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.
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.
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.
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
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
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
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
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