Ancho Chile Chicken Taco Bowls, perfect for any Mexican food craving! These bowls are easy to make, packed with nutrients and you can customize the toppings to your desire. Picture and ancho rubbed chicken cooked to juicy perfection over sweet potatoes and piled with toppings. This is definitely a week day favorite of our and it’s gluten free, paleo, and easy to be made dairy free too.
I made these taco bowls 3 nights in a row for dinner. And we took the leftovers for lunch for a total of 6 chicken taco bowls in a row! I’m usually all about variety. But when I find a new favorite I go through this stage where I want to eat it for every single meal.
There’s something about the ancho chile spice mix I find incredibly addicting. Especially when it’s grilled because it brings out all the smoky chile flavors! When you pair that with the sweetness of sweet potatoes, and the fresh toppings, you’ve got a crazy good combination.
How to make Ancho Chile Chicken Taco Bowls:
I like the slice the lettuce fairly thin for taco bowls to create a shredded lettuce texture.
You can cook your chicken indoors on the stove top or in the oven. But I can’t recommend grilling enough! It’s my favorite way to cook meat because of the awesome flavor, and the easy cleanup.
Next it’s time to make the guacamole. Homemade guacamole is always best. It has an unbeatable flavor and it’s really easy to make.
And… once you taste homemade guacamole, there’s really no going back. I’ve had so many people tell me they don’t like guacamole only to taste it homemade, and completely change their minds!
I love the sour cream drizzle over the top. But maybe that’s just because I like everything to be ‘over the top’! If you’re dairy free you can use a dairy free sour cream. But you could also just leave it out because the guacamole provides plenty of creaminess to the final dish.
If tomatoes aren’t in season, try these salsas!
- Caramelize Pineapple Salsa
- Strawberry Mango Avocado Salsa
- Easy Blender Fire Roasted Salsa
- Fresh Mango Salsa
More Mexican inspired recipes to make some epic bowls!
- Chipotle Chicken Burrito Bowl
- Carnitas Burrito Bowl
- Beef Barbacoa Burrito Bowl
- Slow Cooker Salsa Beef
- Healthy Chicken Sheet Pan Fajitas
Ancho chile powder is becoming more and more easy to find, you can almost always find it in the supermarket in the spice aisle. I know McCormick spices has ancho chile powder as well as chipotle chile powder, and you can usually find them at your local health food store as well in the bulk spices section.
Chipotle chile powder is one of my favorite spices because it has all of the goodness of chipotle flavor without the added sugar that comes with the chipotle in adobo that you can buy in a can. Another bonus of having the chipotle chile powder on hand (versus the canned version) is it doesn’t spoil in the fridge when you weren’t looking!
Print
Ancho Chile Chicken Taco Bowls
- Total Time: 1 hour 10 mins
- Yield: 6 servings 1x
- Diet: Gluten Free
Description
Ancho Chile Chicken Taco Bowls, perfect for any Mexican food craving! These bowls are easy to make, packed with nutrients and you can customize the toppings to your desire. Picture and ancho rubbed chicken cooked to juicy perfection over sweet potatoes and piled with toppings. This is definitely a week day favorite of our and it’s gluten free, paleo, and easy to be made dairy free too.
Ingredients
2 pounds of sweet potatoes or yams
1 pkg of boneless skinless chicken thighs, weighing 1 1/2 pounds
1 Tablespoon ancho chile powder
2 Teaspoons ground cumin
1 Teaspoon chipotle powder
2 Teaspoons sea salt
1 recipe Homemade Guacamole
1 head green leaf lettuce
Optional sour cream for drizzling
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 425ºF and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Wash the sweet potatoes, trim the ends and any other spots. Cut the potatoes in half lengthwise and place them flat side down on the baking sheet.
Place them in the oven and roast until tender, about 35-45 minutes depending on the thickness of the sweet potatoes.
While the sweet potatoes are roasting, prep the chicken by coating it thoroughly with the spices. Set it aside in the refrigerator to marinate a bit until you’re ready to cook it.
Preheat the grill over high heat.
While the grill preheats, prepare the homemade guacamole.
Thinly slice the lettuce for a shredded texture, wash and spin it dry in a salad spinner. Place the finished lettuce in a bowl and set it aside until it’s time to serve.
When the sweet potatoes are almost done, about 15 minutes from the end of the cooking time, it’s time to start the chicken.
Place the chicken on the preheated and cleaned grill and immediately lower the heat to medium. Grill for 6-8 minutes, just until the chicken is no longer sticking to the grill.
Turn the chicken and grill on the other side for 8-10 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through. The timing will vary a little depending on the size of your chicken thighs.
Serve the sweet potatoes and grilled chicken with the guacamole, shredded lettuce, and the optional sour cream.
Notes
If the sweet potatoes finish cooking before the chicken is done, simply turn off the oven and keep them warm until the serving time. It’s better if the sweet potatoes wait for the chicken rather than the other way around!
It may seem like a lot of prep time when combined with the cooking time. But since you can do all the prep work while the sweet potatoes are cooking it’s really only about 30 minutes of ‘hands on’ time!
- Prep Time: 30 mins
- Cook Time: 40 mins
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Oven
- Cuisine: Mexican
This is EPIC!
The ancho + chipotle + cumin combo is seriously legit. I can’t wait to try this one!
Thanks for the all-caps endorsement! This ancho chipotle and cumin combo is my all time favorite spice mix, I change it up from recipe to recipe but I want to get some measurements down for a big batch and post it as an all-purpose Mexican seasoning!
My mouth is watering as I speak! I am loving taco bowls, lately, and the more creative the ingredients the better! The ancho chile powder along with the homemade guacamole is very exciting!
I love ancho chile powder, it really takes anything Mexican to another level!
Looks and sounds amaaaazing!
We’ll have to make it together whenever you’re here! It’s really good, and right up your alley! 🙂