If someone ever asked me “What’s your absolute favorite thing to eat for dinner?”, the answer, without a doubt would be something like these Mediterranean rice and chicken bowls with tzatziki. Duh. It’s too easy. They’re full of all my favorite things! We’ve got tzatziki, flavorful rice, salad of choice and the chicken, I start salivating just thinking about all of these together!
The real question would be “Why would anyone care what my favorite meal is?” This is where the scenario becomes unrealistic. I’m not a celebrity, I’m not a nutritionist, I’m not chatGPT or a giant tastebud. I’m just a real human who loves to cook and eat real food, not tiny portions with edible flowers on them.
And, in my humble opinion, I think everyone else should be cooking these Mediterranean chicken bowls with rice and tzatziki! Give them a try. They come with a ton of flavor, are super versatile, make a great meal prep recipe and one of the best healthy dinner ideas for real people. Plus you can have the leftovers for lunch too, I’ll tell you later how to prep those. First, let’s look at what’s inside.
Mediterranean Rice and Chicken Bowls Ingredients
Here are some of the things you need when you’re making these Mediterranean rice and chicken bowls for dinner:
- Chicken. Either pan-sear, boil, bake or use leftover chicken.
- Tzatziki. You can make your own in 5 minutes or you can buy it from the store. I like fresh better and all you need are strained Greek yogurt, garlic, cucumber and dill (optionally). Plus some salt.
- Rice. You can use any type of grain here – quinoa would work too. I used the healthy black pepper rice I made recently and it was perfect!
- Salad. Whichever your favorite seasonal salad! For example, you can go for a tomato and cucumber based salad (summer), lettuce salad (spring/fall) or even cabbage slaw (spring, fall, winter).
- Sauerkraut. I love making my own sauerkraut and lately I’ve been using it in all types of recipes! In my opinion, it adds a nice kick to the bowls, but feel free to use other pickled or fermented vegetables you like, if you don’t have/want sauerkraut.
How To Make Mediterranean Rice and Chicken Bowls
The key to making the Mediterranean rice and chicken bowls in around 30 minutes for dinner is multitasking. I know, multitasking has a bad rep – it doesn’t work, it makes you stupid…well, here it does work and you’ll be as smart as ever and happier than ever before! So here’s the plan:
- Let the rice cook first – you’ll only need to set it, bring to boil, then simmer, then let sit.
- While that’s cooking, you can make the salad and the tzatziki. This would take you around 15 minutes with all the washing and chopping involved.
- Then make the chicken. You’ll use cooked chicken or you’ll cut it up and cook it within 10 minutes on the stove. The reason I left this part as the last step is that I like to eat my chicken when it’s still warm.
- Last, assemble the bowls starting with salad, rice, the chicken, sauerkraut and the tzatziki.
- Enjoy!
Options
As mentioned, this Mediterranean chicken bowls recipe is super versatile. Here are some things you can change up:
- bake chicken, stir-fry it or use leftoever
- add in whichever type of salad you love
- use whichever kind of rice or grains you like
- add hummus, olives, grilled zucchini, eggplant – whatever your heart desires!
Meal Prep And Storing
If you want to meal prep the recipe, I recommend storing the chicken and the rice in one container and the tzatziki in another one. You can pre-cut some vegetables for the salad too and store them in another container in the fridge for up to 3 days.
When it’s time to eat, either bake or microwave the rice and chicken (use proper container for that!) then assemble with the vegetables, sauerkraut and the tzatziki!
More Easy Mediterranean Recipes
I hope you enjoy these tasty Mediterranean rice and chicken bowls when you make them! For more healthy Mediterranean recipes, check these out:
- Easy Mediterranean Tuna Pie
- Mediterranean Breakfast Scrambled Eggs
- Amazing Mediterranean Chicken Wraps
Mediterranean Rice and Chicken Bowls With Tzatziki
These Mediterranean rice and chicken bowls with tzatziki are a versatile healthy dinner idea! You need tzatziki, flavorful rice, salad and chicken and you can meal prep them too!
Ingredients
Chicken
- 2 cups chicken, shredded
- 1 tsp oregano
- 3 garlic cloves
- 1 carrot, thinly chopped
- 1/2 small red onion, chopped
- 1/2 tsp hot paprika or as needed
- 1 tsp curry powder
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tbsp water (if needed)
Tzatziki
- 1 cup cucumber, shredded or grated
- 1 tbsp fresh dill, thinly chopped
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 cup strained Greek yogurt
Black Pepper Rice
- 1/2 cup rice (I used basmati)
- 1 1/2 cup cauliflower, thinly chopped*
- 1 tsp black pepper kernels
- 1/2 onion, thinly chopped
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- 3/4 cup water
- 1 1/2 tsp curry powder
- 1 tsp oregano
- 1 tbsp olive oil
Additionally
- sauerkraut (optional)
- red onion (optional)
- seasonal salad of choice*
Instructions
- Black Pepper Rice: Chop the cauliflower and the onion very thinly and mince the garlic. Rinse the rice a few times until the water runs clear. In a pan with a lid, saute the onion, cauliflower and garlic with olive oil, curry powder, salt and oregano for about 2 minutes while stirring. Add in the rest of the ingredients (rice, water, black pepper kernels and if needed some more salt and ground black pepper), then bring to a boil. Keep the pan covered with the lid (it should take 2-3 minutes). Then reduce the heat and simmer for 10-12 minutes or until rice is tender (read package instructions, as cooking times can vary). Turn the heat off, but keep the rice covered and let it sit for 5 more minutes. This will help the rice absorb any extra water. Fluff with a fork and if desired, squeeze some lemon over it (for a more tangy taste).
- Tzatziki: Thinly chop the dill, grate the cucumber, and mince the garlic. Add all ingredients to a bowl with a 1-2 pinches of salt and mix.
- Salad: Choose a salad you love and prepare it.
- Chicken: Add all ingredients to a pan and stir fry for 2 minutes, then add some water and cover for 2-3 minutes. Then stir-fry again for 2 minutes without a lid.
- Assemble the bowls with rice, salad, chicken, sauerkraut and tzatziki.
Notes
Here are some easy salads to try depending on what you have:
- radish greens salad (this is what I used and I loved it, but it might not be everyone's taste)
Nutrition Information
Yield 2 Serving Size 1Amount Per Serving Calories 629Total Fat 33gSaturated Fat 7gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 23gCholesterol 133mgSodium 190mgCarbohydrates 35gFiber 7gSugar 10gProtein 50g