Chicken Shawarma Grain Bowls

These bowls are beaming with flavor in every direction. From the yogurt marinated chicken to the fluffy quinoa to the fresh veggies and the hummus inspired tahini sauce, there are a lot of super delicious things happening all in one spot. It’s both light and hearty at the same time, and those are my favorite kinds of meals.

Let’s start with the chicken. I chose chicken thighs for this recipe for a couple of reasons. For one, they’re actually pretty hard to overcook. Even if you take them beyond their required internal temperature, they’re pretty forgiving. They stay nice and juicy on the inside, and they come naturally with extra luscious flavor. I know dark meat poultry isn’t for everyone, so you could totally substitute breasts for this recipe. But the cook time will vary, so take note of that.

We’re going to make a super simple marinade of Greek yogurt, olive oil, and shawarma seasoning to schmear all over our chicken. Shawarma seasoning is pretty easy to find these days in stores or online, and it’s a middle eastern spice blend of warm spices like cumin, coriander, cardamom, and paprika among other things. We’ll mix the marinade together, pour it over the chicken in a zip top bag, and let it hang in the fridge for a few hours to let all those delicious spices seep into the chicken.

After the chicken has had some time to do its thing, the rest of the bowl assembly goes pretty quickly. I like to broil the chicken because it cooks a little faster and we have the opportunity for crispy bits. But, grilling the chicken would be a fantastic option too, especially as the weather is warming. Then, we’re going to make some quinoa to use for the base of the bowl. We’ll chop some spinach, tomato, cucumber, and shallot or red onion to add some fresh veggie crunch to our bowl. And finally, we’re going to make a delicious sauce to dollop all over our finished bowl.

For the sauce, think hummus without the chickpeas. Because, that’s pretty much exactly what it is. We’re going to take some tahini, some lemon, some garlic, and some olive oil; and we’ll blend it all together. Then, we’ll add some water to help thin it out to the consistency we like. And, that’s our sauce!

To serve, we’re basically going to pile everything in a bowl, and stuff our faces. The chicken is warm and fragrant with those comforting spices dancing on our tongues. The tahini sauce is smooth and creamy adding a cooling element to the bowl. The veggies are crisp and refreshing adding pops of cool, crunchy texture. And, the warm quinoa on the bottom serves as the perfect pillowy bed to hold all of our delicious goodies.

There’s a reason this bowl has been on repeat at my house. Let me tell you!

Ok, everyone! I’m starting to play around with farro, so let me know what kind of grain bowl you want to see next using that!

Until then, enjoy! And, let’s eat!