Kevin’s Amazing Burrito Bowl
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A burrito bowl is a great way to enjoy beef burritos, but with less carbs. Make this recipe for a flavorful meal. This post also includes my recipe for better than Chipotle barbacoa!
My burrito bowl recipe features tender, juicy shredded beef, black beans, corn and pickled onions on salad greens. If you like the barbacoa from Chipotle Mexican Grill®, this recipe is a must-make!
If you’ve ever taken a peek at my about me page, you may already know that cooking Mexican and Tex Mex foods is my specialty. I especially love to create (and eat!) Mexican and Tex Mex meat dishes, and barbacoa is a favorite.
After hearing people talk about how amazing the food at Chipotle is, I tried a few of them for myself.
I started with a burrito bowl, eventually working my way through the menu. The flavors in many of the menu items are good, but not great.
Kevin is Cooking has my “Better Than” recipes for Chipotle carne asada, Chipotle queso and as of today, Chipotle barbacoa!
The amazing burrito bowl
Because making a burrito bowl recipe is pretty darned simple, you’ll also find my recipe for Chipotle barbacoa in the recipe card at the bottom of this post. To be even more helpful, I also have a video tutorial. So, let’s get cookin’.
Ingredient notes and substitutions
The meat – If you would rather use something other than shredded barbacoa in your burrito bowl, go for it. Maybe some chicken fajitas meat or pork carnitas. Or, no meat at all- it’s up to you.
Incidentally, authentic Mexican barbacoa is typically made using beef cheeks, or sometimes goat. I prefer to use beef chuck or tri tip, as they are much easier to find in the U.S.
What’s in Chipotle barbacoa?
According to their website (and my taste buds), Chipotle Mexican Grill barbacoa is slow cooked beef shoulder, simmered with chiles, vinegar, citrus juice and spices.
Burrito bowl ingredients
One reason a burrito bowl is such a fantastic meal is, there isn’t a requirement or set-in-stone burrito bowl recipe. The ingredients are easy to customize, so add whatever you’d like; just like you would at Chipotle! Here are a few ideas:
- black beans
- corn
- quick pickled red onions
- salad greens
- brown or white rice, or cilantro lime rice
- refried beans
I don’t usually add any dressing, but feel free to whisk together a little lime juice, oil, and salt and pepper to wet the greens if you’d like. Or, you could add some fire roasted salsa or pico de gallo and a bit of avocado crema on top.
Video: making barbacoa
In the recipe card below, you can watch my video to see the process of making Chipotle barbacoa in a slow cooker. Obviously, you’ll find the recipe there too, as well as instructions for making it on a stove top.
Or, I also have an Instant Pot barbacoa recipe,
There… now you have plenty of cooking options.
Burrito bowl recipe notes
The burrito bowls are easy to assemble, so there isn’t too much involved there. As for the meat, I do have a few tips and notes for you.
- Sear the meat for better flavor. It only takes an extra 10 minutes to sear the beef in hot oil before cooking it, and in opinion, it’s time well spent.
Searing the beef first allows for an elevated flavor from the sugars in the meat caramelizing. This step is optional, but it creates a wonderful, crunchy texture on the edges of the beef.
Other uses for the meat
The shredded beef is great for making meal prep dinners and lunches. After cooking and cooling it down, just keep it stored in the refrigerator for up to a week. Or, place it into a freezer safe container and store it frozen for up to 3 months.
You can use it for tacos, enchiladas, burritos and in quesadillas. I’ve even stirred it into soups. Flatbreads are great too, or scramble up eggs and use your Chipotle barbacoa in breakfast burritos.
Hope you’ll make this recipe soon. Please come back and leave a comment and rate the recipe. I’d love to know what you think of it!
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This post, first published on Kevin is Cooking June 20, 2018, was updated with new content on Dec. 11, 2021.
Kevin’s Amazing Burrito Bowl + Video
Ingredients
Barbacoa:
- 4 lbs chuck roast (See Note 1)
- 1 tbsp vegetable oil
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp black pepper
- 3/4 cup beef broth
- 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
- 2 limes juiced
- 6 cloves garlic
- 4 chipotle chiles in adobo sauce
- 4 tsp ground cumin
- 2 tsp oregano Mexican or original (Mediterranean)
- 1/2 tsp ground cloves
- 4 bay leaves
For Burrito Bowls:
- shredded barbacoa divided between bowls
- 8 cups lettuce greens
- 8 oz corn
- 14 oz black beans cooked – room temperature or chilled
- 1 1/2 cups pickled red onions
- 1/2 cup chopped cilantro for garnish
Instructions
Slow Cooker Method – Barbacoa Beef:
- If you don't have a crockpot, see recipe notes below for stove top instructions.
- Cut the beef into 4-6 chunks and season with salt and pepper. Optionally, add meat to a tbsp of hot oil in skillet to sear on all sides before adding to slow cooker (See Note 2).
- Add all other ingredients except bay leaves to a blender and puree.
- Pour sauce over beef, add bay leaves to pot, cover and slow cook on Low for 6 hours, or until meat shreds easily.
- Remove lid and shred beef with forks. Serve as-is, or cool and store refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 5 days.
For Barbacoa Burrito Bowls:
- Chop lettuce greens and line each salad bowl.
- Top with shredded barbacoa, corn, beans and pickled red onions and chopped cilantro.
Video
Notes
- Authentic barbacoa is traditionally made using beef cheeks. By all means, use if you can find them. I typically use chuck roast or tri tip.
- Searing the beef on all sides first allows for an elevated flavor from caramelization. This step is optional, but it creates a wonderful, crunchy texture on the edges.
- Stove top instructions: Follow instructions 1 and 2 in recipe card above. Then, add pureed sauce and bay leaves over the beef in a large pot. Cover pot with a lid and cook over low or medium-low heat for 4 – 5 hours, or until meat shreds easily.
Nutrition
The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
Dude that looks so crazy good!
Thanks Matt, easy to make and great to feed the kids. Hope you guys aren’t melting up there, it’s crazy hot down here.
We don’t have A/C so I try to avoid turning the stove/oven on (except, you know, when I’m making stuff for the blog). This is exactly the kind of meal we eat all summer long (though usually it’s fish on top… but Eric would love that beef).
Hey there Brian. Summer meals around here are most often made outdoors on the grill or salads… lots of BIG, filling salads. Although with a slow cooker or pressure cooker the kitchen wins and doesn’t heat up the entire house. I actually just picked up some salmon, so I’m thinking this bowl might have to be dinner and swap out the barbacoa tonight. Hope the Cape was a fun, filling time this past weekend. Cheers!
Kevin! These pictures are STUNNING. Totally magazine material! Also, I made slow cooked barbacoa last week (I add a few tablespoons of Worcestershire sauce to mine) to make burritos, but I am now craving your version. Could totally go for that right now, as I haven’t had lunch yet! Yum!
Thanks so much Olivia, appreciate it. This is a tasty one and I can see that Worcestershire sauce in the next mix, sounds like it would fit well. Have a great day friend!
So glad you stuck with it, Kevin – this dish looks mouthwateringly delicious! And I love how versitle it is – whether it be as a beef bowl, in tacos, burritos, over nachos, or on a bun…. the sky is the limit with this phenomenal dish! And now I’m going to be dreaming of barbacoa all day 🙂
Exactly Kathleen, I love dishes that have more than one trick up their sleeves – versatility! And flava 😉
OMG, I looooooove using the slow cooker in the summer. I actually think I use it more now than I do in the winter. And considering NC is currently under a heat advisory the slow cooker is my bestie! Barbacoa beef is BOMB and your version looks STELLAR, Kevin!! I’d have to agree that you nailed this as well. 😉 This bowl is totally speaking my language, buddy! So much Mexican nom noms going on here! Pinned! Cheers!!
It’s definitely the only way to keep that kitchen cool, right Chey? We have been in a bit of a heat wave here ourselves and with California being so water starving the fires are getting out of control. That didn’t stop us from hiking Mt Laguna this weekend tough! After a fun, long day, this Barbacoa is always nice to come back to eat and the slow cooker did all the heavy lifting for us. 🙂
Hey Kevin! My slow cooker is now a permanent fixture on the kitchen counter now that the heat of summer is upon us. I just picked up a chuck roast on sale the other day, so your timing is perfect! Especially so, as fresh sweetcorn is here. I would put these ingredients in a flour tortilla with a drizzle of sour cream and be very happy!
Mine is indispensable Dorothy. Gotta love summer with all the bounty of fruits and vegetables you only get this time of year. Hope you and Gary had a fun 4th of July weekend.
This sounds amazing, Kevin! Barbacoa is my go-to whenever we go out for tacos…which is kinda rare these days with Robbie around. Maybe I’ll just have to make 4 pounds here at home…and eat it all myself! 🙂 Hope you guys had an awesome long weekend!
We had a great holiday weekend with an old college buddy visiting from SF and we hit the beach, hiked Mt Laguna and hit up a few local restaurants. What’s great about this one is just throw everything in the slow cooker and hang with Robbie until it’s ready… plus plenty of leftovers. 😉
Oh, and I meant to say that I love your idea of having this for brunch with some eggs! High five 😉 As you can probably tell, I’m pretty excited about this recipe 😀
Yes! A quick pan sear to get a little crispy and then crack those eggs over the top for a hearty and tasty breakfast. 🙂
I’ve never had barnacoa before, but I already know I would love! Thank you so much for including the pressure cooker method. I’ve been using that baby like crazy lately.
I’m all over this bowl, Kevin! That chipotle in there with the beef and served with goodies like beans, cilantro, and corn. Mouth is watering!! I can understand why all that meat went so fast for only a few people. Pinned, of course. Can’t wait to try 🙂
I hope you give this one a try Dawn! Yay for pressure cookers and slow cookers. Aren’t they great ways to tenderize and not be stuck in the kitchen? I added some rice and beans to the leftovers of this the other time I made it and made enchiladas. This is such a versatile recipe. 🙂
Loving the Mexican flavours here and all of that corn. I love sweet corn! I don’t have a pressure cooker so I’d be doing it the slow way. I take any chance to get our oven cranked up lately, it’s freeing here!
Man, I swear by the pressure cooker. They have so many fantastic ones these days that aren’t like the old ticking time bombs your grandmother used to have. They make great use of an otherwise tough piece of meat and the end result is super tender. Great time savers as well. Sorry to hear it’s freezing down there John, add an extra chile in this and you should be warmed up in no time!