These Meal Prep Chicken Souvlaki Bowls with quinoa and grilled veggies are a delicious and easy lunch idea you'll want to eat all week!
Ingredients and substitutions
- Quinoa – rice, couscous or another grain like barley or farro can be used in place of quinoa.
- Grape tomatoes – cherry tomatoes or finely diced Roma tomatoes will work well as a substitution for grape tomatoes.
- Cucumber – for a similar taste and shape, use zucchini; for a similar texture, use celery.
- Kalamata olives – black olives with the pits removed are ideal but you can also replace with green olives or leave out altogether.
- Tzatziki – sour cream or plain and unsweetened Greek yogurt will work well as a replacement for tzatziki.
Chicken
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- Chicken breasts – chicken thighs are a great replacement for chicken breast and may even be a juicier cut of meat.
- Olive oil – use a neutral oil like sunflower seed oil, grape seed oil or canola oil to replace the olive oil.
- Lemon juice – use fresh or bottled lemon juice. In a pinch, use lime juice.
- Garlic – fresh or jarred minced garlic is recommended but garlic powder or garlic salt can also be used. If using garlic salt, be mindful of any additional salt you add afterward.
- Oregano – Italian seasoning or dried basil can be used to replace oregano.
Vegetable skewers
- Olive oil – follow the substitution notes above.
- Salt & pepper – to taste.
- Zucchini, red and yellow pepper – leave out any of the veggies listed or replace with a veggie of your choice such as mushrooms, yellow squash, shallots, broccoli, etc.
- Red onion – white or yellow onion would also be good or you can leave out the onion altogether.
How to make chicken souvlaki bowls
- Marinate the chicken.
- BBQ the chicken.
- Make and grill the vegetable skewers.
- Cook the quinoa.
- Assemble your bowls, top with tzatziki and enjoy.
What to serve with chicken souvlaki bowls
I love serving these chicken souvlaki bowls with vegetable skewers. You can mix up the veggies to include whatever you’re craving or have on hand but bell peppers, zucchini and red onion are my favourites. You could also keep up with the Greek theme by serving them with a nice Greek side salad or even roasted potatoes.
Frequently Asked Questions
Chicken souvlaki consists of pieces of chicken (typically chicken breasts) that are marinated in Mediterranean-style spices and grilled on a wooden skewer or stick. They’re often served alongside grilled veggies which are sometimes grilled on the same stick as the chicken.
There are 550 calories per serving in these chicken souvlaki bowls. You’ll be getting a protein-packed meal that will keep you full all day long!
It all comes down to the spices and the method of cooking. Chicken shawarma is cooked on a vertical rotisserie whereas souvlaki is grilled on a skewer. Souvlaki is also traditionally served with vegetables whereas shawarma is served with sauce on a wrap or over rice.
Storing and reheating
These delicious chicken souvlaki bowls can be refrigerated in airtight containers for up to 5 days – I wasn't lying when I said they're perfect for meal prep! I recommend storing the fresh vegetables and tzatziki separately so that you can reheat the dish without warming up the veggies and sauce.
If you prefer not to warm up this dish, you can store the ingredients together and enjoy it at room temperature the next day. To reheat your bowls, sprinkle some water over top of the chicken and microwave for 1-2 minutes until warmed through.
Freezing this recipe
If you have leftover chicken, extend its life by freezing it. You can either freeze the extra chicken raw and marinated or cooked. Cooked chicken will keep frozen for up to 4 months. To enjoy, simply allow it to thaw in the fridge overnight and then microwave it or bake it in the oven.
If you are freezing raw chicken, you can freeze it marinated for the next time you create this dish! Freeze the marinated chicken in a freezer bag or an airtight container for up to 4 months. When you're ready to enjoy the chicken, move it from the freezer to the fridge overnight and then follow the cooking instructions on the recipe card.
More chicken recipes
Meal prep tools for this recipe
- Grab some glass meal prep bowls if you plan on turning this recipe into leftovers.
- I get all my free-range chicken from Butcher Box, conveniently delivered to me frozen.
- Get a meat thermometer to make sure your chicken is cooked through.
Meal Prep Chicken Souvlaki Bowls {+ Video!}
Ingredients
- 2 cups cooked quinoa (usually 1 cup dry quinoa and 2 cups of water cooked in a pot on the stove or in a rice cooker)
- 1/2 cup cherry tomatoes, sliced in half
- 1/2 cup cucumber, sliced
- 1/2 cup sliced kalamata olives
- 1/2 cup tzatziki
Chicken
- 1 lb chicken breasts, diced
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 2 tbsp lemon juice
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tbsp oregano
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp pepper
Vegetable Skewers
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- salt & pepper to taste
- 1 zucchini, sliced
- 1 small red onion, sliced
- 1/2 red pepper, chopped
- 1/2 yellow pepper, chopped
Instructions
- Preheat BBQ to med-high heat. In a small bowl, mix together ingredients for chicken marinade. Marinate chicken in a bowl for 15 min, then grill on BBQ for 20 min, flipping halfway through.
- Meanwhile, toss veggies with olive oil and salt & pepper in a large bowl. Add veggies to skewers then add to grill within last 10 min of chicken being on the grill. Cook for 10 min then remove chicken and veggies from grill and let cool slightly.
- Meanwhile, cook quinoa and prepare other veggies. Dice chicken once cool enough to handle. Add quinoa, chicken and all veggies to bowls, topping each with tzatziki. Enjoy!
Sam says
Hi i was just wondering how many calories this is, you usually pop up a list with the calories on it 🙂
Taylor Stinson says
Hey Sam – unfortunately I don’t have the nutritional info on my older recipes and I’m unable to go back and update them. Sorry about that!
Lisa Noble says
I made these for my lunches this week and they are so delicious! Thank you so much for the recipe!!
Taylor Stinson says
YAY!!!! So happy you liked these bowls Lisa, thank you for sharing with me 🙂
Kate says
These look so good!! Do you have a link for where to buy those glass containers?
Taylor Stinson says
Thanks so much Kate! 🙂 I got these containers at Ikea: http://www.ikea.com/ca/en/catalog/products/90233788/ I also found a couple at Winner’s one time (I assume Marshall’s would also have them if Winner’s does)