Who needs a tortilla?
The first time a ravenous burrito eater took a 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 in 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.
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
Have you made this recipe?
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What type salsa is used…thick, restaurant style, etc? Also, is there a recipe for the homemade taco seasoning?
Hey Job,
Yes, I used a thicker salsa. And, we sure do have a taco seasoning recipe: https://skinnyms.com/skinny-ms-taco-seasoning/. Enjoy! 🙂
This has been one of my absolute favorite recipes over the last couple years. We make this almost weekly! It makes amazing leftovers and our favorite thing to do is use the leftovers to make breakfast burritos… DELICIOUS!
Thank you so much for the feedback, Margaret. I’m so happy you enjoyed the Burrito Bowl.
This was delicious! I omitted the cheese from the main recipe. I doubled it for my family of 6. They loved it and had seconds and thirds (topped it with tortilla chips and cheese) and I topped mine with fresh diced tomatoes and avocados. I still had some left over to freeze for later. For the salsa I used 1.5 c. Pace Medium salsa and .5 cup El Pato. We live in the southwest and love spicy food so this gave it a little kick. Will be making this again! Yummy family friendly clean recipe 🙂
Thank you so much for the feedback, we really appreciate it. What is El Pato, a type of salsa? 🙂
How much is a serving size? 1 cup?
Yes, a serving size is 1 cup. We’ve adjusted the wording to make it more clear. Thanks!
Hi! I am not sure when these comments were left but I didn’t see a response to what is El Pato? It is like a hit sauce. It is in a can about the size of small tomato sauce can I think 8oz. You find on Mexican food aisle. Can be hot if you are not used to hot sauce. It is yummy and adds a lot of flavor!
Uh oh, where’s the recipe? Bought the ingredients, as per Pinterest but it’s not posted here. Is there a different link?
Shannon, Can you check now? We had some issues earlier today with recipes showing up. But the issues have now been fixed. Just in case, here’s the recipe:
1 cup diced onion
1/2 pound lean ground turkey
1 cup uncooked brown rice (Uncle Ben’s Instant Brown Rice was used)
11/4 cup chicken broth, low-sodium and fat-free
2 cups salsa, no sugar added
2 teaspoons taco seasoning (recipe for taco seasoning)
1 (15-ounce) can black beans, drained
3/4 cup frozen or fresh corn kernels
2 cups diced tomatoes
1/4 teaspoon Kosher or sea salt
1/4 teaspoon ground pepper
1/2 cup grated cheddar cheese, reduced-fat
1/4 cup fresh chives or green onions
Directions
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 the 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.
I put this recipe through the Weight Watcher’s Recipe Builder and got 7 Smartpoints, for those of you following the new plan.
If I precook the rice how do I adjust the other ingredients? Do I omit the chicken broth?
Lisa, Yes, that’s what I would recommend.
If I cook my rice in advance do I still need the chicken broth in the skillet with the rest of the ingredients that follow or is that only used for cooking the rice in the skillet??
Erika, I would omit the broth, or most of it. 🙂
Are the diced tomatoes canned or fresh tomatos?
Michele, Diced fresh tomatoes.
I did not read the comments and made it with the chicken broth, makes it much more creamy and dense, very very delicious. Thanks!
Have you tried freezing this?
Katrina, I haven’t but it should be find to freeze. Be sure to thaw in the fridge before heating. 🙂
Made this tonight!! DELISH! And plenty to freeze!
Thanks for sharing, Emily. We’re glad you liked the recipe!
My favorite go-to recipe! Even if you omit the cheese it is still delicious. Thank you for sharing!
Made this last night for the first time. It was a big hit with my family. I omitted the rice and chicken broth and used caulirice instead. A little healthier and SO yummy!
Thanks for sharing, Cathy! We’re so happy your family enjoyed the recipe.
Would the recipe not be skinny if I used a small flour tortilla bowl? I have a set of those pans to make them. I spray the tortillas with an nonstick spray, then bake till crispy.
Lyn, I would suggest a “street taco” size tortilla if available. I’ve noticed they are now available in grocery stores. 🙂
What salsa did you use?
Fatima, We used “Simple Truth” which can be purchased at Kroger. I like it because of the simple ingredients and it doesn’t have any “bad” ingredients. 🙂
Do you think this could be made into a meal prep dish! If so how many days would it hold! I’m not a pro when it comes to using turkey in dishes and then reheating!
Clovis, Yes, a meal prep dish would work great. Be sure to cook the turkey first. It should be good in the fridge for up to 3 days…maybe longer but with my family it’s always eaten by day 3. 🙂
Im putting it in my monthly routine. I forgot the cheese and it was delicious. Will try it again with cheese. The ground turkey is way better than beef. Thank you for this recipe.
Roxanne, you’re very welcome for the recipe! If you enjoyed the recipe without the cheese, think how tasty it will be next time! I also enjoy ground turkey more than ground beef.
I made this tonight for me and my husband…ohmagoodness! It was flippin’ AMAZING! Thank you so much! I can see myself making this a lot in my future 🙂
You’re very welcome, Andrea! Burrito Bowls are also one of my favorites!
I made this for dinner and it is DELICIOUS!! I put it in my recipe builder on the WW website, and came up with 5 Smart Points. per serving, so I was wondering how you got 10 pts? Hoping I didn’t do something wrong! Thanks for posting this…it will be a favorite from now on!
Julie, Just recalculated and it is 5 smart points. Thanks so much! 🙂
Nice recipe – thanks.
A question: Hos many calories can I “get rid of” if I don’t add the cheese?
Karina, Approximately 30 calories.
Is the salsa like a Mexican salsa?
Tiana, Yes, exactly.
Hi, does anyone know what the fix portions would be on this recipe for 21 day fix?
Colby, The serving size is 1 cup.
I don’t see instructions for freezing. This was suppose to be a “freezer” meal.
Paula,
FREEZING: Cook the rice dish and cool before adding to freezer safe dishes or ziplock bags. Thaw the rice in the fridge before reheating. Also, add the cheese once the rice is hot, stir to melt, top with chives or green onions and serve.!
I love bowls, particularly when I am extremely hungry…. like now! 🙂 Thank you so much for sharing this recipe!
This sounds and looks delicious!!
I was just wondering what the container counts would be for 21 day fix followers?
Thank you 🙂
Cassandra, Hmmmm…I’m not familiar with the 21 day fix.
I really needed a one skillet meal tonight, wasn’t feeling well, had ground turkey thawed and found this. I really liked it!!! Thank you!
how many reds, yellows, blues, etc??
Denise, What specifically are you asking about?
I used cauliflower rice instead of brown rice. Was so delish!
Great idea, Geri. Thank you!
Hi there – is the broth in 1 1/4 cup or 11/4???
Chelsea, 1 and 1/4 cups. 🙂
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!