Name: Greek Chicken Bowls
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 50 min
Ingredients: 1.5 pounds chicken breast, trimmed & cubed; 1 lemon; 3 cloves garlic (minced); 2 tbsp dried oregano; 1 tsp dried dill; 2 tbsp red wine vinegar; 1 tsp salt; 1/2 tsp black pepper; 1/4 cup avocado or olive oil; 1/2 red onion (sliced thinly); 1/2 tsp salt; 2 tbsp red wine vinegar; Enough oil to submerge the onions; 1 cup plain Greek yogurt; 1/2 lemon; 1 tbsp dried dill; Salt & pepper, to taste; 1 cup rice; Greens (spinach, arugula, romaine, kale); 1 pint baby tomatoes, cut into fourths; 1 large cucumber (diced); 1 container Feta cheese

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These Greek Chicken Bowls are basically Chipotle with Greek flavors… It’s so incredibly delicious, easy to prepare and a perfect addition to your weeknight dinner menu. It has a base of grains and greens with tender chicken, tangy pickled onions, salty feta, crunchy veggies & a lemon dill yogurt sauce that ties it all together.

Choosing Chicken to Use in the greek chicken bowl Recipe

When I make these Greek Chicken Bowls, I prefer to use chicken breast, but you can absolutely replace the breast with chicken thighs. Chicken thighs are a great option as they are more affordable than chicken breast, and may be easier to find in the current Covid-19 climate than chicken breast. They are also more flavorful, although it just depends on if you prefer white or dark meat!

Either way, you will want to use boneless, skinless chicken. After trimming away excess fat and skin, cut the chicken into cubes and prepare the marinade.

How to Make the Marinade

The marinade for this Greek Chicken is really magical and where a lot of the flavor comes from. It’s a similar marinade to what I use when I make Greek potatoes, like in this Greek Salad recipe or when I make a Greek-style dressing.

I think it’s easiest to mix the marinade in a large, empty bowl and then add the chicken. First, squeeze in the juice of 1 lemon. If you only have a very small or a not-very-juicy lemon, I would suggest adding the juice of 2. Then, add in 3 finely minced garlic cloves to the bowl.

For spices, I used 2 tbsp dried oregano and 1 tsp dried dill. You could definitely use fresh, but dried works just as well in a marinade like this. I of course added salt and pepper too!

Red wine vinegar adds another hit of acidity that is so yummy for this chicken. Then, you’ll want to add about ¼ cup of avocado oil and mix all of it together. Add your chicken to the bowl, stir to coat and set the chicken in the fridge for about 20 minutes-2 hours.

Steps for the Pickled Onions

Pickled red onions are one of my favorite things to add to just about any savory dish. They are also so easy to make and you can keep them on the counter for a few days to use throughout the week.

To make them, the first step is to cut a red onion VERY thinly. You can either do this carefully with a knife, but I think using a mandolin tool is the easiest way to get very thin, uniform red onion slices.

Once you have the red onions sliced, add them to a small bowl with ½ tsp salt (adjust according to how much onion you are using- this is for ½ a large red onion), 2 tbsp red wine vinegar and then enough olive or avocado oil to submerge the onions. Mix it around and let sit for at least 15-20 minutes (the longer the better, though!)

How to Make the Lemon Dill Yogurt Sauce

Another delicious component of this dish is the Lemon Dill Yogurt Sauce, which is a lot like an easy, homemade tzatziki. For the sauce, you’ll need 1 cup plain Greek yogurt. It does need to be Greek, just regular plain yogurt won’t taste the same.

To the yogurt, I add the juice of ½ lemon, 1 tbsp dried (or fresh) dill, and salt & pepper to taste. If you want, you can also add in the crumbled feta to the yogurt sauce.

How to Choose Your Grain Base

I almost always make this with cooked white rice as my grain of choice, but you have total freedom of choice here! It would be fantastic with brown rice, quinoa, farro or even lentils. You can also omit for a low-carb option if you want this Greek Chicken Bowl to be a salad.

deciding which Greens to Use in the greek chicken bowl

My favorite greens for bowls like this are the Power Greens from Trader Joe’s, which is baby kale and spinach. I like that the kale is a bit sturdier and heartier, but you can absolutely use any greens that you have at home, including romaine, spinach, arugula, kale or butter lettuce.