Main dish

Pulled Chicken Brown Rice Burrito Bowl recipe

Name: Pulled Chicken Brown Rice Burrito Bowl
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 6 h
Total time: 6 h 30 min
Yield: 4
Ingredients: 1 tbsp olive or vegetable oil; 1 large onion; 2-3 cloves of garlic; 1 red bell pepper (optional); ½ tsp smoked paprika; ½ tsp ground cumin; 1 tbsp chipotle paste; ¼ tsp salt (I use kosher); a pinch of black pepper; 500g skinless, boneless chicken thighs; 160g dried brown basmati rice; 1 tin of black beans, drained and rinsed (400g, or Nigella’s Cuban Black Beans - see notes); 2 spring onions; 1 lime; 125g fresh tomatoes; salt; small handful of coriander leaves, chopped (optional); 1 small clove of garlic (I sometimes use roasted garlic); 100g Greek yoghurt (I use full fat); 100g cheddar cheese; 60g tortilla chips; 2 ripe avocados; a slow cooker (I use my Instant Pot)

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Pulled chicken, brown rice and beans, topped with avocado, tomatoes, cheese, lime, garlic yoghurt and crushed tortilla chips.

Prep30m
Cook6h
Total6h 30m

chicken instant-pot slow-cooker

Pulled chicken burrito bowl with brown rice, beans, tomatoes, avocado, cheese, garlic yoghurt and tortilla chips.

The company I work for gave me a Deliveroo voucher for Christmas (great present!). Col and I bought burrito bowls and they were amazing. Kind of. Immediately after, I realised that mine contained a lot of raw garlic. Then I woke up in the middle of the night with a raging thirst. I’m too old to be chugging pints of water at 3am.

This is a recreation of that burrito bowl, minus 80% of the garlic and salt. I’ve listed lots of toppings because I want my home-made version to live up to that delicious, salty, pungent dish.

If you don’t have all the toppings, no worries, but if you do you’re in for a treat. Especially if you make an extra bowl to take to work. This is a count-down-the-minutes-until-lunch kind of dish.

It’s heavier on the protein and lighter on the rice but customise it however you like. I’ve gone for slow-cooked pulled chicken, which is quicker than pulled pork*, and just as nice.

★ ★ ★

*A pulled pork recipe is currently being tested, and it tastes phenomenal, but honestly, the amount of fat in a pork shoulder is alarming. I love fat but now I’m in my forties, cholesterol is sort of on my radar (bah). So pulled chicken is my go-to and pork is more for special occasions.

Notes

Chicken thighs or drumstick fillets work well for pulled chicken because of their fat content. I wouldn’t use breasts here.

The black beans in the photo are Nigella’s Cuban Black Beans. They’re perfect in a burrito bowl but plain black beans are great too.

If your slow cooker doesn’t have a sauté function, fry the onions and garlic in a pan briefly. If you have an Instant Pot, sauté, then switch to slow cook.

I fry the garlic for the yoghurt because I don’t love raw garlic. If I have roasted garlic to hand (far less pungent), I add 2 mashed cloves to the yoghurt.

Recipe credit

The pulled chicken is loosely inspired by Downshiftology’s Slow Cooker Pulled Pork recipe.

Recipe

Pulled Chicken Brown Rice Burrito Bowl

Prep30m
Cook6h
Total6h 30m

Serves: 4

Ingredients

Pulled chicken

1 tbsp olive or vegetable oil
1 large onion
2-3 cloves of garlic
1 red bell pepper (optional)
½ tsp smoked paprika
½ tsp ground cumin
1 tbsp chipotle paste
¼ tsp salt (I use kosher)
a pinch of black pepper
500g skinless, boneless chicken thighs

Burrito bowl

160g dried brown basmati rice
1 tin of black beans, drained and rinsed (400g, or Nigella’s Cuban Black Beans - see notes)
2 spring onions
1 lime
125g fresh tomatoes
salt
small handful of coriander leaves, chopped (optional)
1 small clove of garlic (I sometimes use roasted garlic)
100g Greek yoghurt (I use full fat)
100g cheddar cheese
60g tortilla chips
2 ripe avocados

You will need

a slow cooker (I use my Instant Pot)

Method

Pulled chicken

Add 1 tablespoon olive or vegetable oil to a saucepan (low to medium heat) or Instant Pot (sauté, level 2 for me). Dice 1 large onion (or 2-3 diced banana shallots) and fry for 5 minutes. Chop 2-3 cloves of garlic, add to the pan and fry for a few more minutes. Optionally dice 1 red bell pepper and add to the pan.
If using a saucepan, transfer the onion, garlic and pepper to a slow cooker. Add ½ teaspoon of smoked paprika, ½ teaspoon of ground cumin, 1 tablespoon of chipotle paste, ¼ teaspoon of salt (I use kosher), a pinch of black pepper and 500g of boneless, skinless chicken thighs (I add these whole).
Cook on low for 4-6 hours then check the temperature with a meat thermometer (look for 79–85°C or 175–185°F). Shred the chicken with two forks. Taste and adjust the seasoning if needed.

Burrito bowl

Rice and beans: Cook 160g of dried brown basmati rice according to the instructions on the packet. I use a saucepan. Once the rice is cooked, tip a 400g tin of drained and rinsed black beans (240g drained weight) into the saucepan, season, mix and put the lid back on. The rice will heat the beans while the toppings are prepared. Alternatively, heat the beans in another pan with a teaspoon of oil and season to taste.
Tomato salsa: Slice 2 spring onions and place into a small bowl. Squeeze over the juice from ½ a lime and stir. Dice 125g of tomatoes and add to the bowl along with a pinch of salt. Optionally add a small handful of chopped coriander leaves. Mix well.
Yoghurt: Finely dice 1 small clove of garlic and add to 100g of Greek yoghurt. Add a pinch of salt, stir and set to one side (see the notes if you're not a fan of raw garlic).
Cheese, tortilla chips, avocados: Grate 100g of Cheddar cheese, crush 60g of tortilla chips and dice 2 ripe avocados.
Assemble: Divide the rice and beans between 4 bowls. Add ¼ of the pulled chicken to each bowl. Top with the tomato salsa, grated cheese, diced avocado, garlic yoghurt and crushed tortilla chips. Slice the remaining lime half into wedges and serve alongside the burrito bowls.