Mediterranean Chicken and Rice Bowl
Who doesn't love mediterranean rice bowls? From the marinated chicken on top of rice with hummus and garlic sauce, to the Greek salad covered in lemon vinaigrette dressing. This recipe packed with so much flavor and not only does it taste great, it's also healthy! This dish is the one dish my family begs me to make at least twice a month. To be frank, I could live off this meal for the rest of my life and be happy, but don't tell them that, they might hold me to it.
Rice bowls in general are amazingly versatile meals, which is why I love them. They're usually healthy and are great for meal prepping for lunch and dinner. You can carry them around the house and even enjoy them while watching your favorite show on the couch.
This recipe will be a multi-step recipe and will be broken out as such. I also used a few time-saving ingredients, as we all know how precious time can be when trying to feed the whole family. The steps are not complicated, but I wanted to section them off for ease of use. So, prepare your tastebuds and ready your plates because we are going to take a journey together.
Ingredients for the Mediterranean Chicken and Rice Bowl
- Chicken: The chicken is going to get marinated in a wonderful lemon and garlic based marinade. This marinade tastes amazing and works well with this dish. You may choose to grill or cook the chicken in a pan, it's up to you.
- Hummus: In this recipe I used store bought hummus to save on time. Our favorite brand of hummus comes from Garden Fresh as they're local to us and my wife went to high school with the original owner's son!
- Garlic Sauce: I purchased this as well to save time. I've found it really brings an amazing zing to the dish.
- Long Grain Rice: Typically, I would use long grain rice but since I wanted to save some time, I used boil-in-bag rice.
- Lemon Vinaigrette: This is so easy to toss together and uses a lot of the same ingredients that we use to marinate the chicken. Not to mention, really brings the dish together.
- Greek Salad: Chop the veggies and toss them in a bowl. Romaine lettuce, Roma tomatoes, red onion, and cucumber are the perfect combination to make a fantastic Greek salad.
- Feta Cheese (Optional): I love feta cheese; it has the perfect punch for most salads. Although my family isn't really a fan, so this an optional ingredient.
- Kalamala Olives (Optional): I did not use these in the dish, as they are optional, and my wife and I are not fans of olives. But for those of you that enjoy them, I recommend throwing some in.
- Pickles (Optional): Since I had a few Refrigerator Pickles lying around, they were a terrific addition to the dish.
Making the Chicken
Step 1
Combine Lemon Juice, Olive Oil, Fresh Parsley, Garlic, Smoked Paprika, Kosher Salt, Ground Pepper, and Organo in a glass baking dish or a large plastic food bag. Save any extra fresh parsley for later.
Step 2
Add Chicken to glass dish or food bag and coat it with the marinade. Marinate anywhere between 20 minutes or up to 24 hours.
Step 3
Remove Chicken from dish or food bag and grill or cook on a pan for up to 5-6 minutes per side until cooked through. Let rest for 2-3 Minutes.
Start the Rice
Step 1
For this Mediterranean Bowl, I used boil-in-bag Rice for this step. Simply boil for 10 minutes and you are done! Set aside and you are ready for plating. If you plan to make a different kind of rice, please review the instructions on how to make it properly.
Making the Lemon Vinaigrette
Step 1
Using a mason jar or any other container with a tight lid, add the Red Wine Vinegar, Dijon Mustard, Dried Oregano, Kosher Salt, Ground Black Pepper, Olive Oil, Garlic, and Lemon Juice. Then shake the container until thoroughly combined.
Making the Greek Salad
Step 1
Combine the Romaine Lettuce, Red Onion, Cucumber, Kalamata Olives (Optional), and Roma Tomatoes in a large salad bowl.
Step 2
Add Lemon Vinaigrette, and mix thoroughly until properly coated, then set aside.
Plating
Plating this dish is simple and looks amazing when it's complete. Below you will find the steps to make an amazingly rustic looking Mediterranean Bowl.
- Using a large bowl, spoon 1 serving of Rice into it, covering half of the base, then lightly flatten.
- On the other half, place 1 serving of the Greek Salad.
- Slice one Marinated Chicken breast, then place it on top of the rice.
- Add 1 serving of Hummus to the center of the bowl, along with 1 serving of Garlic Sauce.
- Top the Greek Salad with Feta Cheese, and the Chicken with Fresh Parsley, then serve.
Conclusion
As mentioned before, this mediterranean bowl is my family's favorite meal. It's packed with so much flavor that sends you to heaven and back. The tangy taste of the salad with the smokey flavors of the chicken pair well with the hummus and garlic. It's just one of those dishes where there aren't any borders, and you don't mind your food touching. The flavors pair so well that you could mix the whole bowl together and eat forkful after forkful. I hope your family loves this dish as much as we do. Be sure to rate and comment below and let us know what you think!
Recommended Recipes
Below are some links to other recipes around the site.
- 4 lb Skinless Boneless Chicken Breast (4 Breasts)
- 3 tbsp Lemon Juice (Freshly Squeezed)
- 3 tbsp Olive Oil
- 3 tbsp Fresh Parsley (Finely Chopped)
- 3 clove Garlic (Pressed)
- 1 tsp Smoked Paprika (Regular Paprika is fine)
- 1/2 tsp Dried Oregano
- 1/2 tsp Kosher Salt
- 1/2 tsp Ground Pepper
- 2 cup Long Grain Rice (Substitute Boil-In-Bag Rice)
- 3-1/2 cup Water
- 2 tbsp Butter
- 2 tsp Salt
- 1/4 cup Red Wine Vinegar
- 2 tbsp Dijon Mustard
- 1 tsp Dried Oregano
- 1/2 tsp Kosher Salt
- 1/4 tsp Ground Black Pepper
- 1/2 cup Olive Oil
- 2 tbsp Lemon Juice (Freshly Squeezed)
- 2 clove Garlic (Pressed)
- 2 Romaine Lettuce Heads (Chopped)
- 2 Roma Tomatoes (Quartered)
- 2 Mini Cucumbers (Substitute 1 English Cucumber)
- 1/2 Red onion (Thinly Sliced)
- 1/4 cup Feta Cheese
- 1 cup Kalamata Olives (Optional)
Combine Lemon Juice, Olive Oil, Fresh Parsley, Garlic, Smoked Paprika, Kosher Salt, Ground Pepper, and Organo in a glass baking dish or a large plastic food bag. Save any extra fresh parsley for later.
Add Chicken to glass dish or food bag and coat it with the marinade. Marinate anywhere between 20 minutes or up to 24 hours.
Remove Chicken from dish or food bag and grill or cook on a pan for up to 5-6 minutes per side until cooked through. Let rest for 2-3 Minutes.
I used boil-in-bag Rice for this step. Simply boil for 10 minutes and you are done! Set aside and you are ready for plating. If you plan on making a different kind of rice, please review the instructions on how to make it properly.
Using a mason jar or any other container with a tight lid, add the Red Wine Vinegar, Dijon Mustard, Dried Oregano, Kosher Salt, Ground Black Pepper, Olive Oil, Garlic, and Lemon Juice. Then shake the container until thoroughly combined.
Combine the Romaine Lettuce, Red Onion, Cucumber, Kalamata Olives (Optional), and Roma Tomatoes in a large salad bowl.
Add Lemon Vinaigrette, and mix thoroughly until properly coated, then set aside.
Using a large bowl, spoon 1 serving of Rice into it, covering half of the base, then lightly flatten.
On the other half, place 1 serving of the Greek Salad.
Slice one Marinated Chicken breast, then place it on top of the rice.
Add 1 serving of Hummus to the center of the bowl, along with 1 serving of Garlic Sauce.
Top the Greek Salad with Feta Cheese, and the Chicken with Fresh Parsley, then serve.
Servings 4
- Amount Per Serving
- Calories 691kcal
- % Daily Value *
- Total Fat 34g53%
- Saturated Fat 7g35%
- Cholesterol 140mg47%
- Sodium 1344mg57%
- Total Carbohydrate 48g16%
- Dietary Fiber 5g20%
- Sugars 5g
- Protein 47g94%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your daily value may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.
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