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Chicken Souvlaki Bowls are light, healthy, and full of lovely Greek flavor. Loaded up with veggies, and piled over cauliflower rice, this meal is low in carbs but high in deliciousness. Vegetarian Adaptable!
These Souvlaki Bowls can be made with chicken or portobello mushrooms (or both!) and burst with Mediterranean flavors. Cauliflower “rice” makes the base of the bowl, then it is topped with fresh summer veggies like tomatoes, cucumbers, and bell peppers and served with a flavorful dollop of Cucumber Yogurt Sauce and fresh herbs. It’s quick and easy, perfect for weeknight meals outside on the patio. The vegetarian option using portobellos is just as good as the chicken, and the leftovers taste good too, making for a healthy, refreshing lunch the next day. This can also be made stove-top or in the oven, although the grill does add great flavor.
What you’ll love about this!
- Flavorful! Mouth-watering Mediterranean flavors of lemon, garlic and oregano infuse the marinade for the chicken (or portobellos), and the cool, crunchy veggies with the warm grilled chicken or portobellos are a nice contrast of textures and temperatures.
- Adapatable! This can be adapted to your own preferences – for example, you could skip the cauliflower rice and place everything into a toasty pita bread or into grilled tortillas. And of course, you can make regular rice or sub whole grains like faro or quinoa, or even serve this over a bed of garbanzo beans.
- Light and Lean. This lightened-up version is gluten-free and low in carbs, but as always, make it your own. I left the chicken off the skewers to save time, but skewering is another more traditional option.
What is Chicken Souvlaki?
Souvlaki means “grilled on a skewer”. It’s a popular Greek dish made with grilled skewered chicken, traditionally served in a wrap with veggies and sauce. We’ve taken a few shortcuts here!
Chicken Souvlaki Bowl ingredients
- garlic cloves
- lemon
- olive oil
- Herbs: oregano ( or 1 teaspoon dried) or sub thyme.
- Seasonings salt, pepper, cayenne, chili flakes, or aleppo pepper
- chicken breast or thighs ( or 3 large portobellos) leave whole
Cucumber Yogurt Sauce
- plain yogurt
- garlic clove
- olive oil
- lemon juice
- diced cucumber
- fresh dill, parsley or mint, or a combination
- olive oil
- shallot ( or ½ cup finely diced onion )
- garlic, minced (or use 1 tsp granulated garlic)
- cauliflower rice (cauliflower florets pulsed in food processor until like grains of rice)
- salt, pepper, cayenne to taste
- optional- lemon zest, fresh herbs
Optional Bowl Additions:
- cucumber, tomatoes, avocado, fresh greens, grilled veggies; red bell pepper, eggplant slices, zucchini or summer squash ( brush with olive oil and salt before grilling)
Here is the cauliflower “rice” I got from Trader Joe’s, which can be seasoned any way you like. Keep it simple and saute with olive oil, onion, garlic, lemon, salt and pepper, or spice it up in any creative way you want. If you can’t get this near where you live, it’s very easy to mimic. Place small batches of cauliflower florets into a food processor and pulse until it resemble rice grains. So easy! Be careful not to overcook the cauliflower rice– you want it to retain a little of its texture. To me, it is not quite as appealing if it gets mushy.
How to Make Chicken Souvlaki Bowls
The chicken and/or portobellos are marinated in olive oil, garlic, oregano and lemon and then quickly grilled. You can also grill other veggies to add to the bowl… like bell pepper, eggplant or zucchini.
- Marinate: Place marinade ingredients in a medium bowl and stir. Add Chicken or Portobellos (leave whole), toss to coat. Set aside at room temp.
- Make Cucumber Yogurt sauce by stirring all ingredients together in a small bowl.
- Make Cauliflower Rice: Heat oil over medium-high heat in a large skillet. Add shallot or onion and saute for two minutes. Turn heat to medium, add garlic, and cook one more minute. Add cauliflower rice. Saute a few minutes, stirring, then turn the heat down to med-low. Return to the cauliflower rice, stir for a few more minutes, adding seasonings. Be careful not to overcook this; you want to retain its great texture.
- Grill: Preheat grill to High heat. (You can also sear or bake- see notes) Set aside any veggies for the bowl ( cut cucumber, tomatoes, avocado). At this point, put the chicken, portobello, and any veggies you like ( brushed with olive oil & salted) on the grill, cover, and turn the heat down to medium, and cook 5 minutes or so. Check the grill and flip the chicken when you see good grill marks, adjusting heat as necessary. I like to give a good sear first, then turn the heat down to med-low to finish cooking. When cooked, slice chicken, portobellos, and any other veggies you had grilling.
- Assemble Bowls: Place a mound of Cauliflower rice in the base of the bowl. Surround with veggies, chicken and a dollop of cucumber yogurt sauce. Sprinkle the veggies with fresh herbs, a little salt, olive oil and lemon if you like.
Make the the cauliflower rice.
Prep everything else and have everything ready to assemble the bowls.
Grill the chicken and assemble!
Leftovers keep up to 4 days in the fridge and make great lunches!
I love these bowls!
I hope you enjoy …. let us know what you think! Thanks for rating the recipes…it helps others find them and encourages people to try them out as well.
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Grilled Eggplant with Greek Relish and Creamy Polenta
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Chicken Souvlaki Bowls
- Prep Time: 20 mins
- Cook Time: 20 mins
- Total Time: 40 mins
- Yield: 2-3 1x
- Category: Main
- Method: Grilled
- Cuisine: Mediterranean
- Diet: Gluten Free
Description
A quick and flavorful grilled Chicken or Portobello Mushroom Souvlaki Bowl with fresh summer vegetables, Cucumber yogurt Sauce and Cauliflower “Rice” – or serve in a toasty pita!
Ingredients
Chicken & Marinade
- 4 cloves garlic cloves
- zest of one small lemon
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 teaspoons fresh chopped oregano ( or 1 teaspoon dried) or sub thyme.
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- generous pinch cayenne, chili flakes, or aleppo pepper
- 1 lb boneless chicken breast or thighs ( or 3 large portobellos) leave whole
Cucumber Yogurt Sauce
- 3/4 cup plain yogurt
- 1 garlic clove- minced
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1/4 teaspoon salt, more to taste
- 1 cup finely diced cucumber
- 2–3 tablespoons fresh dill, parsley or mint, or a combination
- pepper or chili flakes to taste
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 large shallot ( or 1/2 cup finely diced onion )
- 2 cloves garlic, minced (or use 1 tsp granulated garlic)
- 3 cups cauliflower rice (cauliflower florets pulsed in food processor until like grains of rice)
- salt, pepper, cayenne to taste
- optional- lemon zest, fresh herbs
Optional Bowl Additions:
Instructions
- Marinate: Place marinade ingredients in a medium bowl and stir. Add Chicken or Portobellos (leave whole), toss to coat. Set aside at room temp.
- Make Cucumber Yogurt sauce by stirring all ingredients together in a small bowl.
- Make Cauliflower Rice: Heat oil over medium-high heat in a large skillet. Add shallot or onion and saute for two minutes. Turn heat to medium, add garlic, and cook one more minute. Add cauliflower rice. Saute a few minutes, stirring, then turn the heat down to med-low. Return to the cauliflower rice, stir for a few more minutes, adding seasonings. Be careful not to overcook this; you want to retain its great texture.
- Grill: Preheat grill to High heat. (You can also sear or bake- see notes) Set aside any veggies for the bowl ( cut cucumber, tomatoes, avocado). At this point, put the chicken, portobello, and any veggies you like ( brushed with olive oil & salted) on the grill, cover, and turn the heat down to medium, and cook 5 minutes or so. Check the grill and flip the chicken when you see good grill marks, adjusting heat as necessary. I like to give a good sear first, then turn the heat down to med-low to finish cooking. When cooked, slice chicken, portobellos, and any other veggies you had grilling.
- Assemble Bowls: Place a mound of Cauliflower rice in the base of the bowl. Surround with veggies, chicken and a dollop of cucumber yogurt sauce. Sprinkle the veggies with fresh herbs, a little salt, olive oil and lemon if you like.
Notes
Marinate chicken for 20 mintues or overnight.
Feel free to bake chicken ( or porto’s) in a 400F oven until cooked through, or pan sear.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 4 ounces chicken plus ¼ bowl ingredeints
- Calories: 482
- Sugar: 6.8 g
- Sodium: 839.1 mg
- Fat: 25.9 g
- Saturated Fat: 4.9 g
- Carbohydrates: 31.1 g
- Fiber: 8.5 g
- Protein: 36.8 g
- Cholesterol: 89.7 mg
Keywords: Chicken souvlaki bowl, souvlaki bowls,
SO delicious! I made the chicken and cucumber dish. We just kept saying, “this is so bomb.” We didn’t have propane so made it in the air fryer using Well-Plated by Erin’s instructions.
★★★★★
Nice Megan! Happy to hear this and glad you made it work!
Loved this one! I made it with portobello mushrooms, eggplant, and bell peppers on the grill. I made jasmine rice to eat with it. The sauce is amazing, and I added Kalamata olives and cherry tomatoes to the plate. So much yum!
★★★★★
Sounds so good Angeli!
This is so tasty. We had it tonight loved all the flavors and all of the different textures and especially loved how good the cauliflower rice tasted with this on top! After three years of low carb and missing rice this was a welcome change! Thank you!
★★★★★
Great to hear Mary- glad you gave it a go!
How long do we marinate the chicken? Looking forward to making this!
Marinate for 20 minutes while you prep the other ingredients- or overnight!
Another GREAT recipe Sylvia! I did a rice search and found this. Can’t believe I have missed it for years… but so happy to have found it now. I served with roasted veggies and the portobello mushrooms. My only indulgence was full fat yogurt. Leftovers were also delicious!
★★★★★
So glad you enjoyed this one Lynn!
Would it be okay to let the chicken marinate longer? A few hours or overnight?
Of course!
This is my go to recipe especially when I am serving a crowd (my large family).
Everybody loves it, including my vegetarian sister in law.
Great to hear! Thanks Melissa!
One of of my new favorite recipes. I made it with the chicken the first time, but tonight, I will make it with the portobellos. Yum!
★★★★★
This sounds so yummy…can’t wait to try it…
Delicious! Thank you for the recipe!
This bowl is full of everything I ever dreamed of! Give me all the grilled juicy chicken, cauliflower rice, veggies and a tasty sauce to go with it, and I’m a happy girl 🙂