Burrito Bowl

I love the Burrito Bowls at Chipotle and since I moved from San Diego, sadly, it’s my go-to quick “Mexican” fix.  In the old days, I used to eat those football-sized burritos all stuffed with goodness…you know the ones…they weigh like 5lbs?  Those days are fewer now, but I realized that I could still get all that yumminess in the Burrito Bowl offering and save on some calories.  Now, don’t get me wrong, the Chipotle Chicken Burrito Bowl is still in upwards of 700 calories and add some guacamole and you’re talking over 850 calories.  There’s no tortilla (save 290 calories!) on that baby, but it’s certainly not the lowest calorie option for fast-food.

So I decided to try to make it at home and see if I could shave off even more calories and I think I succeeded.  The recipe below is for the chicken marinade and includes the fixings that I used.  Feel free to use less or more items – just make it your own!

Marinade for Chicken
2 cloves garlic

1/4 cup chopped green onion

2 tablespoons chopped canned chipotle chilies with some of the adobo sauce

1/4 cup apple cider vinegar

1/8 cup water

1/8 cup lime juice

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1 tablespoon paprika

1 tsp salt (optional)

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

hot sauce to taste (optional)

1/2 cup Worcestershire sauce

1 package boneless skinless chicken breast, sliced into strips (I believe that Chipotle uses boneless, skinless thighs which are also a great option as they are only a few more calories than the breasts).

Combine all of the ingredients (except chicken) together in a glass covered dish or resealable plastic gallon bag, and mix well.  Add the chicken and make sure the marinade covers all of it.  Note:  Because there is lime juice and vinegar in the marinade, your chicken will actually cook a little bit from the acid.  You may only want to marinate the chicken for about 4 hours in the fridge.

When the chicken is ready, remove it from the dish and discard the marinade.  You can choose to grill, sauté, or broil the chicken.  Whichever you choose, just be sure to get some browning on the pieces and cook until no longer pink.

Now, you’re basically just going to build your bowl…So go to it!

If you are a fan of the rice that they serve at Chipotle, you can make that easily at home, too.  It’s cooked white rice with lime juice and chopped cilantro.  I’m not a fan of cilantro so I just leave that out.

Additional toppings:

Rice (I used the Minute Rice multigrain-medley cup)

Plain Greek Yogurt (in place of sour cream)

Low fat cheddar cheese

Black beans, drained

Lettuce, chopped

Peppers and Onions, sautéed
Salsa (homemade!)

Serves 4 – Remember these values are approximate and represent the burrito fixings that I used for mine.  You may not use as many or you may use more.  Adjust your calculations accordingly.

(I tried to subtract the marinade ingredients as you pour most of that off anyway so the nutritional value below should be only what you actually are consuming.)

Calories 547 / Carbs 47g / Fat 18g / Protein 48g / Fiber 13g / Sodium 1732mg