Review: Cholula Salsa Verde Chicken Burrito Bowl and Smoky Chipotle Veggie Burrito Bowl

Bottom Line: These burrito bowls make for a quick meal with a bit of kick, but they are best when gussied up with additional ingredients.

Cholula currently has several frozen entries in stores, and I previously tried their Smoky Chipotle Burrito Bowl (more on that here). I decided to pick up two more that I saw in the freezer section—the Smoky Veggie and Salsa Verde Chicken. Here’s what each of those comes with:

Salsa Verde Chicken Bowl: black beans, rice, grilled white-meat chicken, bell peppers, roasted red onions, Monterey Jack cheese, and Salsa Verde Cholula Sauce (which you can buy in jars in the salsa section).

Smoky Chipotle Veggie Bowl: black beans, rice, fire-roasted corn, fire-roasted red onions, bell peppers, savory cheese blend, Cholula Chipotle Sauce.

As with the previous bowl I tried, the beans and rice dominate the flavors, bringing a strong earthiness. But the salsa verde delivers some good tang, and the pieces of chicken seem more plentiful than in the previous bowl, adding some nice texture. Most of the other ingredients get lost in the mix, though, and they are rather sparse to begin with. The heat level only reaches about Mild on my scale, but that’s what you expect with most Cholula sauces.

As for the veggie bowl, the fire-roasted corn stands out with a nice pop of sweetness, even if it is a bit mushy. There’s a hint of smokiness from the chipotle sauce, and the cheese adds some good flavor and sharpness. But otherwise, this is very similar to the other two bowls, with the beans and rice once again dominating the taste. As for the heat, this one comes in under Mild on my scale, but it still has a bit of a kick.

That said, as with most frozen items, these act as a good base, and a few tweaks can turn them into a decent meal. If you add some shredded cheese along with diced onions, chili peppers, guacamole—maybe some cilantro or other veggies—the bowls turn out pretty good. Heat up a couple of tortillas on the side, and you’ve got yourself a solid meal. They’re quick and easy to prepare, and the final heat level depends on what you add.

As for the calories, the Salsa Verde bowl comes in at 300, and the veggie bowl comes in at 290 cals. Your add-ons will probably bump that number over 500 cals (you can go with corn instead of flour tortillas if you want to keep the count down), which is still not that bad.

These sell for around five bucks at full retail, but I’ve generally seen them on sale for four bucks or less. At that price, they’re certainly worth it, while five bucks pushes the value to the high side. As far as I know, these are permanent items—or at least as permanent as sales dictate. The veggie bowl was on clearance at my local Target when I picked it up, so that variety may be on the way out. But they also have a Chili Lime Pork Carnitas bowl, so I’ll keep an eye out for that one.

Nutrition Info:

Salsa Verde Chicken Burrito Bowl

Ingredients: cooked white rice (water, white rice), tomatillos (tomatillos, citric acid), cooked chicken breast strips with rib meat (chicken breast with rib meat, water, modified food starch, salt, sodium phosphate), red and green bell pepper, black beans (black beans, water), fire-roasted red onion, water, cheddar cheese (pasteurized cultured milk, salt, enzymes, annatto [vegetable color]), monterey jack cheese (pasteurized milk, cheese cultures, salt, enzymes), onion, cholula green sauce (jalapeno pepper, water, sugar, salt, poblano chili pepper, acetic acid, garlic powder, jalapeno pepper powder, xanthan gum, poblano pepper flavor, sodium benzoate [preservative], sodium metabisulfite [preservative]), green chiles (green chile peppers, less than 2% of: calcium chloride, salt, citric acid), poblano pepper, cilantro, corn starch, jalapeno pepper (jalapeno, salt, acetic acid, calcium chloride), chicken stock concentrate (chicken stock, natural flavors [contains chicken meat], salt, chicken fat, modified corn starch, garlic powder, spices, vegetable stock [carrot, celery, onion, leek, red bell pepper, tomato, parsley, garlic]), canola oil, garlic (garlic, water), salt, spices (cumin, black pepper)

Serving Size: 255g
Calories: 300
Fat: 8g (3g Sat/0 Trans)
Protein: 16g
Carbs: 42g
Sodium: 820mg

Smoky Chipotle Veggie Burrito Bowl

Ingredients: Cooked White Rice (Water, White Rice), Diced Tomatoes (Tomatoes, Tomato Juice, Citric Acid), Black Beans (Black Beans, Water), Fire-Roasted Corn, Green Bell Pepper, Fire-Roasted Red Onion, Ground Tomatoes (Tomatoes, Tomato Puree, Citric Acid), Water, Cheddar Cheese (Pasteurized Cultured Milk, Salt, Enzymes, Annatto [Vegetable Color]), Monterey Jack Cheese (Pasteurized Milk, Cheese Cultures, Salt, Enzymes), Cholula Chipotle Sauce (Water, Vinegar, Sugar, Peppers [Chipotle, Guajillo, Arbol, Piquin], Salt, Natural Flavors, Spices, Garlic Powder, Xanthan Gum, Fruit Juice), Chipotle Puree (Chipotle Pepper, Water, Salt, Vinegar), Cilantro, Canola Oil, Salt, Onion, Guajillo Chili Pepper Base (Water, Guajillo Chili, Onion Puree, Sea Salt, Cane Sugar, Spices [Including Mustard], Cilantro, Garlic Puree, Sesame Seeds, Paprika, Corn Starch, Citric Acid), Chili Powder (Chili Pepper, Spices, Salt, Garlic Powder), Garlic (Garlic, Water), Spices (Cumin, Black Pepper, Oregano, Paprika), Corn Starch, Sugar

Serving Size: 255g
Calories: 290
Fat: 7g (2.5g Sat/0 Trans)
Protein: 10g
Carbs: 48g
Sodium: 870mg