Homemade Chipotle Chicken Bowls ($10 Family Dinner Idea)

1 hour ago 2

This is one of the few meals that all six people in our family request on repeat! It’s also a super easy family meal that can be thrown together at the last minute and is much less expensive than taking the whole family to Chipotle. You can leave out or add ingredients based on what you have on hand or need to use up. We almost always include black beans, but for some reason I forgot to write them on the grocery list this week and was completely out when I went to make this recipe. And guess what? It was still good!

The base of these bowls is rice, but then each person can load up their bowls with whatever they love! We enjoy adding chicken, cilantro, cheese, lettuce, and grilled onions and peppers. Some other yummy topping possibilities include black olives, chopped onions, and sour cream.

You can eat the chips and salsa on the side or crumble the chips into your bowl — whichever way you prefer. This is also a great meal for hosting as it can accomodate a variety of preferences and food sensitivities!

Chipotle chicken bowl with extra toppings behind it on a wooden table. Graphic text reads Homemade Chipotle Chicken Bowls and MoneySavingMom.com.

This post is part of our $10 Dinner Ideas series, brought to you by Brigette on our team! Each week, she shares easy, delicious, and affordable family-friendly dinner ideas that cost less than $10 to make, use everyday ingredients, and are super quick meals.

Overhead view of chipotle chicken bowl ingredients arranged in separate bowls including cooked white rice, sliced grilled chicken, sautéed peppers and onions, shredded lettuce, shredded cheese, fresh cilantro, tortilla chips, and a bowl of red salsa on a wooden table.

Homemade Chipotle Bowls Menu:

Build-Your-Own Rice Bowl Ingredients (Rice, Chicken, Lettuce, Cheese, Cilantro, Peppers/Onions)
Chips and Salsa

Ingredients for a chipotle chicken bowl laid out on a table including a bag labeled "Restaurant Style Tortilla Chips", packaged grilled chicken, a jar labeled "Chunky Salsa", uncooked white rice, romaine lettuce, fresh cilantro, shredded cheese, bell peppers, and a red onion.

Ingredients for Homemade Chipotle Bowls:

1-lb grilled (or cooked however you prefer) chicken strips (Publix) — $1.79
1 bag tortilla chips (Walmart) — $1.97
2 peppers (Aldi — $2.29 for 3) — $1.53
1 onion (Aldi — $2.09 for 2 lbs) — $0.30
1 jar salsa (Aldi) — $1.99
1 head romaine (Aldi — $2.49 for 3) — $0.83
1/2 bunch cilantro (Aldi — $0.79 per bunch) — $.40
1 1/2 cups shredded cheese (Aldi — $3.29 for 4 cups) — $1.23
6 cups cooked rice (Aldi — $2.35 for 3lbs) — $0.63
Salt, garlic powder, pepper to taste

Total for Dinner: $10.67 (Serves 6)

Chipotle chicken bowl assembled with sliced grilled chicken, white rice, sautéed peppers and onions, shredded cheese, fresh cilantro, and red salsa, with extra toppings like lettuce and chicken in bowls behind it on a wooden table.

How to Make Homemade Chipotle Chicken Bowls:

1. Wash and chop the romaine and cilantro and put each into a bowl.

2. Then, cook the chicken and rice using your favorite method if they aren’t already cooked. (This recipe is a great way to use up leftover cooked rice and/or chicken!)

If you love Chipotle’s cilantro lime rice, be sure to check out my cilantro rice recipe and add a squeeze of lime juice!

3. Put the chips, salsa, and shredded cheese into three separate bowls.

4. Cut the peppers and onions into slices. Sauté with a drizzle of olive oil in a frying pan until tender, stirring occasionally. Remove from the pan into a bowl and set aside.

Sliced yellow and orange bell peppers and red onions cooking in a pan.

5. In the same pan, heat the cooked chicken strips until warm.

6. Serve all of the ingredients buffet-style, letting each person build their own bowl, starting with the rice.