Once a week I'd get the Zesty Chicken rice bowl (they called them border bowls I guess?). They're like a really REALLY good salad, with not too much lettuce. Healthy too, as nothing is fried, it's full of veggies, brown rice, beans and cheese. Of course they eventually decided to discontinue their border bowls and I was devastated. Thankfully, I have some decent cooking skills and I was able to recreate what I consider an almost perfect match of Taco Bell's version. So, here goes the recipe!
This serves 2 people by the way. Brown 2 chopped chicken breasts in 1-2 Tbsp of oil.
Halfway through the cooking, add pepper to the chicken and sprinkle a good amount of taco seasoning on the chicken. You may need to add a couple tablespoons of water if the seasoning doesn't distribute well.
Next up, the rice. I used Uncle Ben's rice in a bag (SO easy to make!), again added more taco seasoning as well as some taco bell mild taco sauce.You don't want it super flavorful, but enough you can taste the seasoning. You could also use any quick or long grain rice as long as you add some taco seasoning to the water. Some commenters cooked the rice in chicken broth for more flavor too.
Spread about half the can in the bottom of a bowl
top with a cup or so of rice
then half of the cooked chicken
Then tortilla strips. I found these at walmart in the salad dressing aisle
Then top with chopped tomatoes, shredded cheddar or colby jack cheese, and shredded lettuce. (Sorry no pictures of the last two)
Trust me, this Rice bowl is SO good! If you've made it and like it, Comment! Tell me what you changed to make it better. I love suggestions for other copycat recipes too.
Becca
Oh my gosh!! If I could hug you through the screen right now, I would! I used to get these all.the.time. It was the only thing I would eat at Taco Bell and just like you, I was devastated when they got rid of it! :( I am going to try your version. :) Thanks so much for posting this!!
ReplyDeleteI was just wondering if I could recreate the southwest steak bowl and found this. Amazing, thanks so much! I'm going to try this right away.
DeleteThanks so much for this.. I loved these and I just went the other day and the girl looked at me weird and I said.. "are they before your time" she said "must be"
ReplyDeleteI made these for dinner and OMG they are so freaking good! Thanks and my kids loved them too
ReplyDeleteOMG! I've been asking Taco Bell when are they going to bring back the boarder bowls. Needless to say I couldn't wait any longer so I looked online to see if anyone had posted the recipe. I'm so happy to have found your blog. I just got done making & eating this. Absolutely amazing!! I cannot thank you enough. I'm 6 months pregnant & have a major craving for this. THANK YOU!!
ReplyDeleteI'm so glad u have this here I'm prego and I use to eat it alot back in the day. So I went to Taco Bell yesterday and I asked for the Zesty bowl and they gave me the fiesta bowl that was clearly not it and I asked for my money back bc the lil girl didn't have a clue she probably thought I was crazy. But thank u again so much!!
ReplyDeleteJust went to Taco Bell and got the veggie version..it was delicious but I'm going to try this and see how it turns out
ReplyDeleteOmg thank you so much for this recipe!!! I too was devastated by taco bell discontinuing this bowl. Today was 1 of those days I had a serious craving for 1. I found your recipe and went to work. I did make a couple of changes though - I used chipotle taco seasoning and let the chicken simmer in it, instead of regular tortilla strips I used the sante Fe 1's, I cooked my rice with chicken broth instead of water, I added in sliced avacodos and taco bell's creamy jalapeno sauce. I would take my version over taco bell's any day! Lol! Thanks a million times over for this recipe. It saved my life :)
ReplyDeleteIf you ever try making this, instead of ranch, make the Southwest Cream Sauce found in the following recipe!!:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.gourmetdaytoday.com/2012/01/09/spicy-citrus-shrimp-tacos-with-southwestern-cream-sauce/
It tastes just like the zesty sauce.
Awesome! I will give it a try. Thanks for the suggestion and the link!
DeleteOh, and I used sour cream in the recipe.
ReplyDeleteI've been craving these zesty chicken bowls for two weeks now and I found your recipe. It is AWESOME. I made these bowls and they are delicious. Thank you soooo much.
ReplyDeleteI know this is a late comment...but this recipe has become a staple in my home since I first discovered your blog 5 months ago. I have tried many 'copycat' recipes and I have almost always been disappointed with the results. Not this time. This is exactly how I remember the Zesty Chicken Fiesta Bowl from Taco Bell (before it disappeared from their menu in my hometown). For me, the key is the Kraft/Taco Bell Spicy Ranch Dressing. I hope this dressing is never discontinued (you wouldn't happen to have a copycat recipe for that would you?).
ReplyDeleteThank you so much. This is SPOT on and satisfies the cravings I have been having.
When I first made this recipe years ago, they didn't have the Kraft Taco Bell Spicy Ranch dressing, but I use it for this recipe now too! I will definitely try to do a copycat for that as well, seeing how they'll discontinue it like everything else we get addicted to!
ReplyDeleteGlad so many people have enjoyed this recipe! I'm working on a Skippers Chowder copycat recipe right now!
I found this recipe when I was pregnant and was careful with what I could eat so I have been waiting to try for months and I finally did last night! WOW, So good! The only thing is, I remember being the sauce a little bit more on the tangy side. but other than that, it was so close and I will be making this often!
ReplyDeleteIt was so hard to find the spicy ranch sauce. Were you able to make it yourself and if so, please share the recipe!!
Luv this so much, thank you!!!! We add jalapenos! Brings back memories from when the hubby and I were first dating. We would go to Taco Bell every single Friday for the longest time :) This and the chili cheese burritos were my absolute favorite. I had to find a copy cat recipe for those too since I missed them as well.
ReplyDeleteI finally got everything I need to make this, though I'm doing a steak version rather than chicken.
ReplyDeleteI was so excited to find your instructions...I used to love the Border Bowls and have missed them so much.
I really appreciate you taking the time to put this together and share it. I didn't even know spicy ranch dressing existed!
I LOVED these bowls. I would order one every time I went to Taco Bell lol. I found ordering the recent Power Menu bowl with chicken, add crispy red strips, and extra avacado ranch taste very similar. I order this when in a pinch and want the similar flavors and don't feel like cooking lol
ReplyDeleteThank you for this recipe!! Just like everyone else here, i GREATLY miss these zesty chicken bowls and have even thought about writing TB a letter to petition for it back! 🤣 i was So excited to try this recipe and it did not disappoint! My husband loved it (granted he never ordered the zesty chicken bowl at TB)! Ralph’s did not have the kraft spicy ranch dressing, Taco Bell sauce nor the Taco Bell refried beans! 🤦🏻♀️ so i bought The hidden valley regular ranch, store brand mild salsa that resembled Taco Bell’s mild sauce, and used Taco Bell original seasoning mix! So glad they had the original seasoning mix so that SOMETHING tasted like it was from Taco Bell! I used the traditional store brand refried beans and added tiny diced onions and used low sodium chicken broth to thin it out a little. For rice, they ran out of uncle Ben’s white rice so i used Long grain rice i already Had at home, added the TB seasoning, mild salsa, and low sodium chicken broth. With all the modifications, it surprised me how close it was to the real zesty chicken bowl! Oh i used Rotisserie chicken from Costco too since i already Had it and sprinkled a little of the taco seasoning on it over stove top to warm up. Next time i will Try the hidden valley spicy ranch (they don’t seem to have the Kraft version around here in LA). THANK YOU THANK YOU FOR THIS RECIPE!!! 🙏🏼 🙏🏼
ReplyDeleteI am so excited to try this. Was the only thing i got there at the time. Thank you so much
ReplyDelete