This Copycat Chipotle Pork Carnitas Burrito Bowl recipe starts with flavorful, juicy pork that cooks all day in your slow cooker. Turn it into a delicious burrito bowl by laying the pork with your favorite toppings including rice, beans, salsa or pico de gallo and more. Perfect for lunch or dinner.
I love just about any type of Mexican food. I love it even more when I can make it at home, instead of buying out, and save myself a ton of money. With the cost of everything going up these days it costs a small fortune to feed the whole family at Chipotle. Making your own burrito bowls at home is easier than you think.
This recipe starts with making a super easy slow cooker carnitas. Just toss the ingredients into the slow cooker and a few hours later you’ve got yourself a bunch of flavorful meat to use in different recipes. From there you can use the meat to make these simple but delicious carnitas bowls.
Pork Carnitas Bowl Recipe
Use your favorite toppings to make your burrito bowls. We like to start with a base of rice or salad greens. From there just load up your bowl, add a bit of salsa and sour cream and enjoy. Here’s some topping ideas to try:
Ingredients for Pork Carnitas Burrito Bowl:
- Pork Carnitas – try this easy recipe for a slow cooker pork carnitas. The meat is so tender and flavorful. Plus it doesn’t require much work while it cooks up in the slow cooker.
- Rice – use your favorite type of rice….white rice, brown rice, cilantro lime rice or whatever you enjoy.
- Salad Greens – similar to the Chipotle salad bowls I like to use salad greens in place of rice when building my bowl. Use Romaine lettuce or Iceberg lettuce or go with a mix of your favorite salad greens.
- Avocado – you can use sliced or diced avocados to dress up your bowl.
- Black Beans – we love black beans but you could easily swap these out for pinto.
- Whole Kernel Corn – warm up some corn to top your bowls.
- Salsa or Pico de Gallo – add a spoonful or two of salsa or fresh pico de gallo. I love to use this easy spicy salsa recipe. It’s made with canned tomatoes, which I always have on hand, so it’s easy and low cost to make. Or go with Pico de Gallo which is made with fresh tomatoes.
- Limes – add a squeeze or two of lime to add a tangy boost of flavor. You can use fresh lime juice or bottled lime juice.
- Fresh Cilantro – I’m a fan of the fresh flavor of cilantro. If you are as well then top your pork carnitas bowl with a sprinkle of fresh cilantro.
How to make Pork Carnitas Bowls:
Assemble your pork carnitas bowls by placing a layer of rice or salad greens in the bottom of the bowl.
Top with shredded pork carnitas, black beans, corn and salsa. Sprinkle the fresh cilantro over the top. Serve and enjoy!
Other toppings for your pork carnitas burrito bowls:
Here are some of other toppings that we like to include on our bowls:
Refried Beans – add a scoop of these easy to make refried beans in place of black beans or pinto beans. If you haven’t made your own refried beans before give it a try.
Cotija – is known as “Mexican Parmesan”. It’s soft, it has a mild flavor, it’s a bit salty and the flavor mixes well with the other flavors in the dish.
Guacamole – if you enjoy avocados with this dish then you might like this more flavorful version of avocados.
Sour Cream – a bit of sour cream goes well with the heat in the chili powder or any salsa you might use.
Pickled Onions – the tangy taste of pickled onions is an unexpected flavor that works with this dish.
Grilled or Sauteed Vegetables – try some sauteed bell peppers and onions to this dish.
Jalapenos – if you love heat try adding a couple of slices of jalapenos to your carnitas.
Hot Sauce – for those lovers of heat add a splash of hot sauce.
How to store leftover pork carnitas bowls:
You can store leftovers one of two ways….. as a finished carnitas burrito bowls or as individual ingredients.
If you have extra ingredients to make your bowls you can place them in an air tight container and store in the refrigerator for 3 to 5 days.
You can also create your own carnitas bowls as a meal prep. Put together your bowl with your favorite toppings and store in a covered air-tight container for up to 3 days. I like to put any sour cream or salsa in a separate container to add to the meal just before eating it. This allows you to heat up the meal without heating the sour cream and salsa.
Is Pulled Pork the same as Carnitas?
Both pulled pork and carnitas are a form of cooked, shredded pork. The difference is in the seasoning used.
Think of pork carnitas as a Mexican styled pulled pork. Typical seasonings might include chili powder, cumin, oregano, lime and jalapeno.
Pulled pork might include apple cider vinegar as well as other ingredients to create a savory, smoked flavor such as Worcestershire sauce, mustard, liquid smoke and even BBQ sauce. Pulled pork isn’t typically spicy so you would not find ingredients such as jalapenos or chiles in the recipe.
Check out this recipe for easy to make BBQ pulled pork to see the difference in ingredients.
If you are looking for a similar recipe like carnitas but made with beef then you will want to try out this Beef Barbacoa recipe.
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Pork Carnitas Burrito Bowl Recipe
Ingredients
- 3 cups Pork Carnitas
- 3 cups Rice cilantro lime
- 14 ounce Black Beans drained and rinsed
- 14 ounce whole kernel corn drained and rinsed
- 1 cup salsa
- 2 avocado sliced or diced into chunks
- 2 lime slices cut into wedges
- 3 tablespoons fresh cilantro chopped
Instructions
- Assemble your pork carnitas bowls by dividing the rice up between the bowls.
- Top with shredded pork carnitas meat, black beans, corn and salsa. Sprinkle the fresh cilantro over the top. Serve and enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
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