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Channel the flavors of the Southwest in by mixing and matching your favorite burrito fillings into a delicious bowl!
These colorful shrimp burrito bowls with cilantro lime rice come together in under 30 minutes. A great choice for a weeknight seafood dinner.
Sometimes the best ideas are born out of leftovers! This recipe came about one day when I decided to put together a lunch bowl out of an assortment of things that I had hanging out in the fridge.
I used some leftover cilantro lime rice as my base and easy sautéed shrimp for protein. I decided to turn them into a quick bowl with many of the components that usually go into a burrito.
It ended up being such a great combination that I had to share it!
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🧡 Why we love this recipe
- It's versatile! Make it with your favorite burrito fillings - mix and match for your perfect bowl.
- These bowls are a great way to use leftovers. If you already have cooked rice, beans, salsa, guacamole, etc.
- You can supplement and round out your bowls with store-bought ingredients as needed. This is just a roadmap for a delicious meal!
- Even if you make all of the components from scratch, this meal comes together super quickly.
📝 Ingredients
Here's everything you need to make these shrimp burrito bowls (see recipe card below for full directions):
- Rice - feel free to use any rice you have that's already cooked, one of those microwaveable pouches of rice, or make some from scratch. My easy cilantro-lime rice recipe is perfect here, if you have 20 minutes to make your own. If you do go with a plain type of rice, consider adding a little lime zest and cilantro, if you have it on hand.
- Onions - red onions are fantastic here, and you can simply thinly sliced raw onions. If you prefer a more mild onion flavor, use shallots or even green onions. I like to make quick-pickled onions for these burrito bowls. They are really easy to make and they hold up for several days in the fridge. I let them soak in the lime juice while I work on other components of the meal, tossing them around every few minutes to help them pickle evenly.
- Pico de gallo or salsa - use your favorite store-bought brand, or make a batch of my classic pico de gallo. I also have a delicious pineapple black bean salsa recipe that would be nice with these bowls. If you have a favorite Tex-Mex restaurant, you could even buy some of theirs to add to your burrito bowls.
- Shrimp - this recipe for quick and easy sautéed shrimp works beautifully here. They're simply spiced, super versatile, and cook up in a snap.
- Canned beans - I didn't have these when I took the photos of my burrito bowls, but I absolutely love beans in dishes like this. Black beans or pinto beans would be great additions to your bowls!
- Guacamole - there's no shame in store-bought guac! But my homemade restaurant-style guacamole recipe is absolutely fantastic, and comes together in just a couple minutes.
- Shredded lettuce or cabbage - because why not add a little roughage?
- Lime wedges - to squeeze over top at the end and brighten everything up.
💡 Beverage ideas to serve with burrito bowls
These are my favorite cocktails and mocktails to serve with these shrimp burrito bowls:
🍴 Variations
Aside from mixing and matching your toppings, you can also feel free to substitute other items for the shrimp. Give these ideas a try as the "main" ingredient for your burrito bowls:
- Add a little taco seasoning or fajita seasoning to rotisserie chicken.
- Use leftovers from steak fajitas, chicken fajitas, or taco night.
- Make the roasted sweet potato and black bean portion of this vegetarian taco recipe.
💡 Make ahead tips
- The rice, pico de gallo, guacamole, and quick-pickled red onions can all be made in advance. Just store them in the refrigerator until you're ready to assemble your bowls. I recommend adding a splash of cold water to the rice before reheating in the microwave.
- The shrimp can be made a day or 2 in advance, but they should be reheated very carefully. I recommend using half power on your microwave so they don't overcook.
Again, these bowls are more of a roadmap to help you think about using different components, ingredients, and leftovers in new and interesting ways.
I'd love to hear what you come up with if you give this dish, or something similar, a go in your own kitchen!
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Print📖 Recipe
Shrimp Burrito Bowls
- Prep Time: Varies
- Cook Time: Varies
- Total Time: Varies
- Yield: 4 Servings
- Category: Main Dish
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Mexican
Description
These colorful shrimp burrito bowls with cilantro lime rice come together in under 30 minutes. A great choice for a weeknight seafood dinner. Mix and match your toppings from the list of suggestions, or add your own!
Ingredients
Suggested items:
- Cilantro-lime rice
- Quick-pickled red onions
- Pico de gallo
- Sautéed shrimp
- Canned beans (black beans and pinto beans both work well, but use your favorite)
- Guacamole
- Shredded lettuce or cabbage
- Lime wedges, to squeeze over top
- Fresh cilantro
Instructions
If you're building these bowls from scratch, here's my suggested order or preparation:
- Start by making the cilantro lime rice.
- While the rice is cooking, quick-pickle the red onions and set aside, stirring occasionally.
- Prep the pico de gallo and set aside.
- Sauté the shrimp.
- If using beans, heat them in the microwave or in a saucepan on the stovetop.
- Make the guacamole.
Assembly:
- Place ¼ of the rice into each of 4 bowls. Top with ¼ of the shrimp, and as much of each of the toppings as you like. Squeeze a lime wedge over the top of everything, if desired, and enjoy!
Notes
Individual recipes are linked within the directions above, but feel free to mix and match, using ingredients and leftovers that you have on hand!
The rice, pico de gallo, guacamole, and quick-pickled red onions can all be made in advance. Just store them in the refrigerator until you're ready to assemble your bowls. I recommend adding a splash of cold water to the rice before reheating in the microwave.
You can make the shrimp a day or 2 in advance, but they should be reheated very carefully. I recommend using half power on your microwave so they don't overcook.
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