Spicy Mediterranean Chicken & Rice Bowl

I'm drooling over this chicken & rice bowl and you will too. This is my Spicy Mediterranean Chicken & Rice Bowl and it is going to be the dinner you make yourself on repeat. It is one of the most wholesome and heartwarming meals I've made in awhile and it's definitely because we're coming close to autumn.

This bowl has a base of chopped spinach, a mix of brown rice with sautéed cauliflower, mushrooms, zucchini, and sautéed spicy chicken. Let's not forget the garnish of feta cheese that puts the whole bowl together. It is a balance of savory and umami.

It's not only delicious, but it is of course a balanced meal. You have plenty of lean protein from the chicken breast, fiber from the brown rice and veggies, and healthy fats from the feta and extra virgin olive oil. Its the perfect meal to come home to after a long day and you can make it in under 40 minutes. Don't let the time overwhelm you, it's an easy and simple meal OK?!

Yields: 1

Portion: 1 bowl

Prep time: 20 minutes

Total time: 40 minutes

This recipe is gluten free (it can be dairy free if you remove the feta).

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Ingredients:

2 chicken breasts, chopped into cubes

Handful of spinach

½ cup brown rice

1 cup chopped cauliflower

1 zucchini, chopped into quarters

4 baby bella mushrooms, chopped thinly

3 whole sun-dried tomatoes, chopped finely

Feta cheese crumbles to garnish

Extra virgin olive oil

1 garlic clove, grated

Salt, black pepper, zaatar

Chicken marinade:

1 TBSP extra virgin olive oil

Salt to taste

½ TSP ground black pepper

1 TSP garlic powder

1 TSP paprika

½ TSP chili powder

Dash of red chili pepper flakes

3 garlic cloves, grated

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Instructions:

1. First, prep your chicken. You can feel free to brine the chicken breast in lukewarm water, juice of 1 lemon, 1 TBSP vinegar, and 1 TSP sea salt.

2. Regardless, after that step dry your chicken and chop into cubes. Place into a mixing bowl. Season with chicken marinade ingredients. If you have time, allow them to marinate in the fridge for as long as possible. If not, you can cook the chicken immediately.

3. But before sautéing the chicken, have brown rice cooking OR if you're lazy like me, grab the packaged brown rice from Trader Joe's and microwave it for 3 minutes.

4. Prep the spinach, cauliflower, zucchini, sun-dried tomatoes, and mushrooms. Place the spinach in a serving bowl. As for the rest, we're going to saute them.

5. Grab a large frying pan and pour in 2 TBSPs of olive oil. Add in the garlic clove and sun-dried tomatoes. Have the heat on medium-high. Once you can smell the garlic, add in the cauliflower, zucchini, and mushrooms. Season with salt and black pepper to taste, and mix. Cover the pan.

6. Once the veggies have softened season with ¼ TSP zaatar and mix it in.

7. Now add in ½ cup cooked brown rice. Mix it in with the veggies. Add it to the bowl with spinach.

8. In that same pan, add in the marinated chicken and sauté until well-cooked. It will need less than 10 minutes on medium-high heat. Cover the pan.

9. Add the cooked chicken onto the bowl (I made you make more chicken than needed so you can have some the next day). Garnish with olive oil and feta cheese to your liking. Enjoy!

I hope you love this recipe as much as I did, so if you do, please leave me a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! I always read through my suggestions and comments, so please let me know your thoughts. If you have any questions you can feel free to DM me here or through Instagram. Speaking of Instagram - please tag me in all of your creations! I love seeing how the recipes come out and seeing how talented you all are. Sending my love.

xoxo,

Jasmin D the RD