Carnitas Burrito Bowls

These Carnitas Burrito Bowls are just like Chipotle, but even better! They’re perfect to meal prep ahead for burrito bowls all week long. Or you can prep ahead a few components to make family dinner easier during the work week. Either way you go, these burrito bowls are a crowd pleaser and extra easy if you have the carnitas prepped ahead and in the fridge/freezer. They’re gluten free with dairy free and paleo options listed below.

We’re back with another burrito bowl this time featuring tender and juicy pulled pork! We simply can’t get enough of these Chipotle copycat burrito bowls, and we hope you’re loving them too. They’re my favorite thing to meal prep for busy work weeks where we can just warm up and assemble a burrito bowl at a moments notice.

I mean how can you ever get tired of tender carnitas over Cilantro Lime Rice with Fajitas Veggies and all the toppings?! From there we also love to mix things up by replacing the Pico de Gallo with a fruit salsa like my Mango Salsa. The sweet-savory combo of mango with the carnitas is a variation we love a little too much!

Let’s get started by talking about what makes up this Carnitas Burrito Bowls

Instant Pot Carnitas – super savory, slightly sweet with citrus flavor, carnitas will become a household favorite in no time! It’s also another great way to use up tough cuts of meat like pork butt/shoulder. Carnitas are similar in texture to pulled pork, but with lots of Mexican flavor and even more juices.
Cilantro Lime Rice – is worth trying for sure if you’re used to plain rice in burrito bowls. The cilantro lime combo is so good, you’ll want to eat spoonfuls of rice all by itself.
Fajita Veggies – are a simple combination of onion and peppers with just a touch of extra flavor added with oregano and cumin.
Black beans, cheese, sour cream – are all standard in a burrito bowl, but definitely optional. Pick and choose any or all toppings here, or leave them out and there’s still more than enough flavor to go around.
Pico de Gallo – is fresh salsa traditional at different ‘build your bowl’ Mexican restaurants like Chipotle. You can also use my Easy Fire Roasted Blender Salsa in this recipe when tomatoes aren’t in season.
The Best Guacamole – is an absolute must in a burrito bowl as I mentioned. Extra guacamole is always a thing in our house with Mexican inspired bowls. But you can also serve these bowls with sliced/diced avocado when you’re pressed for time.
Lettuce or greens – We like piling all the works on top of greens. Everything from crunchy romaine, to spring mix works here. The firmer the lettuce the more it will stand up to the heat. When we start getting local spring mix from Farmer’s Market, I pile it on top because it’s so delicate. You can also use either red or green leaf lettuce.

Now let’s jump in and make this recipe step by step

Step 1

Start by making each of the recipes listed that make up this burrito bowl. You don’t have to make everything by any means, just pick and choose what you’d like. I also like to meal prep parts of this recipe ahead of time.

It really helps to have the Instant Pot Carnitas already made. And you can easily make the Fajita Veggies ahead of time too. That way you can just concentrate on making the rice and guacamole fresh!

Step 2

Serve everything family style, or assemble a burrito bowl starting with the greens and rice.

Step 3

Next pile on as much carnitas and fajita veggies as you’d like. And finally add any and all toppings, cheese, beans, pico de gallo, and guacamole.

Serve this Carnitas Burrito Bowl with

More Pico de Gallo or Blender Salsa and Guacamole along with extra grated cheese too if you’re using it.

Meal Prep & Storage Tips

These recipes are great for make ahead for meal prep, except the guacamole which is always best fresh. We like to prep the different components on the weekend, and then just reheat to make bowls during the work week. These recipes that make up the burrito bowl keep well for 4-5 days in the fridge.

You’ll find that the rice will get hard and dry over a few days in the fridge, but it’s still delicious when reheated. What I like to do is heat the pork and rice together in a small skillet until warmed through. This allows the rice to soften and be a great texture again. You can also use a microwave to reheat as well.

Make this bowl paleo with these recipes

• Roasted Sweet Potatoes in place of the rice
• Instant Pot Paleo Queso as an extra topping in place of the cheese
• omit all dairy and black beans

This burrito bowl ‘recipe’ is just a guideline to get you started. From there you can use any of these recipes to create as many variations as you’d like.

And if you’re crazy about burrito bowls too, try my Chipotle Chicken Burrito Bowl or my Beef Barbacoa Burrito Bowl. Also you can mix things up here by using my Mango Salsa or my Caramelized Pineapple Salsa. This gives you a wonderful sweet and savory combo that never gets old.

I really hope you enjoy this restaurant style Carnitas Burrito Bowl! And if you do get a chance to make thm, I hope you’ll leave me a comment/rating below. I always love hearing from you here! Also for lots more Mexican inspired recipes, head over to the recipe index.

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