Our delicious Chicken Shawarma Bowl is a flavor-packed rice bowl that needs to be on your dinner menu this week! Made with juicy chicken, fresh vegetables, fluffy rice, and a garlic sauce that tops it all off. The perfect light & refreshing meal!
We love nothing more than a good rice bowl and after perfecting our spin on a Middle Eastern Chicken Shawarma recipe, we knew we had to turn it into the most amazing rice bowl! It is a great combination of warm spices and cool ingredients that make one of our favorite meals and easy weeknight dinners. Feel free to adjust the fresh veggie ingredients to anything you have on hand or add some tzatziki sauce or tahini sauce to the mix!
Looking for More Rice Bowls?
If you love them as much as we do, you definitely need to try our Banh Mi Rice Bowl!
Key Ingredients + Substitutions
- plain yogurt – love the tangy flavor added to the chicken shawarma marinade and the creamy sauce. Option to sub for a dairy-free alternative, if you prefer.
- tequila – just a splash adds so much flavor but it can also be omitted, if you prefer.
- boneless skinless chicken thighs – highly recommend that you use chicken thighs, but you can substitute with boneless chicken breast. Just make sure you adjust the cook time.
- garlic white sauce – it will only take you about 5 minutes to mix up this white sauce in a small bowl and it is so good!
- cooked rice – any variety of white rice, brown rice, or cauliflower rice from your local grocery store will work here.
- quick pickled red onion – these simple homemade pickled red onions are one of our favorite rice bowl ingredients.
- feta cheese – love this essential ingredient on top, but feel free to omit, if you prefer it dairy-free.
How To Make A Chicken Shawarma Bowl
Grab your chicken shawarma marinade ingredients. Whisk them together in a large mixing bowl, add the chicken, and toss to coat. Marinate chicken for about 30 minutes (you don’t want to go too much longer or the acidity will start to break down the chicken).
Sear the chicken for 1-2 minutes on each side and then continue cooking for 2-5 minutes or until golden brown and are cooked through. Once the flavorful chicken is fully cooked, let meat rest for 5 minutes at room temperature.
While the chicken is cooking, you can put all of the garlic sauce ingredients in a small bowl and whisk to combine.
Next, prep all of the fresh ingredients that you plan to use in your delicious bowls.
Finally, assemble your shawarma chicken bowl by cutting thin slices of chicken and put them on top of the cooked rice with your desired amount of the other rice bowl ingredients. Drizzle some delicious sauce on top and enjoy!
Meal Prep Recipe
These delicious chicken shawarma bowls can easily be prepped ahead of time! Simply place the cooked chicken, rice, fresh veggies, and sauce each in a separate airtight container in the fridge at the beginning of the week. Reheat and enjoy the next day or when ready!
Make these healthy chicken shawarma bowls and loved it?! We would love it if you would take a minute and leave a star rating and review – it is also helpful if you made any substitutions or changes to the recipe to share that as well. THANK YOU!
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Other Rice Bowl Recipes You Might Like
Chicken Shawarma Bowl Recipe
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Total Time: 40 minutes
- Yield: 4 servings 1x
- Category: Dinner/Entree
- Method: Stove Top
- Cuisine: Middle Eastern-Inspired
Description
Our absolutely delicious Chicken Shawarma Bowl recipe is going to wake-up your taste buds in all the best ways for dinner tonight!
Ingredients
Chicken Shawarma:
- 1/4 cup plain Greek yogurt
- 1 1/2 tablespoons lime juice
- 1 tablespoon tequila
- 2 tablespoons garlic, minced
- 2 teaspoons garlic powder
- 2 teaspoons onion powder
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken thighs
Garlic White Sauce:
- 1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt
- 1 tablespoon mayo
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon garlic, minced
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- pinch of ground black pepper
Other Rice Bowl Ingredients:
- 4 cups cooked rice, divided
- quick pickled red onions
- 1–2 cups english cucumber, sliced and quartered
- 1/2 cup feta cheese, crumbled
- 1–2 cups cherry tomatoes, halved
- 1–2 avocado, sliced
- garnish: lemon wedges, fresh chopped parsley and mint leaves
Instructions
- Prep Chicken: in a large bowl whisk together the plain Greek yogurt, lime juice, tequila, garlic, garlic powder, onion powder, smoked paprika, cumin, cinnamon, clove, kosher salt and ground black pepper. Add chicken thighs and toss to coat.
- Cook Chicken: Bring a large non-stick skillet to medium-high heat. Add chicken and sear on both sides, 1-2 minutes. Reduce heat and cook chicken 2-5 minutes per side or until fully cooked (internal temp. of 165 degrees F.) – don’t add all the marinade to the pan, but it is nice to cook the chicken in a little bit of it. Transfer to cutting board and let rest 5 minutes before slicing.
- Make Sauce: Add Garlic White Sauce ingredients to a small bowl; whisk to combine. Taste and add any additional salt, cumin or garlic – as desired.
- Build Bowls: Divide rice between four bowls. Top with sliced chicken, quick-pickled onions, cucumber, feta, tomatoes and avocado. Top with the Garlic White Sauce and then garnish with fresh lemon wedges, parsley and mint leaves.
Notes
- Dairy-Free: to make dairy-free use a plain dairy-free yogurt (unsweetened/unflavored) instead of the plain greek yogurt and use dairy-free feta instead of regular.
- Non-Stick Pan: I typically use a cast iron skillet for cooking and you can definitely use it here, but I have found that when you use yogurt in the marinade, things tend to stick a bit more so a nonstick worked nicely with this recipe.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 6oz
- Calories: 382
- Sugar: 3.3 g
- Sodium: 412.4 mg
- Fat: 12.3 g
- Carbohydrates: 35.6 g
- Protein: 29.3 g
- Cholesterol: 117.6 mg
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