Who needs a tortilla?
The first time a ravenous burrito eater took too large of a bite of her burrito, hungrily scooping up the spilled contents with her fork, the burrito bowl was born! The contents of a burrito are so scrumptious and perfectly blended when you get the right bite, so who needs a flour tortilla getting in the way of all of that flavor? This skinny burrito bowl is a much neater eating experience, and it also creates a meal with fewer unwanted carbs and calories.
Today, you can find burrito bowls at many restaurants, but that doesn’t mean they’re healthy. We created a skinny burrito bowl recipe that you can make at home! Not only does it shed its caloric tortilla, but the contents are cleaner, healthier, and fresher than anything you’ll find at a takeout restaurant. Serve this bowl up for lunch or dinner. It’s an easy and versatile meal you’ll whip up again and again!
Creating Healthier Burrito Bowls
Step one: ditch the white rice in favor of brown rice. The latter retains more of its fiber and nutrients than its processed, refined friend. Keeping the germ and the bran of the rice grain allows it to hold onto everything that makes it healthy. There’s no reason to eat foods that are stripped of their nutrients!
Then, we chose turkey, which is a leaner, white meat that adds protein without the excess fat and calories of certain cuts of red meat or pork. To add intense flavor to the turkey, we used our taco seasoning, which has less salt than the store-bought kind and no added chemicals or MSG. Finally, we removed the tortilla. It’s that easy to turn a comfort food meal into a healthy experience!
Meal Prepping These Bowls
This is one of our favorite meal prep skinny burrito bowl bowls. It stores well in the refrigerator, so whip up a batch on Sunday and eat it all week long! If you want to make this recipe with leftover rice, you can simply omit the chicken broth and simmer the ingredients for 5 minutes, until the rice is warmed through. We will say that cooking the rice with the other ingredients makes the bowl significantly creamier, though! You could also swap in cauliflower rice to make this a lower-carb dish or use quinoa to amp up the protein.
It works well as a freezer meal, too! Simply let the rice component cool and place it in freezer-safe dishes or plastic bags. When you’re ready to eat, thaw it overnight in the refrigerator, reheat it on the stovetop or in the microwave, and garnish it with the cheese and remaining toppings. Simple and effective.
We’d love to hear what you think. Leave us a comment in the comments section below.
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Skinny Burrito Bowls
Ingredients
- 1 cup onion diced
- 1/2 pound lean ground turkey
- 1 cup brown rice uncooked (we used Uncle Ben's Instant Brown Rice)
- 1 1/4 cups chicken broth fat-free
- 2 cups salsa no sugar added, divided
- 2 cups tomatoes diced, divided
- 2 teaspoons taco seasoning
- 3/4 cup corn kernels frozen or fresh
- 15 ounces black beans can, drained
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher or sea salt
- 1/4 teaspoon ground pepper
- 1/2 cup cheddar cheese reduced-fat, grated
- 1/4 cup chives or green onions, fresh
Instructions
- Over medium heat, in a skillet, cook the onion and ground turkey. The turkey should be cooked until it's no longer pink. Drain off any fat, then push the turkey to one side of the skillet. Add the rice and toast for about 1 minute.
- Add to the turkey and rice mixture: chicken broth, 1 cup salsa, 1 cup diced tomatoes, taco seasoning, corn, and the beans. Bring to a boil then lower the heat and simmer for about 10-15 minutes, or until the rice is tender. Season with salt and pepper. If it starts to dry up, just add a little more broth. Turn off the burner.
- Mix in the cheese. It will melt with the heat.
- Serve in individual bowls and garnish with the remaining tomatoes, salsa, and chives. You can also garnish it with fresh avocado, and lettuce.
- NOTE: If using long grain brown rice, it will need to be cooked in advance. Uncle Ben's 10 minute brown rice was used in this recipe.
Notes
Nutrition Information
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Loving this post? Discover more:
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- Easy Turkey Burrito Skillet
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I just made this for dinner. It’s definitely a keeper. Yummy ?
Have you tried making it with Quinoa I stead of rice? Wondering if it would still taste just as good?
Nancy, Yes, I have used quinoa and it also works great. 🙂
Second time I’ve made this. My husband says he doesn’t like Mexican food but he loved this. Me too.
We’re so glad you both love the recipe!
How would you make this in the crockpot?
Carly, Cook the ground turkey, add all ingredients to the slow cooker, and cook until the rice is tender, about two hours on low.
I’ve made this twice now and I do really like it. However, I must be doing something wrong. I follow the recipe as written, but both times I have ended up having to add water and cook rice for over an hour to get it tender.
Lindsay, How long it takes to cook depends. Maybe try Uncle Ben’s or a parboiled version.
I made it with wild rice instead of other options. Very good! I freeze single portions of most everything (we waste very little food & allows for choice for family on nights I don’t feel like cooking) This will be perfect for freezing this way. Very tasty! Thank you for sharing.
Great, Susie! That’s a fantastic idea! Thanks so much for the feedback!
Is there a difference if I use white rice (what I have on hand) vs brown?
Jess, You can use either. We use brown rice because of the nutritional value.
This was good and easy to make. I did have to cook the rice a bit longer, but other than that, all went well! Family loved it!
Oh good. Yah, it depends on the rice band. Thank you for the comment. Gale