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More Rice Recipes
Chicken & Chorizo Rice Bowl
A light and tasty rice bowl with chicken and chorizo perfect for midweek meals. There's no need to sacrifice time for flavour anymore!
Ingredients
- 500g chicken thigh, fat removed and diced
- 225g chorizo, diced
- 2 tsp paprika, ground
- 1 tsp cumin, ground
- 1 tsp coriander, ground
- 1 tsp garlic salt
- 1 tsp onion flakes
- 1 cucumber, seeds removed, finely diced
- 1 red pepper, seeds removed finely diced
- 1 orange pepper, seeds removed finely diced
- 1 red onion, finely diced
- 50g coriander, fresh and chopped
- 2 tsp lime juice
- 1 tsp sea salt flakes
- 2 cups basmati rice, cooked
Instructions
- Marinade chicken and chorizo together in spices for at least half an hour.
- Toss together cucumber, peppers, onions, sea salt, lime
juice, coriander and set aside. - Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Cook
chicken and chorizo until golden, around 10 minutes. Set aside to cool 10
minutes. - Toss together cooked chicken and chorizo, vegetables and
rice, and serve with fresh coriander or sour cream.
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
6Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 469Total Fat: 27gSaturated Fat: 9gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 17gCholesterol: 140mgSodium: 1281mgCarbohydrates: 26gFiber: 2gSugar: 4gProtein: 33g
Please note, this nutrition information is to be used as a guide only. Nutrition information isn’t always accurate.
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Chicken and Chorizo Rice Bowl Recipe
A Fresh Take on the Classic Rice Bowl
If you’re looking for a cheerful, colourful, and delicious rice bowl recipe, this Chicken and Chorizo Rice Bowl is for you. It’s a bit of a throwback and a bit of a reinvention all in one, and it might just surprise you. I grew up in the 90’s where “Mexican” food meant something fried, golden, and slathered in cheese. Think burritos drowned in grilled cheese, taco shells snapping apart in your hands, and a side of rice that was more oil than flavour. It was tasty, sure, but healthy? Not in the slightest. You’d leave those chain restaurants with your fingers shining and your jeans a bit tighter. So, not exactly a memory I hold dear.
These days, thankfully, things have changed. With more exposure to authentic cooking and better cultural understanding, we know now that real Mexican food is vibrant, fresh, and often very good for you. This Chicken and Chorizo Rice Bowl is a celebration of that realisation. It’s bright, it’s bold, and it’s definitely not the heavy, cheesy mess from the 90s. Packed with colour, flavour, and crunch, it’s the kind of dish that lifts your mood the moment you look at it. And it’s easy, too – exactly the kind of meal I want on a weekday evening when energy is low, but I still want something that tastes like it was worth a bit of effort.
I’ve based this on the “naked burrito” style you’ll find in plenty of street food stalls and takeaway spots, both in Australia and the UK. You know the ones – rice bowls loaded with meat, veg, beans, guacamole, cheese, and pico de gallo. But I’ve stripped it back even further – no guac, no sour cream, no cheese. Not because I don’t love those things (you know I do), but because this version is simpler, lighter, and more fuss-free. It doesn’t need the extras. The chorizo gives you richness, the chicken gives you body, and the veg brings the crunch and zing. Job done.
Everyday Healthy
One of the reasons I love this chicken and chorizo rice bowl is that it’s accidentally healthy. Not in a smug, “look at me eating clean” kind of way, but in a realistic, this-is-what-I-want-to-eat-and-it-happens-to-be-good-for-me way. There’s nothing fussy or performative about it -just good food made with fresh ingredients and bold spices, the way it should be. You could absolutely batch cook this for the week ahead, or throw it together at the end of a long day with minimal effort.
The key here is balance. The chicken is lean but juicy, the chorizo brings that smoky, spicy kick, and the fresh veg keeps everything crisp and cool. You don’t need a creamy sauce or handfuls of cheese when your rice bowl already has so much flavour. Plus, you avoid the heaviness that can come with all the usual burrito extras. Don’t get me wrong – I still love a loaded burrito from time to time (if I can find one gluten free!), but this version feels better suited to everyday life. It’s bright, fast, and leaves you feeling energised rather than sluggish.
It’s also surprisingly satisfying. You’re not left looking around the kitchen an hour later wondering what’s next. The rice keeps you full, the protein gives you energy, and the freshness makes it feel like a treat. You could even get a bit fancy and add black beans or a quick corn salsa if you felt inclined. But honestly? I rarely do. It doesn’t need it.
A Quick Dinner Worth Repeating
Weeknight dinners feel endless sometimes. It’s not just the cooking – it’s the thinking, the planning, the shopping, the remembering what’s in the fridge, what needs using, and what everyone will actually eat. And when you live with someone who refuses to lift a finger in the kitchen, it becomes more than just a mental load. It becomes resentment. My husband doesn’t cook. He doesn’t meal plan. He doesn’t do the grocery shopping. And he doesn’t even offer to pick up a rotisserie chook and a bag of salad after a long day. Which is a bit frustrating given he only works part-time, compared to my fulltime office job. But you can bet he’s the first to open the fridge and eat whatever I was saving for lunch. So yeah, I love to cook, but that doesn’t mean I want to carry the full load, every night, without a break.
Meals like this Chicken and Chorizo Rice Bowl become essential in our house, not because I’m trying to impress anyone, but because I need something fast that doesn’t make me rage-cry into the chopping board. It’s quick, colourful, satisfying, and I can pull it together before the hanger kicks in. The spice mix is easy – paprika, cumin, coriander, garlic salt, and onion flakes – and gives the chicken loads of flavour without needing to faff about. The chorizo adds its usual magic and makes the whole thing feel a bit more put-together than it really is.
It helps that it looks good, too. Bright veggies, fluffy rice, punchy flavours – it’s the kind of dinner that feels like a treat even when no one else acknowledges the effort. Whether I eat it on the sofa with the cat giving me the side-eye or alone at the table while he disappears into YouTube, I still get a moment of, “Yes, I did this. For me.” And sometimes, that’s all the nourishment I need.
Ingredients Breakdown
The base of this recipe is chicken thigh and chorizo – a duo that always works. The chicken is juicy and meaty, while the chorizo adds just the right amount of spice and oil to keep things interesting. The spices are simple but effective: paprika for smokiness, cumin and coriander for warmth, garlic salt for savouriness, and onion flakes for a bit of background flavour. Together, they bring everything to life without being overpowering.
For freshness and crunch, we’ve got a mix of cucumber, red and orange pepper, red onion, and a generous hit of coriander. This combo gives the rice bowl that salsa-like freshness, without the need to make an actual salsa. A squeeze of lime juice and a pinch of sea salt finish things off and tie all the flavours together. The lime is especially important – it cuts through the richness and brightens the whole dish. Don’t skip it.
And of course, the whole thing is served on a bed of cooked basmati rice. I like basmati because it’s light and fluffy, and it doesn’t compete with the other flavours. You could use brown rice or even cauliflower rice if that’s your thing, but for me, basmati is the perfect canvas. It soaks up all the lovely juices from the chicken and chorizo and turns them into something even better. Simple, flavourful, and the kind of meal that feels like a hug in a bowl.
I love how colorful this is! And I don’t even like cilantro LOL