Chicken Quinoa Mediterranean Bowl

This Chicken Quinoa Mediterranean Bowl has so many of my favorite things: creamy hummus, delicious grilled chicken, feta cheese, and a homemade tzatziki sauce; it tastes almost identical to my favorite Panera mediterranean bowl. It comes together quick and it’s SO filling thanks to protein + fiber! One of my favorite easy lunch recipes to meal prep!

I have been on a buddha bowl kick lately, especially with my meal prep lunches.

Bowls – like this tasty Burger Bowl or this Chipotle Bowl – are the perfect meal when you don’t feel like cooking or following an exact recipe. They are easy and customizable, and, with just a little meal prep, you can assemble them easily at the beginning of the week or on demand if you work from home.

I decided to add one bowl recipe to the blog each month in 2023, and first up is this Chicken Quinoa Mediterranean Bowl! This recipe first appeared on the blog as a salad, but it’s new and improved and back as a bowl! And it reminds me so much of my favorite grain bowl from Panera.

Love Panera? Try my Copy Cat Panera Green Goddess Salad!

Why I love this bowl recipe

• It’s basically a copycat recipe for Panera’s Chicken Mediterranean Grain Bowl, but cheaper and no door dash delivery charge. Also, I serve it with quinoa instead of brown rice for extra protein power.
• It’s customizable and easy to swap your favorite ingredients or use what you have on hand.
• Total sauce goals – not only does it have a delicious homemade tzatziki dressing, it also has creamy hummus. Gimme all the sauce.
• It’s super filling and high protein – a total of 58 grams of protein per serving!

If you love Mediterranean flavors, you must also try these Easy Falafel Bites, and this delicious Gluten Free Orzo Salad.

Ingredients

This bowl is full of fresh ingredients and Mediterranean flavor. You will need:

For the Chicken

• boneless skinless chicken breast or tenderloins – to save time, you can use a store bought rotisserie chicken or use leftover chicken from my Air Fryer Whole Chicken, or Air Fryer Chicken Thighs.
• for juicy chicken, I do a quick marinade with little olive oil, lemon, dill, and some salt and pepper.

For the Bowl

• cooked quinoa – it’s so easy to prep quinoa in the instant pot. I do this often on meal prep days and will also freeze extra quinoa for later!
• baby spinach, romaine, salad greens – I like to chop my greens so this feels more like a bowl than a salad. Short on time? Grab pre-washed bagged salad!
• cherry tomatoes or grape tomatoes – if you don’t like tomatoes, you can sub red bell peppers or roasted red peppers.
• cucumber – diced up small. I use english cucumbers but whatever you gave on hand will work.
• diced red onion – picked red onion would also be delicious.
• feta cheese – my favorite cheese.
• kalamata olives – not everyone loves olives, but I cannot get enough. A great way to get in those healthy fats.
• fresh mint and or fresh parsley – optional garnish, but I love the surprise fresh flavor of the mint in this bowl and reminds me of my fave – falafel!
• Hummus – you can use a homemade hummus or your favorite store bought hummus. I generally use an original flavored hummus, but again, use what you love!

For the homemade Tzatziki sauce

• low fat Greek yogurt
• fresh cucumber
• garlic
• lemon zest and fresh lemon juice
• fresh dill – fresh is key! It makes this dressing so delish.
• salt and black pepper

Instructions

Step one: if you haven’t done so already, prep quinoa – rinse, then place one cup of quinoa and one cup of water in the instant pot. Cook for one minute on high pressure. Manual release for 10 minutes after cook time, release the rest of the pressure and fluff with a fork.  

Step two: prep Chicken – season both sides of the chicken with salt and pepper, then rub with2 tsp olive oil, juice from ½ lemon. Sprinkle of dill.  Marinate in the refrigerator for ten minutes if you have it, otherwise grill, air fry, or bake chicken until cooked through – an instant read meat thermometer. Let chicken rest, the sliced into bite sized pieces.

Step three: prep dressing – in food processor or blender, pulse all ingredients for the salad dressing. You could also mix by hand for a thicker consistency. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Step four: prep veggies – chop salad, dice cucumber, and slice grape tomatoes in half.

Step five: assemble bowls

More delicious and healthy Mediterranean Recipes: 

Easy Falafel Bites [Air Fryer | Oven]

Greek Spaghetti Squash Boats {Gluten-free}

Balsamic Chicken and Zucchini Skewers

Greek Pasta Salad