When you take two awesome ideas and put them together as one, that’s when you get the power bowl. The Mediterranean diet is incredibly healthy, focusing on lean meats, healthy fats, and making sure that you stay full all day long without having bland, boring meals.
A few special ingredients or cooking techniques are all that you need to make something that has a really unique flavor and mixes up your regular week. Bright and punchy herbs, creamy dips, crunchy toppings, or a lemony dressing can all take something from boring to exciting while still keeping your calories in check.
1) Greek Chicken Bowl
I always like to get the base of my bowl started first, and one of my absolute favorites is going to be quinoa. Just make sure you rinse it first to get rid of that unpleasant odor and film that covers it. Then it’s absolutely delicious as a great whole grain option for the base of this bowl. I usually like to do half quinoa and half romaine lettuce.
Then we can get started on the chicken, which is the star of this bowl. To give it that Greek style seasoning, there are a few different herbs that you’ll want to combine. It’s okay if you don’t have every single one in your pantry. Having a mix of them is still going to give you that Greek inspired flavor.
You’re going to want things like oregano, parsley, thyme, basil, garlic and onion, and a little bit of cinnamon, cumin, and black pepper. If your local grocery store has a pre-made Greek mix, that is perfectly fine too. It’ll be a delicious and easy option.
When you’re seasoning your chicken, give it a little squeeze of lemon as well, and then cook it however you like best. It could be on the grill, in the air fryer, in the oven, or in a pan, however you like to cook chicken. While that’s being prepared, you can make a simple salad with cucumbers, tomatoes, red onions, and olives.
It’s going to give it a really strong Greek inspired flavor. Give it a drizzle of olive oil, some salt and pepper, and another squeeze of lemon as well. Once you have everything plated up in your ideal bowl, give it a little sprinkle of feta cheese on top if you like it.
2) Chickpea Shawarma Bowl
Let some dried chickpeas soak, or open up a can and drain the extra liquid. To create a shawarma inspired seasoning, you’re going to want to make sure you have a good amount of cumin and paprika, a little bit of turmeric and garlic, and some cinnamon and black pepper. Toss your chickpeas in that spice mix, as well as some olive oil and a bit of salt. Roast them on high heat until they start to get brown and a little bit crispy. Then they’re the perfect crunchy topping for the rest of your bowl.
One of my favorite higher fiber options is to do yellow bulgur as the base of a bowl like this. The chickpeas are already going to add a lot of extra fiber as well as protein, but I like to boost it up even more with the bulgur instead of something like rice.
Add your favorite fresh or roasted vegetables. For something like chickpeas, I like to put it on top of a fresh salad, so I like to do some greens and tomatoes and cucumbers. And my very favorite thing is adding some pickled red onions for a little bit of extra zing.
My favorite thing to serve with this as a sauce is my healthier version of a toum, which is similar to a garlic aioli. It’s basically half garlic aioli and half Greek yogurt. It’s really, really creamy, with a nice, strong garlic flavor. I add a little bit of dill, and it works really well with the rich flavor of the chickpeas.
3) Salmon Souvlaki Bowl
Souvlaki is a Greek type of skewer that has small pieces of meat that are cooked and have a delicious flavor, with a charred effect from being over the grill. This means that these are really good even for leftovers, because you can cut them into small pieces and use them again in a bowl. For salmon specifically, this is going to give it a little bit of fresh life if you’ve had it left over in the fridge.
Give it a little bit of seasoning with lemon, oregano, black pepper, and salt, and then you’re going to put it on top of your favorite farro or brown rice. Add a little bit of Greek salad with chopped cucumbers and tomatoes. And I love to have this with some tzatziki sauce to give it a nice, cool, delicious, creamy texture.
4) Falafel Bowl
Falafel is a great option when you’re craving something that’s crunchy and fried, but still want it to be a little bit healthier and maybe a little bit easier on the cholesterol as well. This is a really good meat-free option. It has a lot of good plant protein as well as fiber from the chickpea base of the patties. I also love to do them in the air fryer or on the convection setting in the oven, because it takes a lot less oil than traditional deep frying.
My favorite thing to have with this is going to be some turmeric brown rice. I like to cook my brown rice with some turmeric as well as garlic. As it’s cooking, it takes on a really, really nice flavor, and I give it a little bit of lemon and fresh cilantro and parsley as well. This makes a really great base to have those crispy falafel pieces on top.
From there, you can layer in your favorite vegetables to fill out the rest of your bowl. I like to add a little bit of salad greens, usually romaine lettuce or some spring mix, as well as a lot of chopped tomatoes and cucumbers, pickled red onions, and a little scoop of hummus as well, if you haven’t had enough chickpeas just from the falafel.
5) Turkey Kofta Bowl
This is one of my family’s absolute favorite meals, and we even like to take it along with us when we go camping. We’re going to take some lean ground turkey, and my secret to make sure that it stays really, really juicy, even though it doesn’t have a lot of oil, is to grate an onion directly into the rest of the mix. You’ll want to drain a little bit of the juice so that they don’t get too watery, but this really holds onto the moisture without losing any flavor.
From there, you’re going to go ahead and add your seasonings. If you have a pre-made Greek mix, you can go ahead and put that right in.
Otherwise, you’re going to want to make sure that you have some oregano and thyme. Another thing that’s really good here is some fresh parsley or cilantro if you have it. Chop it really small. It makes a huge difference, but if you have powdered or dried, that’s a great option as well.
Mix everything together, making sure you don’t overmix, because that’s another thing that can make it really dry. And you don’t even need an egg to bind all of the spices together. Form it into patties or into long skewers. You can even cook it in the oven if you don’t have time or if it’s not the right weather to go outside and grill it.
Every time I make this, I always feel like I pair it with quinoa, because it has a really, really delicious texture, and I like that it has a finer texture than the bigger pieces of meat for the kofta. Finding your favorite sauce to dip it in is really good as well. One of my favorites is a really good Greek garlic sauce. So you have basically a tzatziki base, but then you add some more blended garlic aioli in with it. It’s really, really delicious. It has a strong citrus and oil flavor without being too heavy.
6) Lentil Veggie Bowl
If you’re using dried lentils, which are going to be a little less expensive, I would recommend soaking them ahead of time, but you could also use canned or pre-prepared ones. You can add some meat or vegetable broth as you are preparing your lentils, and this is going to give them a really delicious flavor.
Once they’ve started to cook, you can add in some olive oil as well as some spices. The spice blend that I love to use is cumin, turmeric, and paprika, as well as ginger and black pepper.
To add some richness, I also like to add some red peppers and let them cook with the lentils until they’re really soft and sweet, as well as some sliced cherry tomatoes. Both of those have some nice sweetness as well as acidity that they’re going to bring, and they kind of contrast the more earthy flavor of the lentils. Some fresh parsley as well as lemon juice are also going to be really good ways to add some brightness to this dish.
7) Hummus Veggie Bowl
This one is going to be built basically upside down, because your sauce is going to be the hummus itself, and that’s going to be on the very bottom of your bowl. Once you’ve picked your favorite flavor, or made your own at home if you’re feeling ambitious, you can start to layer in your vegetables on top. I like to do a mix of both fresh and roasted vegetables, because it gives a nice contrast while you’re eating.
My fresh vegetables are always going to be some nice chopped cucumber as well as tomatoes and red onion. Those are my favorite for some nice, bright, crunchy flavors. And for roasted vegetables, I like a little bit of roasted cauliflower as well as roasted sweet potato. It really gives a nice contrast.
To give your bowl a touch of whole grains, I would have some brown rice, and I would crisp it a little bit in the oven to give it a nicer texture to go with the rest of your veggies and the hummus. I would also serve it alongside some whole grain pita chips, because then you can take those and scoop everything up. If you’re not into that, you could also do some big pieces of bell pepper. That’s another great way to get each delicious bite of this veggie bowl.
8) Tuna Bean Bowl
This recipe is absolutely packed with protein. Tuna is really high protein as well as being affordable, and the beans are another one with a really large amount of protein for this serving. That is absolutely on track for the Mediterranean diet of having good lean protein as well as our whole grains.
Drain your can of tuna and prepare your beans, and then mix them together with your favorite sauce. A little bit of olive oil, lemon, and salt and pepper is as much as it needs. Once your proteins are seasoned, put them on top of your favorite salad greens.
For me, it’s always going to be chopped romaine lettuce. It’s my very favorite. It has a really good crunch that’s going to go well with the softness of the tuna and the cooked beans.
From there, you’re going to add your favorite veggie toppings. That could be some pickled banana peppers or some pickled red onions, as well as chopped cucumber and tomato. Olives, especially marinated olives, are going to give you a really, really good salty crunch as well. It has a really good flavor, and feta cheese is never going to be a bad option.
9) Halloumi Watermelon Bowl
This one has an absolutely delicious sweet and salty contrast. Halloumi is a cheese that has a really, really salty, concentrated flavor, so you don’t need a ton of it to go with the fresh elements in this bowl. Cut your halloumi into bite-sized pieces or into strips, whatever is easier for preparing it, and then you’re going to want to cook it until the outside has a beautiful golden brown crust.
Let it cool just a little bit, and then you’re going to combine it with really sweet chopped watermelon, as well as some nice, fresh spring salad greens. Mint and basil go absolutely deliciously with this dish, as well as a little bit of balsamic vinaigrette or balsamic glaze.
10) Za’atar Chicken Bowl
Take your favorite cut of chicken, season it with za’atar, garlic, and olive oil, and then either roast it or grill it to get a nice, crisp exterior. Za’atar can be quite strong and can have a bit of an earthy flavor, so for your seasonings for this one and for your dressing, you’re going to want to go a little bit more on the bright and citrusy side.
11) Eggplant Bulgur Bowl
Cook your eggplant until it’s silky and soft. Make sure that you dry it a little bit first so that it doesn’t get too mushy. Before roasting, I would add a little drizzle of olive oil and some salt and pepper, as well as some oregano and thyme.
To give your bulgur some punchier flavor, I would cook it with some tomato paste or tomato sauce, as well as some chopped cherry tomatoes and garlic. To give it a little bit of crunch, I would add a little bit of crispy fried onions, as well as some salty crumbles of feta. If you have some fresh parsley, it would also give a really bright taste to this dish.
12) Sardine Farro Bowl
Sardines are a really affordable option that have a lot of protein and a really strong and powerful flavor. Prepare your farro first, and you’re going to want to give it a nice lemony sauce with some lemon, olive oil, and parsley. Add your prepared sardines on top, and I like to do a little bit of a chopped salad on the side. It mixes really well with the lemon flavors that are in the farro.
If you like things a little bit spicier, sardines also pair really well with harissa paste, so that is a really good option to add a little bit of on the very top of your bowl.
13) Roasted Pepper Bowl
Roasted peppers have a really great sweet and savory flavor that you just can’t replicate with other ingredients. The jarred roasted peppers are just fine, but if you have some time, I recommend preparing your own at home. Chop them into bite-sized pieces, and then you can add them to whatever base you would like.
My favorite is to dry toast some brown rice and then cook it almost like a risotto with a little bit of butter, adding some spinach as well. Add your pieces of red pepper, and another thing I like to add is a little bit of crispy roasted chickpeas for a crunchy aspect. Give it a nice drizzle of some good quality olive oil at the very end.
14) Shrimp Orzo Bowl
Prepare your base first, so make sure that you have your orzo cooked perfectly al dente, and then give it a rinse with cold water to stop it from overcooking while you prepare the shrimp. Sauté the shrimp with some butter, olive oil, and garlic until it’s just barely done. You want to make sure that it’s not overcooked, otherwise it can become rubbery. At the very end of cooking, add a squeeze of lemon, and that’s when you’re going to want to add your seasonings too.
Bring back your orzo, and I like to add a little bit of sun-dried tomatoes as well as some wilted spinach. It goes really well with the lemony flavors. Top it with your beautifully cooked shrimp, and you can add a few extra vegetables for toppings if you’d like as well.
15) Mackerel Potato Bowl
Mackerel is a really hearty and rich fish, and it’s going to go really well with some other strong flavors. For this hearty meal, you’re going to want to roast some potatoes. I like to boil them first, and another tip to make them extra crispy, if you want, is to add some baking soda to your liquid while you’re boiling them.
Another way to add more flavor is to boil your potatoes in some chicken broth first, and that’s going to give them a really, really good salty and savory flavor even before they’ve started roasting.
Take them out of the boiling liquid, and then you’re going to want to get them nice and dry before you pop them in the oven if you’d like them to be really crispy. Dress them with some olive oil and your favorite seasonings. Layer them together in your bowl with the cooked mackerel. Let them cool a little bit, and then I like to add some other roasted vegetables, like carrots as well as some zucchini. It goes really well with a nice drizzle of lemon juice on top.
16) Caprese Chicken Bowl
This is one of my favorite ways to make something that looks fancy without a huge amount of effort. You can use precooked chicken, and rotisserie chicken is a great option for this, or you can grill or roast your own at home. Add some fresh mozzarella as well as basil and some nice sliced tomatoes.
Then give it a little bit of a drizzle of either a vinaigrette, or one of my favorite things to do is balsamic vinegar and balsamic glaze mixed together, so it’s not quite as sweet as just the glaze and not quite as bitter as just the vinegar. It’s a nice in-between. Give it a good drizzle of olive oil as well as a sprinkle of sea salt, and that is going to make everything really pop.
17) Harissa Lentil Bowl
Harissa is a great strong and spicy option to pair with lentils, because they have a really good earthy base flavor, so it’s a nice contrast with each other. To give some sweeter flavors to this dish, I would add some roasted carrots. Roast them at a really high temperature in the oven. This is going to bring out some of the natural sweetness from the carrots themselves. Add some zucchini and maybe some potatoes as well. Those can roast in the oven while you prepare your lentils.
Cook them on the stovetop, and I always like to add some tomatoes to my lentils because the acidity goes really nicely with them. Add in your spices. I like to do cumin, paprika, garlic, and black pepper, and then add a nice squeeze of lemon as well as some olive oil. The very last final touch is to add a little bit of cilantro and parsley as well.
If it’s sounding a little too spicy for you, I like to add a little bit of yogurt on top in a nice little swirl on my lentil bowl, because then I can get a little bit with each scoop, and it kind of cuts through the spiciness of the harissa, but I still get to enjoy the delicious flavor.
18) Pesto Pasta Bowl
Pick out your favorite pasta and prepare it according to the package instructions, making sure not to let it get overcooked. Dress it with a nice big scoop of pesto, or however much you want, as well as a good grating of Parmesan cheese.
What’s going to transform this into a whole meal instead of just girl dinner is adding some chickpeas as well. You can either roast them in the oven or just boil them on the stovetop in some salted water. Either way, this is going to add some fiber as well as some protein. I like to add some chopped fresh tomatoes as well. It goes really well with the pesto, and it just rounds out the whole dish.
19) Couscous Bowl
The individual grains of couscous are quite small, and it’s actually a very fast cooking pasta. It’s not really a whole grain, so just make sure that you give yourself some other fiber options with this meal. That’s easy to do, because you can layer in a lot of vegetables and scoop each one up with the small pieces of couscous. A great way to add some protein is going to be some lean options like grilled chicken, or some cooked white beans if you would prefer a meat-free option.
I like to do a mix of both roasted and fresh vegetables. My favorite combination is going to be some roasted zucchini as well as some roasted tomatoes. They get really delicious and caramely in the oven. The zucchini gets crispy and brown on the outside, and it goes really well with the rest of the bowl.
I like to also add some chopped salad greens, either some fresh spring mix or some romaine, as well as chopped tomato and onion, cucumber, and olives. I like to dress the whole thing with a nice lemony vinaigrette at the very end.
20) Beet Farro Bowl
This one has a really nice contrast of both flavors and textures. Farro is quite chewy and hearty, and that’s going to be the base of this grain bowl. And then we’re going to add roasted beets as well as some fresh oranges. Oranges are going to give a nice citrusy kick, and the roasted beets have a really delicious natural sweetness that’s going to come out.
If you want to add some nice salty flavor without adding a ton of actual salt to the dish, you can add a good sprinkle of feta on top. It goes really nicely with the citrus in the oranges and has a nice contrast.
21) Olive Tapenade Bowl
This is another one where the main ingredient is basically a condiment that we expand into a complete meal. Tapenade has a really strong flavor with the olives as well as capers, so it’s going to have a really, really salty and seafood type of flavor that goes really well with other ingredients.
For our vegetables, we’re going to want to focus on things that are really fresh or have a little bit of sweetness to them. So again, roasted vegetables are a good option, because they’re going to naturally caramelize through the heating process and give a nice contrast to those really salty flavors. I like to do some roasted red onion as well as bell peppers and some carrot slices.
To give it something that’s a little bit more of a blank canvas, you’re going to want to pair this either with some rice or a more neutral grain, like white quinoa that’s been rinsed, or yellow bulgur. You’re not going to need a lot of dressing with this one, because obviously the tapenade has so much flavor. To help cut through that, you’ll probably want to add some chopped tomatoes as well as some cucumbers. Cucumbers are also going to give some hydration if it gets a little bit too salty.
22) Labneh Bowl
Labneh is basically an even thicker version of Greek yogurt, so it makes a really good base to add toppings to and be able to scoop up. One of my favorite things is to add spiced roasted chickpeas, and that’s going to give even more protein. There is some protein in the labneh already, but we want to increase that even more to make it really a power bowl.
Really bright and fresh ingredients are going to go well with this, so some crunchy cucumbers as well as some nice fresh tomatoes.
And one thing people might not think to pair with it is fresh mint leaves. It gives a really refreshing crunch, and it goes really well with the dairy and the tangy flavor from the labneh. I would keep the labneh and all of my vegetables together in a bowl and pack or prepare this with a whole grain pita or with some big slices of bell pepper to be able to scoop up each bite.
23) Steak Bowl
Give your steak a nice seasoning of salt and pepper, and then let it rest a little bit before cooking. Make sure you get a nice sear on each side and cook it to your preferred level of doneness. Give it another chance to rest after it’s cooked, and then cut it against the grain for the most tender bite. This is really important in a bowl, because you want to cut it into bite-sized pieces so it’s easy to taste each individual piece.
Steak can be quite rich, so I like to put it with just some salad greens, but if you want something a little more substantial, you can add some roasted potatoes as well to give you some more satiety with each meal.
24) Zucchini Bean Bowl
Beans are going to be our main protein source as well as fiber for this bowl, but zucchini is really going to be the star of the show. Make sure that your zucchini is nice and crispy and browned on the outside instead of just soft and steamed. Salt it a little bit and then pat it with a paper towel so that it takes some of the moisture out.
If you’re cooking it in a pan, make sure your pan is also not overcrowded, because that’s also going to give you that steaming effect. Give it a little bit of space and cook it in two batches if you’re making a large amount. You can also roast it in the oven on a high temperature for a little bit longer, and that should give you some nice golden brown pieces of zucchini.
Once they’ve been prepared to perfection, you’re going to mix them with some cannellini beans, and that’s going to give you a nice soft and creamy texture. These are really good on their own, but I would also add a little bit of shredded Parmesan on top as well as some nice fresh chopped tomatoes.
25) Muhammara Bowl
Muhammara is a paste made of roasted red peppers as well as walnuts that has a delicious sweet and smoky flavor. We’re not going to need a ton of extra seasoning, because the muhammara sauce is going to be the main component. You’re going to want to mix it with chicken, or chickpeas if you want some protein without having a meat option.
I would mix this one with some Turkish bulgur, because it goes really well with the nice roasted pepper flavor. Finish everything off with a little squeeze of lemon, which is going to help cut through that really rich and savory flavor, and a little bit of salt on top and some olive oil.
Pantry & Tools I reach for when building bowls
The kit that turns a fridge of leftovers into a real Mediterranean bowl. Affiliate links: if you buy through them, HomeViable earns a small commission at no extra cost to you.
- AGRIDÈ Ohlivia Extra Virgin Olive Oil: The finishing oil that earns its drizzle on every bowl.
- Cooler Kitchen Salad Spinner: Dries the arugula, parsley, and herbs that show up in almost every bowl so the dressing actually clings instead of beading off wet leaves.
- Gusto Nostro Marble Mortar and Pestle Set: Grinds the za’atar fresher, mashes the harissa paste, and turns the muhammara walnuts into the right texture without breaking out the food processor.
