It's tough to beat these Easy Burrito Bowls. Fast, healthy, and they can be customized to your liking with minimal effort. Sound too good to be true?
Easy Burrito Bowls with Creamy Avocado Sauce Recipe
Of course, they do have a green secret weapon that helps make them so versatile.
This Creamy Avocado Sauce is beyond delicious and exists solely to make burrito bowls a part of your life.
It's surpisingly easy to make and the WTIHT ratio is off the charts (Wait This Is Healthy Too?)
In a blender or food processor combine the flesh of one avocado, 2 garlic cloves, 1/4 cup plain greek yogurt, the juice of one lime, 1/2 jalapeno, 15-20 sprigs of cilantro, 2 Tablespoons olive oil, 1/4 teaspoon salt and some freshly ground pepper.
Add a splash of water to get it started, blend together, and take a taste.
And now you've got a decision to make. The yogurt only version of this sauce is already muy bueno. But if you add a drizzle of cream or a dollop of mayonnaise it becomes epic. I think it's worth trying the epic version the first time you make it and then you can always scale back to the yogurt only version in the future.
For this batch I added another squeeze of lime, another pinch of salt, and one tablespoon of mayonnaise.
Also note that you can start with just 1/4 of the jalapeno if you want a less spicy version.
You've got lots of option for a protein source but I used a single chicken breast seasoned with salt, pepper, and ground New Mexican chile. This gets sauteed in a dollop of oil with some roughly chopped onion.
And for the rice I'm using our Cilantro Lime Rice. You simply add a cilantro-lime-garlic puree to a batch of cooked rice and combine well. I'll put instructions for this in the recipe box below.
Then it's just a matter of layering your burrito bowl exactly as you see fit. Feel free to get creative as you've got lots of leeway when there is creamy avocado deliciousness binding everything together.
I used rice, black beans, chicken, avocado bits, tomatoes, shredded Monterey Jack cheese, and of course a mammoth drizzle of the Creamy Avocado Sauce.
Getting hungry?
Let me know how your version turns out, I'd love to hear about it.
Buen Provecho.
Easy Burrito Bowls with Creamy Avocado Sauce
Ingredients
Creamy Avocado Sauce:
- 1 avocado
- 1/4 cup plain greek yogurt
- 1/2 jalapeno
- 2 garlic cloves
- 15-20 cilantro sprigs
- juice of 1 lime
- 2 Tablespoons olive oil
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- freshly ground pepper
- splash of water
- 1 Tablespoon mayonnaise (optional)
Cilantro Lime Rice:
- 1 cup white rice
- 2 cups stock (water is adequate substitute)
- 1/2 cup chopped cilantro (approx 1/2 a bunch)
- 1 lime
- 1 garlic clove
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- oil
Additional ingredients:
- 1 chicken breast
- seasoning for chicken
- 2-3 Tablespoons chopped onion (for the chicken)
- black beans (drained and rinsed)
- 1 avocado
- shredded Monterey Jack cheese (approximately 1/4 cup)
- 1 tomato
- chopped cilantro (optional)
- Cotija cheese (optional)
- oil
Instructions
- For the Cilantro Lime rice, start by sauteing 1 cup rice in a dollop of oil over medium heat until it turns opaque and brown. Add 2 cups of stock (or water) and ½ teaspoon of salt to the rice. Bring to a boil and then reduce temp to a simmer, letting it cook until the liquid is absorbed. Turn off heat, cover, and let rice sit in its own steam for a few minutes.
- Meanwhile, combine the juice of one lime (approximately 2 Tablespoons juice), 1 garlic clove, and ½ bunch of rinsed cilantro to a blender. Add a dollop of water and blend until combined. Add this cilantro-lime mixture to the cooked rice and taste for seasoning.
- For the chicken, season a chopped chicken breast with oil, salt, pepper and chili powder. Saute 2-3 Tablespoons of chopped onion over medium heat for a few minutes. Add the chopped chicken pieces and cook until done, approximately 3-5 minutes on each side.
- For the Creamy Avocado Sauce, add the following ingredients to a blender or food processor: flesh of 1 avocado, 1/4 cup plain greek yogurt, 1/2 jalapeno, 2 garlic cloves, 15-20 sprigs cilantro, juice of 1 lime, 2 Tablespoons olive oil, 1/4 teaspoon salt, freshly ground pepper, and a splash of water. Combine together and taste test, adding additional salt and lime if you want. You can also add a drizzle of cream or 1 Tablespoon mayonnaise to the Avocado sauce.
- In a bowl, add layers of rice, black beans, chicken, avocado bits, tomatoes, cheese and top with the Creamy Avocado Sauce.
- Optional garnishes include chopped cilantro and Cotija cheese.
Notes
Like this dish? You might also like our Quinoa Avocado Salad.
And if you made the Creamy Avocado Sauce you've already got everything you need to make a delicious Lime Crema.
Still hungry?!
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Sue Bent
Have you used brown rice to substitute for white rice in the Cilantro Lime Rice?
Patrick
Hey Sue! I haven't but lots of other peeps have and it seems like you could use just about any rice with that recipe. Check out the comments in the Cilantro Lime Rice post to see their trip reports. Cheers.
JJ
This looks fantastic! It's on my list to make next week when my family gets together.
I'm really enjoying your website. Thanks so much.
JJ
Patrick
Thanks JJ I hope you find some keeper recipes. Cheers.
Imelda
Hi Patrick ,
Your burrito bowl was the first Maxicsn food I cooked. . Your recipe is super good. Lots of work but worth it.,
It’s really delicious esp the sauce which fused everything deliciously well . I was out of yogurt but instead used sour cream and sauce came out good.
My husband loved it and said it’s a repeat for dinner .
I shall make it again before my left over sauce turns bad . Thank you for the great recipe.
Imelda
.
Patrick
Thanks for your note Imelda, so glad the burrito bowls were a hit! You're right, it's that sauce that brings everything together, so tasty.
Melissa
Does the avocado sauce keep for a few days or does it turn brown like a open not used avocado?
Patrick
Hola Melissa! The other ingredients in the avocado sauce should help it keep a little bit longer than a plain ol' avocado, but eventually it too will head down Brown Lane. You should be able to get a few days out of it though. Hope that helps!
Bonnie
I know a lime is better but don't have one right now. Could I use lime juice and if so, how much? Thanks!
Patrick
Hi Bonnie! A fresh lime will yield upwards of 2 Tablespoons of juice, but since bottled lime juice can sometimes be more concentrated I would start much smaller. You can always add more at the end, but for both the Creamy Avocado Sauce and the Cilantro Lime Rice I would start with just 1-2 teaspoons and give it a taste. You might need a little more but its probably best to add incrementally the first time. Let me know how it goes!
DeGustibus
Disappointing. A few recipe corrections are in order: (1) Ingredient list does not include onion nor do the Instructions indicate how or in what order the onions are cooked in combination with the chicken, (2) Ingredient list calls for Monterey Jack while Instructions call for Cotija cheese, (3) a dollop is "shapeless mass or blob of something, especially soft food" not oil or water, (4) the ratio of 1 cup of rice to 2 cups of water is "too wet" and (5) your Prep, Cook, and Total times are way off. This is the first recipe that I have prepared from your blog, which by the way I enjoy being a subscriber to as your photos and writing are excellent, however, I would not make this recipe again without significant alteration.
Patrick
Hi Brent, thanks for taking the time to write a detailed review. It's so helpful for myself and others to hear your recipe experience so I definitely appreciate it.
Sorry to hear that this was a frustrating kitchen encounter for you. I'll address a few of your comments below in hopes that you give these bowls a second chance. They were total keepers for me and I think they can be for you too 🙂
I view the seasoning for the chicken as optional and less important than the other components in the bowl, i.e. the Avocado sauce, so don't worry about mimicking my exact method if you don't have all the ingredients on hand. I usually saute 2-3 tablespoons of chopped onion in some oil on medium heat for a few minutes and then add the chopped, seasoned chicken pieces. The onion adds additional flavor to the chicken but is by no means necessary.
Garnishes are always optional in my recipes but I will be more clear about this in the future. As you can tell, I'm a huge fan of Cotija cheese and it's hard to find a dish that doesn't benefit from a final sprinkling of Cotija. But since cheese is less important in this dish than others, I decided to build the bowls using the more common Monterey Jack, with the option of adding a sprinkling of Cotija at the very end 🙂
And if your rice is coming out wet you can let it cook until all the liquid is absorbed, then turn off the heat, cover, and let sit for a few minutes in its own steam.
http://www.thekitchn.com/how-to-cook-rice-on-the-stove-44333
Brent, no joke, these bowls were keepers for me and I am a reluctant burrito bowl fan. Please contact me again here or by email if you have any other questions about them. I want them to be an end-of-the-day delight for you and not a bowl full of wtf 🙂
Cheers. Patrick
Brent Davies
Thanks Patrick for your thoughtful and helpful response. I will give the recipe another shot and will let you know.
Patrick
Cheers Brent, feel free to get in touch if you have any more questions.
Erin
Wow! This is a must make.
Patrick
Thanks Erin!
Chloe
Fantastic!
Patrick
Cheers Chloe 🙂