Harissa Chicken Bowl

If you're looking for a nutritious, fun meal to make with chicken breast, Harissa Chicken Bowl is it. The unique tang of the store-bought harissa pairs well with fresh veggies, warm rice, and a dollop of hummus. The bowl can come together quickly by prepping it the day before, or you can whip all up in about 45 minutes.

What is Harissa?

Harissa is a pepper sauce popular in many Middle Eastern countries such as Israel, Libya, Morocco, and Tunisia. It's made from powdered sweet and hot peppers, garlic, ground caraway seeds, cumin, lemon juice, and salt.

In the US, there are mild and spicy harissa options found in the international aisle of most major supermarket chains. I've used the brand Mina. So far I've only tried the mild version of Mina's harissa, and it's so mild it's almost bland. I intend to try the hot version next and if it's too intense, mix it with yogurt, which is typical to marinate chicken in.

Harissa Chicken Bowl Ingredients

Rice

As with any bowl, we're building it with a grain base. In this case, we're using brown rice.

The advantage of eating brown rice is that you get benefits of a whole grain. Brown rice retains its fiber, protein, vitamins, and minerals, whereas white rice has been stripped of these nutrients.

On the other hand white rice is often enriched with some vitamins like folate and minerals like iron. White rice cooks faster and has a softer texture compared to brow rice.

I recommend alternating between brown rice and Jasmine or Basmati white rice. Brown rice (especially organic brown rice) has levels of arsenic that are higher than safety standards typically want people to ingest. So while the white rice won't be as nutritious, Jasmine and Basmati have the lowest levels of arsenic.

For this recipe, you can use whatever rice you have on hand.

Greens

If you don't like rice or don't have any rice, that's ok! This bowl calls for a layer of mixed greens to sit on top of the rice, but the greens can act as the base. To speed up your prep consider buying a bag or box of mixed greens that have been pre-washed.

Veggies

Aligned with Mediterranean cuisine, this bowl includes slices of cucumber, tomato and onion.

I enjoy slicing cucumber ultra-thin using one of the slicing slots on my grater. However, you can use a knife to slice the cuke thin, or even cut rounds and then halve or quarter them.

A roughly chopped tomato is all that's needed for this veggie.

Pickled Onions

The pickled onions may be bought, but they are easily pickled at home by the time the rice is done cooking. Quick-pickling requires thinly slicing half of a red onion and placing the slices in a Mason jar.

The onion is then covered by half a cup of apple cider vinegar (distilled vinegar is fine, too), half a cup of water, a Tablespoon of sugar, and about 3/4 of a teaspoon of salt. The jar is covered and sits on the countertop for a half hour before being moved to the refrigerator.

The pickling step can obviously be completed in advance, as the onions stay good for 2 weeks.

Hummus

Because this recipe is multi-step, I add store-bought hummus to it. You can make hummus in advance if you're so inclined by adding a can of drained and rinsed chickpeas to a food processor with olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, and any other ingredients you'd like such as tahini or roasted red peppers.

Chicken

In this recipe, we're using boneless, skinless chicken breasts, which will be the lowest fat of any cut of chicken. For flavor, though, you could opt for skinless thighs as well.

The chicken can marinate with the harissa overnight if desired, but it doesn't have to. I haven't found that the flavor increased by having it marinate overnight.

Again, if you end up with a harissa that is too spicy for you, tame it with yogurt. Typically restaurants will mix harissa with yogurt and marinate chicken in this mix for a few hours before cooking.

To keep the kitchen pace moving, this recipe calls for baking the chicken to keep your hands free to chop the veggies, but you can absolutely sauté the chicken over medium heat as an alternative. In that case, I would recommend prepping the veggies in advance.

Prepping the Harissa Chicken Bowl

The bowl preparation can come together in 45 minutes for someone who feels fairly competent in the kitchen. However, if you're like me and get a little frazzeld with too many moving parts, consider prepping some or all of the bowl the day before or earlier that day.

For instance, have the rice cooked. This is the longest part of the prep if you're using brown rice. By cooking it the day before, or in the morning while you're getting ready for work, you'll only need to reheat it in the same pot that you cooked it in right before serving.

You can also quick-pickle those onions up to two weeks in advance. Of course the onions don't need to be pickled, but it gives the bowl just a touch of a sweet flavor to balance out the garlic of the hummus and harissa.

Finally, you can cube and marinate the chicken the day before by placing it in an oven-safe dish and covering it in the fridge. Then you simply pop it in the oven to bake while focusing on the veggies and building the bowl.

Nutrition of Harissa Chicken Bowl

This Harissa Chicken Bowl is the perfect example of a Mediterranean Diet meal. Featuring whole grains (brown rice), veggies (greens, tomato, cucumbers, onions), and lean proteins (chicken and hummus), the bowl fits well into the meal plan for someone who is trying to follow a Mediterranean Diet to lose weight, lower cholesterol, lower blood pressure, and limit spikes in blood sugar.

I would even recommend adding a little olive oil to the greens layer for healthy fats and polyphenols, as the Mediterranean Diet always incorporates olive oil into its ingredient list.

Below is the recipe for Harissa Chicken Bowl. Feel free to leave a comment or send photos of your version!

Harissa Chicken Bowl Recipe

Serving Size: 2 bowls

Cook Time: 40 mins.

Total Time: 45 mins.

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup quick-pickled onions or 1/2 of a raw red onion (see Step 1 below)

  • 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar

  • 1/2 cup water

  • 1 Tbsp sugar

  • 3/4 tsp salt

• 1/2 cup dry brown rice

• 1 boneless, skinless chicken breast

• 1 cup harissa (store-bought- mild or spicy based on preference)

• 1 cup mixed greens

• 1/2 cucumber

• 1 tomato

• 1/2 cup hummus (optional)

Directions

1. If onions aren't pickled yet, slice half a red onion thinly and add to a Mason jar with 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar, 1/2 cup water, 1 Tbsp sugar, and 3/4 tsp salt. Let sit on counter for 30 minutes before refrigerating.

2. Preheat oven to 350° F.

3. Cook brown rice according to package instructions. Typically, boil water or broth, add rice, and cook on a low simmer covered for 40 mins.

4. While rice cooks, cube raw chicken and place in an over-safe dish. Cover with harissa. Bake for 15 mins. or until chicken reaches an internal temperature of 165° F.

5. Meanwhile, wash cucumber, tomato, and greens if necessary.

6. Slice cucumbers thinly. Slice tomato into bite-sized cubes.

7. When rice is done cooking, add it as the base layer to your bowls, followed by greens. Then add cucumber in a quarter-section of the bowl, followed by tomatoes in a section, onions in its own section, and a dollop of hummus in the last quarter. Finally, top with fully cooked chicken.