This post may contain affiliate links which means I may receive a commission for purchases made through links. I will only recommend products that I have personally used! Learn more on my Private Policy page.
I am a big fan of meals in a bowl. One bowl meals combine flavors and textures. One bowl meals make it easy to get all of the different ingredients in one bite. My Healthy Middle Eastern Chicken Bowl is a flavor bomb.
The plating of this dish, and bowls in general, highlight all the ingredients used in the dish. All the different ingredients really stand out on there own yet blend together so well when eaten. I have created a number of one bowl meals but two of my favorites are a Chicken Burrito Bowl and a Chicken Shawarma Bowl. The flavor in this Healthy Middle Eastern Chicken Bowl comes from lots of za’atar seasoning coating the chicken and then soaked in Greek fat-free yogurt.
Middle Eastern Spices
The yogurt works to tenderize the meat. The za’atar is a Middle Eastern spice. It consists of sumac, thyme, toasted sesame seeds, marjoram, oregano and course sea salt. I looked at a couple of recipes and cumin is also commonly added to the spice mix. It is amazing how many Middle Eastern Countries use za’atar and where its origins – so says wikipedia. I am looking forward to exploring more recipes that use za’atar and how they differ from Country to Country.
Middle Eastern Recipes
To make this recipe, I pulled from my ZAHAV red pepper salad to bring the flavor of peppers and bright red and orange colors. I added Persian pickles and there tart flavor and green color. I dressed some red cabbage and served the chicken on top of a bed of lettuce and yellow rice. This Healthy Middle Eastern Chicken Bowl dish is gluten free and low carb. The only fat added is the oil used for the peppers and the slaw.
The chicken spiced and then marinating in the yogurt.
The Healthy Middle Eastern Chicken Bowl plated.
Healthy Middle Eastern Chicken Bowl
Ingredients
- 5 Whole Chicken Breasts
- 6 Whole Chicken Thighs
- 3 Tbsp Za’atar or Ras El Hanout
- 2 Cups Fat Free Greek Yogurt
- 8 Ounces Persian Pickles
- 1/2 Head Red Cabbage
- 1 Whole Red Pepper diced
- 1 Whole Orange Pepper
- 1/4 Head Lettuce chopped
- 2 Cups Rice
- 1 Tbsp Turmeric
Instructions
-
Cook rice according to instructions and add the turmeric.
Make the pepper salad from the red pepper salad recipe on the blog.
Pat dry and spice the chicken then add the yogurt and let marinate for at least an hour. Bake in a 325 degree oven for 35 minutes. Let rest for 5 minutes.
Assemble bowl by putting rice and lettuce on the bottom of the bowl. Top with the chicken and spread the pickles, cabbage and pepper salad around the chicken.
Enjoy!
Landed up here while searching for one bowl dinner recipes. I haven’t many bowl recipes with a focus on middle eastern recipes or spices, especially the use of zaatar or sumac. I am bookmarking this for a weekend family meal, as you can halve or even triple the recipe. Wonder if this can be turned marinated tofu with veggies bowl? Indeed, the yogurt-zaatar marinade adds a refreshingly different flavor to the chicken. True zaatar herb is a rare find in the US, even in mixes bought from ethnic food stores. Without the actual zaatar herb grown in the middle east, you’ll never get the original taste of the classic blend. If I am allowed to recommend a store link in the comment, I’d suggest this online place — https://www.eatzaatar.com..
Jill, thx for stopping by. I totally understand that nothing is as good as the original ingredient. We often have to work with the next best thing and if we have had the original, we know the taste is a little off. I will check out the link.