Place sour cream in a squeeze bottle with milk and shake until sour cream pours in a steady loose stream.
- Mix your cooked white rice with lime juice, zest, and cilantro. Rice should taste tangy and like cilantro.
- Assembly burrito bowl with a base of rice, then beans, then corn, then tomato, then drizzle with sour cream and avocado. Finish with extra cilantro.
Recipe adapted from Feel Good Foodie.