3 Burrito Bowls Your Family Will Love

When you serve a meal that makes your kids say (and I quote) “I could eat this every single night!” you know you did something right.

But when that meal happens to be filled with:
healthy protein,
a rainbow variety of veggies,
wholesome (gluten-free) grains,
and it is served in one simple bowl (hello easy cleanup) then you’re basically high-fiving your own bad self.

So let’s talk burrito bowls.

Rice bowls?

I don’t know, call them what you like, but they are our family’s latest dinner obsession.

Bowls are the new burrito.  Bowls are pretty much all of the ingredients inside a burrito, piled on top of a bed of rice (or other grain).

Here’s the base ingredients to make a killer bowl:

RICE (quinoa, or any mix grain you like)
PROTEIN (chicken, steak, shrimp, beans, tofu…you choose.)
CHEESE (if you like – and any you like.  Cheddar, goat cheese, pepper jack… or skip it.  No biggie.)
VEGGIES (May I recommend: tomatoes, corn, sweet peppers, onion, baked sweet potato, roasted broccoli, and then of course fresh romaine, kale or any leafy lettuce chopped up well.)
DRESSING (Up to you.  Ranch, balsamic vinaigrette, your choice. Or forget the dressing.)
AVOCADO.  (Not required, but highly recommended.)
FRESH CILANTRO (and/or any herbs/toppings you like.)

The key with burrito bowls (as with life,) is to have a few things prepped ahead of time.  A rotisserie chicken can save you a lot of time, but I often just grill extra chicken breasts (or steak) to have on hand for such a time as this.  I try to put rice in the rice cooker ahead of time so it’s ready and waiting.  (though the packets of pre-cooked rice are nothing short of genius.)  Also (for the veggie bowl) I baked sweet potatoes the day before, and refrigerated them to cube up and toss on the bowls. (and then kissed my self the next day.)  Most of the other veggies are raw, but there are no rules:  I added roasted broccoli on the veggie bowl, and you could also toss on any other cooked veggies that you happened to have on hand.  (the creative use of leftovers is a worthy mom-goal.)  Even if you’re smack out of fresh anything–a can of beans, salsa, and some cheese will do the job.  Bowls are boss, I’m telling you.

Today I’m sharing three of our favorite bowl combos, but the possibilities are endless.  In fact, my favorite idea is having a burrito-bowl-bar, where everyone loads up with what they want to make a custom burrito bowl.  Who wouldn’t want to come to that party?

BARBECUE CHICEKN BURRITO BOWL (Our family favorite)

My bbq chicken bowl begins with brown rice, which is topped with rotisserie chicken slathered with bbq sauce, a spoonful of black beans, 1/4 cup shredded medium cheddar cheese, a few colorful tomatoes and sweet peppers, kale, romaine, onions, fresh cilantro, avocado, (optional: drizzle with a bit of  ranch dressing.)

CHICKEN TACO BURRITO BOWL:

This chicken taco bowl starts with brown rice, and is topped with taco-seasoned shredded chicken breast, shredded cheddar cheese, corn (thawed from frozen,) sweet onion, tomatoes, kidney beans, romaine lettuce, cilantro, a drizzle of ranch dressing, and a lime wedge to squeeze on top. Mmmm.

ALL VEGGIE BURRITO BOWL: (A personal favorite!)

My veggie bowl begins with a delicious blend of whole grain, chia seeds, barley, and flax (I discovered the packets at Costco recently and my quality of life went up immediately.)  On top of the rice blend is broccoli — roasted with olive oil and sea salt (YUM!), sweet peppers, colorful tomatoes, Okinawa sweet potato cubes (you can use basic sweet potatoes, too!) and kale.  I drizzled a bit of balsamic vinaigrette on top as well as some fresh cilantro.  So good!  (Side note:  Some garbanzo or any other bean would be a great addition to this one–adding more protein as well.)

My boys love these.  Even Levi, who is ridiculous about veggies, devoured his taco bowl without more than three or four picky moments.  (that’s really good, trust me.)

You know what else I love?  These things are so beautiful to look at.

I thought about framing some of these pictures because:  that color!  Healthy food is so pretty.

Ok now.  I’m done.
Go make some bowls and make your family happy!

If you are already a  burrito bowl boss, I hope you’ll comment and tell us what you like to put on yours.  If not then just talk to me about your weekend:  Doing anything fun?   Whatcha cooking?  

As always, thank you for pinning and sharing! 🙂 

Have a great one!

XO
Monica