Simultaneously light and refreshing, yet flavorful and filling, what I love about this Lebanese Chicken Rice Bowl is the way its individual ingredients work together to create a single dish that is bursting with color, texture, and flavor. From the rice pilaf to the parsley, cucumbers, tomatoes, chickpeas, chicken, and a smooth garlic aioli, this is a dish you can enjoy while eating and afterward. Naturally, it is easily customizable and each bowl can be unique tailored by adding more or less of each ingredient.
This Lebanese Chicken Rice Bowl is also nutritionally well-balanced. With carbs from the rice, lean protein from the chicken, and loads of healthy, fresh vegetables, it has everything you need. It can be challenging to specially prepare a vegetable side dish on a busy day when you are already rushing to get some food on the table. But loading up the main dish with fresh veggies is an easy, effective strategy to ensure you and your diners are getting the vitamins, minerals, and fiber you need.
Colorful, nutritionally well-balanced, and absolutely delicious, what more could you ask for? This Lebanese chicken rice bowl is a must try dish that will easily become one of your go-to recipes. This easy, gluten-free recipe takes only 30 minutes to make from scratch, which makes it perfect for weeknight dinners. Scroll down to see how you can make it!
Ingredients
- 2 cups Long-grain white rice
- 4 cups Chicken stock
- 2 lbs Chicken breast tenderloins
- 3 Tbsp Olive oil
- 1 tsp Cumin
- 1/2 tsp Pumpkin pie spice
- 1/2 tsp Salt
- 1 Cucumber
- 3 Tomatoes
- 1 head Romaine lettuce
- 1/2 cup Flat-leaf parsley
- 1/4 cup Onion
- 1 (15.5 oz) can Chickpeas (Garbanzo beans)
Garlic Aioli
- 1/3 cup Mayo
- 4 cloves Garlic
- 2 Tbsp Lemon juice
- 2 Tbsp Water
Instructions
The first step in making the rice bowl is cooking the rice. While you can certainly make plain white or brown rice, it is worth a little extra effort to make an easy rice pilaf infused with Mediterranean flavor as the foundation for this bowl.
In a sauce pan, add rice, chicken stock, and 2 Tbsp olive oil. Cover with a lid and cook on high for 5 minutes, until the liquid starts boiling. Then, turn the heat down to low and cook for 20 additional minutes. Remove from heat and gently fluff the rice with a large spoon or a rice paddle.
Once the rice starts cooking, go ahead and start cooking the chicken. Preheat a skillet over medium heat. Grease the skillet with 1 Tbsp of olive oil. Then add the chicken tenderloins. Sprinkle the chicken with a mixture of cumin, pumpkin pie spice, and salt. Using pumpkin pie spice is an effective shortcut as it is a blend of Lebanese spices like cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, and ginger.
Cook for 10 minutes on one side. Flip and cook for an additional 10 minutes. Remove from heat once the chicken is cooked through to an internal temperature of 165 ºF and is golden-brown on the outside. Cut the chicken into 1/2-inch cubes.
While the chicken and the rice are cooking, prepare the vegetable toppings. Dice the tomatoes and cucumbers. Cut the lettuce into 1/3-inch shreds. Finely chop the parsley and onion. Drain the can of chickpeas.
Lastly, make the garlic aioli. Making the aioli is very easy. Mince or grate 4 cloves of garlic and simply mix it with mayonnaise, lemon juice, and water.
I recommend grating or mincing fresh garlic cloves yourself for maximum flavor, but if you want to make things easier, you can use frozen grated garlic cubes from the grocery store. I do not recommend using grated garlic from a squeeze bottle as it lacks the powerful flavor to really deliver a punch to this dish.
Assemble the rice bowl. Put the rice into a large bowl and top with chickpeas, cucumbers, tomatoes, onion, lettuce, and chicken. Drizzle the garlic aioli over the rice bowl and garnish with freshly chopped parsley.
If you like this Lebanese Chicken Rice Bowl, you might also like Korean Beef Rice Bowl or Easy Grilled Beef Kofta. Lastly, subscribe via email or follow on Instagram to hear about all my latest recipes!
Lebanese Chicken Rice Bowl with Garlic Aioli
Ingredients
- 2 cups Long-grain white rice
- 4 cups Chicken stock
- 3 Tbsp Olive oil
- 2 lbs Chicken breast tenderloins
- 1 tsp Cumin
- ½ tsp Pumpkin pie spice
- ½ tsp Salt
- 1 Cucumber
- 3 Tomatoes
- 1 head Romaine lettuce
- ½ cup Flat-leaf parsley
- ¼ cup Onion
- 1 (15.5oz) can Chick peas (Garbanzo beans)
Garlic Aioli
- ⅓ cup Mayo
- 4 cloves Garlic
- 2 Tbsp Lemon juice
- 2 Tbsp Water
Instructions
- In a sauce pan, add rice, chicken stock, and 2 Tbsp olive oil. Cook, covered, on high for 5 minutes, until the liquid starts boiling. Then, turn the heat down to low and cook for 20 additional minutes. Remove from heat and gently fluff the rice with a large spoon or a rice paddle.
- Once the rice starts cooking, preheat a skillet over medium heat. Grease the skillet with 1 Tbsp of olive oil, then add the chicken tenderloins. Sprinkle the chicken with a mixture of cumin, pumpkin pie spice, and salt.Cook for 10 minutes on one side, flip and cook for an additional 10 minutes. Remove from heat once the chicken is cooked through to an internal temperature of 165ºF and is golden-brown on the outside. Cut the chicken into 1/2-inch cubes.
- While the chicken and the rice are cooking, prepare the vegetable toppings. Dice the tomatoes, and cucumbers. Cut the lettuce into 1/3-inch shreds. Finely chop the parsley and onion. Drain the chickpeas.
- Assemble the rice bowl. Put the rice into a large bowl and top with chickpeas, cucumbers, tomatoes, onion, lettuce, and chicken. Drizzle garlic aioli over the rice bowl and garnish with freshly chopped parsley.
Garlic Aioli
- Mince or grate 4 cloves of garlic and mix it with mayonnaise, lemon juice, and water.
Notes
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