BBQ Chicken Bowl

At a glance

What stands out: BBQ chicken bowl is a meal in a bowl with rice, chicken, fajita-style bell peppers and onions, and lots of tangy sweet BBQ sauce. This BBQ chicken burrito bowl is hearty and straightforward to mix, reliable for food prepping.

How long it takes: 15 minutes
Equipment you’ll need: skillet
Servings: 4

Burrito Bowls

Are you a fan of burrito bowls? We love visiting restaurants like Chipotle or Qdoba where you go through a line selecting all the items you want in your bowl. Starting with a dollop of rice, you can add meat, beans, veggies, cheese, sauce (we always go for pico de gallo), whatever your little heart desires.

Did you know that it’s straightforward to replicate burrito bowls at home? Although you won’t have a hundred items to choose from (and really, do we need that many?), you can make a tasty meal bowl on your own. Our family loves this BBQ chicken burrito bowl! (If you’re a fan of Chipotle’s barbacoa, try our slow cooker barbacoa recipe. It’s straightforward to mix and so, so tender!)

BBQ Chicken Bowl

versatile. This bowl begins with cooked chicken and rice. The plain chicken is sauced up with your favorite barbecue sauce. After adding fajita-style peppers and onions, the rest is up to you.

Go crazy with toppings (or use what you have on hand). You can have as many toppings as you like. If you’ve been to a restaurant that offers this type of meal, think about what you choose there and model your burrito bowl on that. Many of the toppings are pretty much pantry/fridge staples like salsa, sour cream, corn, avocado, and so on.

Reliable for meal prepping. We almost always have cooked shredded chicken in our fridge or freezer. Rotisserie chicken is always available, too. The same goes for rice. You can cook up a big batch either on the stove or in your Instant Pot, and freeze it to use later.

What goes in

• Cooked chicken: Use whatever type of chicken you prefer or happen to have on hand. Leftover grilled chicken is great and so is rotisserie chicken. You can also cook chicken in your Instant Pot or poach the chicken. Pork is good, too, especially pulled pork or carnitas. Ground beef or turkey works, if that’s what you like.
• BBQ sauce: The meat is mixed with BBQ sauce and warmed up. Choose your favorite sauce or make your own barbecue sauce. There’s no need to season the meat further because the sauce provides plenty of flavor.
• Red onion/bell pepper: These two fajita-style veggies are sautéed with a bit of olive oil until they are tender. It doesn’t matter what color bell pepper you use and a sweet Vidalia onion can be substituted for the red onion.
• Cooked rice: Choose brown rice for a heartier and healthier bowl. You can prep it ahead of time or use the packets of already cooked rice that are readily available. Simply warm the rice up according to package directions. If you prefer, make your bowl with quinoa instead of rice. If you’re looking for a low carb option, try cauliflower rice.
• Choice of toppings: You’ll want to offer at least two toppings but really, the more the better, right? Choose from: black bean corn salsa, pinto beans, baked beans, cilantro, ranch dressing, additional BBQ sauce, green onion, sliced avocado or guacamole, cubes of crispy roasted sweet potato, chopped tomatoes, sour cream, pickled red onions, crispy tortilla strips, and so on. This list is by no means exhaustive; feel free to add whatever you like.

How it comes together

Cooked chicken and cooked rice are the foundation of the bowl. Just in case you don’t happen to have those two items on hand, we'll give you a few ideas for prepping them:

• Instant Pot shredded chicken: 2 ingredients, 4 variations.
• Crockpot BBQ chicken: Make straightforward chicken with BBQ sauce (only 3 ingredients!) in your slow cooker.
• Roasted bone in chicken breasts: bone in breasts have great flavor.
• Air fryer chicken breasts: ready in less than a half hour.
• Tequila lime chicken marinade: this marinade makes a standby grilled chicken.
• Slow cooker salsa chicken
• Instant Pot pulled pork (just in case you prefer pork)
• Instant Pot brown rice or Instant Pot white rice

Cook the onions and peppers. Start by slicing the onion and pepper into thin strips. Heat some oil in a skillet and sauté the veggies until they begin to soften, about five minutes.

Add chicken and sauce. Heat the cooked chicken (or the meat you chose) along with the barbecue sauce in the skillet. Stir it all together and continue cooking until the meat and sauce is heated through.

Helpful hint: If you’d rather keep the meat and vegetables separate, simply remove the veggies from the pan before you add the meat. We all have those family members who turn their noses up at onions or peppers.

Assemble the bowl. Put a nice big spoonful of warm rice in a wide shallow bowl, add the saucy meat and vegetables, and top it with all your favorite toppings. Tell everyone they have to choose at least two toppings! (we'll be the Miss Piggy who chooses all the toppings!)

Make-Ahead Ideas

The beauty of a bowl meal is that most of it can be made ahead of time. You can use leftover chicken and leftover rice if you want, or make large quantities ahead of time and store it in the fridge or freezer for a speedy weeknight dinner. We buy a family size package of chicken when it’s on sale, cook it up, and it’s all ready for speedy dinners.

Keeping leftovers

Refrigerate: Once the bowls are made with the toppings added, they should be eaten immediately. If you have leftover chicken, veggies, or rice, store them in separate containers. They’ll keep for a few days in the fridge.

Reheat: Individual portions can be reheated in the microwave. Larger amounts can be rewarmed in a skillet on the stove.

Free Meal Plan

Interested in a weekly meal plan that includes this recipe? Take a look at our Meal Plan #11. You’ll find a wholesome recipe for each weekday plus a categorized grocery list. Let us do the planning for you this week!

Browse Meal Plans

• Yield: 4
• Prep: 5 minutes
• Cook: 10 minutes
• Total: 15 minutes

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• ½ large red onion, thinly sliced
• 1 red bell pepper, thinly sliced (about ¾ cup)
• ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
• ⅛ teaspoon coarse ground black pepper
• 2 cups shredded cooked chicken
• ½ cup BBQ sauce, more for serving
• 4 cups cooked rice, warm (your choice of brown or white rice)

Topping Suggestions (choose at least two)

• black bean corn salsa, pinto beans, cilantro, ranch dressing, additional BBQ sauce, green onion, sliced avocado, chopped tomatoes, sour cream, pickled red onion

Method

1. Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. When hot, add oil, onion, and red bell pepper; season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring frequently, until vegetables are softened, 5 to 6 minutes.
2. Reduce heat to medium, add chicken and BBQ sauce, and continue to cook until heated through. (Remove the onion/pepper mixture from the skillet before you heat the chicken if you want to serve the sautéed vegetables as a topping choice.)
3. Serve the BBQ chicken over rice with desired toppings. Our personal favorite is black bean corn salsa, ranch dressing, and sliced avocado.

Notes

Prepping meat: Use whatever type of chicken you prefer or happen to have on hand. Leftover grilled chicken is great and so is rotisserie chicken. You can also cook chicken in your Instant Pot or poach the chicken.

Variations: If you prefer, substitute pulled pork or ground beef for the chicken. Try pulled pork or carnitas. Ground beef or turkey works, if that’s what you like. Cooked quinoa can be substituted for the rice.

Toppings: We love this with black bean corn salsa, or restaurant-style salsa. Try from-scratch pico de gallo, salsa verde, cooked pinto beans, and pickled red onions, too. Use your favorite BBQ sauce, or make BBQ sauce (it’s straightforward!).