The second meal from the sheet pan chicken shawarma recipe is this gorgeous and delicious chicken shawarma rice bowl. Not only is this quick meal ready in 15 minutes, but it’s incredibly satisfying and totally customizable, so everyone can add their own toppings as desired. You are going to love the Middle Eastern flavors in this shawarma bowl.
Estimated reading time: 4 minutes
Table of Contents
Ingredients for Chicken Shawarma Bowls
- Rice – Use any rice that you like. Basmati rice or Jasmine rice are both excellent choices. I like to make a big batch of rice in my rice maker so that it cooks perfectly without me needing to babysit it. You could also serve with cauliflower rice to add in more veggies and cut down on carbs.
- Chicken – The sheet pan chicken shawarma is made with boneless skinless chicken thighs, but you could definitely make it with chicken breasts if that is what you prefer.
- Veggies – We’re adding some salad veggies like chopped lettuce, cucumber, red onions, and tomatoes.
- Toppings – Add extra flavor with a squeeze of lemon juice, a drizzle of tahini sauce, or a few kalamata olives.
- Optional – Serve this with pita bread for a full meal.
How to Make Chicken Shawarma Rice Bowls
These rice bowls are incredibly simple to make once the chicken shawarma is made.
- Make sheet pan chicken shawarma. Use half of it in the chicken shawarma wraps and the other half in these rice bowls.
- Make rice. Use microwavable rice for a kitchen shortcut.
- Prep toppings. Wash and slice tomatoes, cucumber, and lettuce.
- Assemble bowls. Divide rice and chicken into bowls and add toppings as desired.
How to Store Leftover Chicken Shawarma Rice Bowls
Store any leftover rice bowl ingredients separately in the fridge for 3-4 days. It’s a great meal to prep ahead as everything keeps very well.
If you want to meal prep it, store rice and chicken in a glass storage container and pack the fresh toppings separately. Reheat rice and chicken and then add fresh toppings.
How to Serve this Meal to the Whole Family
Customizable meals like this one are great for one family meal, because everyone can add their own toppings as desired.
Rice Bowl Ingredient Swaps
It’s easy to make swaps and substitutions to these bowls because they are totally customizable!
- Grains – Swap the rice for any cooked grain. Quinoa, farro, brown rice, etc.
- Veggies – The cucumber, tomatoes, and lettuce pair really well with the chicken shawarma, but feel free to add your own depending on what you have.
- Dairy-Free – Skip the feta cheese for a dairy-free rice bowl.
- Dips – I love a big dollop of hummus on these bowls, but you could also top them with tzatziki, yogurt sauce, garlic sauce, or baba ganoush.
Helpful Tools to Make Rice Bowls
- 12″ Skillet – Give the sheet pan chicken shawarma a quick toss in the skillet to reheat it for the rice bowls.
- Flaky Sea Salt – Sprinkle the rice bowls with some flaky sea salt to taste.
Chicken Shawarma Rice Bowls
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 4 minutes
- Total Time: 14 minutes
- Yield: 4 servings 1x
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Skillet
Description
Let everyone top their own chicken shawarma rice bowl for a customizable grain bowl with shawarma chicken, hummus, and fresh toppings.
Ingredients
- 6 cups cooked rice
- 4 servings leftover shawarma chicken (about 4 thighs)
- 1/2 cucumber
- 2 tomatoes
- 2 romaine lettuce hearts
- 1 Tbsp. olive oil
- 8 Tbsp. hummus
- 2 oz. feta cheese
- lemon wedges, olive oil, flaky salt, black pepper
Instructions
1. Prep ingredients:
Make rice according to package instructions.
Slice chicken.
Slice cucumber.
Slice tomatoes.
Thinly slice lettuce.
2. Heat olive oil in a nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add chicken and onions to pan and cook for 2-3 minutes, until hot.
3. Assemble bowls. Divide rice into bowls and top with chicken, sliced cucumber, tomatoes, lettuce, hummus, and feta cheese.
Notes
- Adjust toppings to taste and preference.
Jess
This is one of my favorite meals!!! We make this all the time.
Sarah
This was so good! Served it family style and even though the kids are in a non-chicken phase, they ate everything else. Delish:)
Emily Dingmannn
Oh yay! So glad to hear this, Sarah! (Even though kids are anti-chicken right now.) 🙂