This rice bowl is packed with hearty grains, crisp vegetables and lean protein! The Greek marinade also doubles as a dressing, making it easy to make!
Perfect for meal prep, make ahead lunches, or a wholesome dinner, this is a rice bowl that packs some serious Greek flavors! Rice, lean chicken thighs, cucumbers, tomatoes, kalamata olives, Feta cheese, red onion and hummus… plus a Greek marinade for the chicken that doubles as a dressing!
This delicious post is sponsored by Minute Ready to Serve Family Bowls.
Do you guys struggle with what to make for lunch? I do! Leftovers are always in our fridge, but most of the time, I’m not feeling like eating the same thing for lunch that we just had for dinner the night before. Sound familiar?
If you’re not a meal prepper, no worries, this rice bowl comes together in about 20 minutes (even less if you’ve chopped things ahead of time), so you can easily make it and enjoy it in half an hour.
Usually, rice takes a while to cook (sometimes even longer than the whole cook time for this meal!), which is why on a busy weeknight, I usually forgo rice at all.
That’s all changed now! Minute® Ready to Serve Family Bowls are SO convenient! They contain no preservatives, are gluten free, and also come in a 100% brown rice variety. I love how easy they are to make… just remove the film, and heat in the microwave for 2 minutes. Seriously simple, which is exactly what busy families need!
Rice bowls are such a fun idea for a weeknight dinner (or lunch!), because each family member can choose what they want in their bowl.
I mentioned how quickly this meal comes together, but the other part I love is that cleanup is a breeze! Since the Minute family bowls cook in their own container, the only dish you really need to wash is the skillet where you cook your chicken. Isn’t that the best?!
Plus, you can easily prep some of this meal ahead of time, which means it will take 10 minutes to cook this meal!
Prep Ahead Tips:
- Slice up cucumbers, tomatoes, onions and olives ahead of time, and keep refrigerated in airtight containers (I like to use a separate container for each veggie type, so they don’t get mushy)
- Make the marinade/dressing ahead of time and keep chicken marinating (with reserved dressing in an airtight container)
- If making your own hummus (this one is my favorite!), make it ahead of time and store it in the refrigerator
The next crazy weeknight, instead of reaching for the takeout menus, whip up this Greek Chicken Rice Bowl instead…. it’s wholesome, hearty, plus, it’s EASY thanks to Minute Ready to Serve Family Bowls!
If you’re into the meal prep thing, check out the recipe notes section below for my tips!
Did you make this? Be sure to leave a review below and tag me @the_chunky_chef on Facebook and Instagram!
Ingredients
GREEK MARINADE/DRESSING:
- 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice (juice of 1-2 lemons)
- 1/2 Tbsp red wine vinegar
- 2 tsp minced garlic (or garlic paste)
- 1 1/2 Tbsp dried oregano
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
RICE BOWL:
- 8-12 boneless skinless chicken thighs (can also use chicken breasts)
- 2 cups chopped seedless cucumbers
- 4 roma tomatoes, chopped
- 1 cup kalamata olives, sliced
- 1 medium red onion, coarsely chopped
- 1 cup crumbled feta cheese optional but recommended
- hummus (we love roasted garlic flavor)
- 2 cups cooked white rice
Instructions
PREPARE DRESSING:
- To a small mixing bowl, add dressing ingredients and whisk to combine well. Save 1/2 of the dressing (about 1/4 cup) in an airtight container to use later as a dressing.
RICE BOWL:
- Add remainder of dressing to a large resealable plastic bag with chicken thighs. Close bag and massage marinade into the chicken. Refrigerate for several hours if desired.
- Heat a large skillet over MED-HIGH heat and drizzle a bit of olive oil into the skillet. Pat chicken thighs with a paper towel to remove excess marinade and cook chicken, about 4-5 minutes per side, until golden and cooked through.
- Remove chicken to a plate to rest while you prepare the other ingredients.
- Chop cucumber, onion, tomatoes, and olives and set aside.
- Microwave rice bowls according to package directions and divide evenly among 4 bowls.
- To each bowl, add some of the feta cheese, cucumbers, tomatoes, onions, and olives. Add a dollop of hummus to the bowls and add 2-3 chicken thighs per bowl.
- Serve with whole grain pita or flatbread if desired.
Want to save this recipe for later? Click the heart in the bottom right corner to save to your own recipe box!
Chef Tips
- Prepare recipe as directed.
- Line up containers and assemble bowl with rice on the bottom, then chicken thighs and cucumber, tomato, onion and olives.
- Place a portion of feta cheese, hummus and Greek dressing into 3 separate small condiment containers with lids.
Nutrition Disclaimer
The Chunky Chef is not a dietician or nutritionist, and any nutritional information shared is an estimate. If calorie count and other nutritional values are important to you, we recommend running the ingredients through whichever online nutritional calculator you prefer. Calories can vary quite a bit depending on which brands were used.
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Carrie says
I see that you deserve half the marinade, but I didn’t see what you did with the reserved portion ( the protein not used to marinate the chicken).
The Chunky Chef says
In step one of the “prepare dressing” section it mentions that the other half is used a dressing 🙂
Kayla says
This is one of the best dinner recipes I’ve ever made! It’s a repeat in our home!
Kate says
Most delicious crave worthy dinner. Pleases all my picky eaters. Just amazing.
Abby says
This is SO good!! And the garlic hummus is the cherry on top! I am obsessed with Mediterranean food & this hits the spot, I make it about once a week or at least a couple times a month. Thank you for the easy recipe!
Gabrielle says
This is OUTSTANDING!
Kelsey says
This is my fast, go-to meal! My family (including my 2 year old) devours it every time I make it! Thank you so much for this yummy recipe!
Nakeeda Baker says
Could you use this marinade on shrimp as well?
The Chunky Chef says
Sure thing 🙂
Corina says
OMG this was delish! My kids even ate the veggies, which they swore they hated, and loved it! Thanks for an easy and yummy recipe. 🙂
Sherry says
This was amazing! I will definitely make again. I grilled the chicken on the Traegar instead of pan frying, it was very moist and tender and added that grill flavor to the dish. I used brown rice instead of white rice.
Elaine says
I make this frequently (halved for two people) and we love it. I don’t, however, use Minute Rice. I use basmati rice that I cook. Last time I made it I added baba ganoush to it as well. This bowl is super tasty and healthy as well.
Shamera says
There are not many recipes that I actually print out to try again where I didn’t have to tweak the ingredients. This one made the cut and I haven’t even put my bowl together yet. Just trying the chicken was enough lol.
Melanie says
I make this ALL the time now, at least once every couple weeks. It is so good and easy. Thank you for sharing this recipe.
Tejal says
We make this recipe all the time and it is absolutely delicious!!!
Leah says
This was a delicious meal! My family loved it! Thanks!! 😁👍❤️
Lisa says
My husband and I absolutely love this dish! It was so good I couldn’t help but start following the chunky chef. Com. Can’t wait to try her other of her meals! Keep cranking out those yummy recipes.
Elissa Helfrey says
Love this recipe! It’s so flavorful. We used cauliflower rice instead of white rice to make it grain free, and I combined the vegetables into a salad to put on top. It’s now a staple!
Libby says
Not great, will not try again
Jamie says
This was the first recipe that we tried of yours and absolutely loved it. My sister came across it I think via pinterest, most likely. We’ve made it a few times and really like it. So simple and delicious!
Your page is more and more becoming our go-to for recipes, especially when we are feeling otherwise uninspired.
Ann says
Can you provide the weight of the chicken? 8-12 chicken thighs in my neck of the woods would be like 3-4 pounds and way more than 4 servings. Thanks!
The Chunky Chef says
There’s no specific weight needed, just however many chicken thighs you want to use 🙂 Also the serving number is just a suggestion, so feel free to serve to more people if you’d like.
Pat says
Your recipe looks delicious! Do you have an estimated calorie count for a portion? Thank you.
Amanda says
Thank you! My program estimates roughly 680 calories per serving, however, if nutritional information is important to you, I recommend running the ingredients through whichever online nutritional calculator you prefer, or that you seek a nutritionist/dietitian for exact nutritional information.
Morgan Morrissette says
Made this recipe for lunch and it turned out great! I give it 5 stars! This recipe makes eating the Mediterranean Diet easy!
Vanessa says
Was pretty wowed at how delicious these tasted. The marinade / dressing was perfect and kept the chicken incredibly moist. The dollop of hummus isn’t something I would have thought of doing, but so glad it was recommended because it definitely gave it a great additional flavor. We ended up grilling the chicken, because we’re grill addicts, but I will definitely be using this recipe again.