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These Mediterranean rice bowls make the perfect lunch or dinner with seasoned chicken, fluffy yellow rice, creamy tzatziki sauce, crunchy vegetables, and tangy pickled onions. You are going to love every bite! They are also the perfect make-ahead meal for meal prep!
Table of Contents
This Mediterranean Bowl recipe was inspired by CAVA, a Mediterranean fast-casual restaurant. I tried CAVA on a recent trip to Austin, TX and I fell in love! It reminded me of a Chipotle, but with a Mediterranean flair instead of Mexican food. I couldn’t wait to get home so I could recreate all the fresh and delicious flavors. This bowl makes a perfect lunch, chock full of healthy protein, flavorful rice, and also all your favorite bright and fresh Greek flavors. It is also the BEST meal prep meal ever. I love portioning everything out for meal-prep and enjoying these Greek-inspired bowls all week long.
🩷Erica
What Goes in a Mediterranean Bowl?
These Mediterranean Bowls are only one of many delicious bowl combinations. I love bowl recipes, but also I love grabbing random ingredients from my fridge and creating delicious concoctions from whatever I have on hand, tossing it into a bowl and calling it a meal. They’re filling, healthy and leave me feeling satisfied but not overly full. It’s so fun to see what you can make out of odds and ends in your refrigerator. But typically here’s what you need for a Mediterranean Bowl:
- Rice – For this recipe I use our Yellow Rice recipe. You can also use plain white Jasmine rice, lemon rice, or orzo rice. You can also use quinoa, orzo, or your favorite grains for bowls.
- Protein – I like to use chicken breasts for this recipe because they are easy to work with and it’s normally what I have on hand. You can also use chicken thighs, rotisserie chicken, salmon, steak, lamb, falafel, or chickpeas.
- Vegetables – For the veggies for this recipe I always use cucumbers (English or Persian cucumbers work best because of their thin skins and minimal seeds), grape tomatoes, pickled onions, and sometimes a handful of spinach.
- Tzatziki sauce – this yogurt sauce tastes delicious on so many things! I always make my own because it’s just so easy. You will love our homemade Tzatziki Sauce recipe (this can also be found in the recipe card below).
- Toppings – To top it all off I will always add some crumbled feta, fresh dill, and sometimes a wedge of fresh lemon for garnish.
How to Make Mediterranean Rice Bowls
- In a medium saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the rice and stir for 1 to 2 minutes, until lightly toasted. Stir in the garlic, onion powder, and turmeric and cook for about 30 seconds.
- Add the chicken broth and salt. Increase heat to medium high and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer for 18 to 20 minutes, or until the rice is tender and the liquid is absorbed. Remove from heat, stir in the chopped cilantro, and fluff with a fork.
- Place diced chicken in a bowl and toss with olive oil, salt, and lemon pepper.
- Heat 2 tablespoons vegetable oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add the cubed chicken and cook until cooked through.
- Combine tzatziki sauce ingredients, cover, and refrigerate until ready to use.
- Divide rice between 4 bowls and top with spinach.
- Add chicken, tomatoes, and cucumbers to each bowl.
- Top with red onions, tzatziki sauce, and feta cheese.
Homemade Pickled Red Onions
Pickled red onions are the absolute icing on the cake of this recipe. They are little sweet and sour GEMS. Plus, I am also just obsessed with the color. You can buy these at most grocery stores, but they are also SO easy to make at home! Thinly slice one red onion. Then, add it to a large jar with an airtight lid. Then, in a separate bowl mix together ¼ cup red wine vinegar, ¼ cup apple cider vinegar, 1 tablespoon of sugar, 1 ½ teaspoons of salt, and 1 cup warm water. Stir until all the salt and sugar dissolve and pour over the onions. Let sit in the fridge overnight, and voila! You will want to make these over and over again. They are delicious on these Mediterranean Bowls, as well as tacos, avocado toast, salads, and sandwiches!
Additions and Substitutions
- You can swap cooked quinoa, brown rice, couscous or any other grain. I used our Yellow Rice for this recipe but you can also use Orzo rice or plain Jasmine rice.
- Go all veggie! Keep out the chicken and pile on the veggies. In addition to the vegetables listed below, you can add roasted cauliflower, corn, eggplant, roasted red peppers, artichoke hearts, shredded carrots, chopped beets, or sun dried tomatoes. For a little extra protein, you can also add chickpeas or avocado.
- If you’re a meat lover, you can add two or three types of meat to your Mediterranean bowl, like ground beef or pork, chicken thighs, grilled sirloin or even meatballs. I like to use our recipe for Frikadeller (Danish meatballs) without the gravy. SO good!
- Instead of Tzatziki sauce, you could use a lemon vinaigrette, tahini sauce, hummus, balsamic vinaigrette, or you can also just use extra virgin olive oil, fresh lemon juice, and vinegar.
Meal Prep Ideas
These Mediterranean Bowls are perfect for meal prep because you can make all the components ahead of time and quickly assemble them throughout the week. I like to keep the rice, chicken, veggies, and toppings stored separately so everything stays fresh and crisp. Then when it’s time to eat, just warm up the rice and chicken and add all the cold toppings over the top. The pickled onions and tzatziki are both great to make ahead and actually taste even better after sitting in the fridge for a day or two.
Frequently Asked Questions
Absolutely! Rotisserie chicken is one of my favorite shortcuts for these bowls, especially for quick lunches during the week. Just chop it up and season it a little with lemon pepper or Greek seasoning before adding it to the bowls.
Tzatziki is my favorite because it adds a cool, creamy flavor that tastes so good with the warm rice and chicken. Hummus, tahini sauce, lemon vinaigrette, or even a simple drizzle of olive oil and lemon juice are also delicious.
I like them best with warm rice and chicken topped with cold vegetables and tzatziki sauce. That contrast of warm and cold is what makes these bowls so good. But honestly, they are also delicious straight from the fridge the next day.
READ NEXT: 35+ Easy Lunch Ideas
More Greek Inspired Recipes
Create a full Mediterranean feast with your Mediterranean Bowl by making a few of these bright and fresh recipes:
- Copycat Skotidakis Jalapeno Greek Dip
- Greek Salad
- Light Greek Pasta Salad
- Mediterranean Flatbread Pizzas
- Chicken Gyro with Tzatziki Cucumber Sauce
Mediterranean Bowl
Ingredients
Yellow Rice
- 3 tablespoons butter
- 1 cup Jasmine rice
- 1 teaspoon minced garlic
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- ½ teaspoon ground turmeric
- 2 cups chicken broth
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 tablespoons fresh cilantro, chopped
Lemon Pepper Chicken
- 2 boneless skinless chicken breasts
- 1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon lemon pepper seasoning, to taste
- 3 tablespoons cooking oil
Tzatziki Sauce:
- 1 cup plain Greek yogurt
- 1/2 cucumber, peeled and finely diced
- 1 teaspoon dried dill
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- salt and black pepper, to taste
Additional Toppings
- 2 cups fresh spinach
- 2 cups grape tomatoes, halved
- 2 cups diced cucumbers
- 1 cup crumbled feta
- 1 cup pickled red onions
Instructions
Yellow Rice
- Heat butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Add the rice and gently stir until rice begins to lightly brown. Add garlic, onion powder, and turmeric and mix well.
- Slowly stir in chicken broth and raise heat to medium-high. Add salt and pepper to taste. Bring the mix to a boil, then turn the heat to low and cover the pan with a lid. Simmer for 20 minutes.
- Remove from heat. Add fresh cilantro and fluff with a fork. Cover and set aside until ready to use
Lemon Pepper Chicken
- Cut chicken into bite-sized cubes and season with salt and lemon pepper. Toss well to combine.
- Place oil in a skillet and heat over medium heat. Add chicken and cook, stirring often for 7-9 minutes or until the chicken is completely cooked through (when the internal temperature reaches 165℉).
Tzatziki Sauce:
- Combine all tzatziki sauce ingredients, cover, and refrigerate until ready to use.
Assembly
- Place a scoop of rice in each bowl and add a handful of spinach.
- Top with chicken, tomatoes, and cucumbers.
- Add feta and tzatziki sauce. Top with pickled red onions and fresh dill.
Notes
- Rotisserie chicken works great in place of cooking chicken from scratch and makes these bowls even faster to throw together.
- For the best texture, store the rice, chicken, vegetables, and toppings separately until ready to serve.
- The pickled red onions can be made several days ahead and get even better as they sit in the fridge.
- You can swap the rice for quinoa, brown rice, couscous, or cauliflower rice.
- Tzatziki sauce, hummus, tahini sauce, or a simple lemon vinaigrette all taste delicious on these bowls.
- Leftovers will keep well in the refrigerator for about 3 to 4 days.
- I recommend warming the rice and chicken first, then adding all the cold toppings right before serving.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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The instructions for cooking the lemon pepper chicken are not complete. 😘
Thank you for letting us know! I’m fixing this on the recipe now. 🙂
I totally figured out their salmon recipe, and now I’m excited to try to get the rice down pat, too! 😀 Do you know how to do the green beans?? They’re arguably the best part, imo.
Oooh, it has been SO long since I have been there I don’t remember the green beans! I will be going next summer and will try to duplicate them 😀 The salmon recipe sounds fantastic!
I too NEED the green bean makeup. Lots of garlic, olive oil then balsamic?, worchestershire?, soy probably not. Any ideas? Had them two weeks ago and now have to wait for a July visit.
Oh man, we need to go back there. We are hoping to go again this summer. If we do we will get the green beans and try to duplicate the recipe!
Please figure out the pasta salad recipe.
I lived in Post Falls, ID for 6 yrs and The White House Grill was one of my favorite restaurants. To my knowledge they don’t serve this dish any longer but had it when they did. Have to say you have nailed it. Of course depending on the day sometimes the garlic was a bit stronger than this recipe. I lived three blocks from The White House and I have boxes that when opened smell like garlic…. Miss their hummus the most I think.
I agree, their hummus is awesome! I know if you specifically ASK for the spring bowl, they will still make it up for you! Just in case you are in town and craving it again sometime! They also serve it whenever they have their food truck out (like at Pig Out in the Park in Spokane).
Thanks so Much for Recipe.
We ate at the White House Grill the 1st night it opened when Ederm was Raci's partner. Spring Bowls and Diablo was the Bomb. We have since moved to Florida 3 yrs ago and my wife asked this morning if I could re-make he a White House Spring Bowl. I looked up their site to remind myself what was in it and it was no longer on menu. Thanks so much for the help. Missing Idaho, lol and it aooears Raci has done well with 3 grills now.
I cant wait to try this recipe! I used to live in Post Falls, ID and at the 4 way stop where the White House Grill was located you could smell how delicious their food was! Putting this on the menu for next week! Cant wait!
We had this the other night as well and it was excellent! Perfect for a summer meal. We weren't as brave with the garlic though and actually ended up adding a bit more rice to the mix to tone down the flavor. But it definitely hit the spot!
I made this last night for my family and they LOVED it! It was so tasty. My husband asked that it go into our meal rotation.
Thanks for the yummy recipe!
Wende
I just tried this recipe last night and we LOVED it! I've never been to the restaurant, but it was a delicious dinner!
This looks awesome! I shared this recipe on my blog post Must Try Tuesday.
http://therickettchronicles.blogspot.com/2011/06/must-try-tuesday-june-21-2011.html
Thanks for sharing!
Wende
I've been to the White House Grill in Post Falls, ID. I actually grew up in Newman Lake, WA, just about 10 minutes from downtown Post Falls. Thanks for all of your recipes! I'm excited to try out this recipe and others that you post. Keep them coming!
Megan