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Build Your Own Mediterranean Rice Cava Bowl

These CAVA inspired rice bowls are one of my ALL TIME FAVORITE recipes we devour weekly!  They’re crazy delicious, make ahead friendly, hearty, and healthy bursting with exotic, fresh customizable, Mediterranean and Middle Eastern flavors.  They are ideal for meal prep and fabulous for build-your-own-bowl entertaining!
Course Main Dish
Cuisine Mediterranean
Prep Time 45 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Total Time 1 hour
Servings 4 rice bowls

Ingredients

Chicken – pick one (optional)

Roasted Vegetables and Chickpeas

  • 1 small head cauliflower cut into bite-size florets (about 5 cups)
  • 1 large sweet potato chopped into 1/2-inch cubes
  • 1 15 oz. can chickpeas rinsed and drained
  • 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil divided
  • 1 teaspoon curry powder
  • 1 tablespoon brown sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
  • 1/4 tsp EACH ground cinnamon, paprika
  • salt and pepper

Bowls

  • 4 cups cooked rice
  • 4 cups spring salad mix or favorite greens (arugula, spinach, Romaine, etc.)
  • 3/4 English cucumber sliced and quartered
  • 1 pint cherry tomatoes halved
  • red radishes thinly sliced
  • Avocados thinly sliced
  • 1 pint blueberries
  • 1 recipe Pickled red onions or store bought
  • kalamata olives halved
  • sliced almonds
  • crumbled feta
  • hummus (I like roasted red pepper)

Cilantro Yogurt Sauce

  • 1 cup Greek yogurt
  • 1/3 cup packed cilantro
  • 1/3 cup packed parsley
  • 1-2 cloves garlic minced
  • 2 tablespoons lemon juice
  • 1/2 tsp EACH ground cumin, salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon pepper

Instructions

Chicken and Pickled Red Onions

  • Marinate chicken if required according to recipe directions. Meanwhile, make pickled red onions if using. You can cook the chicken while roasting the veggies or anytime before that and refrigerate. See Notes if making 10 Minute Greek Chicken.

Cilantro Yogurt Sauce

  • Make the yogurt sauce and prep your toppings while the chicken is marinating. Add all of the Sauce Ingredients to a food processor and blend until the herbs are chopped, scraping down the sides as needed. Cover and chill in the refrigerator until you’re ready to serve (or chop and combine by hand).

Roasted Vegetables

  • Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Line a large jelly roll pan (15 x 21) with foil and spray with cooking spray. Add cauliflower and chickpeas and toss with 3 tablespoons olive oil, 1 teaspoon curry powder, 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Move to one side of the pan.
  • Add sweet potatoes to the other side of the pan. Toss with 1 tablespoon oil, 1 tablespoon brown sugar, 1/2 teaspoon chili powder, 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon, 1/4 teaspoon paprika, 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/8 teaspoon pepper.
  • Spread vegetables into a single layer. Roast for 25 minutes or until sweet potatoes are tender.
  • Meanwhile, combine cucumbers and tomatoes in a bowl. Toss with a drizzle of olive oil, 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano and freshly cracked salt and pepper to taste; set aside.

Assemble bowls

  • Layer the bowls with cooked rice, lettuce, roasted vegetables, and chicken followed by the desired amount of the toppings. Drizzle with yogurt sauce. Dig in!

Notes

10 Minute Greek Chicken

  • 2 ½ cups shredded chicken (I like rotisserie)
  • 1 ½ Tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 ½ teaspoons balsamic vinegar
  • 1 ½ teaspoons lemon juice
  • 1/2 tsp EACH dried basil, dried oregano  
  • 1/4 tsp EACH garlic powder, onion powder, paprika
Whisk together all of the ingredients except the chicken in a large bowl.  Add the chicken and stir until evenly coated.  Season with salt and pepper to taste.  Adjust seasonings if desired (I like more oregano).

Tips and Tricks 

  • Prep ahead: every single component of the rice bowls can be prepped ahead which will make "go time" quick and easy.  The pickled red onions keep for up to 3 weeks!
  • Don’t skip the sauce!  The yogurt sauce is a key component in this rice bowl recipe for flavor and texture. Its creamy consistency is needed to marry all of the ingredients together and its refreshing tanginess cuts through the earthy flavors of the chicken and roasted veggies. If someone in your household has an aversion to cilantro, add additional parsley or mint instead.
  • Customize rice bowl ingredients:  other than the sauce, the ingredients and measurements are simply suggestions. You can use add/swap any ingredients for your favs.  See the post for variation ideas.
  • Low-carb rice bowls: replace the rice with cauliflower rice or swap the rice for more greens.
  • Vegetarian rice bowls: omit the chicken and double the chickpeas for added protein if you’d like.
  • Rice: use your favorite rice – brown rice, basmati rice, jasmine rice, cauliflower rice or even quinoa and lentils. I suggest keeping the rice flavor profile simple, seasoning with just salt and pepper because the rest of the bowl ingredients are so flavorful.  90-second microwavable rice packets are great for individual rice bowls.
  • Chicken:  can be warmed or served cold if making ahead.  I like to warm it up just so it’s room temperature to take the chill off.
  • Chickpeas: if you want crispier chickpeas, roast them for 10 additional minutes after you roast all the veggies together (remove other veggies first). 
  • Pickled red onions: even if you don’t think you love pickled red onions, I highly suggest you try them; they’re bright, tangy with a slight sweetness and subtle crunch and are a highlight in these rice bowls!
  • Roasted Veggies:  you can roast any veggies together with similar cooking times. Swap in butternut squash, broccoli, or Brussels sprouts which require the same roasting time.  My honey sriracha Brussels sprouts are a personal favorite.
  • Harissa:  spice up the rice bowls with harissa, a Tunisian hot chili pepper paste.

How to Store and reheat

  • Make ahead: One of my favorite aspects of this rice bowl recipe is that EVERYTHING can be made ahead.  Simply store the ingredients in separate containers until ready to serve.  Then reheat per instructions.
  • Storage: Rice bowls will last approximately 3-5 days in the refrigerator.  The cooked/warm components can be stored together (chicken, roasted vegetables, rice, and chickpeas) and will allow you to heat them in the microwave without heating the fresh components.  I suggest storing the fresh/cold components in separate containers (veggies and yogurt sauce).
  • Reheat: The cooked ingredients are typically served more room temperature than hot, so heat the cooked components for just 60 seconds or so to take the chill off, or longer if desired. Then, top with fresh toppings and yogurt sauce. 

how to Meal Prep Rice bowls

Rice bowls make excellent meal prep if you want to prep them ahead of time for convenient, on the go lunches. You can completely assembly the bowls with cooked and fresh ingredients together and microwave for just 30 seconds to take the chill off for room temperature rice bowls or store the cooked and cold ingredients separate.  Here’s how to meal prep for the latter: 
  • Divide rice between 4 containers. 
  • Top with chicken, roasted vegetables and chickpeas. Don’t close containers until everything has cooled to room temperature.
  • The following cold toppings can be stored together layered in this order: pickled red onions, hummus, cucumbers, tomatoes, olives, radishes, almonds, feta. The lettuce and cilantro yogurt sauce should be stored in separate containers.
  • When ready to eat, warm the chicken, rice and roasted vegetables, then top with remaining ingredients.