Katie Woosley

My roommate meal preps just like I do, and a few weeks ago, she made these BBQ chicken bowls for her lunches. Ever since then, she has been raving about them and telling me I need to try them. I was a little hesitant because the combination of ingredients sounded a kind of weird, but I ended up making them today, and y’all they are SO good. As soon as I started eating, I pulled out my computer to share!

Not only is this recipe tasty, but it’s also super simple! I used my InstantPot to slow cook the BBQ chicken, and then, while the chicken was resting I gave the InstantPot a quick rinse and used it to cook my rice…I am all about less dishes! If you don’t have an InstantPot, no worries! You can cook the rice on the stove, or to make things even easier, you can use the boil in the bag instant rice. While the rice was cooking, I sautéed some veggies and then you just throw everything together to make your bowls!

Warning: There are not a lot of measurements here…just measure with your heart! 🙂

BBQ Chicken Bowls

Ingredients:

• 1.5-2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken thighs (or breasts)
• About 1 cup of your favorite BBQ sauce (I use Sweet Baby Ray’s)
• Smoked paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, salt, and pepper, to taste
• 1 cup jasmine rice
• 1 cup chicken broth (or water)
• 1 squash
• 1 zucchini
• 1 15 oz can black beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 8oz can of corn, drained
• 2 avocados, diced*

Directions:

• For the chicken:
  • Place the chicken thighs in the bottom of your InstantPot or slow cooker and season with smoked paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, salt, and pepper.
  • Top with some BBQ sauce (I used about 3/4 cup or so).
  • Cook on high for 2 hours.
  • Remove chicken, and let it rest for 5-10 minutes, and then shred (I use a hand mixer).
  • Mix in about 1/4 cup more of BBQ sauce, to taste.
• For the rice:
  • Rinse rice and drain. Place it in the InstantPot along with 1 cup of chicken broth or water.
  • Pressure cook on high for 3 minutes, then, let the pressure naturally release for 10 minutes.
  • Release the pressure, fluff with a fork, and season with salt to taste.
• For the veggies:
  • While the rice is cooking, cut up squash and zucchini into bite sized pieces.
  • Heat a pan with a little olive oil over medium heat.
  • Pour in the squash and zucchini, and season with salt, pepper, and garlic powder.
  • Sauté until tender.
• Now, you can assemble your bowls! I layered the rice on the bottom, then chicken, and finished with the veggies, corn, and black beans. I left off the avocado until it was time to eat.

*Tip: To keep your diced avocado from browning, place it in a container and lay a piece of plastic wrap directly over the avocado, pressing it down and removing any air. Then, put the lid on the container and store it in the fridge. This keeps the air out and prevents browning for several days!

Give this recipe a try, and let me know how you like it! I hope y’all enjoy it as much as I do!