I’ve wanted to make a BBQ Chicken “bowl” meal for a couple weeks now. I love bowl meals because they are easy to prepare, hold up well in the fridge, and offer a great variety of flavors and textures. These Sweet n’ Spicy Chicken Bowls are the perfect mix between spicy, sweet, savory, and creamy, and are just the most colorful bowl you’ll ever eat. I’m super happy that this is my meal prep this week!
If you feel the Sweet n’ Spicy Chicken Bowl needs a little sauciness, you can drizzle a little of your favorite BBQ sauce, sriracha, or even a little ranch dressing over the top. Yes, ranch may sound strange, but it goes pretty well with all of these ingredients, just go lightly with it. Or you can add a little dollop of sour cream might be pretty good. I just let the creaminess of the avocado and juicy pineapple act as the dressing, so to speak.
I was lucky enough to get an avocado on sale for $0.98, but if they’re a little pricy in your area, you can try using a little shredded cheese instead. I would suggest something creamy like Monterrey Jack or spicy Pepper Jack.
Sweet n’ Spicy Chicken Bowls
Servings 4Ingredients
Spice Mix
- 1 tsp mild chili powder ($0.10)
- 1/2 tsp ground cumin ($0.05)
- 1/4 tsp garlic powder ($0.03)
- 1/4 tsp smoked paprika ($0.03)
- 1/8 tsp cayenne pepper ($0.02)
- Freshly Cracked black Pepper to taste ($0.05)
- 1/4 tsp salt ($0.02)
- 1 Tbsp olive oil ($0.16)
- 1 Tbsp honey ($0.12)
- 1/2 tsp apple cider vinegar ($0.02)
Rice
- 1 cup uncooked brown rice ($0.60*)
- 1 3/4 cup chicken broth ($0.26)
Bowl Ingredients
- 1 boneless skinless chicken breast (about 3/4 lb.) ($1.49**)
- 1 8oz. can pineapple tidbits in juice ($0.86)
- 1 15oz. can black beans ($0.84)
- 1 ripe avocado ($0.98)
- 2 green onions ($0.22)
- 1/4 bunch fresh cilantro (optional) ($0.20)
Instructions
- Begin by cooking the rice. Combine the uncooked rice and chicken broth in a small pot. Place a lid on top and bring to a boil over high heat. As soon as it reaches a full boil, turn the heat down to low and let simmer for 25 minutes. After 25 minutes, turn the heat off and let it sit undisturbed, with the lid in place for 10 minutes. Fluff with a fork.
- Prepare the honey spice mix by combining the chili powder cumin, garlic, smoked paprika, cayenne, freshly cracked pepper, salt, honey, olive oil, and apple cider vinegar in a bowl.
- Chop the chicken breast into small pieces. Add it to the bowl with the honey spice mix and toss to coat. Set the seasoned meat aside while you prepare the rest of the bowl ingredients.
- Rinse and drain the black beans. Drain the pineapple, then chop the tidbits into smaller pieces. Slice the green onions. Rinse and roughly chop the cilantro. Cut the avocado in half, then use a pairing knife to slice or cube the flesh.
- Heat a large non-stick skillet over medium heat. Add the chopped and seasoned chicken pieces and sauté until cooked through and slightly browned (5-7 minutes).
- Build the bowls by adding 3/4 cup cooked rice to each bowl, followed by 1/4 of each of the following: cooked chicken, black beans, pineapple, avocado, green onions, and cilantro.
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Notes
Nutrition
How to Make Sweet n’ Spicy Chicken Bowls – Step by Step Photos
Start by cooking your rice, because the rest of the bowl can be prepared and ready to assemble by the time the rice finishes cooking. Place 1 cup brown rice in a small pot and add 1 3/4 cup chicken broth. Place a lid on top and bring it to a boil over high heat. As soon as it reaches a full boil, turn the heat down to low and let it simmer there for 25 minutes. After 25 minutes, turn the heat off and let it rest with the lid in place for another 10 minutes. Then, fluff with a fork.
While the rice is doing its thing, make the spice mix for the chicken. Combine 1 tsp mild chili powder, 1/2 tsp cumin, 1/4 tsp garlic powder, 1/4 tsp smoked paprika, 1/8 tsp cayenne pepper, some freshly cracked pepper, and 1/4 tsp salt in a bowl.
Also add 1 Tbsp olive oil, 1 Tbsp honey, and 1/2 tsp apple cider vinegar. Stir to combine. (If you don’t have honey, brown sugar works well, too).
How do you spread one single chicken breast out over four servings? Chop it into tiny pieces! It really does help. I wish I would have taken a “before” photo of the chicken so you could see how small it was compared to the large quantity that it looks like now. The chicken breast was about 3/4 lb.
Add the chopped chicken to the spice mix and stir until it’s all coated. Set that aside while you prepare the rest of the toppings. If you don’t want to make your own spice mix and are not worried about sugar content, you can actually just use bottled BBQ sauce to coat the chicken.
So, you’ll also need: 1 15oz. can of black beans (rinsed and drained), 1 8oz. can of pineapple tidbits in juice (drained and roughly chopped into smaller pieces), 2 green onions (sliced), 1/4 bunch of cilantro (rinse and roughly chopped), and one avocado (sliced).
Finally, it’s time to cook the chicken. Because it’s in such small pieces, it cooks quite quickly. Heat a large skillet over medium heat. I used non-stick skillet because the sugar in the spice mix can tend to stick. The spice mix already has some oil in it, so with a non-stick I didn’t have to add any more. Add the chicken to the hot skillet and sauté until the pieces are cooked through and only slightly browned (5-7 minutes). The small pieces have the luxury of cooking quickly, but that also means they can dry out quickly. So, just let them brown a little.
Now you have all your ingredients ready. Rice is cooked, toppings are chopped, and chicken is sautéed. It’s time to assemble the Sweet n’ Spicy Chicken Bowls.
Add 3/4 cup of cooked rice to the bottom of each bowl, then add 1/4 of the black beans, cooked chicken, pineapple, cilantro, green onions, and avocado.
I can’t lie. I added a little drizzle of sriracha. Sriracha has sugar too, so I’m a little off the wagon here. Still a super healthy meal, so I feel good!
And into the fridge they go to feed me for the rest of the week (or most of it, anyway). Every time I do a bowl meal like this that includes avocado, people get a little scared thinking about that cut avocado sitting in the fridge. Well, let me just tell you that it does get a little brown around the edges, but it doesn’t turn completely black like a mashed avocado or guacamole does. It just gets a little discoloration, but tastes just as wonderful. Promise. :)
At first I thought this bowl was a little “bland” but I ended up really liking it as left overs! I left out the avocado and the onion until the last minute after reheating it and it was great! It was very filling and perfect for long days at work/school. My brother said it could use more sauce but forget him. He just doesn’t have a developed palate. :P
I ended up using chicken thighs for the meat however as I had a surplus and had to use it all up. Turned out great!
Hey Beth! This recipe looks great and I’m excited to try it. One quick question… I’d like to try and avoid using the apple cider vinegar if possible (I don’t have any, and can’t think of anything else I would use it for). I’m hesitant to sub in white vinegar because I know the flavours are significantly different. Any suggestions of other substitutions I could try?
Thanks!!
I think you could get away with just leaving it out all together. The spice mix will still be amazing. :)
Tried it tonight and this recipe turned out great!! The spice mix was awesome – thanks so much.
I learned tonight that this also makes an excellent salad if you swap the rice out for spinach. Yum :)
I just found your site and I can’t tell you how much I love it!! Thank you for the detailed instructions and the pics. I’m a very amateur cook so that helps me so much! I made the spinach, mushroom, feta quiche last night and now I’m about to make this! So perfect for my lunches especially since I’m reducing my carbs! Thank you! Thank you!
Hi,
I love your blog; you have so many inspiring and accessible recipes. I was just wondering, do you re-heat your leftover bowls, or just eat them cold? Thanks!
It depends on the recipe. This one was good both ways, IMHO. :)
I don’t eat chicken. How would I cook fish if I wanted to substitute it for chicken in this recipe?
You can coat each filet in the spice mix, then just cook it quickly in a skillet. It should be just as quick and easy. :)
One of my favorite recipes you have posted. Delicious! The seasoning for the chicken is amazing. I used a natural spicy honey I order on-line, in place of the honey & cayenne. Only problem is getting 4 separate servings, it’s just too good!
I had this tonight and it was delicious. I do have a question –the recipe lists 6 dry spices/seasonings yet in the picture, I see 7. What is the 7th?
Oops! That 7th one was just some freshly cracked pepper. Fixing now. Thanks for noticing! :)
Thank you for debunking the myth that tasty meals are pricey. This sure looks delicious — and it’s hard to believe it’s yours for a song and a little time investment!
This was amazing! I made a few modifications but it was still one of my favorite meals yet! I replaced the chicken with a hard boiled egg to make it vegetarian, had couscous on hand, so used that instead of rice, and tossed the spice mix on the black beans, which I sauteed with onions. Made it for my lunch for the second week in a row and my mouth is already watering at the thought of lunch tomorrow.
We had this tonight, and everybody loved it. It’s a great recipe because it’s customizable. My girls are into low-fat cooking, so they liked the fresh ingredients and high protein, but one left off the cilantro. My husband just liked the taste of it. My picky son just had rice and chicken with pineapple on the side. Everybody was happy! We had a bottle of organic lime juice on the table if anybody wanted a squirt of that. My husband said, “I would like this again.” Thanks!
You’re probably already aware of this, but a little hint on how to prevent avocado slices like that from browning in the fridge: acid prevent the oxidation process. I usually squeeze a little lime over avocado in things like this, and it’ll last a day or two without browning. (Same goes with sliced apples, bananas, etc… except for those I typically use a diluted white vinegar.)
Hi Beth, this looks great! Gonna try it out tomorrow. I have a question for you. Do you ever freeze your cilantro and green onions? I’ve never tried it because I just imagine they wouldn’t freeze well, but I notice a lot of your recipes call for just a portion of what you buy from the store and I end up throwing the rest away before I use it. Maybe I’m not being resourceful enough :)
I had the same problem! I switched to potted cilantro on my windowsill, so no more waste.
I don’t freeze my fresh herbs, but they’re so inexpensive that I don’t sweat not using the whole bunch (they’re always less than $1 here). I also tend to add it to random meals throughout the week to minimized the waste. :)
At my house, we keep cilantro chopped up in a small container in the freezer for convenient sprinkling. It freezes just fine.
Everything I make from your blog is delicious and this recipe was no exception! Thank you for all of the awesome recipes! Keep them coming!
What would you suggest as a substitute for the ACV (apple cider vinegar). I for some reason cannot tolerate the smell or taste of it (and malt vinegars as well) although other types don’t seem to bother me.
Rice vinegar would work well and it has a very mild flavor and scent.
It was heavenly! I used leftover white rice, and forgot to buy coriander (meh, silly me) and maybe added a little bit too much sriracha, but it will definitely goes into my list of recipe to do regularly :)