Barbecue Chicken Rice Bowls

The beginning of August is always such a stressful time for me. It’s always when our big grant proposals are due in the field of education research. This year I am submitting my first proposal as a principal investigator and I am stressed to the max!

Meal prepping is a must for me most of the time, but especially during these stressful work periods. These BBQ chicken rice bowls are great for meal prepping or a generally easy dinner!

To be honest, I’m not usually a big fan of BBQ sauce. It’s too sweet for me, but I really like these rice bowls because you can add as little or as much as you’d like. You can see from the photos, I didn’t go too crazy with the BBQ sauce, but if you are fan, add more!

The key for these bowls is to make sure you season each component. I cook my rice and then add a little bit of butter and salt and pepper. I steam the broccoli and add some olive oil and more seasonings. If you just throw everything in plain, it’s definitely going to taste plain. The only thing I usually just toss in is the pinto beans, but if you prefer, you can sauté them in a pan first with some olive oil and desired seasonings.

I was kind of worried with the BBQ sauce and pineapple that this would be too sweet for me, but it really isn’t. These bowls have a nice balance of flavors.

Even though it seems like a lot of steps having to make the rice, broccoli, chicken, etc, I promise it’s not really that bad. For the chicken, you can grill it fresh, but I like to use leftover grilled chicken or rotisserie. And as I mentioned, this is a great dish to meal prep over the weekend and chill in individual containers for a nutritious lunch!

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Yield: 2 bowls

Barbecue Chicken Rice Bowls

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes

Additional Time 10 minutes

Total Time 45 minutes

Ingredients

• 1 cup uncooked long grain rice
• 2 cups water (or broth)
• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 2 cups fresh broccoli florets
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• salt and pepper to taste
• 2 cups cooked diced or shredded chicken breasts
• BBQ Sauce
• 1 1/2 cups canned pinto beans, drained and rinsed
• 2 cups diced pineapple

Instructions

1. In a sauce pan over medium heat, add the rice and water. Cover and let the rice cook for 15-20 minutes until tender. If needed, add more water or broth until thoroughly cooked. Once the rice is done, fluff with a fork and stir in the butter and salt and pepper to taste. Set aside.
2. While the rice is cooking, prepare a pan with about 2 cups of water and a steamer basket. Add in the broccoli, cover, and steam over medium heat until the broccoli is tender, about 7 minutes. Drain and add the broccoli back to the pan. Stir in the olive oil, and salt and pepper to taste. Set aside.
3. In a mixing bowl, stir together the cooked chicken (I like to use rotisserie or leftover grilled chicken for this recipe) and desired amount of BBQ sauce.
4. In serving bowls, divide the cooked rice. Then arrange the steamed broccoli, BBQ chicken, pinto beans, and pineapple over the rice in each bowl. Drizzle with additional BBQ sauce as desired. Garnish with diced red onion and cilantro. Serve.

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