Cant-Decide Mediterranean Chicken Bowl
When you can't decide, this bowl gives you dinner in one move.
If you’re standing in the kitchen too tired to choose, this is the kind of dinner that makes the decision for you. It’s a real Mediterranean-style chicken bowl: seasoned chicken, crunchy cucumber and tomato, briny olives, and a quick lemony yogurt sauce. Use microwave rice, leftover rice, or a bed of greens depending on what you have and how hungry you are. Everything comes together fast, with just enough freshness to feel like a proper meal, but not so many steps that you need energy you don’t have. Expect a simple, satisfying bowl that tastes brighter than the effort it takes.
Ingredients
- 1 lb boneless skinless chicken breast — cut into 1-inch pieces
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 1 tsp paprika
- 0.5 tsp salt
- 0.25 tsp black pepper
- 2 cup cooked rice — warm, or use microwavable rice
- 1 cup cucumber — diced
- 1 cup cherry tomatoes — halved
- 0.25 cup red onion — thinly sliced
- 0.25 cup kalamata olives — pitted and sliced
- 0.5 cup plain Greek yogurt
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 2 tbsp feta cheese — crumbled
- 1 tbsp fresh parsley — chopped, optional
Method
- 1 In a small bowl, mix the Greek yogurt, lemon juice, and feta. Set aside.
- 2 Season the chicken with garlic powder, oregano, paprika, salt, and black pepper.
- 3 Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Cook the chicken for 6 to 8 minutes, stirring once or twice, until browned and cooked through.
- 4 Divide the rice between bowls. Top with chicken, cucumber, tomatoes, red onion, and olives.
- 5 Spoon the feta yogurt sauce over the top and finish with parsley if using.
Variations
- Vegetarian swap — Replace the chicken with 1 can drained chickpeas and sear them in the same spice mix for 4 to 5 minutes.
- Faster swap — Use pre-cooked chicken strips or rotisserie chicken and warm them briefly in the skillet with the spices for a near-instant version.
- Substitutions — Swap rice for greens or cauliflower rice, use dill instead of parsley, or replace olives with chopped pickles if that’s what you have.
Notes
For the best texture, keep the cucumber and tomatoes cold and add them right before serving. If your rice is cold, warm it first so the bowl feels more dinner-like. Chicken is done when it reaches 165°F in the thickest piece.
Equipment that helps
- Large skillet — It gives the chicken enough room to brown quickly instead of steaming.
- Mixing bowl — It keeps the yogurt sauce easy to stir together while the chicken cooks.
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