Greek Rice Bowl Recipe
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This Greek rice bowl with brown rice is a wonderful meal for two or a side dish for four and a great way to use up leftover brown rice!
This dish is loaded with delicious and hearty Mediterranean goodness and is a great way to turn leftover brown rice into a hearty, satisfying lunch, dinner, or side dish.
Why Greek Rice Bowls Are Perfect For Any Meal
Rice bowls are a great option for lunch or dinner because you can add just about anything to rice, and it’s probably going to taste pretty darn good.
Greek rice bowls are especially delicious thanks to savory Mediterranean ingredients such as olives, cucumbers, tomatoes, and a delicious dressing.
Brown rice is a staple for many and it handles almost anything you can toss with it. The nutty flavor goes with almost anything!
Are Rice Bowls Served Hot Or Cold?
It depends on the bowl, but they can actually be served either way. This particular recipe should be served at room temperature (like, right after you make it), or serve it chilled from the fridge. The fresh veggies won’t hold up well to heating this.
Recipe Tips For This Healthy Greek Rice Bowl
- This is a great recipe for using up leftover brown rice, or simply making a hearty meal for lunch or dinner. You could add some chicken to this to really round it out as a meal, but it’s great on its own.
- Cuts of chicken to try would be chicken thighs, chicken breasts, or even give ground turkey a try instead.
Greek Rice Bowl Meal Prep
Brown rice is fantastic for meal prepping. Make a big batch, divide it into individual containers, and store them in the fridge or freezer. You can add any type of toppings you wish for a fast and easy meal.
Prepping your veggies ahead of time makes this Greek rice bowl a lightning-fast meal when you already have cooked rice and you’re short on time.
Greek Rice Bowls With Chicken
Want to turn this into a Greek rice bowl with chicken?
To prepare chicken for this salad, bake a boneless, skinless chicken breast with a little olive oil and balsamic vinegar, salt, and pepper. It’s simple, easy, and will taste great with this dish.
Sprinkle just enough over the chicken breast to give it flavor. I would say about ½ a tsp. olive oil, 1-2 tsp. balsamic vinegar and then just a dash of salt and pepper. You can even sprinkle on some dried oregano if you like.
Greek Rice Bowl Variations
Salad – Turn this into a salad by serving this over shredded romaine lettuce and add your favorite Greek dressing. It makes a great lunch!
Other Grains – Try using quinoa, farro, or even cauliflower rice if you want to lower your carb intake.
Vegetarian – If you want to keep this vegetarian, but still want to add more protein, skip the chicken and add some roasted chickpeas or tofu instead.
About The Ingredients
Dry brown rice – I used short grain, but you can also use long grain.
Water – Or broth of your choosing. Vegetable or chicken broth will both work well)
Salt
The Additions
Cherry tomatoes – You can also chop up larger tomatoes if you prefer.
Cucumber
Red onion
Kalamata olives
Roasted red peppers
Chickpeas – You can use canned (no sugar added), or cook them from dry at home.
Feta cheese crumbles – Cow feta is the mildest, sheep OR goat feta are the strongest, and a combination of sheep and goat feta is a fantastic middle ground that I strongly suggest for this recipe. However, you can opt for any of these based on your personal tastes. They will all work well in this recipe.
Fresh parsley
Fresh dill
Capers – Optional – for extra salty flavor.
The Dressing
Extra virgin olive oil – Or any light-flavored you you prefer to use.
Lemon juice – Fresh squeezed tastes best, but in a pinch, bottled juice will do.
Dijon mustard – No sugar added.
Red wine vinegar
Garlic clove
Dried oregano
Salt and pepper – As needed, to taste.
How To Make A Greek Rice Bowl
Gather and prep all your ingredients as indicated below.
Rinse the rice thoroughly. In a medium saucepan, bring the water or broth to a boil. Add salt and rice, reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer for about 30-35 minutes, or until rice is tender and liquid is absorbed. Fluff with a fork and set aside to cool slightly.
In a small bowl, whisk the dressing ingredients together until well combined.
Divide the cooked brown rice into serving bowls. Top with cherry tomatoes, red onion, Kalamata olives, roasted red peppers, chickpeas, and cucumber. Sprinkle fresh parsley, dill, capers (if using) and feta over the top.
Pour the dressing evenly over each bowl.
Toss everything together and serve.
Storage
Store leftovers in an airtight container, in the fridge, for up to 4 days unless you used chick broth or added chicken. In that case, it will last for 3 days in the fridge.
Freezing
Freezing is not recommended for this recipe.
Reheating
With the fresh veggies, this is best served cold.
More Rice Bowl Recipes
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Recipe updated on 10/17/24.
Greek Rice Bowl
Ingredients
The Rice
- 1 cup dry brown rice
- 1½ cup water (or broth of your choosing. Vegetable or chicken will both work well)
- ¼ tsp. salt
The Additions
- 1 cup cherry tomatoes (halved)
- 1 small cucumber (diced)
- ¼ cup diced red onion
- ½ cup Kalamata olives (pitted and sliced)
- ¼ cup roasted red peppers (chopped)
- ½ cup cooked chickpeas (canned, drained, and rinsed is fine too)
- ¼ cup feta cheese crumbles
- ¼ cup fresh parsley (chopped)
- ¼ cup fresh dill (chopped)
- 1 tbsp. capers (optional for extra salty flavor)
The Dressing
- 3 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
- 2 tbsp. lemon juice
- 1 tsp. Dijon mustard (no sugar added)
- 1 tsp. red wine vinegar
- 1 large garlic clove (minced or pressed)
- ½ tsp. dried oregano
- salt and pepper (as needed, to taste)
Instructions
- Gather and prep all the ingredients as indicated.1 cup dry brown rice, 1½ cup water, ¼ tsp. salt, 1 cup cherry tomatoes, 1 small cucumber, ¼ cup diced red onion, ½ cup Kalamata olives, ¼ cup roasted red peppers, ½ cup cooked chickpeas, ¼ cup feta cheese crumbles, ¼ cup fresh parsley, ¼ cup fresh dill, 1 tbsp. capers, 3 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil, 2 tbsp. lemon juice, 1 tsp. Dijon mustard, 1 tsp. red wine vinegar, 1 large garlic clove, ½ tsp. dried oregano, salt and pepper
- Rinse the rice thoroughly. In a medium saucepan, bring the water or broth to a boil. Add salt and rice, reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer for about 30-35 minutes, or until rice is tender and liquid is absorbed. Fluff with a fork and set aside to cool slightly.
- In a small bowl, whisk the dressing ingredients together until well combined.3 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil, 2 tbsp. lemon juice, 1 tsp. Dijon mustard, 1 tsp. red wine vinegar, 1 large garlic clove, ½ tsp. dried oregano, salt and pepper
- Divide the cooked brown rice into serving bowls. Top with cherry tomatoes, red onion, Kalamata olives, roasted red peppers, chickpeas, and cucumber. Sprinkle fresh parsley, dill, capers (if using) and feta over the top.
- Pour the dressing evenly over each bowl.
- Toss everything together and serve.
Notes
Nutrition
Recipe from the Gracious Pantry® archives, originally posted on 9/7/13.
