Copycat Chicken Chipotle Bowls

Recently, I’ve started texting my husband when he’s at work and asking what he wants for dinner. Partly because cooking is one of my love languages and partly as an inspiration cheat code, it’s led to my pineapple and pork fried rice recipe, my elote salad dip and many more recipes.

However, this Friday the answer was just “Honestly, Chipotle kind of sounds good” so that’s what we had, an upgraded, more flavorful, fresh, and meal prep friendly version of Chipotle, made with cilantro lime rice, the quickest and most flavorful beans that i have ever made, and a zesty, spicy corn salsa that you might finish with chips before it even makes it to the bowl. Simple, delicious, and the perfect companion for watching the Eras Tour on the couch.

This is a semi homemade recipe, I used the Guacasalsa and the pico de gallo from Trader Joe's instead of making my own. The beans, corn salsa, and rice are the must makes! You can easily substitute the protein in the marinade or make it vegetarian with tofu!

---

Ingredients:

For the chicken:

 .5 medium red onion, diced

1 tbsp garlic powder

2 tbsp adobo sauce

2 tbsp olive oil

2 tbsp chili powder

1 tsp cumin

1 tsp oregano

Salt and pepper to taste

1.5 lbs chicken thighs

For the corn salsa:

1, 14.5 ounce can of corn

.5 cup red onion finely chopped

1 large jalapeño pepper, seeds removed, finely chopped

.25 cup cilantro finely chopped

The juice of 2 limes

1 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp salt

For the beans:

1, 14.5 ounce can of black beans

1, 14.5 ounce can of pinto beans

2 tbsp olive oil

1 large yellow onions diced

1 tbsp of garlic powder

2 chipotle chilis in adobo sauce, finely diced

1 tsp cumin

1 tsp dried oregano 

1 tsp paprika

Salt and pepper to taste

For the rice:

2 cups of rice, cooked 

.25 cups of finely divided cilantro

juice from 2 limes

2 tsp of salt

For the rest of the bowl:

Guacasalsa from Trader Joe’s

Pico de gallo

shredded romaine lettuce

Plain Greek yogurt, skyr, or sour cream

enjoy with chips

Let's Assemble!

Essential Equipment

My big ole' bowls are the Anthropologie Briar pasta bowls and they are unfortunately no longer available. The closest thing that I could find are the Ginny pasta bowls, also adorable, but shinier than the Briar ones.

My sauce pan is Saucy from Great Jones. I love it so much and use it everyday!

My oven safe cast iron oval gratin is from Staub. It is designed for fish but I use it for chicken thighs. It is on sale right now!

I got the ingredients for this recipe from Trader Joe's and Vons. Everything was available at Trader Joe's except for the chipotle peppers in adobo sauce.

For the chicken:

Preheat oven to 400F.

Add 2 tbsp of olive oil to a 9x13 pan.

Add chicken thighs to the pan.

Add red onion, garlic powder, adobo sauce, chili powder, cumin, oregano, salt and pepper to the pan.

Massage and mix with hands until well combined.

Bake at 400F for 40 minutes.

Cut into 1 inch cubes.

For the corn salsa:

Drain corn.

Add all ingredients to a medium bowl and mix well.

For the beans:

Heat olive oil in a pan.

Add diced onion, garlic powder, diced adobo chilis, cumin, dried oregano, paprika, salt, and pepper to the pan. Cook until onions are fragrant and translucent.

Add black beans and pinto beans to the pan. Stir well.

Reduce heat to low. Let simmer for about 30 minutes.

For the rice:

Cook 4 cups of white rice.

Fluff rice with a fork.

Add cilantro, lime juice, and salt. Continue to fluff with the fork until well combined.

For the rest of the bowl:

Add shredded romaine lettuce to a plate or bowl. Top with other ingredients.

Enjoy with chips.

---

Thank you for reading and cooking with me!

If you end up making this recipe, be sure to post it on social media and tag @fullbellydelly, comment, and share!