These copycat Chipotle Carne Asada Bowls feature cilantro lime rice, creamy pinto beans, fajita vegetables, and tender pieces of skirt steak. The steak is marinated in a blend of oil, orange juice, vinegar, and spices, then grilled until perfectly juicy. You can customize these steak and rice bowls with your favorite toppings, and everything can be made in advance for meal prep on busy weeks!
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I Love Chipotle’s Carne Asada Bowls, But These Are SO Much Better
Confession time: I absolutely love Chipotle and I love their carne asada steak bowl. It’s by no means authentic Mexican food, but I have soft spot for it. It’s fast, healthy-ish, fresh, and sustainably sourced — what’s not to love?
I wanted to create a copycat recipe and this one is SO good! There’s fragrant cilantro lime rice, homemade pinto beans, and juicy strips of marinated grilled steak.
The steak and rice bowls are the perfect blank canvas for your favorite Mexican-inspired toppings. I usually sauté some onions and peppers for topping the bowls, and if I have time I’ll match a batch of homemade pico de gallo too. Add some creamy avocado, chopped cilantro, and a squeeze of lime, and you’re good to go!
The great thing about these bowls is that they’re meal prep friendly and can be made as “homemade” or not as desired. Certain toppings (like the pico or guac) can be purchased pre-made, and even the rice can be heated up using those instant rice packets. So long as you marinate the steak yourself, these bowls will taste delish!
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The 5 Key Ingredients
You can find the full list of ingredients, quantities, and method in the recipe card at the end of the page.
- Steak. I suggest using skirt steak, but flank steak works great too. They’re both tougher cuts of beef that need to be tenderized in an acidic marinade before grilling.
- Carne asada marinade. The marinade is taken from my classic carne asada recipe. Olive oil and red wine vinegar are the base of the marinade, with sliced orange thrown in for its flavor and tenderizing properties. To season the steak, you’ll need a good amount of kosher salt plus fresh garlic, ancho chili powder, ground cumin, and dried oregano.
- Pinto beans. I’ve included instructions in the recipe card below on how to cook the pinto beans from scratch in an Instant Pot. You’re welcome to use canned pinto beans, if desired.
- Cilantro lime rice. Cooked white rice gets some pep put into its step in the form of freshly squeezed lime juice and lots of cilantro. That’s it!
- Toppings. I love topping my Chipotle copycat steak bowls with sauteed peppers and onions, pico de gallo, cilantro, and avocado, but any topping is fair game here.
How to Make Carne Asada Bowls Like Chipotle
- Marinate the steak for up to 8 hours. To make things easy, I add the marinade ingredients to a zip-top bag and squish everything around with my hands to combine before submerging the steak in the marinade. Pop the whole thing into the fridge and bring to room temp when you’re ready to grill.
- Cook the pinto beans. There’s no soaking required, just add the dried pinto beans to your Instant Pot along with the cooking liquids and seasonings, then pressure cook on high for 50 minutes before doing a natural release.
- Prep the cilantro lime rice. I usually cook the rice in my Instant Pot after I transfer the beans to something else. 2 cups of long grain white rice + 2 cups of water cook for 12 minutes on the rice setting and then I just stir in the rest of the ingredients. Could not be easier!
- Grill the steak over medium heat. Skirt steak cooks in just 4 to 6 minutes total (I like mine medium). Always let grilled meats rest for a few minutes before slicing to let the juices redistribute.
- Assemble the bowls. You can make 4 to 6 generously sized bowls from this recipe.
Meal Prep Tips
If meal prepping these steak burrito bowls, I suggest storing the fresh toppings and warm bowl base in separate containers.
The rice, carne asada, pinto beans, and fajita veggies (if using) can be divided evenly between 4 to 6 meal prep containers and reheated together. The fresh toppings should be stored separately in the fridge but are fine to transfer to a single container the morning you pack your lunch or dinner to-go.
Recipe Variations to Try
- Swap the pinto beans for Instant Pot refried beans or “drunken” borracho beans
- Sub the carne asada with Mexican grilled chicken or braised pork carnitas
- Instead of cilantro lime rice, use arroz verde or Mexican rice
- Swap in fresh toppings like corn salsa, salsa verde, shredded lettuce, cotija cheese, or pickled red onions
- Make your own guacamole instead of using plain diced avocado
If you do give this recipe a try, be sure to let me know! Leave a comment with a star rating below. Be sure to subscribe to my weekly newsletter and never miss a new recipe! You can also snap a photo & tag @JENNYGOYCOCHEA on Instagram. I LOVE hearing about & seeing your SMF creations!
More Bowl Dinners That Are Great for Meal Prep
- Shrimp Burrito Bowls
- Chipotle Beef Burrito Bowls
- Chipotle Chicken Burrito Bowls
- Salmon Rice Bowls
- Homemade Hibachi Bowls
- Spicy Salmon Sushi Bowls
- Grilled Teriyaki Chicken Bowls
- Rainbow Poke Bowls
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Carne Asada Bowls Recipe
Ingredients
Carne Asada Marinade
- 1 1/2 lbs skirt steak
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 1 1/2 tablespoons ancho chile powder
- 2 teaspoons ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 navel orange, sliced
- 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt
Instant Pot Pinto Beans
- 1/2 lb dried pinto beans
- 1/2 white onion, diced
- 12 oz. Mexican beer (such as Modelo)
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 2 bay leaves
- 2 cups water or chicken stock
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt
Cilantro Lime Rice
- 4 cups cooked white rice
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 lime, zested and juiced
- 1/4 cup chopped cilantro
- salt and pepper to taste
Toppings
- 1 red bell pepper, sliced
- 1 yellow bell pepper, sliced
- 1 yellow onion, sliced
- 1 bunch green onions, only white/light green parts (save the tops for another recipe)
- 1 cup pico de gallo
- 1 avocado, sliced (optional)
- cilantro leaves, for garnish
Instructions
- Marinate the steak. If your skirt steak is in very long pieces, cut it down into 8-10" pieces. Mix all the marinade ingredients together in a Ziploc bag and add the steak, tossing to make sure all the steak is evenly coated. Marinate for 2 hours, up to 8.
- Cook the pinto beans. Throw everything into the pot of an Instant Pot and lock the lid in place. Set to manual or pressure cook on high for 50 minutes with a natural release. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
- Make the cilantro lime rice. While the cooked rice is still warm, toss with the oil, lime zest, lime juice and chopped cilantro. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
- Grill the steak. Once you are ready to grill, discard the orange slices. Preheat an outdoor grill over medium heat. Grill the steak for 2-3 minutes per side for medium doneness. (Adjust cooking time to your preferred level of doneness.) Rest the steak for 5 minutes and then dice into bite sized pieces.
- Cook the peppers and onions. Throw the peppers, onions and green onion pieces into a hot cast iron with a small amount of neutral oil. Cook until all the veggies are softened and charred in places. Season with a little salt and pepper.
- Assemble the bowls. Add rice to the bottom of a serving bowl. Top with steak, beans, peppers/onions, pico de gallo, cilantro and sliced avocado. Serve immediately.
Notes
Nutrition
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