Mexican food is one of my favourite cuisines and I love burritos as much as the next person. I used to be a loyal customer of the Mexican fast food chain here, so much so, that they used to give me a VIP discount at this one location, a couple of minutes from my house. This one time I didn’t eat there for about two months because I was traveling. When I went back there, they asked where I’d been because they hadn’t seen me for a while. If they know you that well you eat there too often!
I recently realized however that even a small burrito has over 500 calories. That’s a little less than half of my calorie requirement for a day. I still indulge in the occasional burrito once in a while but gone are the days of me being a VIP customer. I do still crave it and so I came up with this recipe for a burrito bowl.
I chose chicken as the meat because it’s easy to cook and healthy to eat. I chose quinoa as the carb, instead of brown rice. The carbs in Quinoa and brown rice are comparable. However, quinoa not only has a higher content of protein and fiber, but is also a good source of iron and folate, much needed by a lot of women.
This recipe is a one pot meal and is a protein packed delicious meal.
Prep time: 15 minutes
Cook time: 45 minutes
Serves: 4
Ingredients:
- Chicken breasts – 2 (Cut in bite sized pieces)
- Red bell pepper – 1 (Julienned)
- Yellow bell pepper – 1 (Julienned)
- Red Onion – 1 Medium (Julienned)
- Corn – 1/2 cup (Steamed)
- Avocado – 1/2 (Sliced)
- Olive oil – 1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon
- Cilantro – Handful (chopped)
Spices for chicken:
- Salt – 1 teaspoon
- Garlic powder – 1/2 teaspoon
- Cayenne pepper – 1/4 teaspoon
- Onion powder – 1 teaspoon
- Oregano – 1/2 teaspoon
- Crushed black pepper – 1/2 teaspoon
For the quinoa:
- Quinoa – 1 cup
- Chicken broth – 2 cups
- Black beans – 1 cup (Canned)
- Tomato – 1 Medium (Cubed)
- Tomato purée – 1 tablespoon
- Salt – 1/2 teaspoon
- Garlic powder – 1/2 teaspoon
- Onion powder – 1/2 teaspoon
Spices for vegetables:
- Salt – 1/4 teaspoon
- Crushed black pepper – 1/4 teaspoon
Instructions:
- In a bowl add chicken, 1/2 tablespoon olive oil, the spices for chicken mentioned above and mix well.
- Heat a pan, add 1/2 tablespoon oil to it. Once the oil becomes hot add the chicken.
- Cook the chicken on high to medium heat, for 8 minutes so that it becomes a little crispy on the outside and then on low heat for 4 minutes so it cooks through
- Remove the chicken from the pan and add 1/2 teaspoon oil, followed by the onions and bell peppers.
- Add salt and black pepper to the vegetables and saute on high to medium heat for 4 minutes.
- Remove the vegetables from the pan (they should be crispy but not raw).
- Add 1/2 teaspoon oil to the pan and add the chopped tomatoes. Saute for a couple of minutes on medium heat.
- Add the quinoa, tomato puree, black beans, salt and garlic powder and saute for a couple of minutes.
- Add chicken broth and put the lid on. Simmer on low heat for 20 minutes.
- Once the quinoa is cooked, turn the heat off. Add the vegetables, chicken and corn to the pan.
- Garnish with fresh avocado slices and chopped cilantro and serve hot.
I hope you enjoy cooking and eating my version of a burrito bowl as much as I do.
Wow that sounds great! Keep it up 🙂
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Thank you 🙂
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Looks very healthy and delicious 👍
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Great ! Keep it up
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Yummy !!!
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I tried it today, it was simply awesome. Thanks for the recipe😊
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Looks yummy 😋 pooja will try this too
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