These Street Corn Rice Bowls are fresh, flavorful, and the kind of easy meal that makes dinner feel a little more fun without a lot of extra work. With chopped chicken thighs, street corn, tomatoes, cucumber, avocado, and red onion all piled over rice, every bite is full of color and texture. The creamy sauce ties everything together in the most delicious yet comforting way.

Healthy chicken and veggie bowl with creamy sauce, cucumbers, and lime garnish.

If I’ve said it once, I’ve said it a thousand times now: I love rice bowls. Honestly, what is not to love about them? They are easy. Filling. Delicious. And mostly healthy. They are also super easy to customize based on your preference and what ingredients you currently have on hand.

So when I picked up a bag of frozen fire roasted Mexican style street corn from Costco, I knew that I had to create a rice bowl around it.

And let me tell you it did not disappoint.

Make these Street Corn Rice Bowls when…

it’s hot outside and you don’t want to turn on the oven or slow cooker
you are craving something fresh and delicious yet filling
you have a bunch of these ingredients already in your fridge and you want to get rid of them

Ingredient notes…

Here is what you’ll need to make this Street Corn Rice Bowls recipe. Please be sure to check the recipe card below for the exact ingredients and measurements.

Cooked chicken: I used leftover chicken thighs that I already had in my fridge from dinner the night before. You could use chicken breasts, or honestly any other kind of protein you want. Ground beef, shrimp, steak… it would all be delicious in this recipe.
Frozen street corn: Like I said above, I picked up a bag of fire-roasted Mexican style street corn from Costco and used that in this recipe, but if you can’t find that you could always just use regular frozen, fresh, or even canned corn kernels.
Rice: I used instant white rice because that’s what I had, but you can use any other kind of rice you want, or even substitute with something like quinoa or lettuce.
Tomatoes: I used diced cherry tomatoes, but you could use any other kind you have, or even omit if you want.
Cucumbers: Used as topping and to add some crunch. You can omit or use any other veggie you prefer.
Red onion: Adds to the street corn flavor. Can omit if needed.
Avocado: Adds some creaminess to the dish as well as more protein. Can omit or substitute if needed.
Cotija cheese: Adds delicious flavor. You could always use another type of cheese if needed like mozzarella or even feta if you want.
Mayo: Used to build the sauce. Can omit, use extra sour cream, or could even substitute Greek Yogurt if you prefer.
Sour cream: Used to build the sauce. Can omit, use extra mayo, or could even substitute Greek Yogurt if you prefer.
Chili powder: To add flavor to the sauce.
Smoked paprika: To add flavor to the sauce.
Garlic Powder: To add flavor to the sauce.
Lime juice: To add flavor to the sauce.
Salt: To add flavor to the sauce.
Water: to help thin the sauce out if needed.

I forgot to include the cheese in this picture

Equipment I swear by…

A good sharp knife, or
A veggie chopper

How to make it…

See the recipe card below for ingredient quantities and full instructions.

Cook your rice according to instructions.
While the rice is cooking, chop and prep your veggies, and make your sauce.
Add some of your rice, veggies, cheese and cooked chicken to a bowl and add your sauce.
Enjoy.

My tips and tricks to make this Street Corn Rice Bowls recipe…

Healthier/Lighter: Swap out the rice for lettuce instead, and turn it into a salad to cut down on the carbs. Use Greek Yogurt instead of the mayo and sour cream.

Spicier: The sauce in this recipe isn’t very spicy, but it does have a little kick. If you like things spicier you could add more chili powder and paprika to the sauce, or even add hot sauce.

Higher protein: Change the amounts and add several different kinds of protein, or double the chicken and less rice and veggies.

Storage notes:

Refrigerate: This recipe keeps the best if you store the ingredients in separate airtight containers. I put my rice in one container, my chicken in another, my sauce in another, and my veggies in another, or a few separate containers and then I assemble when needed. Enjoy within 3 to 4 days.

Freeze: This recipe doesn’t freeze well. You could always freeze the chicken and the rice, but the veggies won’t thaw the best. I recommend buying fresh veggies for it.

Are you struggling right now?

Use prechopped and canned or frozen veggies where you can
Use any leftover meat you have on hand, or a rotisserie chicken instead of cooking chicken for it
Use leftover, or microwavable rice
Use a premade sauce (something with lime, or chipotle or something creamy will do) instead of making one for this recipe

Healthy chicken and vegetable bowl with fresh toppings and lime for nutritious meals.

Thank your for stopping by Comfort In a Bowl. If you create this recipe or any other from our site, we would greatly appreciate you taking the time to share, comment and rate the recipe! Take care of yourself.

Prep Time:20

Total Time:20

Ingredients

For the bowls

2 cups Cooked chicken I used leftover chicken thighs
2 cups Frozen street corn thawed or warmed up
White rice I used instant
2 cups Tomatoes
2 cups Cucumbers
2 cups Red onion
1 Avocado
1 cup Cotija cheese

For the sauce

1 cup Mayo
1 cup Sour cream
1/2 tsp Chili powder
1/2 tsp Smoked paprika
1 tbsp Garlic Powder
3 tbsp Lime juice Or squeeze 1 small lime
1/2 tsp Salt
3-6 tbsp Water to thin out sauce

Instructions

Cook your rice according to instructions.
While the rice is cooking, chop and prep your veggies into small bite-sized pieces.
To make your sauce combine the mayo, sour cream, garlic powder, chili powder, paprika, salt, and lime juice and mix it all together. Slowly add some water to thin it out, until it reaches the consistency that you prefer.
Add some of your rice, veggies, cheese and cooked chicken to a bowl and top with your sauce.
Enjoy.

Notes

Check the ingredient notes in the post above for substitutions.

Check the storage notes in the post above for fridge or freezing instructions.

Check the tips, tricks, and if you are struggling sections in the post above to perfect recipe, or make things even easier/faster.

Servings: 4

Enjoying our rice bowl recipes?

My burnout situation…

I’ve been trying so hard to create healthier habits and better routines for myself lately.

The nature of my job was that some days I didn’t even have time for a single coffee break or lunch. And occasionally I would have to stay for overtime in order to get the work done. I am also not allowed to have food or even liquids in my work area, so that meant I would go the entire day without food or water.

That is why I’m not shocked that my physical health (or mental health) is not the greatest.

Since I’ve been on stress leave I’ve been working a lot on hitting a daily step count so that I get my body moving, drinking enough water, and also remembering to fuel my body and eat regular meals.

But I find I’m also struggling with the fact that I am a recovering perfectionist. So I used to view a lot of things as all or nothing. That is probably why I struggle so hard with sticking to a diet. The second something doesn’t go my way, or I would “cheat” or take a bite of something I wasn’t supposed to, that meant I immediately failed and I would often throw the entire diet and any progress I made away.

Trust me, I’m working on it in therapy.

But I was doing really good. I hit my step count (and even over it) like 9 days in a row. But then I had to get some dental work done and I got a cold right after, and let me tell you that cold knocked me on my butt.

I could hardly breathe let alone go for a walk, so unfortunately I’ve spent the last week or so nursing myself back to health.

In a normal situation I would go “ahhh it’s over I failed at it” and go back into survival mode, but not this time.

I’m just going to work on focusing on each day and making better choices each day for myself, and each day is a brand new day and a brand new start.

Conclusion…

Positive changes, and building habits don’t only happen if you are perfect and never “mess up”.

They happen because you are consistent and even if you have a bad day, you get back to it and try to do better the next day.

That’s it. It doesn’t have to be so complicated.

Just like with food. You can eat pasta, or soup, or whatever you are craving that may not fit into your diet plan one day. And you can still make a better or “healthier” choice the next day. You don’t need to throw all your progress away or “start at the beginning”.

Take care of yourself

-Caitlin