These Mediterranean Chicken Bowls are a delicious way to incorporate more vegetables and new spices into your meals. 
Ingredients
Main Ingredients:
- 1 pound chicken breasts
- 15 ounces can chickpeas (also called garbanzo beans) drained and rinsed
- 1 pint cherry or grape tomatoes
- 1 cup cucumber chopped
- 1 cup red onion chopped
- 1 Tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
Turmeric Rice
- 1 Tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 2 Tablespoons minced shallot
- 1 clove garlic minced (about 1 tsp.)
- 1 1/2 teaspoons turmeric
- 1 cup long grain brown rice
- 2 cups low sodium chicken broth
Marinade
- 1/4 cup lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon honey
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon gluten-free Dijon mustard
- 2 cloves garlic minced (about 2 tsp.)
- 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
Garlic Sauce
- 3/4 cup plain greek yogurt
- 3 Tablespoons lemon juice
- 2 cloves garlic minced (about 2 tsp.)
Servings: bowls
Units:
Instructions
- DIRECTIONS:
- Prepare the marinade for chicken and chickpeas per directions below.
- Once chicken and chickpeas are marinating, prepare rice per directions below.
- While rice is cooking, chop the tomatoes, onions, cucumbers and parsley for toppings. Then prepare the garlic sauce per directions below and refrigerate.
- Once you have prepared garlic sauce, cook the chicken per the directions below.
- Assemble bowls when all ingredients are finished cooking.
Make the Marinade:
- Whisk marinade ingredients together in a small bowl then reserve 1/4 cup marinade and pour the rest into a large Ziplock bag.
- Add chicken to the Ziplock bag, season with more salt and pepper, then place in the refrigerator to marinate while preparing the rest of the dish.
- Combine reserved 1/4 cup marinade with chickpeas in a bowl then season with salt and pepper and place in the refrigerator to marinate alongside the chicken.
Make the Garlic Sauce
- Combine ingredients in a blender or food processor then blend or process until smooth. Refrigerate until ready to use (can be done several days ahead of time.)
Make the Turmeric Rice
- Heat oil in a small saucepan over medium heat. In a strainer, rinse the rice under cold water.
- Add shallots, season with salt, then sauté until softened, 2 minutes.
- Add garlic then sauté for 30 seconds, and then add turmeric and sauté for 30 seconds.
- Add rinsed rice and sauté until fragrant, 1 minute, and then add chicken broth and turn heat up to bring to a boil.
- Place a lid on top then turn heat down to low and simmer for 30-45 minutes until rice is tender (heat should be low enough that the broth is at a very gentle, barely-there simmer.) Remove the pan from the heat then let sit for 5 minutes before removing the lid and fluffing the rice. Set aside to cool slightly.
Make the Chicken
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F, then line a baking sheet with foil and spray with nonstick spray.
- Remove chicken from marinade then place on the baking sheet and roast for 15-20 minutes or until cooked all the way through (internal temperature of 165 degrees F).
- Chop once cool enough to handle.
Assemble the Bowls
- Scoop ½ cup of rice into bowls. Top with about 3 oz. chopped chicken, heaping ¼ cup of marinated chickpeas, cherry tomatoes, cucumbers, and red onion.
- To finish drizzle with garlic sauce and sprinkle with chopped parsley, if using.
- NOTE: These make great meal prep lunches. All the components can be made ahead of time. It might be best to separate fresh toppings from chicken and rice to be able to reheat.
Recipe Notes
