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An assembled greek chicken bowl sits on a small plate atop a white surface with a white cloth. A pita and gold fork rest alongside the bowl, and a bowl of avocado tzatziki is on the counter beside it. A bowl of feta, jar of pickled onions, fresh dill, & lemon can be seen in the background.

Greek-Inspired Chicken Bowls with Creamy Avocado Tzatziki

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star 5 from 2 reviews
  • Author: Jess Larson
  • Prep Time: 25 minutes
  • Cook Time: 20 minutes
  • Total Time: 45 minutes
  • Yield: serves 4
  • Category: Entrée Salads & Bowls Recipes, Main Dishes
  • Method: Oven, Baked & Broiled
  • Cuisine: Greek & Mediterranean
  • Diet: Gluten Free

Description

If you’re just as obsessed as we are with light + fresh Mediterranean flavors & epic loaded bowl-style meals, you’re going to love these Greek-Inspired Chicken Bowls with Creamy Avocado Tzatziki. They’re light, fresh, texture-filled, colorful, & so feel-good!

The bowls center around 2 main components – our go-to Greek-inspired chicken & a creamy avocado tzatziki sauce. Both are easy to prepare & leave plenty of room for you to build your bowls with whatever fixings you love.

The Greek-inspired chicken is marinated in a quick lemon herb marinade that’s prepared with punchy ingredients like lemon zest, lemon juice, fresh dill, & garlic. Since it’s so flavor-forward, it infuses the chicken with a ton of flavor in a very short amount of time. At dinnertime, simply roast the chicken in the oven & finish it under the broiler for deliciously crispy & charred edges. 

While the chicken cooks, you’ll have the perfect amount of time to prep whatever bowl fixings you love, like a colorful & creamy avocado tzatziki sauce, lemon rice, cucumbers, tomatoes, olives, pickled red onions, feta cheese, & more. They’re just as fun to build as they are to eat – you’re going to be obsessed!


Ingredients

Scale
  • 1 ½ pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs (see Recipe Notes)
  • 3 tablespoons olive oil
  • 2 lemons, zested & juiced
  • 6 cloves garlic, finely chopped or grated
  • ¼ cup finely chopped fresh dill (can sub 1 heaping tablespoon dried dill)
  • 2 teaspoons dried oregano
  • kosher salt & ground black pepper, to season
  • for serving, as desired: avocado tzatziki (below), herbed lemon rice (see Recipe Notes), shredded lettuce, diced cucumber, cherry tomatoes, diced feta cheese, pickled red onions, chopped fresh dill, warm pita bread (we love this homemade pita recipe!), etc.

for the avocado tzatziki:

  • ½ English cucumber, grated & squeezed to remove excess water (see Recipe Notes)
  • 1 large avocado, pitted & peeled
  • 2 cloves garlic
  • 2 lemons, juiced
  • ¼ cup finely chopped fresh dill (can sub 1 heaping tablespoon dried dill)
  • ⅓ cup full-fat Greek yogurt
  • 23 tablespoons water
  • kosher salt & ground black pepper, to season

Instructions

  1. Marinate the chicken: Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F, ensuring one rack is positioned in the top third of the oven. To a medium bowl, add the olive oil, lemon zest & juice, garlic, dill, oregano, 1 ½ teaspoons kosher salt & ground black pepper as desired. Whisk to combine well. Add the chicken to the bowl, tossing to coat in the marinade. Set aside to marinate for 15-20 minutes at room temperature while the oven preheats. (Alternatively, you can cover & marinate in the refrigerator for up to 6 hours.)Chicken thighs marinate in a lemon herb marinate in a large white bowl resting on a white textured surface.
  2. Roast the Greek-inspired chicken: Place the marinated chicken on a small baking sheet. Transfer to the oven & roast 10-15 minutes, or until cooked through. Marinated chicken thighs sit on a sheet pan atop a white textured surface.
  3. Optional: Broil the Greek-inspired chicken: If desired, broil the Greek-inspired chicken for a crispy, browned finish (so good!). Remove the chicken from the oven & preheat the oven’s broiler to its highest setting. Transfer the roasted chicken to a cutting board & carefully slice into bite-sized pieces. Place the sliced chicken back on the baking sheet. Place the baking sheet under the broiler. Broil 4-5 minutes, carefully turning the pan halfway through, until the chicken is browned & slightly crisp. Remove from the oven & set aside for serving.Bite-sized, broiled chicken pieces sit on a sheet pan atop a white textured surface.
  4. Prep the avocado tzatziki: Meanwhile, as the chicken roasts, prepare the avocado tzatziki. Place the grated cucumber in a medium bowl & set aside. To a food processor, add the avocado, garlic, lemon juice, dill, & Greek yogurt. Season with a heaping ½ teaspoon kosher salt & ground black pepper as desired. Pulse to break up the avocado, then blend until smooth & creamy. If necessary, add a couple tablespoons water to smooth out texture. Transfer the creamy avocado mixture to the bowl with the grated cucumber. Fold to combine well. Set aside, or store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 2 days.A white bowl of avocado tzatziki sits on a white surface. The tzatziki is topped with fresh dill, and has a gold spoon resting in it. A lemon and fresh dill sit alongside the bowl.
  5. Assemble Greek-inspired chicken bowls with avocado tzatziki & fixings of choice: Build your avocado tzatziki bowls as desired. I like to swoop the avocado tzatziki directly along the sides of the bowl, then create a base of lemon herb rice (see Recipe Notes) & finely shredded lettuce, & top it all off with the roasted chicken, diced cucumbers, cherry tomatoes, feta, & pickled red onions. (If you’re craving a handheld, it’s also delicious to pile everything into a pita!) Serve immediately. Enjoy!An assembled greek chicken bowl sits on a small plate atop a white surface with a white cloth. A pita and gold fork rest alongside the bowl, and a bowl of avocado tzatziki is on the counter beside it. A bowl of feta, jar of pickled onions, fresh dill, & lemon can be seen in the background.

Notes

  • Ingredient Notes:
    • Can I use boneless, skinless chicken breasts instead? Yes. I prefer using chicken thighs in this recipe since they’re flavorful & stay really nice & juicy through roasting + broiling, but you can swap them out with breasts if you prefer. Either pound the breasts out flat or cut them in half lengthwise (butterflied) to ensure they roast up evenly. Skip broiling (Step 3), as the breast meat will dry out.
    • Grated cucumber: To grate the cucumber, place a few paper towels out on a cutting board & set a box mixer on top. Run the cucumber along the side of the box mixer with the largest holes to grate it into nicely shredded pieces. Once grated, use the paper towel to blot the shredded cucumber & soak up excess moisture. (Too much moisture will make the affect the consistency of the avocado tzatziki, so do not skip this simple step!)
    • Simple add-on ⇢ Herbed Lemon Rice: For a little something extra, I love building these avocado tzatziki bowls with a quick herbed lemon rice – it’s really easy to throw together using ingredients you already have on hand for the Greek-inspired chicken & avocado tzatziki sauce. To a medium bowl, add 2 cups cooked rice, the zest & juice of 1 lemon, & a handful of finely chopped fresh dill. Use a fork to fluff it all together & serve immediately. (For a particularly quick & easy version, feel free to heat up a package of 90-second rice in the microwave – easy!)
  • Storage & Reheating: Store leftover Greek chicken, avocado tzatziki, & bowl fixings in individual airtight containers in the refrigerator. The avocado tzatziki is best enjoyed within 2-3 days, while the Greek chicken will last up to 3-4 days. Reheat the chicken in the microwave or stovetop until warmed through, then assemble an avocado tzatziki chicken bowl as desired. 
  • 20-Minute Meal Prep: Nearly all of the active prep work for these Greek chicken bowls from prepping the lemony marinade & avocado tzatziki sauce. Mix up either or both in advance to get a head start on your tzatziki chicken bowls – it takes 20 minutes, tops:
    • Prepare the marinade according to Step 1 of Recipe Directions, above. Store in a jar or airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. The day you’d like to make Greek-inspired chicken, all you have to do is toss the chicken into the marinade – so easy! Marinate for at least 15-20 minutes at room temperature or cover & marinate in the refrigerator for up to 6 hours. (10 minutes active prep.)
    • Prepare the avocado tzatziki sauce according to Step 4 of Recipe Directions above. Store in a jar or airtight container in the refrigerator for 2-3 days.