These barbacoa burrito bowls are loaded with tender and tangy homemade barbacoa and all your favorite burrito toppings layered over a bed of cilantro lime rice.
Sometimes there’s nothing quite as satisfying as digging into a big bowl of rice and meat and beans. You could run out for takeout and buy a burrito bowl, but they’re pretty delicious and easy to make at home.
Make these with leftover barbacoa if you have it or follow my easy barbacoa recipe for tender fall-apart meat with hardly any hands-on cooking time.
Ingredients
- Cilantro rice: This homemade cilantro rice is made with 4 ingredients, butter, long-grain rice, cilantro, and a lime. It’s fluffy, perfect, and so good topped with burrito fillings.
- Barbacoa: The shredded beef for these burrito bowls is a pared-down version of my favorite barbacoa recipe . You can make it on the stovetop or toss it in the crockpot before you leave for work in the morning.
- Your favorite burrito toppings: For these bowls, I used pico de gallo , black beans, corn, cheese, sour cream, and guacamole.
More Topping Ideas
There isn’t much you can’t put in a burrito bowl. Some other toppings to try:
- Salsa
- Scrambled eggs for a breakfast burrito bowl
- Olives
- Fajita vegetables
- Fresh tomatoes
What to serve with burrito bowls?
Burrito bowls can really be a meal on their own, but if you want to add some veggies, try roasting some green beans or zucchini to serve alongside or add chips and salsa (or nacho cheese sauce !).
How to store leftovers?
To store leftovers, allow rice to cool and store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Store leftover barbacoa in its juices in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
To store assembled bowls for meal prepping, build bowls in airtight containers (I like t hese 3-cup Pyrex containers ) omitting any ingredients that you wouldn’t want to microwave like sour cream and guacamole. Store for up to 3 days.
Can I make the barbacoa in advance?
Yes! You can make the barbacoa a couple of days in advance. If making in the slow cooker, you can also pre-cut the meat and pre-mix the rest of the ingredients the night before. In the morning, just toss the meat in the slow cooker, pour the rest of the ingredients over the top and let it cook while you go about the rest of your day.
More Recipes That Make Great Leftovers
- Carne Asada Burrito Bowls
- Easy Short Ribs
- Homemade Carnitas
- Simple Beef Stew
- Easy Chili
Ingredients
Barbacoa
- ▢ 1 boneless 2-3 pound chuck roast trimmed and cut into fist-size chunks
- ▢ Salt and pepper
- ▢ 1 medium white or yellow onion diced
- ▢ 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
- ▢ 1-6 cups beef or chicken broth
- ▢ 1/4 cup lime juice
- ▢ 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
- ▢ 2 chipotle peppers in adobo sauce minced optional
- ▢ 1 tablespoon ground cumin
- ▢ 1 tablespoon dried oregano
- ▢ 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves optional
- ▢ 3/4 teaspoon salt
- ▢ 3 bay leaves
Cilantro Lime Rice
- ▢ Juice from 1 lime about 2 tablespoons
- ▢ Scant 2 cups chicken broth
- ▢ 1 cup long-grain rice
- ▢ Zest from 1 lime divided
- ▢ 1 tablespoon ( 14g ) butter salted or unsalted is fine
- ▢ 1/4 teaspoon salt
- ▢ 1/4 cup chopped loosely packed cilantro divided
Burrito Bowls
- ▢ 1 15-ounce can black beans rinsed, drained, and warmed
- ▢ 1 15- 15-ounce can corn drained and warmed
- ▢ 1/2 cup ( 2oz ) shredded Mexican-blend cheese
- ▢ 1 cup pico de gallo
- ▢ 1/2 cup guacamole
- ▢ 1/4 cup sour cream
Instructions
Barbacoa
- Generously salt and pepper meat on all sides.
- In a large dutch oven (or skillet if you’ll be using a slow cooker), heat oil over medium-high heat. Brown meat on all sides, in batches if necessary. This may take up to 15 minutes.
Stovetop Barbacoa
- Add onion and just enough chicken or beef broth to mostly submerge the meat. Stir, scraping the bottom of the pan to remove any stuck-on bits. Stir in remaining ingredients and bring mixture to a low simmer. Cook, stirring occasionally for 2 1/2 to 3 hours, until meat is very tender and can be pulled apart with a fork.
Slow Cooker Barbacoa
- If using a slow cooker, transfer meat and any drippings remaining in the pan to the slow cooker and add onions, 1 cup of broth and remaining ingredients. Cook on high for 3 to 4 hours, low for 7 to 8 hours, until the beef is tender and can be easily shredded with a fork.
Shred
- Once meat is done, use a slotted spoon to transfer the pieces to a cutting board. Use two forks to shred the meat, discarding any large pieces of fat as you go.
- Return shredded meat to the cooking liquid. Add more salt and pepper to taste.
Cilantro Lime Rice
- Add lime juice to a 2-cup measuring cup. Fill the measuring cup the rest of the way with chicken broth.
- In a saucepan or rice cooker, cook rice according to package instructions, replacing the water with the lime juice/chicken broth mixture and adding butter and salt when you add the rice (if the package instructions already call for salt, do not add additional salt).
- After rice has finished cooking, stir in half of the lime zest and cilantro. Taste and add more lime and cilantro to taste.
Burrito Bowls
- Divide cilantro rice between bowls or food prep containers. Top rice with shredded barbacoa and the rest of your burrito bowl toppings. Serve and enjoy.
Notes
These easy Chocolate Souffles for Two drizzled with homemade creme anglaise are a perfect make-ahead date night dessert.
Hey, do you need a recipe to impress? I have just the thing for you: chocolate souffles!!
Here’s the thing about souffles: They sound fancy. They look and taste amazing. People think they’re hard to make. You are 100 percent capable of making one and winning at hosting forever and ever.
Souffles get a bad rap but they are really not that difficult. If you follow the instructions, you’ll do great.
I’ve literally never had one fail on me, and I don’t think I can say that about any other dessert category under the sun (oh, the fallen cupcake stories I could tell…).
What is a chocolate soufflé?
Chocolate souffles are a French dessert made primarily with eggs and chocolate. Whipped egg whites are folded into a mixture of melted chocolate, butter, and egg yolks and then baked. As it bakes, the mixture puffs up and rises tall and beautiful above the rim of the baking dish.
The tricky thing about souffles is that what goes up must come down. Once removed from the oven, the souffle will begin to sink within minutes, so they’re meant to be served immediately after baking.
And when not mixed properly or treated too roughly, they can sink prematurely which is what gives people such anxiety about making them.
What does a chocolate souffle taste like?
A good chocolate souffle will have a rich chocolate flavor with a light and airy outer texture that practically melts in your mouth. As you get closer to the center of the souffle, the texture becomes creamier and more custardy.
It’s absolutely delicious and an incredibly fun dessert when you’re craving something a little different and special feeling.
Ingredient Notes
- Semi-sweet chocolate: I recommend using good-quality chopped chocolate in this recipe, but high-quality chips like Ghirardelli or Guittard will work.
- Room temperature eggs and butter: It’s very important that the eggs and butter are room temperature because they won’t whip up/incorporate well with the other ingredients if they are cold.
- Cream of tartar: Cream of tartar helps stabilize the egg whites and make them easier to whip up. If you don’t keep it stocked, it’s a handy ingredient to keep around (especially if you’re a fan of snickerdoodles ). You can order it online or find it in the spice aisle at your local grocery store.
How to Make Chocolate Souffles
- Brush ramekins with softened butter and coat with sugar. This gives the souffles something to grasp as they rise (as opposed to smooth, slippery ramekin walls) and helps make taller, more stable souffles.
- Melt chocolate and stir in room temperature butter before setting aside.
- Combine egg whites and cream of tartar and beat until stiff peaks form.
- Whisk egg yolks into the chocolate mixture and then fold whites into the chocolate in four parts.
- Transfer to prepared ramekins, clean up the edges, and bake until tall and beautiful.
- Serve immediately and enjoy!
Creme Anglaise Sauce for Souffles
You can serve the chocolate souffles on their own or dusted with powdered sugar and chopped strawberries, but if you really want to take these to the next level, add creme anglaise.
Creme anglaise is a sweet, creamy custard sauce–basically vanilla ice cream minus the ice. It is one of my favorite dessert sauces because it is lovely and rich, but not too sweet and adds a simple sophistication to anything you serve it over.
When you pair it with a chocolate souffle, it makes for a toe-curlingly good dessert. Plus making the souffles will leave you with one extra egg yolk , and this sauce just happens to use one egg yolk. 😉
Can I make a soufflé ahead of time?
Yes, but you must bake them just before serving. These souffles can be assembled up to 24 hours in advance and stored in the refrigerator.
Simply bake according to recipe instructions just before you’re ready to enjoy them. (There are more detailed make-ahead instructions in the note section of the recipe.)
What causes a souffle to collapse?
All souffles will fall eventually. Once removed from the oven, the souffle will begin to sink within minutes. But if your souffle collapsed before it was done baking it might have been:
- Your egg whites were not whipped long enough. Your egg whites need to be whipped to stiff peaks (when you lift the beaters out, the whites should form peaks that stand straight up and don’t curl at the tips). Under-beaten eggs might not provide enough structure and the souffle can collapse.
- The ingredients weren’t properly mixed. There is a fine line between over-mixing which can deflate your egg whites and under-mixing which can leave pockets of dense chocolate. Since these pockets of chocolate don’t have enough egg whites in them, they will not rise with the rest of the souffle creating weak spots that can collapse and take the rest of the souffle with it. To avoid this, you want to make sure to mix the souffles well enough that there are no very distinct streaks of egg whites or chocolate remaining before spooning it into your ramekins.
- You opened the oven too soon/your oven runs cold. If you open your oven door or try to move a souffle before it’s set, the cold air/movement can make it collapse. To avoid this, don’t open the door to check on your souffle until the timer goes off. If you do this and you find that the souffle is still falling when you open the oven door, check your oven temperature with an oven thermometer . Oven temps can often be off by quite a bit, so if your souffle is baking at a lower temperature, it won’t cook as quickly and be ready to come out even if the timer says it should be.
Is a chocolate souffle hard to make?
Not really. Chocolate souffles are easy to make, they’re just also easy to mess up.
If you read the recipe and follow the steps carefully, you’ll do great. The steps themselves are all simple and overall, souffles are about the same amount of work as making a batch of chocolate chip cookies . They are simply less forgiving of mistakes and improvisation.
More Recipes to Impress
- Homemade Carnitas
- Roasted Tri-tip
- Beef Short Ribs
- Easy Roasted Chicken
- Pork Ragu
More Desserts for Two
- Small-batch Cinnamon Rolls
- Small Chocolate Cake
- S’mores Cookie
- Small-batch Brownies
Ingredients
Special Equipment
- ▢ Liquid measuring cup optional but helpful
- ▢ 2 6-ounce ramekins
- ▢ Pastry brush optional but helpful
- ▢ Handheld electric mixer
Creme Anglaise
- ▢ 3 tablespoons heavy cream
- ▢ 2 tablespoons milk
- ▢ 1 large egg yolk you can reserve the white for the souffle*
- ▢ 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
- ▢ ½ teaspoon vanilla
For the Ramekins
- ▢ 1 tablespoon ( 14 g) unsalted butter room temperature
- ▢ 1 tablespoon ( 12 g) granulated sugar
Souffles
- ▢ 1 cup ( 6 oz) chopped semi-sweet chocolate high-quality chips are fine
- ▢ 1 tablespoon ( 14 g) diced unsalted butter room temperature
- ▢ 3 large egg whites room temperature
- ▢ 2 large egg yolks room temperature
- ▢ ⅛ teaspoon cream of tartar
Instructions
Creme Anglaise
- In a 1-quart pot, bring heavy cream and milk to a simmer. Remove from heat and transfer mixture to a liquid measuring cup (if you have one) for easy pouring.
- In a small bowl, vigorously whisk together egg yolk, sugar, and vanilla for 30 seconds. Whisking continuously, very slowly drizzle in hot cream mixture, being careful not to go too fast and scramble the egg.
- Once cream is completely incorporated, wipe out your 1-quart pot and pour in egg and cream mixture. Heat over medium heat, stirring constantly until thickened and custard coats the back of your spoon, 1 to 2 minutes. Do not simmer. Set aside or store covered in the refrigerator if making in advance.
Souffles
- Remove the top rack from your oven so your souffles can sit on the bottom rack and rise unobstructed. Preheat your oven to 400°F.
- Use a pastry brush and softened butter to grease the entire inside of the ramekins. Coat the sides in long brush strokes from the bottom up to the top all the way around. Add 1/2 tablespoon of the sugar to each ramekin and shake so that all of the butter is coated. Discard any loose sugar. Place the ramekins in the fridge.
- Place chocolate in your double boiler* and melt over barely simmering water. Remove from heat and stir in diced, room-temperature butter. Set aside.
- In a medium bowl, combine egg whites and cream of tartar.
- With a handheld electric mixer, beat whites until stiff peaks form–eggs should be glossy and when beaters are lifted straight out, peaks should stand straight up and not flop over at the tip. Place bowl in the refrigerator.
- Whisk the egg yolks into the chocolate mixture until smooth. Remove egg whites from the refrigerator and use a silicone spatula to fold about 1/4 of the whites into the chocolate mixture. Continue to fold the rest of the whites in in thirds until mixed. The mixture will not be completely uniform in color, but there should be no very distinct streaks of white. Divide the mixture between 2 ramekins, filling to the very top. Discard any extra. (If making ahead, skip to the notes.)
- Use a knife or dough scraper to scrape excess off the top for a perfectly flat top, then run the very tip of your index finger all the way around the inside of the ramekin, making a small channel between the souffle and the edge of the dish. Wipe edges and outsides of the ramekins with a clean kitchen towel and place on a baking sheet.
- Bake on the bottom rack of your oven for 11 to 13 minutes, until lifted nicely. Do not open your oven before the timer goes off as the cold air could affect the souffles’ rise. Souffles will begin to slowly drop just a couple minutes after they come out of the oven, so serve immediately. At the table, top with creme anglaise and enjoy.
Notes
These incredibly easy Small-batch Shortbread Cookies are buttery, crumbly, and perfect when paired with a cup of hot tea or coffee.
Shortbread cookies are something you can enjoy all year long, but they’re particularly perfect this as the weather turns colder because they go so well with a hot cup of tea or coffee .
A warm drink and classic shortbread is the ideal pairing for those dark, gloomy winter afternoons when you need a little pick-me-up to get you through the last bit of the day.
A Small-batch Shortbread Recipe
As per usual, this is a small-batch recipe . It will make about 18 two-bite cookies so you can enjoy them over the course of a couple of days or share with a couple friends.
18 might sound like a lot, but these cookies are quite small, and with little cookies this good, they go quick. 😉
Ingredient Notes
Classic shortbread is typically made with just three ingredients , flour, butter, and sugar, but different variations of those ingredients can create vastly different cookies.
- All-purpose flour: Using AP flour gives you a light but not too delicate cookie. Be sure to use the spoon and sweep method to measure your flour (stir the flour in your container to fluff it up and then spoon it into your measuring cup, sweep excess off with the flat of a knife) as too much flour can make your dough dry and crumbly.
- Softened salted butter: Salted butter gives the cookies a nice even distribution of salt. If you’re not sure if your butter is the right temperature, press a finger into it. It should be easy to leave an indentation, but the butter around it should hold its shape.
- Powdered sugar: Powdered sugar makes a delicate, slightly crumbly cookie that snaps just a little when you bite into it and then practically melts in your mouth..
How to Make Shortbread Cookies
- Cream together softened butter, powdered sugar, and vanilla.
- Mix in flour until no streaks of flour remain.
- Chill for 20 to 30 minutes until the dough is firm enough to handle.
- Roll and cut into cookies.
- Bake until golden.
How to Serve Shortbread
Another of the many fabulous things about shortbread is that the serving options are endless.
Because I like to be a little extra in all things, I added white chocolate and sprinkles to this batch. It’s totally optional but very good. Kind of like a grown-up version of Circus Animal Cookies.
If you don’t want to eat your shortbread plain and white chocolate and sprinkles aren’t your thing, here are a few more ideas.
- Drizzle with Chocolate Sauce
- Spoon on Caramel or Dulce de Leche
- Dunk in Chocolate Milk, Hot Chocolate , or a Homemade Mocha
- Scoop up Sanguinaccio Dolce
I’m in a hurry. Do I have to chill the dough?
Yes. Chilling the dough allows it to firm up enough to be able to roll it out and cut your cookies.
Can I freeze shortbread cookies?
Yes! Shortbread cookies freeze extremely well. Store them in the freezer in an airtight container or freezer bag for up two months. They can be eaten frozen right out of the freezer or set them on a plate at room temperature for 15 to 20 minutes before eating.
Can I make these into larger cookies?
Sure! Sometimes I like to shape these into 5 or 6 larger cookies and them top them with vanilla frosting once they’ve cooled. To make them larger, just extend the baking time slightly until the edges are golden and the tops look set.
What is the difference between a sugar cookie and a shortbread cookie?
The difference between a sugar cookie and shortbread cookie is the ingredients. Shortbread cookies are traditionally made with just butter, sugar, and flour. Sugar cookies use these plus egg and leveners like baking powder or soda.
These ingredients change the texture of the finished cookie so where shortbread cookies are generally always dense and a little crumbly, sugar cookies can be fluffy, chewy, bendy, crispy or soft depending on the ratio of ingredients used.
Can I double the recipe?
Absolutely. This recipe can be scaled up with no preparation changes needed. To change the recipe yield, hover over the serving size in the recipe card below or click if you’re on mobile, and slide the slider.
More Small-batch Cookie Recipes
- Small-batch, No-chill Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Small-batch Peanut Butter Cookies
- Small-batch Gingerbread Cookies
- Small-batch Cut-out Sugar Cookies
- Small-batch Snickerdoodles
Or scroll through my Small-batch Cookie Recipe archives for even more.
Ingredients
Shortbread Cookies
- ▢ 4 tablespoons ( 2oz ) salted butter softened
- ▢ 2 tablespoons ( 15g ) powdered sugar
- ▢ 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract optional
- ▢ 1/2 cup ( 60g ) all-purpose flour measured by weight or using the spoon and sweep method*
Toppings (optional)
- ▢ 1 1/2 ounces good quality white chocolate chopped
- ▢ Sprinkles
Instructions
Shortbread Cookies
- In a medium bowl, combine softened butter, powdered sugar, and vanilla, and beat until well-combined and fluffy.
- Add flour and beat until dough comes together. Scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl, making sure that no streaks of flour remain, and form the dough into a ball. Cover bowl and chill for 20 to 30 minutes.
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or silicone baking mat. Set aside.
- Lightly flour your work surface and rolling pin and roll out chilled dough to between 1/8 and 1/4-inch thick. Use a 1 1/2-inch cookie cutter or shot glass to cut out 18 to 20 small cookies, gathering and re-rolling dough as necessary. If at any time your dough becomes difficult to work with, place it back in the refrigerator for a couple minutes. Transfer cookies to prepared baking sheet and refrigerate dough for 15 minutes.
- While your dough is chilling, preheat your oven to 350°F. Bake cookies for 9 to 12 minutes, until they begin to lightly brown around the edges.
- Cool completely.
Toppings
- Place white chocolate in a microwave-safe bowl and microwave on medium heat for 30 seconds. Stir. If necessary, microwave for an additional 15 seconds and stir, repeating until chocolate is smooth.
- Transfer chocolate to a small disposable bag, snip one corner off and pipe the chocolate on to the cookies. Sprinkle with sprinkles if desired. Allow 30 to 40 minutes at room temperature for the chocolate to harden or place cookies in the refrigerator and it will set almost immediately. Enjoy!
Notes
Barbacoa Burrito Bowls
Ingredients
Barbacoa
- 1 boneless 2-3 pound chuck roast trimmed and cut into fist-size chunks
- Salt and pepper
- 1 medium white or yellow onion diced
- 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 1-6 cups beef or chicken broth
- 1/4 cup lime juice
- 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
- 2 chipotle peppers in adobo sauce minced optional
- 1 tablespoon ground cumin
- 1 tablespoon dried oregano
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves optional
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 3 bay leaves
Cilantro Lime Rice
- Juice from 1 lime about 2 tablespoons
- Scant 2 cups chicken broth
- 1 cup long-grain rice
- Zest from 1 lime divided
- 1 tablespoon ( 14g ) butter salted or unsalted is fine
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 cup chopped loosely packed cilantro divided
Burrito Bowls
- 1 15-ounce can black beans rinsed, drained, and warmed
- 1 15- 15-ounce can corn drained and warmed
- 1/2 cup ( 2oz ) shredded Mexican-blend cheese
- 1 cup pico de gallo
- 1/2 cup guacamole
- 1/4 cup sour cream
Instructions
Barbacoa
- Generously salt and pepper meat on all sides.
- In a large dutch oven (or skillet if you’ll be using a slow cooker), heat oil over medium-high heat. Brown meat on all sides, in batches if necessary. This may take up to 15 minutes.
Stovetop Barbacoa
- Add onion and just enough chicken or beef broth to mostly submerge the meat. Stir, scraping the bottom of the pan to remove any stuck-on bits. Stir in remaining ingredients and bring mixture to a low simmer. Cook, stirring occasionally for 2 1/2 to 3 hours, until meat is very tender and can be pulled apart with a fork.
Slow Cooker Barbacoa
- If using a slow cooker, transfer meat and any drippings remaining in the pan to the slow cooker and add onions, 1 cup of broth and remaining ingredients. Cook on high for 3 to 4 hours, low for 7 to 8 hours, until the beef is tender and can be easily shredded with a fork.
Shred
- Once meat is done, use a slotted spoon to transfer the pieces to a cutting board. Use two forks to shred the meat, discarding any large pieces of fat as you go.
- Return shredded meat to the cooking liquid. Add more salt and pepper to taste.
Cilantro Lime Rice
- Add lime juice to a 2-cup measuring cup. Fill the measuring cup the rest of the way with chicken broth.
- In a saucepan or rice cooker, cook rice according to package instructions, replacing the water with the lime juice/chicken broth mixture and adding butter and salt when you add the rice (if the package instructions already call for salt, do not add additional salt).
- After rice has finished cooking, stir in half of the lime zest and cilantro. Taste and add more lime and cilantro to taste.
Burrito Bowls
- Divide cilantro rice between bowls or food prep containers. Top rice with shredded barbacoa and the rest of your burrito bowl toppings. Serve and enjoy.
