You'll love this Mediterranean Bowl with its tasty tzatziki dressing, hummus, and all the veggies you want. This recipe is easy to make and packed with protein for the best DIY salad.
Make this Mediterranean Buddha bowl just like Panera, but at home, for the best meal-prep lunch or dinner. We love adding vegetables like tomatoes, olives, and cucumbers and proteins like chickpeas, quinoa, and warm chicken.
Build your own! This is great for groups because you can customize this recipe any way you'd like. Have a variety of toppings, dressings, and proteins, and let people make their own. This is a great way to get kids to experiment with different vegetables.
Some of our favorite lunch and dinner ideas are bowl recipes. We love how they are packed with vegetables and flavor. Try our Harvest Bowl, Bang Bang Shrimp Bowl, Copycat Chipotle Bowl, and Shawarma Bowl.
What We Love about this Recipe
- Customizable- While we love adding certain ingredients like quinoa, chickpeas, tomatoes, and hummus, this bowl is completely customizable to fit your taste preferences!
- Meal Prep- Chop the vegetables, make the sauces, and cook the quinoa ahead of time for a quick and easy meal prep lunch or dinner throughout the week.
- Easy- There isn't a lot of extra cooking with this recipe. You do have to prep the vegetables, dressing, and hummus but all of those are quick and easy. You'll be enjoying this Mediterranean Power Bowl in no time at all.
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What is a Mediterranean Bowl?
So what goes in a tasty Mediterranean Bowl? We love packing this bowl with our favorite Mediterranean vegetables and sauces. Below is a list of our favorites, but feel free to add more or less!
- Chicken- This is optional but adds a lot of protein to the bowl. You can use pre-cooked chicken breast like you find at Costco, or you can make your own.
- Quinoa- Cooked quinoa can be served either warm or cold. It adds a good grain and is packed with protein.
- Chickpeas- Make sure to drain and rinse the chickpeas from the can.
- Cucumber- I love using the English cucumber; the texture is great. You can use whatever cucumber you have on hand.
- Tomatoes- Use cherry or grape tomatoes for the best texture. They stay together well even when they are cut in half.
- Onion- Red onion is the best onion to use when eating it raw. Make sure to thinly slice it.
- Lettuce- Use your favorite kind here, we like spinach and butter lettuce.
- Hummus- Buy a store-bought hummus or use our quick and easy hummus recipe. It's so good!
- Tzatziki- This dressing really ties everything together, use our homemade Tzatziki, or your favorite store-bought brand.
- Olives- These are optional but adding kalamata olives really gives that authentic flavor. If you prefer black olives, you can use those too.
- Parsley- Fresh chopped parsley is used as a garnish for flavor and aesthetic.
- Feta cheese- You don't want to skip the feta, it adds the perfect salty flavor.
- Dressing- Make a homemade Lemon Vinaigrette with olive oil, lemon juice and zest, white wine vinegar, garlic, salt, and pepper.
See recipe card for quantities.
How to make the Mediterranean Power Bowl
Learn how to assemble this power-filled Mediterranean Bowl with these easy-to-follow step-by-step process photos.
- Combine the olive oil, lemon juice, lemon zest, white wine vinegar, garlic, salt, and pepper. Whisk until well combined.
- Place lettuce and greens at the bottom of a bowl. Add your proteins, chickpeas, quinoa, and chicken, if you are using them.
- Next, add the chopped vegetables, tzatziki sauce, feta, and hummus. Serve and enjoy!
Hint: This bowl has a lot of moisture in it already due to the hummus and tzatziki and doesn't need a lot of dressing. Just a little bit adds flavor. Start with a little, then add more until you have the right amount.
Extra Toppings
This power bowl is all about the toppings! Here are some more great ideas to add some extra flavor or substitutions.
- High Protein- Grilled Chicken is optional for this bowl, but you can also add diced steak, salmon, lamb, beef, ground turkey, or shrimp.
- Grains- This bowl has quinoa in it already but you can also add rice to make it like a warm grain bowl from Panera, or you can add couscous to make it a copycat HelloFresh bowl. Other fun grains include lentils, farro, bulgur, or orzo pasta.
- Cauliflower rice- Make it more veggie-friendly by adding cauliflower rice.
- Potatoes- Roasted potatoes would be a great addition. You can even do roasted sweet potatoes.
- Cheese- While you don't want to skip the feta. If that's not for you, try adding cottage cheese instead.
Adding Chicken
Adding chicken to your Mediterranean bowl is a fantastic way to boost protein and flavor! Whether you prefer tender Mediterranean chicken, smoky blackened chicken, or bright and zesty grilled lemon chicken, each option pairs perfectly with the fresh and vibrant ingredients in your bowl. These recipes are easy to make and will take your bowl to the next level. You can use leftover or meal-prep chicken to make it even easier to assemble.
Storing Mediterranean Buddha Bowl
To keep your Mediterranean bowl fresh and delicious, store the ingredients separately in airtight containers in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. This helps preserve the flavors and textures of each component, especially the veggies and grains. The dressing can be made ahead of time and stored in a sealed jar for up to 2 weeks—just give it a quick shake before serving. When you're ready to eat, simply assemble your bowl and enjoy!
Top tip
Make this your own by adding different grains like couscous and rice, or proteins like lamb, steak, or grilled chicken. It's easy and fun to make this customizable bowl.
Related
Looking for other recipes like this? Try these:
Pairing
These are my favorite dishes to serve with this Mediterranean Bowl:
Recipe
Mediterranean Bowl
Ingredients
- 1.5 lbs chicken optional, see note 1 below for some fun ideas
- 2 cups cooked quinoa
- 1- 15 oz can chickpeas
- 1 english cucumber chopped, see note 2
- 1 ½ cups cherry tomatoes or grape, halved
- 1 small red onion finely sliced
- 6 cups lettuce loosely packed. Use your favorite kind here, we like spinach and butter lettuce
- ½ cup hummus
- ½ cup tzatziki
- kalamata olives optional
- chopped fresh parsley
- 3 ounces feta cheese
For the Dressing:
- 3 Tablespoon olive oil
- 3 Tablespoons lemon juice fresh squeezed
- 1 ½ teaspoons white wine vinegar or balsamic vinegar
- ½ teaspoon minced garlic
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- 1 pinch lemon zest
Instructions
For the Bowls:
- Prepare chicken if using. Cook quinoa according to package directions. While the quinoa cooks, rinse and drain chickpeas, chop the cucumber and tomatoes and thinly slice the onion. Prepare hummus and tzatziki if using homemade. Chop the parsley.
Make the Dressing:
- Juice and zest a lemon. Combine olive oil, lemon juice, white wine vinegar, garlic, salt, pepper and lemon zest in a jar. Screw the lid on tightly and shake vigorously for 30-60 seconds until emulsified.
Assemble:
- Start with a bed of lettuce then top with quinoa, chicken (if using), cucumbers, tomatoes and red onion. See photos above for a visual guide. Top with hummus, tzatziki, olives (if using), parsley and feta cheese. Pour dressing over the top, using sparingly (see note 3).Enjoy!
Notes
- Try adding Mediterranean Chicken, Blackened Chicken, or our Lemon Chicken.
- You can use any type of cucumber you want. You'll want about 2 cups total of cucumber.
- Store ingredients separately (if possible) in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. The dressing will keep for up to 2 weeks in the refrigerator.
- This bowl has a lot of moisture in it already due to the hummus and tzatziki and doesn't need a lot of dressing. Just a little bit for flavor. Start with a little then add more until you have the right amount.
Andrea says
This Mediterranean bowl is super easy to make and is packed with a variety of flavors and textures. It's a great go-to weeknight meal or meal prep lunch.