The sauce takes forty seconds and carries the bowl.
Half a cup of Greek yogurt, a tablespoon of lemon juice, one clove of garlic grated straight in. That is the whole sauce, and it is the difference between a rice bowl and a shawarma bowl.
Three cups of cooked sliced chicken tossed with two teaspoons of shawarma spice and warmed four minutes to 165F. Rice, chicken, diced cucumber, halved cherry tomatoes, and the cold sauce over all of it.
Ingredients
The recipe serves 4. Plan on 10 minutes to finish (plus earlier prep).
- 3 cups cooked sliced chicken
- 2 tsp shawarma or 7-spice blend
- 3 cups cooked rice
- 1 cucumber, diced
- 1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
- 1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 1 clove garlic, grated
How to Make It
- Toss the chicken with the shawarma spice in a skillet over medium and warm 4 minutes until it reaches 165F.
- Stir the yogurt, lemon juice, and garlic together for the sauce.
- Warm the rice in the microwave 2 minutes.
- Build bowls with rice, the spiced chicken, cucumber, and tomatoes, then drizzle the yogurt sauce over the top.
Do the Slow Part Early
Cook the chicken and rice ahead so dinner is mostly assembly.
- Cook and slice the chicken in the morning, or use rotisserie
- Cook the rice early and chill it
- Stir the yogurt sauce ahead and keep it cold
Store and Reheat
Keep the cold toppings and sauce separate so they stay fresh and crisp.
- Microwave the chicken and rice together 2 to 3 minutes with a splash of water
- Add the cool cucumber, tomato, and sauce after reheating
- Keeps 3 days in the fridge
- Serve with: warm pita, hummus, kalamata olives
Make it fit tonight
Small changes that make this one fit your night
Grate the garlic, do not chop
Chopped cloves give sharp raw bites in yogurt; grated ones melt into it.
Any 7-spice blend
Whatever is on the shelf gets you close enough on a Tuesday night.
Pita in the toaster
One round for thirty seconds, torn in half, and they scoop instead of forking.
The cold parts go on last
Cucumber, tomato, and yogurt all belong on after the rice is warm.
Hummus under the rice
A spoonful at the bottom makes the bowl taste like a restaurant made it.
Plan the next step
Plan your fresh-feeling nights
Use the planner to keep bright, assembly-style bowls like this on the calendar for busy weeks.