About a year ago Cole and I started playing D&D weekly, which meant we were eating out for one meal each week. I had never had Chipotle before, but quickly became addicted to their steak burrito bowls. I decided to see if this was a dish that I could replicate at home, and I’m pretty happy with the result. This is also a grilling recipe and serves 4-5 people, so it could be a great option for a family dinner on a night when the weather is perfect to pull out the grill. Another part of this dish that I love is the Mexican Rice component, and this is a side that I make on many other nights such as a taco night or burrito night.
*This dish requires the steak to be marinated. Make sure to give yourself an hour before starting the grill to give the flavors time to set in.
**Special tools needed – meat thermometer
2 – 2 ½ lbs Flank Steak
Marinade
½ Lime – juiced
1 tbsp Olive OIl
1 tsp Paprika
¼ tsp Ground Chipotle Pepper
1 tsp Minced Garlic
½ tsp Dried Onion FLakes
1 tsp Hot Sauce (I use Crystals)
Mexican Rice
3 cups Minute Rice
3 cups Water
1 ½ tsp Chicken Bouillon
1 ½ tsp Minced Garlic
1 tsp Dried Onion Flakes
1 tsp Chili Powder
⅛ tsp Cayenne Pepper
½ tsp Dried Cilantro
½ Lime – Juiced
Optional Toppings
Jalapeno Black Beans (Canned black beans also work)
Salsa
Avocado
Shredded Pepper Jack or Goat Cheese
Sour Cream
1. This recipe has a couple different components, but must be started by marinating the steak. Make sure to give the steak at least 45 minutes to an hour to marinate before grilling.
2. Cut the lime in half and squeeze the juice from half of it into a small bowl. Put the other half in the fridge to save for the rice.
3. Mix the olive oil and all of the other marinade ingredients into the bowl with the lime juice.
4. Flank steaks typically come with large chunks of fat on both sides of them. Use a sharp knife to trim as much fat as possible. There will most likely still be some spots that aren’t able to be trimmed, but as long as the thick chunks are chopped off it will be okay.
Flank steak before and after trimming fat.
5. Rub the marinade into both sides of the steak and let it rest at room temperature for 45 minutes to an hour. Make sure to cover with foil or cling wrap to avoid exposure to germs.
6. Toward the end of the marinating process, start cooking the rice. Plan on preparing the Minute Rice however you normally would. Personally, I like to use a rice steamer, but I know other people like to use the stove. Either method works. Mix the rice, water, chicken bouillon, minced garlic, and dried onion into the rice before it cooks, then make it according to the box instructions.
7. Once the rice is cooked, squeeze the other half of the lime into the rice, and mix in the chili powder, cayenne pepper, and cilantro. Cover the rice to keep it warm while the steak cooks.
8. Heat the grill to 400-450 degrees, then clean the grill and use a heat resistant basting brush to oil the grill with olive oil.
9. Set the steak on direct heat and cook on both sides for 4 minutes. Check the temperature after the time is up. The goal temperature is 135-140 degrees. This will cause the majority of the steak to be rare to medium rare.
Kitchen Tip: While some people like steak well done, it is essential not to overcook a flank steak. Flank steak becomes extremely tough and chewy if it is cooked beyond medium rare. While the flavor will still be good, the texture will be difficult to enjoy.
10. If the steak is not done after the initial 8 minutes of cooking time, turn all of the burners down to low and leave it on the grill for another 3-4 minutes. This should be plenty of time to get the steak to 140 degrees unless the steak is thicker than the average cut of flank steak. Most importantly, the temperature of the meat is essential to making this dish correctly. Do NOT overcook the steak.
11. Once the steak is cooked, let it rest for about 4-5 minutes then use a very sharp knife to cut into thin pieces.
Kitchen Tip: Just like the cooking temperature of the steak, the thinner a flank steak is cut, the better the texture will be. I’m going to admit I made a mistake in the picture above. I cut some of the pieces in the picture waaaay too thick, but my knife could have been sharper, and I was impatient/hungry, so I didn’t spend as much time carving the steak as perfectly as I should have. Ideally, the steak pieces should be cut against the grain to be only about ¼ inch thick or thinner if your knife is sharp enough to do super thin slices. However, if you get impatient, like I did, the recipe will still taste delicious, the steak pieces will simply be chewier the thicker they are cut.
12. Mix the rice, steak pieces, and any other desired toppings together in a bowl.
My definition of a perfect fajita bowl has the following combo: ½ cup rice, ⅓ cup black beans, ⅓ cup steak pieces, ¼ cup shredded pepper jack cheese OR 1 tbsp crumbled goat cheese, 2 tbsp salsa, and 1 tbsp sour cream.
Kitchen Tip: I know a lot of Wisconsinites would cringe over the use of goat cheese, but I promise, any time you are making Mexican cuisine, goat cheese adds an extra creamy touch that is equally delicious to regular cheeses. Cole and I have been eating a lot more goat cheese recently in an attempt to have a healthier diet, and we both agree that in Mexican cuisine, the dishes are just as good this way. If you haven’t had goat cheese yet definitely give it a try! But, if you can’t bring yourself to try something new, then pepper jack is the best option for this dish.
Overall, Fajita Bowls are a great family friendly food because they make up a lot of servings and the toppings can be traded out so that everyone is happy with the ingredients in their bowl. However, I cannot stress this enough, DO NOT overcook the steak, and DO NOT cut the steak too thickly. Those are the two easiest ways to ruin the success of this recipe!
July 1, 2023
Steak Fajita Bowls – Soup's On with Schallock
maximios Recipes
About a year ago Cole and I started playing D&D weekly, which meant we were eating out for one meal each week. I had never had Chipotle before, but quickly became addicted to their steak burrito bowls. I decided to see if this was a dish that I could replicate at home, and I’m pretty happy with the result. This is also a grilling recipe and serves 4-5 people, so it could be a great option for a family dinner on a night when the weather is perfect to pull out the grill. Another part of this dish that I love is the Mexican Rice component, and this is a side that I make on many other nights such as a taco night or burrito night.
*This dish requires the steak to be marinated. Make sure to give yourself an hour before starting the grill to give the flavors time to set in.
**Special tools needed – meat thermometer
2 – 2 ½ lbs Flank Steak
Marinade
½ Lime – juiced
1 tbsp Olive OIl
1 tsp Paprika
¼ tsp Ground Chipotle Pepper
1 tsp Minced Garlic
½ tsp Dried Onion FLakes
1 tsp Hot Sauce (I use Crystals)
Mexican Rice
3 cups Minute Rice
3 cups Water
1 ½ tsp Chicken Bouillon
1 ½ tsp Minced Garlic
1 tsp Dried Onion Flakes
1 tsp Chili Powder
⅛ tsp Cayenne Pepper
½ tsp Dried Cilantro
½ Lime – Juiced
Optional Toppings
Jalapeno Black Beans (Canned black beans also work)
Salsa
Avocado
Shredded Pepper Jack or Goat Cheese
Sour Cream
1. This recipe has a couple different components, but must be started by marinating the steak. Make sure to give the steak at least 45 minutes to an hour to marinate before grilling.
2. Cut the lime in half and squeeze the juice from half of it into a small bowl. Put the other half in the fridge to save for the rice.
3. Mix the olive oil and all of the other marinade ingredients into the bowl with the lime juice.
4. Flank steaks typically come with large chunks of fat on both sides of them. Use a sharp knife to trim as much fat as possible. There will most likely still be some spots that aren’t able to be trimmed, but as long as the thick chunks are chopped off it will be okay.
Flank steak before and after trimming fat.
5. Rub the marinade into both sides of the steak and let it rest at room temperature for 45 minutes to an hour. Make sure to cover with foil or cling wrap to avoid exposure to germs.
6. Toward the end of the marinating process, start cooking the rice. Plan on preparing the Minute Rice however you normally would. Personally, I like to use a rice steamer, but I know other people like to use the stove. Either method works. Mix the rice, water, chicken bouillon, minced garlic, and dried onion into the rice before it cooks, then make it according to the box instructions.
7. Once the rice is cooked, squeeze the other half of the lime into the rice, and mix in the chili powder, cayenne pepper, and cilantro. Cover the rice to keep it warm while the steak cooks.
8. Heat the grill to 400-450 degrees, then clean the grill and use a heat resistant basting brush to oil the grill with olive oil.
9. Set the steak on direct heat and cook on both sides for 4 minutes. Check the temperature after the time is up. The goal temperature is 135-140 degrees. This will cause the majority of the steak to be rare to medium rare.
Kitchen Tip: While some people like steak well done, it is essential not to overcook a flank steak. Flank steak becomes extremely tough and chewy if it is cooked beyond medium rare. While the flavor will still be good, the texture will be difficult to enjoy.
10. If the steak is not done after the initial 8 minutes of cooking time, turn all of the burners down to low and leave it on the grill for another 3-4 minutes. This should be plenty of time to get the steak to 140 degrees unless the steak is thicker than the average cut of flank steak. Most importantly, the temperature of the meat is essential to making this dish correctly. Do NOT overcook the steak.
11. Once the steak is cooked, let it rest for about 4-5 minutes then use a very sharp knife to cut into thin pieces.
Kitchen Tip: Just like the cooking temperature of the steak, the thinner a flank steak is cut, the better the texture will be. I’m going to admit I made a mistake in the picture above. I cut some of the pieces in the picture waaaay too thick, but my knife could have been sharper, and I was impatient/hungry, so I didn’t spend as much time carving the steak as perfectly as I should have. Ideally, the steak pieces should be cut against the grain to be only about ¼ inch thick or thinner if your knife is sharp enough to do super thin slices. However, if you get impatient, like I did, the recipe will still taste delicious, the steak pieces will simply be chewier the thicker they are cut.
12. Mix the rice, steak pieces, and any other desired toppings together in a bowl.
My definition of a perfect fajita bowl has the following combo: ½ cup rice, ⅓ cup black beans, ⅓ cup steak pieces, ¼ cup shredded pepper jack cheese OR 1 tbsp crumbled goat cheese, 2 tbsp salsa, and 1 tbsp sour cream.
Kitchen Tip: I know a lot of Wisconsinites would cringe over the use of goat cheese, but I promise, any time you are making Mexican cuisine, goat cheese adds an extra creamy touch that is equally delicious to regular cheeses. Cole and I have been eating a lot more goat cheese recently in an attempt to have a healthier diet, and we both agree that in Mexican cuisine, the dishes are just as good this way. If you haven’t had goat cheese yet definitely give it a try! But, if you can’t bring yourself to try something new, then pepper jack is the best option for this dish.
Overall, Fajita Bowls are a great family friendly food because they make up a lot of servings and the toppings can be traded out so that everyone is happy with the ingredients in their bowl. However, I cannot stress this enough, DO NOT overcook the steak, and DO NOT cut the steak too thickly. Those are the two easiest ways to ruin the success of this recipe!