Speedy Chicken Burrito Bowl with Chilli Cream

A chicken burrito bowl should arrive at the table in a tumble of colour – spiced chicken, bright rice, cool avocado, generous, casual, and utterly irresistible.

 

The Chicken Burrito Bowl You’ll Crave

There are some dinners that make you feel like you’ve pulled off an absolute worldy of a trick. This chicken burrito bowl is one of them. In the time it takes to half-watch an episode of something forgettable, you’ll have rice steaming, chicken searing, and a sauce that tastes as if you’ve stolen it from a taqueria.

It’s not dinner that asks for ceremony. Instead, it lands on the table with a sort of generosity – bowls filled to the brim, colours clashing in the best possible way, and a generous squeeze of lime making the whole thing utterly irresistable.

 

The Magic in the Mix

The chicken is boldly spiced – cumin, paprika, chilli – so it chars quickly in the pan, smoky and golden. Rice, sharp with lime and green with coriander, does the balancing act. Then come the beans and sweetcorn: earthy, sweet, and filling in the way only pulses can be.

The chilli cream drapes itself over everything with languid ease – cooling, soothing, then suddenly catching at the back of your throat in the most thrilling way.

 

When I Make It

There are evenings when the day has left you empty, and what you need is food that gives back more than it takes. This bowl does just that. The chicken hits the pan, spices warming and smoke rising, while the rice steams quietly in the background. By the time I’ve poured myself a glass of wine, everything is ready to be heaped into bowls.

Notes for the Chicken Burrito Bowl

• Heat is everything. The chicken needs a hot pan so the spices bloom and the edges char.
• Limes aren’t garnish. That squeeze at the table is what pulls everything into focus.
• Make it yours. Add jalapeños, crumble tortilla chips on top, or pile in extra avocado. The bowl is forgiving – it invites you to play.

Serving Suggestion

Bring it to the table still hot, with the chilli cream in a little jug so people can pour as they please. Lime wedges on the side are non-negotiable! Eat, squeeze, repeat. That’s my kind of chicken burrito bowl ritual!

If this caught your appetite, you might also love my Harissa Lamb Meatballs or the lighter Thai Poached Chicken Salad. And if you’d rather watch than read, the whole thing plays out on my TikTok channel – I’d love to see you over there!