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You are here: Home / Recipes / Carnitas Burrito Bowls

Carnitas Burrito Bowls

08/25/18 | Easy Weeknight Meals, Main Courses, Mexican, Pork, Recipes

3.7Kshares

These Carnitas Burrito Bowls with crispy carnitas and homemade cilantro lime rice make a fabulous dinner or batch of meal prep lunches for the week. 

Photo of a Carnitas Burrito Bowl in a white bowl with carnitas, cheese, corn, and guacamole.

Hey, friend. Need something good and simple and easy today? How about a burrito bowl?

Yes, I said a burrito bowl.

I used to be kind of down on the whole food-in-a-bowl trend (someone, please explain to me how smoothie bowls are anything but exhausting), but you know what?

I think burrito bowls are a force for good in the world.

See Also: Carne Asada Burrito Bowls

They’re a big ol’ bowl of comfort foods thrown together and smothered with guacamole. Definitely on the side of the angels.

These Carnitas Burrito Bowls are meant as a companion recipe to my Easy Carnitas made on the stove or Slow Cooker Carnitas. Those recipes make huge batches of meat, so the bowls are perfect for using up some of the leftovers.

Photo of carnitas on a tray for Carnitas Burrito Bowls.

If you don’t have any carnitas made (and don’t feel like cooking some), you can use store-b

ought carnitas or substitute sliced cooked chicken thighs (try the thigh recipe from my Chipotle Chicken Tacos).

The base for these bowls is a batch of homemade cilantro lime rice, made with chicken broth, a little butter, fresh lime juice and cilantro. It’s super quick and easy to throw together and gives an excellent flavor boost to everything you pile on top of it.

Overhead shot of Carnitas Burrito Bowls in a white bowl.

And those toppings are really up to you. I topped mine with corn, pinto beans, Monterey cheese, Pico de Gallo, guacamole, and sour cream. There’s an ingredient list in the recipe below, but think of it as more of a suggestion.

Add *your* favorite burrito ingredients: peppers, pickles, potato chips (what? I’d eat it). Go wild.

This recipe makes four bowls, so if you’re a household of one or two, that’s a dinner and lunch (or a couple of them), but the recipe can be easily doubled if you’re feeding a big family or want to meal prep at the beginning of the week.

Meal Prep Burrito Bowls

Photo of two meal prep carnitas burrito bowls.

I love carnitas for meal prepping because their flavor only improves in the refrigerator. Seriously, day two or three carnitas are the best carnitas.

Since these bowls are best enjoyed warm, pack everything that can be microwaved into meal prep containers (I use these 3-cup Pyrex ones). If taking to work for lunch, pack a little sour cream together with anything else that you don’t want to microwave in a small separate container, and you’re all set.

Then maybe hide in your office to enjoy your lunch, because these bowls are definitely going to make everyone jealous. 😉

More Easy Dinner Recipes

  • Carne Asada
  • Steak Fajitas
  • Carne Asada Fries
  • Chicken Fajitas
  • Salsa Chicken

Carnitas Burrito Bowl Recipe Notes

  • If meal prepping these bowls for the week, omit the guacamole unless you’re magic and know how to keep it fresh for more than a day, in which case, please tell me your secret. The bowls are still great without it.
Carnitas Burrito Bowls

Carnitas Burrito Bowls

These Carnitas Burrito Bowls with crispy carnitas and homemade cilantro lime rice make a fabulous dinner or batch of meal prep lunches for the week. 
5 from 1 vote
Print Pin
Course: Dinner
Cuisine: Mexican
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 25 minutes
Total Time: 30 minutes
Servings (Hover or Click to Change Yield): 4 servings
Calories: 653kcal
Author: Tracy

Ingredients

Cilantro Lime Rice

  • 1 1/2 to 2 cups chicken broth
  • 1 cup long-grain or extra-long-grain rice
  • 1 lime zested and juiced (keep juice and zest separated)
  • 1 tablespoon (14g) butter
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 cup chopped, loosely packed cilantro

Carnitas Burrito Bowls

  • 2 cups cooked carnitas warmed
  • 1 15-ounce can pinto or black beans warmed and drained
  • 1 15-ounce can corn warmed and drained
  • 1 cup pico de gallo
  • 1/2 cup (2oz) shredded Monterey jack or Mexican blend cheese
  • 1/2 cup guacamole
  • 1/4 cup sour cream

For Topping

  • 1 lime quartered (optional)
  • Cilantro chopped (optional)

Instructions

Cilantro Lime Rice

  • In a medium saucepan, cook rice according to package instructions, substituting chicken broth for water and adding lime juice, butter, and salt to the pot along with the rice.*
  • Once rice is cooked, stir in half the lime zest and half of the cilantro. Taste and add more of each if desired.
  • Divide rice between 4 bowls (or food prep containers.)

Carnitas Burrito Bowls

  • Add equal parts of remaining burrito bowl ingredients to each bowl of rice.
  • Add a squeeze of lime and a sprinkle of cilantro if desired.
  • Serve and enjoy!

Notes

*The extra liquid from the lime juice makes for slightly moister rice, which I find to be a good texture for burrito bowls. If you prefer drier rice, add the lime juice to your measuring cup before measuring the chicken broth so you're using exactly the recommended amount of liquid. 
Did you make this recipe?I'd love to see it! Tag @BakingMischief or hashtag it #BakingMischief.

This post may contain affiliate links, which means I receive a small commission if you make a purchase using them. There is absolutely no additional cost to you.

Comments | 3 comments

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Comments

  1. Nicole says

    August 25, 2018 at 1:58 pm

    5 stars
    Thanks for Carnitas Burrito Bowls post Tracey.
    Thanks for the recipe and the meal prep pic looks too good.

    Reply
    • Tracy says

      September 1, 2018 at 3:18 pm

      Thanks, Nicole!!

      Reply
  2. candice says

    September 26, 2019 at 12:21 pm

    citric acid will keep guacamole bright and green for several days and gives it a zesty flavor.

    Reply

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Welcome!


Hi, I'm Tracy! Welcome to Baking Mischief, where we realize that not everyone is cooking every night for a family of four. We have delicious sweet and savory recipes, mostly scaled for one or two, and we love our pop culture around here, so keep an eye out for film, book, and TV-inspired treats as well! Read more»
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