When warm weather hits Atlanta, the natives all head for restaurants with outdoor dining. On a balmy weekend night, it’s almost impossible to be seated outside at our favorite haunts. For us, sitting on a patio with great friends, a big pitcher of margaritas, and Mexican food makes for the perfect Saturday night.
Last week I made Slow Cooker Carnitas with pork tenderloin. I knew after the first batch that I’d want to do a repeat to explore all the yummy ways to use this versatile meat dish. Tacos and enchiladas immediately came to mind, but I love burritos, and they were competing for my attention. My favorite burrito place offers a huge variety of ingredients, and because I always want some of everything, my burrito usually resembles a small loaf of bread. To lighten things up a bit, I made deconstructed burrito bowls, sans tortilla, for today’s post.
Since I put lettuce in these bowls, I’m considering them almost a salad. They do contain rice and meat, so you may disagree with this designation, but it makes me feel like I’m eating lighter if I can call it a salad. However, I did use brown rice, and the meat is very lean. The addition of black beans, avocado, and corn make this a healthy, albeit substantial, dish.
I still had some chipotle ranch dressing that I used for Fried Chicken Tacos a couple of weeks ago, so I used it as the finishing touch on these burrito bowls. All you need is an ice-cold margarita to go with, and you’ve got a delicious dinner.
Ingredients
3 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1 1/2 cups brown rice
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
3 tablespoons chopped cilantro
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/2 cup sour cream
2 tablespoons buttermilk
1/4 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
2 teaspoon lime juice
2 tablespoons sliced scallions, green part only
2 tablespoons chopped cilantro
3 chipotle chilis in adobo sauce, seeded and roughly chopped (more or less to taste)
Cilantro Lime Rice
4 cups green leaf lettuce, thinly sliced
1 15-ounce can black bean, drained and rinsed
1 cup frozen corn kernels, thawed
1 large avocado, peeled, pitted, and diced
1 1/2 cups pico de gallo
2 cups Carnitas
Cilantro leaves, roughly chopped
Chipotle Ranch Dressing
Instructions
Bring chicken broth to a boil in a medium sauce pan. Add rice, salt, and olive oil and stir. Reduce heat, cover, and cook for 30 to 40 minutes until liquid has absorbed and rice is tender. Turn off heat and add lime juice and cilantro. Stir to combine.
Place all ingredients in a food processor and process until smooth.
Divide rice between 4 bowls. Top with lettuce, black beans, corn, avocado, pico de gallo, and carnitas. Drizzle with Chipotle Ranch Dressing, garnish with cilantro, and serve immediately.
https://southernboydishes.com/2015/04/03/burrito-bowl-with-carnitas/You may also like:
Bill Harris
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Very nice post. I absolutely love this website. Keep it up!
Looks delicious! Who doesn’t love burrito bowls? Thanks for sharing the recipe.
Thanks for dropping by, Lauren!
As a massive fan of Mexican cuisine – this is a must make recipe for me. So healthy and so easy to make – just perfect!
Thank you, Thalia! It’s a great and easy meal. Have a great weekend!
This looks amazing! I love burrito bowls…more like a little obsessed with burrito bowls. I eat them all the time!
Mexican food is a perfect choice, any day of the week, if you ask me. I had to chuckle at the “loaf of bread” analogy to the way most places make burritos. I love Chipotle, and always choose the burrito bowl. Why haven’t I thought of making my own at home. So, um, isn’t it time to make the rice in your pressure cooker? Wink, wink.
Keep reminding me to use the pressure cooker, Debby! One of these days it’ll occur to me. 🙂