Easy Chicken Taco Bowls
Ground chicken taco bowls with rice, black beans, cotija cheese, and topped with salsa, guacamole, and sour cream. This is an easy taco bowl recipe!
Ground Chicken Taco Bowls
More often than not, taco night is taco bowl night at our house. Skipping the tortillas and piling all of the taco fillings on rice in bowls is easier to serve and eat.
These chicken taco bowls are one of the favorites in the rotation. They’re so simple, easy to switch up, and ready in about 20 minutes. In the unlikely event that there are leftovers, they store well for easy lunches the next day. Honestly, it’s worth making a double batch just to make sure there are leftovers!
How to Make Them
This is a quick meal perfect for weeknights! While the ground chicken cooks, you can get the rice and toppings ready to go. When it’s time to eat, just pile it all into bowls and enjoy.
More Bowl rECIPES
Chicken Fajita Bowl | Shrimp Taco Bowls | Beef Burrito Bowl | Shrimp Fajita Bowls
PrintEasy Chicken Taco Bowls
Quick and easy chicken taco bowls are ready in about 20 minutes! Top the chicken and black bean filling with all of your favorite taco toppings for an easy and delicious weeknight dinner.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Total Time: 20 minutes
- Yield: 4 servings 1x
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Stove
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 pound ground chicken
- 1 (1-ounce) packet taco seasoning
- ½ cup salsa verde
- 1 (15-oz) can black beans, drained and rinsed
- 4 cups cooked rice (see note)
- 4 ounces grated Cotija cheese (see note)
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro for garnish
- Optional toppings: guacamole, sour cream, salsa, sliced green onions, crushed tortilla chips
Instructions
- Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add the chicken and break it up as it cooks.
- Once it’s cooked, add the taco seasoning, 1/2 cup salsa, and black beans. Stir well to combine. Cook the mixture for a couple of minutes.
- Place the rice in each bowl and top it with the chicken and beans. Sprinkle the crumbled cheese and cilantro over each bowl. Add your favorite toppings and serve.
Notes
Rice: I use the microwave instant rice cups for this recipe – they only take a minute each to cook making things very easy.
Cheese: Cotija is a Mexican crumbling cheese. It’s available at most grocery stores, but if you can’t find it, try crumbled feta.
If you have leftovers, they will keep for several days in the refrigerator. I like to store the leftover chicken and beans in a separate container from the toppings.
Nutrition
- Calories: 671
- Sugar: 2.9g
- Sodium: 1707.9mg
- Fat: 21.3g
- Saturated Fat: 8.2g
- Unsaturated Fat: 11.7g
- Trans Fat: 0.1g
- Carbohydrates: 77.7g
- Fiber: 9.2g
- Protein: 41.4g
- Cholesterol: 116.7mg
The nutrition is an estimate only. It was calculated using Nutrifox, an online nutrition calculator.
Variations
This is the sort of recipe you can make all different kinds of ways – here are some ways I switch it up!
- Meat: Swap the ground chicken for lean ground beef or make ground turkey taco bowls.
- Beans: Pinto beans, white beans, kidney beans… use your favorite!
- Rice: I like to keep these simple with instant rice. You can find microwave cups for brown rice, white rice, and cilantro-lime rice these days. They’re one of my favorite kitchen shortcuts. Cauliflower rice would also work great if you want to lighten it up.
- Salsa: I’m a big salsa verde fan, but any salsa you like will work. If you’re feeling adventurous, try my homemade red salsa – it’s so good, too.
- Cheese: Cotija cheese is a firm white crumbling cheese. If you can’t find it, feta cheese is a good substitute, or you can use shredded cheddar cheese, pepperjack cheese, or a blend of Mexican cheeses.
- Other toppings: If it works for regular tacos, it will work for bowls! Diced avocado, crushed tortilla chips, diced bell peppers or jalapenos, shredded lettuce, diced tomatoes… you get the idea.
- Turn it into a salad: Skip the rice and toss the seasoned chicken and beans with lettuce, tomatoes, and salsa to make a big taco salad. Serve it with the toppings on the side.
Meal Prep Tips
This is a great recipe to try if you enjoy meal prepping. You can cook the chicken and bean filling ahead of time and divide it into individual meal-prep containers. It will keep in the refrigerator for three to four days.
Keep the toppings stored in separate containers, and when it’s time for a quick lunch or dinner, warm up the chicken and beans, microwave the rice, and assemble the bowls.
I hope you give this easy dinner a try soon!
Happy cooking,
