500 Calorie Chicken Fajita Bowl
A fajita bowl usually drowns in cheese, sour cream and a mountain of rice. Keep the char, pile in two whole peppers and an onion for bulk, go easy on the rice, and the whole bowl lands around 490 kcal with 47g protein.
You need
- 1 large frying pan or skillet
- 1 small saucepan
- 1 sharp knife
- 1 small bowl
Ingredients
For 2 servings
- 330 g (11 oz) chicken breast, sliced into strips
- 400 g (about 4) mixed bell peppers, sliced
- 160 g (1 large) red onion, sliced
- 55 g (1/4 cup) basmati or long-grain rice, dry
- 80 g (1/3 cup) greek yogurt, fat-free or 2%
- 20 ml (1.5 tbsp) olive oil
- 1 lime, half juiced, half in wedges
- 2 tsp chili powder
- 1.5 tsp ground cumin
- 1.5 tsp smoked paprika
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp dried oregano
- small handful fresh cilantro
- to taste salt + black pepper
How to cook
Mix the chili powder, cumin, smoked paprika, garlic powder, oregano and a big pinch of salt in a small bowl. Toss the chicken strips with half of it.
Cook the rice in salted water until tender, about 12 minutes, then drain and keep it covered.
Heat half the oil in a large pan over high heat. Add the peppers and onion and let them sit for a minute before stirring, so the edges char.
High heat and a little patience give you the smoky charred edges that make a fajita taste like a fajita, not a stir fry.
Push the veg to one side, add the rest of the oil and the chicken. Cook 6 to 8 minutes, turning, until golden and cooked through to 74C (165F) in the middle.
No thermometer? Cut the fattest strip open. White all the way through with clear juices means it is done.
Stir the remaining spice mix and a splash of water through the pan, squeeze over half the lime, and toss everything for one more minute.
Whisk the greek yogurt with the rest of the lime juice and a pinch of salt for a quick drizzle.
A spoonful of the spiced pan juices stirred into the yogurt loosens it and carries the flavor across the whole bowl.
Build the bowls: rice, then the fajita chicken and peppers, the yogurt drizzle, cilantro and a lime wedge. Serve hot.
Why it fits a lose weight goal
- 490 kcal for a bowl this full. The bulk is two whole peppers and an onion, which pile up the plate for barely 90 kcal between them.
- 47 g protein comes almost entirely from lean chicken breast, so you hold onto muscle while the calories stay low.
- Rice stays a small scoop and the sauce is greek yogurt instead of sour cream or cheese, which is where fajita bowls usually sail past 800 kcal.
Cooking guides
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