Made with shredded chicken and a flavor-packed salsa, this BBQ chicken rice bowl is perfect for an easy summer dinner. You can use any kind of chicken you have - leftovers, grilled, rotisserie, and your favorite barbecue sauce. The best part is that this chicken rice bowl is the best meal prep with just one simple trick!
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BBQ chicken rice bowl highlights
- It's fast to make, especially if you use premade or leftover chicken.
- It's packed with flavor thanks to a corn and bean salsa that's brought to life with a little lime juice and salt. Plus, our staple flamethrower sauce adds a spicy bite!
- There's no baking or cooking anything if you use leftover or meal prepped chicken. Canned beans and corn for the win!
- It's gluten free, healthy, and can easily be dairy free if you just leave off the flamethrower (chipotle) sauce.
Do you feel like you're running around like a chicken with your head cut off at the end of a busy day? If you have a family then you probably do during the the dinner time rush.
Chicken is a perfect option for busy nights and even better if you make a big batch during the weekend (or whenever you have time). You can make 20-minute teriyaki chicken poke bowl, chipotle ranch grilled chicken burrito, or these bbq chicken rice bowls!
They are ready in just 15 minutes (even if you cook the chicken in the Instant Pot) and it's been toddler tested and approved! So get ready to have the whole family scarf this down for dinner.
ingredients & substitutions
All substitutions are a 1:1 substitute unless otherwise noted. See recipe card for quantities.
- Chicken: Any chicken you have is great! I make a big batch of pressure cooker chicken, use rotisserie, or frozen chicken strips that are already cooked.
- BBQ sauce: Any BBQ sauce you like will work. I like to use Primal Kitchen because it has limited added sugar, if any.
- Salsa: I call this a salsa but it has no tomato... Anyways it has black beans, corn, red onion, lime juice, and salt. It's delicious and SO easy!
- For serving: White rice or cilantro lime protein rice and chipotle sauce.
variations
- Add vegetables: Any roasted vegetables like fajita veggies are a delicious addition. Other tasty options are zucchini and cauliflower. Pickled red onions are another favorite of mine!
- Make it dairy free: Use another sauce like cilantro lime or a chimichurri to keep these bowls dairy free.
This recipe has not been tested with other substitutions or variations. If you replace or add any ingredients, please let us know how it turned out in the comments below!
how to make these bowls
Be sure to scroll to the recipe card for the full bbq chicken bowl recipe!
- Mix your chicken with BBQ sauce and reheat as needed
- Mix together the salsa ingredients.
- Plate up the rice, salsa, chicken, and sauce, and then enjoy!
quick recipe video
expert tips
- When you're short on time, don't be afraid of the microwave. Use microwave white rice, precooked chicken, etc!
- If you're meal prepping leave the rice out! These bowls are just as good without the rice and this way you don't have to worry about the rice getting hard.
- When cold, serve the chicken and salsa with tortilla chips instead of rice! No reheating required this way.
common questions
Totally! Feel free to use any carb base you love!
Ya, if you have leftover steak or pork they would both be great too!
how to store & meal prep it
fridge
If you want to reheat the chicken, store the chicken with the rice and the salsa separate. If you want to eat it cold, leave out the rice and store just the chicken and salsa. You can eat this as is or with chips or crackers.
meal prep
This was a construction staple for me because it's so tasty cold! Just leave out the rice and eat it cold with chips or crackers - yum!
reheating
The trick to reheating the rice is to add a splash of water the container and then microwave the rice and chicken. This rehydrates the rice and keeps the chicken moist. And keep the salsa cold.
Recipe
BBQ Chicken Rice Bowls
Ingredients
- 1 cup barbecue sauce (I prefer no sugar added)
- 4 cups shredded chicken (or 4 chicken breasts cooked or precooked how you like)
- 1 can black beans (15 oz)
- 1.5 cups fire roasted corn (frozen, 1 can of corn is fine too)
- 1 avocado (or 2 mini, diced or guacamole)
- ½ red onion (medium & diced)
- 1 cup cooked white rice (for serving)
- 8 tablespoon Flamethrower sauce (or chipotle sauce of choice)
- 1 lime (or 2 tablespoon juice)
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- pork rinds (or tortilla chips - optional)
Before you start!
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Instructions
- Dice the vegetables and thaw the corn as needed.Mix together the 1 can black beans, 1.5 cups fire roasted corn, ½ red onion diced, ½ cup cilantro chopped, juice from 1 lime, and ¼ teaspoon salt in a medium bowl. Store in the fridge until ready to serve.
- Reheat the 4 cups shredded chicken (or cook it if not using leftovers or batch made proteins) in the oven or in the microwave. Mix in the 1 cup barbecue sauce till well coated.
- Serve with 1 cup cooked white rice1 avocado, and 8 tablespoon Flamethrower sauce, split into 4 bowls. See notes for meal prepping this. Top with crushed pork rinds.
Video
Notes
- If you're meal prepping leave the rice out! These bowls are just as good without the rice and this way you don't have to worry about the rice getting hard.
- Chicken: Any chicken you have is great! I make a big batch of Instant Pot chicken, use rotisserie, or frozen chicken strips that are already cooked.
- Try my cilantro lime protein rice with this bowl for more protein and pizzaz!
- Add 4 chicken breasts to an instant pot with 1 cup of BBQ sauce and ½ cup of chicken bone broth.
- Cook on high for 12 minutes, then let it naturally release for 10 minutes.
- Remove the chicken and use two forks or a hand mixer or shred the chicken. Then return it to the instant pot to mix it in the sauce.
Looking for more information?
Additional substitution information can be found above in the substitution section of this post.
Nutrition Disclaimer
Nutritional information is an estimate and for informational purposes only.
Love this! Thanks!