Another one of my go to, weekly, prepare ahead, grab and go lunches to make my mornings and my lunch hour better. While this takes some thought and planning on Sunday, the trade off during the week is worth it. By having a grab and go option, my mornings are less stressful and my lunch hours are healthier. Without these types of lunches, I would be late for work, have to eat unhealthy fast food for lunch, or maybe both. With concern over both what I am eating and how much I am eating, these types of meals are a game changer for me.
This recipe can be as basic or as fancy as you want to make it. Here it is with cilantro lime rice, shredded taco chicken, over roasted bell pepper, black beans, and a hit of fresh squeezed lime juice. Other great additions include corn, onions, spinach, salsa, cheese, sour cream, guac, cheese, you get it, anything else you would want in your burrito. The substitutions are endless!
A flavorful lunch I’m actually excited to eat!
How to do it:
Start by cleaning and cooking your chicken or choice of meat. For this recipe I boiled and shredded 3 chicken breasts. While boiling chicken isn’t the most glamorous or flavorful way of cooking chicken, I find that is does not matter for this since it will be covered by ample seasoning. Feel free to bake, grill, pan fry, smoke, crockpot, or whatever else, as long as you end up with sliced or shredded chicken ready to be seasoned.
Boiled and shredded chicken breast, pre-seasoning. I know, so glamorous.
Now it’s time to season the chicken. Back in a pot, I combine the chicken with 1/2 cup water, 1/2 cup franks hot sauce, and my homemade taco seasoning. (I’m still trying to absolutely perfect this recipe. This time, it was 2 tbsp. cumin, 2 tbsp. chili powder, 1 tbsp. onion powder, 1 tbsp. garlic powder, 1/2 tsp. smoke paprika, 1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes, salt and pepper to taste.) Store bought taco seasoning works well too, I just enjoy having the option of controlling the ingredients and the salt content.
Add water as needed until you get the sauce consistency you like. You can skip the hot sauce too and replace it with more water or a milder salsa.
While this was coming together, I also prepared the cilantro lime rice. This recipe can be found HERE. Plain white rice, brown rice, quinoa, or another grain could also be used in place.
I also roasted the green bell pepper during this time. (400 degrees, 20 minutes a side, cut) Of course, raw or steamed would work fine too.
Once everything is cooked and in place, assemble and store in the fridge for the week!
Shredded Chicken Burrito Bowls
Servings: 6-8
Total Time: 30 minutes
Ingredients:
- 1-2 pounds chicken breast
- 2 cups rice, cooked
- 1/3 dry bag or 1 can black beans
- 2 bell peppers
- 1 lime, cut in wedges
Instructions:
- Clean chicken breasts for cooking. Boil for 8-10 minutes or until inside is no longer pink and internal temperature reaches 165 degrees. Allow to cool and shred. Season with homemade (see above) or store bought taco seasoning.
- Prepare additional ingredients, depending on what is being used. Including roasting or steaming bell peppers, seasoning rice (see cilantro lime rice above)
- Assemble the lunch containers by dividing ingredients equally among them. Garnish with lime.
- Store in the fridge for up to 1 week.