Name: Mediterranean Rice Bowls with Chicken
Prep time: 45 min
Cook time: 25 min
Total time: 1 h 10 min
Cuisine: Mediterranean
Ingredients: 1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breast (cut into 1 inch chunks); 2 cloves garlic (minced); 3 tbsp lemon juice; 3 tbsp olive oil; 1 tsp dried oregano; 1 tsp honey; 1/2 tsp paprika; 1 tsp salt; 1/2 tsp pepper; 1 cup English cucumber (cut into half-moons); 1 cup cherry tomatoes (halved or quartered ); 1/2 red onion (thinly sliced); 3 tbsp avocado oil; 2 tbsp red wine vinegar; 1 tsp salt; 2 tsp sugar; 1/2 tsp pepper; 1/2 cup cilantro; 1/2 cup parsley; 1/3 cup sweet & hot jalapeños; 3 tbsp lemon juice; 1 clove garlic; 1 tsp salt; 1/4 tsp pepper; 1/4 cup avocado oil; 2 tbsp mayonnaise

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What’s in these Mediterranean Rice Bowls:

Juicy chicken that is full of mouthwatering flavor
Fresh cucumber, tomato and red onion salad
Spicy green sauce—that is also packed with flavor—thanks to fresh herbs, lemon and garlic
Fluffy white or brown rice— you choose!

Flatlay of mediterranean rice and chicken bowls with cucumber tomato salad and spicy green sauce in white bowls.

Everything is easy to make ahead and just easy to make period so if you are looking for a great meal prep idea, you’ve come to the right place. And man are these good. My husband told me they were the best thing he’s ever eaten, which might be a little bit of an exaggeration but everything about these bowls is pretty perfect. So lets make these Mediterranean rice bowls, shall we??

Disclaimer: this post may contain affiliate links, which means if you decide to purchase any of the items linked in this post, I should earn a small commission. This creates no additional cost to you and helps support the work that goes into running The Fig Jar. Thank you! -Becky

Ingredients for Mediterranean Rice Bowls with Chicken

If you think you need a lot of exotic spices to make a drop dead delicious Mediterranean chicken marinade, you don’t! And even just a great mediterranean inspired meal. This recipe includes simple ingredients that can all be found in any grocery store.

Here’s your shopping list:

Boneless, skinless chicken breast
Lemons
Dried oregano and paprika
Garlic
Honey
Cucumber
Tomatoes
Red Onion
Fresh herbs: parsley & cilantro
Red wine vinegar
Neutral-flavored oil, like avocado oil
Jalapeños, I prefer using the sweet & hot kind (you can find these at Trader Joe’s if you are near a TJs)
Mayo
Jasmine white or brown rice

I have most of these things on hand all the time and I’m guessing you might too, but if not, all of these ingredients should be easy to find.

How to make the best Mediterranean chicken marinade

First, lets talk about the chicken itself. I recently signed up for butcher box and I am loving it. Meat is not something I love shopping for at the store but I do like to get the best meat I possibly can. Butcher box solves both of these problems for me: I can buy high-quality meat in bulk online, shortening my grocery store list every week.

And now let’s talk about this amazing marinade. A friend brought this chicken over for a get-together we had and it was the star of the entire meal. So amazingly good with that restaurant-quality flavor we always want to achieve at home.

spices added to mediterranean chicken in a bowl

mediterranean chicken being seasoned by hand

It’s hard to believe that the marinade just consists of: lemon, garlic, dried oregano, oil, honey, paprika, salt and pepper. That is literally it! I actually added the honey and paprika because I cant leave well enough alone so you don’t even need those if you’d rather not add the extra sugar.

The key to getting this chicken as super flavor-packed and juicy as possible is:

Marinate it for at least 1 hour
Cut the chicken into pieces before you marinate (then there’s more surface area for the flavor to get in)
Pierce the chicken several times all over with a knife
Use a meat thermometer, seriously, say goodbye to over-cooked dry chicken and just get one. You will know as soon as it’s to temperature and avoid over baking.

Quick and easy cucumber tomato salad

I love the refreshing crunchy contrast this salad adds to these chicken bowls. I also just happen to really love a good cucumber and tomato salad.

Cucumber, tomato and onion salad in a glass bowl for mediterranean rice bowls

My tips for the perfect cucumber and tomato salad

Slice the red onion as thin as you can
If you are using cherry tomatoes like me, cut them in half, they are just more pleasant to eat that way
Do half-moon shapes for the cucumbers and slice those on the thin side as well
Let the salad marinate for at least 15 minutes before serving, longer is fine

Spicy green sauce

One of my favorite parts of eating at Mediterranean style restaurants is the SAUCES. They are what make it for me. Green Olive in Downey, Ca has a spicy green one that my husband and I love so I attempted to recreate it. I think I did a pretty darn good job too. I’ve made this sauce countless times over the last few months.

For these bowls, I changed it up slightly and reduced the amount of jalapeños and added mayo to lessen the heat a bit. Original recipe here.

Ugh my mouth is literally watering thinking about eating these and it’s 9:00 pm.

The sauce it super easy to make—everything just goes into the blender, gets pulsed about and boom its ready.

Made these mediterranean rice bowls?

If you try this recipe, please consider leaving a comment/rating below and let me know how it went. I’d love to hear from you! You can also connect with me on instagram and Pinterest.