Mexican Bento Box

This Mexican Bento Box is less a fusion recipe, and more a Mexican interpretation of a Japanese lunch box. The compartmentalized bento box holds various components for a healthy and fun lunch including tajín chicken, simple slaw, tortilla chips, and more! Read the entire post for inspiration to make a Mexican bento box of your own!🤔

👩🏻‍🍳 Tamara Talks – A Mexican Bento Box?

A bento box is a traditional Japanese meal container that holds a single serving of a balanced meal, typically divided into compartments. It is designed to include a variety of foods such as rice, fish or meat, vegetables, and sometimes fruit, arranged aesthetically.

Bento boxes can be homemade, store-bought, or even found in restaurants. They come in different styles, from simple plastic containers to elaborately designed lacquered boxes. Modern variations include ekiben (train station bento) and kyaraben (character bento, where food is shaped into cute designs).

So why did I pursue coming up with a Mexican bento box? I’m a border girl that loves border flavors. I also have access to amazing produce like avocados, peppers, and limes. I shy away from adding guacamole or sliced avocado to anything that I won’t consume for a while because of the discoloration. I find that my avocado hummus stays fresh for several hours, and I still get my avocado fix.

📋 Ingredients Notes

Here is a quick look at the ingredients in the recipe – it’s handy to use at the grocery store or as a summary of what you need. Skip to the recipe for quantities.

• chicken – I specified an ultra simple shredded chicken (rotisserie) with tajín. You can use homemade tajín or purchased tajín.
• cabbage – We’re doing a very simple slaw with cabbage, jalapeño, scallion, cilantro, lime juice, and shredded carrot. Half of a lime squeezed over the cabbage keeps it fresh!
• dressing – A light cilantro ranch is a perfect choice for this simple slaw. You can probably find a good commercial option as well!
• tortillas – I make baked tortilla chips regularly, and they’re my choice for a bento box. See Tips below for instructions. A fresh, soft flour tortilla or corn crackers are good options as well.
• veggies – On photo day, I chose jicama and mini bell pepper. You can do carrot sticks, zucchini, celery sticks…
• veggie dip – We LOVE this avocado hummus. The hummus is a good option because it includes avocado, but is very slow to discolor. If you plan to eat soon, you’re probably fine with guacamole or avocado crema.
• extras – I added a couple of ready-made items to round out my bento box. I had some Babybel cheese on hand, and they made a great addition. I always have roasted pepitas, and they make a nice, healthy snack too!

🔪 Step-By-Step Instructions

• Make condiments/sauces – If you’re including homemade condiments or sauce, you’ll want to get them made first. I highly recommend this cilantro jalapeño ranch for the veggie slaw. This avocado hummus pairs really well with the veggies and with chips.
• Prepare the chicken – I use rotisserie chicken unless I have meal prep chicken breast on hand. The ultra simple preparation involves mixing tajín – either homemade tajín or purchased – with the shredded chicken. Easy peasy!
• Assemble or prepare the veggies – As mentioned above on photo day it was jicama and sweet bell pepper. You can choose your favorites!

• Assemble your Mexican bento box – You likely don’t have the same bento box as I have. Be flexible in how you arrange yours. The chicken pairs really well with the slaw, and that’s what I recommend, so you can combine them. You’ll want to keep tortilla chips (or tortillas) separate and dry, and you’ll need small containers for the dip and the ranch dressing.

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