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This high protein Burrito Bowl is the ultimate comfort meal for your diet. With chicken, black beans and rice, this easy protein bowl combines taste and nutrition into a dish. It’s quick and easy to make, perfect for meal prep and vegan friendly. Over 57 g of protein!
The first time I ate at Chipotle was in 2020, when I was in Las Vegas. That day I’d hit over 25,000 steps and at night I was ravenous. I craved something satisfying, yet healthy and high protein. So I walked into a Chipotle store and got myself a massive burrito.
It was love at first bite. I dined at Chipotle every damn night until I left for Los Angeles – and got hooked on Inn-n-out, but that’s another story… Besides the classic burrito, one of my favorite Chipotle orders was the burrito bowl with chicken, black beans and rice. So good!
Unfortunately we don’t have Chipotle here in Europe. So I decided to make my own healthy high protein chicken burrito bowl at home. It’s quick and easy to make, plus it tastes just like the original!
Table of Contents
The ultimate protein bowl
If you are looking for macro-friendly meals for your diet, this protein chicken bowl is all you need. This recipe makes a balanced dish, with the right portion of protein, carbs, fats and vitamins. What is more, it can easily be adapted to match your own dietary needs: make it vegan or low carb, the options are endless!
Protein source
A serving of this healthy chipotle salad comes with a whopping 58 grams of protein for just about 650 calories. And you will love that you can freely choose your own protein source depending on diet and preferences.
Here are some protein options for your Chipotle bowl. Feel free to pick and choose the one you like the most!
- Chicken
- Turkey
- Lean meat
- Tofu
- Tempeh
- Seitan
On the top of that, my healthy burrito bowl comes with another source of lean protein: Low calorie Chipotle dressing! The secret is using nonfat Greek yogurt as a replacement for sour cream and low fat mayonnaise.
Last but not least, we should not forget the black beans. Although they are not the primary source, the beans will add some extra nutrients and protein to your chicken burrito bowl.
Carbs source
For a more nourishing and satisfying protein bowl, this recipe also comes with some healthy carbs. The main sources of carbohydrates in this recipe are wholesome, plant-based, unprocessed foods like basmati rice, black beans and corn. More precisely, you’ll get the carbs from:
- Rice
- Black beans
- Corn
Healthy fats source
Whenever making chicken burrito bowl at home, I like drizzling some high quality extra virgin olive oil on top. Besides adding plenty of taste and flavor, olive oil is a great source of monounsaturated fats and nutrients. Monounsaturated fats may prevent cardiovascular diseases, reduce cancer risks and work as anti-inflammatory. From time to time, I also add an extra boost of taste and nutrients with the addition of guacamole or diced avocado.
The ingredients for homemade burrito bowl
This protein burrito bowl is also very simple. It comes together in minutes and won’t require more than a handful of wholesome ingredients. We have already seen all you need to prepare a Chipotle style bowl at home. But still, let’s make a quickly recap for the sakes of completeness:
- The protein: Chicken, tofu, tempeh or seitan.
- The carbs: Rice, black beans, corn.
- The fats: Olive oil and avocado if you want.
- The greens and vitamins: red peppers, tomatoes, and grilled vegetables if you desire.
Besides the main ingredients for the bowl, you’ll also need a combination of Greek yogurt, low fat mayonnaise and some seasonings to whip up the low calorie Chipotle sauce.
Vegan protein burrito bowl
If you follow a vegan diet, this recipe if for you. Making a high protein vegan bowl is as simple as replacing the chicken with tofu. Other great alternatives to tofu are tempeh and seitan; they’re also packed with plant based protein but tend to have more taste. Also, for the sauce, be sure to replace Greek yogurt with dairy-free alternatives such as unsweetened soy Skyr, soy Greek yogurt or plain coconut yogurt.
Low carb protein bowl
Maybe you follow a keto or low carb diet. Or maybe you already had plenty of carbs during the day and simply want something lighter for dinner. If this is the case, then keep on reading because I am about to give you a couple of directions on how to make a low carb protein bowl.
- Replace the rice with konjac rice or other keto alternatives. As an option you can also decide to just omit the rice.
- For a carb-free keto meal, substitute black beans and corn with edamame beans. If little carbs are not an issue, feel free to keep both black beans and corn.
Protein recipe for meal prep
Are you looking for high protein meal prep ideas? This chicken burrito bowl will become your new to-go recipe. It can easily be prepared ahead and you’ll have your macros covered for the entire week. In the next lines I am going to give you four simple tips to smartly meal prep this protein bowl:
- Chop and store all vegetables in airtight food containers, in the fridge.
- Make your chicken (or plant-based alternative) ahead, then allow it to cool and refrigerate in a food container.
- Cook enough rice for the week and refrigerate in an airtight container.
- Make your healthy chipotle sauce in bulk and refrigerate in a jar.
Before serving, all you should do is putting the bowl together. Although you could also portion each serving ahead, I wouldn’t recommend it. Your meals will lose freshness, flavor and texture.
Recipe tips
This recipe is very simple. But still, there are a couple of tips I’d like to give you to make a healthier and more nourishing protein burrito bowl.
- Use sugar-free canned corn, preferably without preservatives and salt for a low sodium content. The same applies to beans. Look for black beans in unsalted water to get all the nutrients and taste while keeping your sodium low. Or even better, consider cooking your own black beans at home!
- When making low calorie chipotle sauce at home, stick to nonfat Greek yogurt and low fat mayo. This will significantly reduce the amount of saturated fat and cut tons of calories.
- Be sure to include a selection of seasonal vegetables depending on personal preferences and availability. My recommendations are red peppers, tomatoes and onions for a simple Pico de Gallo, grilled vegetables and lettuce.
More high protein meals
- High protein pasta salad with chicken
- Protein spinach chicken pasta
- Easy chicken pasta salad
- High protein pizza
- Chicken nuggets
- Greek yogurt pizza crust
- High protein savory oatmeal
- Air fryer salmon bites
Protein Burrito Bowl
Ingredients
Tex-Mex Chicken (or Tofu)
- 180 grams (6 oz.) boneless skinless chicken breast, or tofu for vegan recipe
- 1/2 tbsp BBQ sauce, sugar-free
- 1/3 tsp smoked paprika, or sweet paprika for milder taste
- garlic powder, to taste
- salt and pepper, to taste
- cooking spray, or olive oil, to grill
Protein Bowl
- 100 grams (½ cup) cooked rice, basmati rice or brown rice
- 140 grams (½ cup) canned black beans, drained and rinsed
- 100 grams (½ cup) canned corn, sugar-free, drained and rinsed
- grilled vegetables, red pepper, onion, zucchini, eggplant
- 1 medium tomato, diced
- ½ tbsp olive oil
- salt and pepper, to taste
Healthy Chipotle Sauce
- 60 grams (¼ cup) Greek yogurt, nonfat
- 15 grams (1 tbsp) mayo, low-fat
- ½ chipotle pepper in adobo sauce, or ca. ½ tbsp tomato paste mixed with smoked paprika
- 1 tsp lime juice
- pinch garlic powder
- salt, to taste
Instructions
Tex-Mex Chicken or Tofu
- Dice chicken (or tofu) into cubes, then add to a bowl with BBQ sauce, smoked paprika, garlic powder, salt and pepper to taste and lemon juice. Give it a good stir to combine the flavors and let sit for 5 to 10 minutes in the fridge.
- Heat a skillet greased with cooking spray (or olive oil) over medium-high heat.
- Once hot, pan fry chicken cubes over medium heat until cooked and tender – this should take around 5 minutes. After Tex-Mex chicken is cooked, remove from heat and set aside for later.
Chipotle Sauce
- Add to a blender Greek yogurt, low fat mayo, chipotle pepper (or tomato paste plus smoked paprika), lime juice, garlic powder and salt to taste. Process until smooth and creamy.
Protein Burrito Bowl
- Assemble the protein burrito bowl. Arrange all ingredients into a bowl: cooked rice, black beans, corn, grilled chicken or tofu and vegetables. Adjust with salt and pepper to taste, drizzle some olive oil and enjoy with some homemade low calorie Chipotle sauce.
Very colorful this dish, I loved it??
Hey dear Liza❤️,
definitely one of my favorite as well!! Have a great day,
Matteo
I recommend it 100%!!! Super tasty?✨
Hey Vanessa!
Thank you very much for your feedback, I am incredibly happy you liked.
Best,
Matteo