Meal Prep: Chicken Shawarma Quinoa Bowls Recipe

4.85 from 26 votes

Meal Prep: Chicken Shawarma Quinoa Bowls Recipe

Mild, yet still full of beautiful and bright flavor, Chicken Shawarma is a great chicken dinner to try if you're new to Middle Eastern cuisine. For best results, marinate the chicken overnight, or for at least 2-4 hours. This allows the chicken to really absorb the awesome spice in the marinade. To cook the chicken, you can grill, pan fry, or bake. Baking is my preferred method, but go with what you know best! This recipe is served with quinoa and salad for a healthy weeknight dinner and leftovers are packed away in glass containers with chickpeas and yogurt sauce for easy meal prep.

Prep Time10

Cook Time20

marinate4

Total Time30

Course: Lunch, Main Course, Meal Prep, Salad

Cuisine: Middle Eastern

Keyword: Chicken Meal Prep, Chicken Schawarma Quinoa Bowls, Chicken Shawarma, Easy Chicken Dinner, Meal Prep Ideas

Servings:

Author: Jessica Randhawa

Ingredients

2.5 lb boneless skinless chicken thighs

FOR THE MARINADE

4 tablespoon olive oil
2 lemons juiced
6 cloves garlic minced
1 teaspoon cumin
2 teaspoon paprika
2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground cardamon

FOR THE CUCUMBER TAHINI YOGURT

2 cups plain Greek yogurt
4 tablespoon tahini
1 clove garlic minced
1 tablespoon lemon juice
½ cup cucumber grated

TO SERVE

2 cups cooked quinoa
2 heads romaine lettuce finely chopped
½ cup green onion chopped
4 roma tomatoes chopped
1 can chickpeas drained and rinsed
2 avocado peeled and sliced
1 large English cucumber sliced
Fresh lemon, mint, and sesame seeds to garnish

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

FOR THE CHICKEN AND MARINADE

In a large bowl whisk together all ingredients for the marinade until combined. Transfer the marinade to a large ziplock bag.
Carefully transfer the chicken to the bag. Seal the bag shut, removing as much air as possible. Gently mix the chicken in with the marinade, making sure every single part of each chicken piece is covered with marinade.
Transfer the chicken to the refrigerator to marinate for at least 2 hours, ideally overnight.
When ready to cook, remove chicken from the refrigerator and preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Transfer chicken to the baking sheet, using two sheets if needed (don't overcrowd the baking sheet as the chicken will cook less efficiently).
Bake at 375 degrees F for approximately 20 minutes, or until the internal temperature registers 165 degrees with a digital thermometer. Remove from the oven and allow the chicken to rest.

FOR THE CUCUMBER TAHINI YOGURT

Place all ingredients for the cucumber tahini yogurt in a medium bowl and stir well to combine. Season to taste and store in the refrigerator until ready to serve.

FOR THE QUINOA BOWLS

As the chicken is cooking prepare the ingredients for the quinoa salad bowls. Divide among each bowl the lettuce, quinoa, tomato, chickpeas, avocado, and cucumber. Garnish with fresh mint, sesame seeds, and lemon. Top each bowl with sliced chicken shawarma and cucumber tahini yogurt.

FOR THE MEAL PREP BOWLS

If you are making these into meal prep bowls or you have leftovers, the same idea applies to meal prep bowl building as it does to make a salad bowl. Simply decide which ingredients you would like to go into each container and arrange accordingly :)

Nutrition