These Honey-Lime Chipotle Chicken Fajita Bowls are pretty simple and extremely delicious! They top my list of favorite dinner recipes – yes, they are THAT good. Don’t be put off by the seemingly long list of ingredients because many of them are spices. Throw together the marinade in the morning and leave the chicken and vegetables marinating (separately) in the fridge all day. When it’s time for dinner, simply make the rice and cook the chicken and veggies. The liquid smoke is my favorite ingredient in this dish. If you’re not familiar with this product, it’s in a small bottle near the BBQ sauces at your local grocery store, and it adds the tastiest smoky flavor!
INGREDIENTS:
Chicken Marinade
2-3 chicken breasts
2 Tablespoons lime juice
1 Tablespoon honey
1 ½ teaspoon olive oil
1 ½ teaspoon white vinegar
1 ½ teaspoon soy sauce
1 teaspoon liquid smoke
1 teaspoon chili powder
½ teaspoon ground cumin
½ teaspoon paprika
¼ tsp cayenne pepper (optional)
1 teaspoon garlic powder
½ teaspoon salt
Dash of pepper
Ziplock® bags – large
Fajita Vegetables
Reserved marinade
2 heaping Tablespoons honey
½ red onion, roughly chopped
1 red bell pepper, roughly chopped
1 green bell pepper, roughly chopped
¾ cup corn (fresh, canned or frozen-thawed)
Cilantro Lime Rice and Black Beans
2 Tablespoons olive oil
½ cup red onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1½ cups long grained white rice
3 cups chicken broth
1 (14.5 oz) can black beans, drained and rinsed
Dash of salt and pepper
½ cup cilantro, chopped
2 Tablespoons lime juice
Chipotle Lime Sour Crema
¾ cup sour cream
1 ½ Tablespoon lime juice
1 teaspoon of sauce from a can of chipotle chiles in adobo sauce, or more, to taste
Salt, to taste
1/3 cup cilantro, finely chopped
1 heaping cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese, for topping
METHOD
If using thick chicken breasts, pound thin with meat mallet or rolling pin, or slice horizontally to “torte” them in half. Place chicken in a large Ziplock® bag. Mix marinade ingredients together. Pour HALF of the marinade mixture into the Ziplock® bag with the chicken. Add chopped vegetables to a separate Ziplock® bag. To the remaining marinade, whisk in 1/3 cup honey and pour marinade into the bag with the vegetables. Refrigerate vegetables and chicken for 4-8 hours.
Cilantro Lime Black Bean Rice
When ready to cook, heat 2 Tablespoons olive oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add onion, saute for 3-5 minutes or until tender. Add garlic and cumin, stir for 30 more seconds. Add rice, saute for a few minutes to toast it a bit. Stir in the black beans, chicken broth, and salt and bring to a boil. Once boiling, reduce heat to low, cover, and cook for 18-20 minutes or until rice is cooked. Remove from heat. Stir in lime juice and cilantro.
Chipotle Lime Crema
While rice is cooking, prepare Chipotle Lime Crema by mixing together the sour cream, lime juice, adobo sauce, and salt. Refrigerate until ready to serve.
Chicken
Heat 2 Tablespoons oil in large skillet over medium high heat. Once skillet is hot, remove chicken from Ziplock® bag, discard marinade and add chicken to skillet. Cook for 2-3 minutes on one side, or until nicely browned. Turn chicken over, cover and reduce heat to medium. Cook until chicken is cooked through (about 5 more minutes, depending on thickness). Remove to a cutting board and allow to rest 3-5 minutes before slicing.
Fajita Vegetables
While chicken is resting, add 1 Tablespoon olive oil to the same skillet over medium heat. Pour fajita vegetables into a colander to drain the marinade. Add vegetables to the hot skillet and saute, stirring occasionally, for a few minutes, until warmed through. I like them to still have a little crunch.
Assembly
In bowls, layer rice, cheese, vegetables, and chicken. Top with Chipotle Lime Crema. Enjoy!
Lauren Allen is the creator
of TastesBetterFromScratch.com,an exciting and beautiful food blog dedicated to sharing her love of cooking and creating new recipes. Lauren truly believes that everything tastes better from scratch!
