Chipotle chicken and rice bowls with lime crema
Chicken thigh rubbed in chipotle and lime, grilled until charred at the edges, over rice with black beans and charred corn, finished with a lime crema made from low-fat Greek yoghurt instead of sour cream. Smoky, a little sharp, and stacked with protein in a bowl you build once and eat from all week.
Notable for: fibre, vitamin C, calcium
Ingredients
- 600 gchicken breast
- 30 gchipotle in adobo paste
- 2limes
- 300 glong grain brown rice
- 410 gblack beans in brine
- 200 gfrozen corn kernels
- 150 glow-fat greek yoghurt
- 1fresh coriander, chopped
- 10 gcrushed garlic
- 10 mlolive oil
Method
Cook the brown rice according to the packet instructions and set it aside.
Mix the chipotle paste, garlic, the juice of one lime and the olive oil together, then rub it over the chicken thighs and leave it for a few minutes while the pan heats.
Cook the chicken in a hot pan for 6 to 7 minutes a side until charred at the edges and cooked through, then rest it for a few minutes and slice it.
Meanwhile, cook the frozen corn in a dry pan over high heat for 4 to 5 minutes, shaking occasionally, until it picks up some colour.
Drain and rinse the black beans and warm them through in a small pot or the microwave.
Stir the low-fat Greek yoghurt with the juice of the remaining lime to make the crema.
Build the bowls with rice, black beans, charred corn and the sliced chicken, then finish with the lime crema and coriander.
Let the chicken rest before slicing
Resting the chicken for a few minutes after it comes off the heat is what keeps the juice inside instead of running out over the cutting board. Chicken sliced too soon turns dry within the bowl even though it started off juicy.
Storage
Keeps three days in the fridge - store the crema separately and add it just before eating so it doesn't turn watery.
Good cold or reheated; if reheating, leave the crema and coriander off until after.
Cost per serving is indicative, based on New Zealand supermarket prices as at September 2026. Batch prices your own week against your own store on the day. Nutrition figures, including calories, are estimates rather than label readings, so always check the packet if you have an allergy. "Notable for" reflects well-established qualities of the ingredients used, not a lab measurement of this exact dish.