Meal Prep
Chipotle Barbacoa Bowls
These High Protein Chipotle Barbacoa Bowls are smoky, juicy, and unapologetically bold- the kind of slow-cooked perfection that makes your kitchen smell like a Chipotle test lab in the best way possible. Tender beef soaks up a tangy chipotle-lime sauce, shredding effortlessly into the ultimate protein base. It’s rich enough to feel indulgent, yet clean enough to fit right into your weekday macro game plan.
- Prep
- 20 min
- Cook
- 20 min
- Makes
- 4 servings
- Prep Time
- 20 mins
- Cook Time
- 20 mins
- Slow Cooker Time
- 420 mins
- Total Time
- 460 mins
Equipment
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Ingredients
Ingredient links open Walmart products from our grocery planner. Links marked “Walmart search” need your product choice. Confirm package details and local availability at Walmart.
For the Barbacoa:
For the Sides:
For the Toppings:
Instructions
Food safety: Freeze unused raw portions.
Prep the Beef & Sauce:
In a bowl, whisk together chipotle in adobo, vinegar, lime juice, cumin, oregano, garlic powder, salt, pepper, and broth.
2 lb boneless chuck roast, 2 tbsp chipotle peppers in adobo, 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar, 1 limes, ½ tbsp cumin, ½ tbsp oregano, ½ tbsp garlic powder, ½ tsp salt, ½ tsp black pepper, 1 cup low-sodium beef broth
Cook the Barbacoa:
Add beef and sauce to the slow cooker, cover, and cook on low for 7- 8 hours until tender.
Shred & Reduce:
Cook the Rice:
Add the listed dry jasmine rice to your rice cooker and prepare according to your preferred method (or package instructions). Fluff with a fork when done and set aside.
1 cup dry jasmine rice
Cook the Veggies:
Spray a large skillet with olive oil. Sauté sliced peppers and onions over medium-high heat until slightly charred and tender. Lightly season with salt and pepper as you cook!
1 tsp olive oil spray, 2 bell peppers, 1 yellow onion, ½ tsp salt, ½ tsp black pepper
Assemble Bowls:
Add rice as the base. Top with barbacoa & fajita veggies, and garnish with fresh cilantro and lime wedges.
2 limes, 2 tbsp cilantro
Recipe notes
Use boneless chuck roast, trimming visible fat before weighing the recipe amount. Nutrition uses the reviewed lean arm/chuck roast estimate; actual marbling varies. Grocery counts allow extra for trimming. Freeze unused raw portions.
Nutrition
Per servingEstimates for one serving.
- Calories
- 537 kcal
- Protein
- 55.6 g
- Fat
- 11.6 g
- Carbs
- 50 g
Full nutrition and how it’s calculated
All values are per serving. Changing the recipe yield scales the ingredients and keeps these per-serving amounts the same.
- Saturated Fat
- 3.86 g
- Polyunsaturated Fat
- 0.86 g
- Monounsaturated Fat
- 5.07 g
- Trans Fat
- 0.46 g
- Cholesterol
- 147 mg
- Sodium
- 909 mg
- Potassium
- 1,101 mg
- Fiber
- 4 g
- Sugar
- 4.9 g
- Added Sugar
- 0.3 g
- Vitamin A
- 15 mcg RAE
- Vitamin C
- 77.02 mg
- Vitamin D
- 0.23 mcg
- Calcium
- 91 mg
- Iron
- 7.91 mg
Estimated ingredient cost
$7.00 per serving · $28.01 for this batch
Ingredient costs and assumptions
Estimated US grocery prices for the amounts used, including purchase waste and discarded marinade. Your store, brands, and package sizes may cost differently. Buying full packages can cost more. Price sources and methodology.
Quantities without exact weights use the nutrition library’s portion estimates. Purchase yields are estimates. Separate citrus ingredients are costed independently; reusing the same fruit for juice and zest can lower your cost. Labor, utilities, and delivery are excluded.
- boneless chuck roast: $23.39
1,209.6 g purchased · Chuck roast used as a beef roast price proxy; specific cuts and trimming vary. Owner-approved conservative shopping/cost estimate: 75% remains after visible-fat trimming; actual yield varies. Nutrition uses the weighed trimmed amount without another 25% reduction.
Authored ingredient weight. Chuck roast used as a beef roast price proxy; specific cuts and trimming vary. Owner-approved conservative shopping/cost estimate: 75% remains after visible-fat trimming; actual yield varies. Nutrition uses the weighed trimmed amount without another 25% reduction.
Walmart: Choice Angus Beef Chuck Roast · Price checked 2026-09-21
- chipotle peppers in adobo: $0.26
32 g purchased · Uses the reviewed ingredient quantity before cooking or marinade losses.
2 tbsp = 32 g Four 7.5 oz cans; price includes peppers and adobo sauce.
Walmart: (4 pack) El Mexicano Chipotle Peppers in Adobo Sauce, 7.5 oz Can · Price checked 2026-09-21
- apple cider vinegar: $0.04
14.9 g purchased · Uses the reviewed ingredient quantity before cooking or marinade losses.
1 tbsp = 14.9 g Representative product for this ingredient; your brand and package size may differ.
Walmart: Great Value Apple Cider Vinegar, 32 fl oz · Price checked 2026-09-21
- limes: $0.25
70 g purchased · Whole purchased item: 70 g each (estimated); includes shell, peel, or seeds.
Editorial medium/large edible fruit and juice-yield estimates. Juiced fruit uses 30 g each; the whole-fruit nutrition profile remains an approximate proxy. Representative product for this ingredient; your brand and package size may differ.
Walmart: Fresh Lime, Each · Price checked 2026-09-21
- cumin: $0.06
3.2 g purchased · Uses the reviewed ingredient quantity before cooking or marinade losses.
1 tsp (ground) = 2.1 g; texture=ground; Editorial ground-cumin estimate: 2.1 g/tsp. Grinding/packing varies; this is not a USDA ground-cumin portion. Representative product for this ingredient; your brand and package size may differ.
Walmart: Great Value Ground Cumin, 2.5 oz · Price checked 2026-09-21
- oregano: $0.07
1.5 g purchased · Uses the reviewed ingredient quantity before cooking or marinade losses.
1 tsp (leaves) = 1 g; texture=leaves Representative product for this ingredient; your brand and package size may differ.
Walmart: Great Value Oregano Leaves, 0.87 oz · Price checked 2026-09-21
- garlic powder: $0.05
4.9 g purchased · Uses the reviewed ingredient quantity before cooking or marinade losses.
1 tbsp = 9.7 g Representative product; brand and package size may differ.
Walmart: Great Value Garlic Powder · Price checked 2026-09-21
- salt: $0.00
3 g purchased · Uses the reviewed ingredient quantity before cooking or marinade losses.
1 tsp = 6 g Iodized table salt reference; not a kosher salt price.
Walmart: Great Value Iodized Salt · Price checked 2026-09-21
- black pepper: $0.05
1.2 g purchased · Uses the reviewed ingredient quantity before cooking or marinade losses.
1 tsp (ground) = 2.3 g; texture=ground Ground black pepper reference; cracked pepper may cost differently.
Walmart: Great Value Ground Black Pepper · Price checked 2026-09-21
- low-sodium beef broth: $0.34
213 g purchased · Uses the reviewed ingredient quantity before cooking or marinade losses.
1 cup = 213 g Regular beef broth used as a price proxy for low-sodium beef broth.
Walmart: Great Value Gluten-Free Beef Broth, 32 oz Carton (Shelf-Stable) · Price checked 2026-09-21
- dry jasmine rice: $0.59
185 g purchased · Uses the reviewed ingredient quantity before cooking or marinade losses.
1 cup = 185 g Representative product; brand and package size may differ.
Walmart: Great Value Jasmine Rice · Price checked 2026-09-21
- olive oil spray: $0.11
4.5 g purchased · Uses the reviewed ingredient quantity before cooking or marinade losses.
1 tsp = 4.5 g Representative product for this ingredient; your brand and package size may differ.
Walmart: Great Value Extra Virgin Olive Oil Cooking Spray, 7 oz Can · Price checked 2026-09-21
- bell peppers: $1.72
360 g purchased · Whole purchased item: 180 g each (estimated); includes shell, peel, or seeds.
1 pepper = 119 g; size=medium; USDA SR Legacy household weights used as an approximate physical conversion for the current ingredient profile; nutrition remains from its own mapped record. Representative product for this ingredient; your brand and package size may differ.
Walmart: Fresh Green Bell Pepper, Each · Price checked 2026-09-21
- yellow onion: $0.26
158.9 g purchased · Editorial purchase-yield estimate: 90% usable; includes discarded peel, shell, or core.
1 onion (edible) = 143 g Representative product for this ingredient; your brand and package size may differ.
Walmart: Fresh Yellow Onions, 3 lb Bag · Price checked 2026-09-21
- salt: $0.00
3 g purchased · Uses the reviewed ingredient quantity before cooking or marinade losses.
1 tsp = 6 g Iodized table salt reference; not a kosher salt price.
Walmart: Great Value Iodized Salt · Price checked 2026-09-21
- black pepper: $0.05
1.2 g purchased · Uses the reviewed ingredient quantity before cooking or marinade losses.
1 tsp (ground) = 2.3 g; texture=ground Ground black pepper reference; cracked pepper may cost differently.
Walmart: Great Value Ground Black Pepper · Price checked 2026-09-21
- limes: $0.50
140 g purchased · Whole purchased item: 70 g each (estimated); includes shell, peel, or seeds.
1 lime (medium) = 67 g; Editorial medium/large edible fruit and juice-yield estimates. Juiced fruit uses 30 g each; the whole-fruit nutrition profile remains an approximate proxy. Representative product for this ingredient; your brand and package size may differ.
Walmart: Fresh Lime, Each · Price checked 2026-09-21
- cilantro: $0.27
2 g purchased · Uses the reviewed ingredient quantity before cooking or marinade losses.
0.25 cup = 4 g Representative product for this ingredient; your brand and package size may differ.
Walmart: Fresh Cut Cilantro, 0.5 oz Clamshell · Price checked 2026-09-21
Make it yoursRecipe notes & meal-prep tips
Macro breakdown
- Protein55.6g42%
- Carbs50g38%
- Fat11.6g20%
Per serving · Share of calories from macros
Calculated using 4 calories per gram of protein and carbs, and 9 for fat. Rounding and fiber can affect the listed calorie total.Triple B's Meal Prep Notes
Shred the barbacoa, then mix it back through the cooked juices before you portion it. That step spreads the chipotle, lime, and spices through the meat and gives each bowl some moisture for the rice. If you scoop dry beef into the first few containers and add the pot juices at the end, the meals can end up tasting surprisingly different from one another.
The beef takes the long stretch of this slow-cooker meal prep, so cook the rice and sauté the peppers and onions near the finish. Keep the lime wedges and cilantro separate if you want to add them fresh after heating. A wedge in the container is an easy reminder to finish the meal rather than skipping that last bit of acidity on a busy day. Keep a little bite in the peppers when they come off the heat. They soften faster than the beef needs to cook, so their separate pan stage should stay brief; do not let them simmer away in the barbacoa juices.
For a refrigerated serving, microwave on high for 90 seconds, stir, then heat for another 45 seconds. Use that as a starting point and continue in short intervals as needed until the food reaches 165°F throughout. Stir the beef and rice together enough to spread the juices and turn any larger pieces of meat during the pause. Add the lime and cilantro afterward. For another batch with a different flavor profile, browse the beef meals or the other Mexican-inspired recipes.
Notes from your kitchen
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From the community
I built this recipe to complete the chipotle copycat arc. I wanted everyone, no matter the chipotle order, to have a cheaper, healthier, and more flavorful solution. Tell me if this kept you out of the chipotle line!