Mojo Chicken and Rice Bowls with Mango

If you’re a fan of my harissa honey chicken bowls or my buffalo chicken bowls, you are going to love these Mojo Chicken Bowls. Imagine it: fluffy white rice, a fresh Mojo-marinated chicken thighs (herby, citrusy, garlicky), black beans, fresh mango, red onion, creamy avocado, and more bright fresh herbs. These bowls are packed with big flavor and nutrition (37g protein & 8g fiber per serving!) and I’m going to show you how to making them can be easy and enjoyable.

It’s no secret that bowls are my favorite food group, but if you add a bright citrus marinade/sauce, mango, and avocado, I’m a goner. Goodbye, I want this for dinner at least once a week. Another reason I love a bowl (spoken as a mom of 3 young kids) is that I can plate all the components on the table and let everyone “build their own.” My girls enjoy some autonomy, I get to enjoy some of my favorite foods, and we actually leave the table with fully, happy bellies.

Don’t let the prospect of prepping several components scare you off. I’m going to show you how to make it all come together (all at the right temperature, at the same time) with little-to-no stress. You’ve got this.

If you’re looking for more delicious, loaded bowl recipes, make sure you check out my chicken quinoa bowls, harissa honey chicken bowls, buffalo chicken bowls, and these Mediterranean steak bowls ASAP. Build-you-own-bowl dinner nights for the literal family meal win!

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

• Familiar ingredients, but very different flavors – I’m sure you’ve had chicken thighs, black beans, rice, mango, and maybe even avocado in your home over the last few weeks …but did you have them like this? With a sauce that combined orange juice, lime juice, mint, and loads of garlic?
• It’s easy to prep ahead – because each component can be stored separately, this is an ideal prep-ahead recipe. The day before: pre-cook the rice (this also helps increase the rice’s resistant carbohydrate content!), pre-rinse the beans, chop the mango, make the sauce, and use some of that sauce to marinande the chicken. Then, on meal day, all you need to do is cook the chicken, reheat rice and beans and serve.
• It’s a taste of Cuba – I am not Cuban, so I can’t authenticate, but I’ve admired and studied the beautiful culture for years. This Cuban-inspired Mojo sauce is punchy, garlicky, and brilliantly used as both a marinade for the chicken and finishing sauce at the end. You’ll be licking your bowl.

Mojo Chicken Bowl Ingredients

A bowl is a great excuse to maximize nutrition (at least, that’s how I see it). So, we’re loading it to the brim, but with quality staples you very well may already have on hand. Find ingredient notes (including substitutions and swaps) below.

• Chicken thighs – I like chicken thighs for a few reasons – they’re usually more affordable than their chicken breast counterpart, but they’re also more flavorful and (in my opinion) easier to cook. A chicken thigh won’t dry out like chicken breast if you cook it a touch too long. That said, if you have a hankering for Mojo Chicken Bowls and all you’ve got are some chicken breasts or chicken strips, go for it! Pop them on the grill or bake in a 375F oven until the internal temperature reaches 165F.
• Black beans – never was there ever a more affordable and easier to prepare source of both protein and fiber. Canned beans (or if you’re my hero, made fresh from dried) are as easy as they get. Open the cans, give them a rinse, and either store for meal day or cover with water and bring to a simmer. There are so many other flavors happening in this bowl, you don’t even need to worry about flavoring the beans with anything beyond a little salt.
• White rice – while white rice is my go-to for this bowl, I’ve also made them with tri-colored quinoa, brown rice, and roasted sweet potatoes. Use what you have!
• Red onion – don’t stress over the color of your onion. If it’s red, lovely. If all you have is yellow or white, you’re still in the game.
• Mango – while it’s hard to beat fresh mango, I have also made this recipe with freshly sliced pineapple on top as well. Both were delicious!
• Oregano – if you have a hard time finding fresh oregano, note that you can substitute with dried! Just divide the amount of fresh by 3. So in this recipe, you’d add about 3/4 teaspoon dried to the Mojo sauce.
• Mint – if you can’t find mint (though I want to encourage you to try! it’ll be worth the work) you *can* swap for an equal amount of cilantro (added to the other amount already called-for).
• Cilantro – I wish I had an entire lawn of cilantro …though, having said that, I’d probably eat it in about 3 weeks.
• Avocado – nothing beats a ripe, creamy avocado. It’s also a great source of dietary fiber. That said, if you can’t find it or don’t enjoy/can’t eat it, try some kiwi or omit altogether.
• Orange juice – I’m going to be honest with you, this recipe used to specify “freshly squeezed orange juice” but I don’t remember the last time I actually freshly squeezed an orange. If you’re like me and trying to get out of the kitchen as quickly as possible, you have my full support to just use the bottled stuff. It’ll taste the same.
• Lime juice – same as the OJ! Freshly squeezed is elite but, also, so is shaving 5 minutes off your prep time. I tend to buy pre-squeezed lime juice from the produce section of my grocery store. It’s a luxury I spring for in the name of my sanity,
• Garlic – I could very well name “Mojo sauce” “garlicky citrus sauce” …saying that so you know that the garlic is key. Don’t skip it and I encourage you to use the amount specified! It’s so, so good. Keep vampires away? Yes, also that.

A full ingredient list with exact amounts can be found in the recipe card below.

How much protein and fiber are we talking?

Let’s break it down! These bowls are a bit of a show-off, it nearly effortlessly pulls in over 35g of protein (37g to be exact) and 8g of fiber per serving. The chicken is a great source of protein, but the beans provide an extra boost as well. For fiber, we mostly have the beans, mango, and avocado to thank.

If you want to increase the protein: double the chicken and/or double the beans!

If you want to increase the fiber: a larger serving of beans is the most efficient way to get there!

Recipe Variations and Modifications

• Make it grain-free – if you want a grain-free option, I recommend serving with roasted sweet potatoes in lieu of the white rice. Cut 2 large sweet potatoes into 1″ cubes, toss in olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and roast at 375F for 40 minutes, or until they’re starting to brown.
• Make it low-carb – if you’re looking for a version of this dish that’s lower in carbohydrates, consider swapping the white rice for a cauliflower rice or mixed green. Note that the black beans and mango are also relatively dense sources of carbohydrates here, too – you can omit them if you like.
• Make it dairy-free – this recipe is dairy-free as is.
• Make it gluten-free – this recipe is already gluten-free!
• Make it even higher in protein – I hear you, I see you, I am you. Sometimes, I need dinner to make up for the protein I didn’t maximize earlier in the day (which can look like 50g in a meal). How I do that with this dish: double the chicken. It’s as easy as that! You won’t need to increase the sauce – it’ll stretch.

How to Prep-Ahead

If you’re like me and enjoy getting a head start on your meals for the week, here’s an easy plan to follow:

Prep Day Game Plan

• Make the Mojo sauce.
• Marinade the chicken *IF* you plan on cooking it within the next 24 hours, if not, wait until you’re 24 hours out.
• Pre-cook the rice. Did you know that chilling cooked starches, like rice, actually help reduce the glycemic impact of that food? Meaning, it becomes easier on our blood sugar than if it were fresh off the stove. Reheating doesn’t spoil this, either! It’s a major have-your-cake-and-eat-it-too blood sugar hack.
• Pre-rinse the beans and store them in their own airtight container.
• Pre-chop the mango, cilantro (for garnish) and lime wedges.

Meal Day Game Plan

• Cook the chicken – stovetop, air fryer, or grill; just make sure it comes up to 165F on the inside and then you’re done.
• Reheat the rice – I like to microwave in a glass bowl, covered and with a sprinkle of water, on high for 2 minutes.
• Heat the beans – this can be on the stove (cover with water and bring to a simmer) or also in the microwave, covered and on high for about 2 minutes.
• Plate! You’re done!

How to Serve

My favorite way to serve these Mojo Chicken Bowls are in a “build your own” or family-style. I’ll plate all the components on the table with their own spoons and will let our girls (and my husband) spoon up exactly what and how much they want onto their plates. I find that when I present dinner like this, I get even more buy-in from the family.

Note that you can also plate a container of mixed greens (for anyone who prefers a salad-style) and occassionally, my husband will reach for either a fresh jalapeño or a jar of pickled jalapeños – just to add a little punch of heat.

How to Store

Store any leftover Mojo chicken in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days. Don’t forget to label it with the date! I also recommend storying the rice, beans, and then all the toppings in their own respective containers so that leftovers are easy to pop out and enjoy all over again.

Frequently Asked Questions

If you tried this Mojo Chicken Bowls or any other recipe on my website, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it went in the 📝 comments below!