These chicken shawarma bowls bring all those warm, bold flavors home in a way that fits perfectly into a busy weeknight. The ground chicken (for speed and ease) is veggie-loaded with grated zucchini and finely chopped spinach that cook right into the meat. Then we added chickpeas and a classic shawarma spice blend. Everything cooks up quickly in one skillet and gets piled into bowls with fresh veggies and a creamy yogurt dressing. Truly the kind of dinner that makes weeknight dinners feel a little extra exciting.

A bowl filled with rice, spiced chickpeas, sliced cucumber, cherry tomatoes, pickled onions, fresh herbs, feta cheese, and a dollop of creamy sauce, with a fork and a hand holding the bowl.
Easy, perfectly spiced ground chicken combined with chickpeas and oodles of veggies on top of fluffy rice and a creamy yogurt sauce make these bowls a totally exciting (and feel-good) weeknight dinner.

All that lovely chicken shawarma flavor… just veggie-loaded and weeknight-friendly!

I’m in a bit of a dinner bowl phase at the moment and I am leaning into it HARD (Looking at you, cheeseburger salad.) There’s just something delightfully easy and maybe even relaxing about putting all the components for dinner out and letting everyone build their own bowl. It has been magical for this season of like with a teenager in the house, as it’s one of those rare dinner setups where we can all sit down to the same meal, but everyone still gets it exactly how they like it (and can skip what they don’t).

These chicken shawarma bowls are my latest bowl obsession and the perfect “assemble your own” weeknight dinner. At their core, they’ve got all the classic elements….warm, spiced chicken, fresh veggies, something creamy, and a base like rice to bring it all together. It’s that balance of cozy and fresh that makes shawarma bowls so good… and so easy to keep coming back to.

But this version is a little more “real life.” Instead of sliced chicken, I’m using ground chicken to make things faster and more weeknight-friendly. It cooks quickly in one skillet with chickpeas and a shawarma-inspired spice blend, and (of course) I’ve worked in some extra veggies—grated zucchini and finely chopped spinach that cook right into the mixture. So even if someone builds a very “selective” bowl, they’re still getting some veggie goodness in there. Add in all the fresh toppings and that creamy yogurt dressing, and you’ve got a dinner that’s flexible, flavorful, and actually doable on a busy night.

Let’s make dinner together. Just you and me…

Jump to Recipe Instructions
A hand stirs browned ground meat in a black skillet on a gas stove with a wooden spatula.
Heat up your skillet and cook the ground chicken, breaking it up into crumbles as it goes.
A hand stirs shredded zucchini, chopped greens, and ground meat in a white skillet on a gas stove, using a wooden spoon.
Add the grated zucchini and chopped spinach and stir to combine.
A hand stirs a mixture of shredded zucchini, ground meat, and various spices in a large black skillet on a gas stove.
Add the shawarma spice blend and stir to coat everything evenly.
A hand stirs a skillet filled with cooked chickpeas, chopped greens, and spices on a stove, using a wooden spatula. The chickpea mixture appears well-seasoned and sautéed.
Stir in the chickpeas and let them soak up all those warm spices.
A person holds a bowl of Greek yogurt topped with chopped dill, olive oil, salt, pepper, and a garlic clove, surrounded by fresh herbs, a lemon half, salt, and pepper on a marble surface.
Add all the ingredients for the sauce into a bowl.
A person holds a bowl of creamy ranch dressing with herbs, stirring it with a spoon. Fresh herbs, a lemon half, salt, and pepper are arranged on a marble countertop nearby.
Whisk or stir together.
A person holds a bowl of white rice topped with a spiced chickpea and spinach mixture. Surrounding the bowl are bowls of cucumbers, herbs, feta cheese, pickled onions, cherry tomatoes, and a creamy sauce.
Portion the rice and chicken and chickpea mixture into individual bowls.
A person holds a bowl of rice topped with spiced chickpeas, chopped cucumbers, and cherry tomatoes. Surrounding bowls contain yogurt sauce, pickled onions, herbs, cheese, more cucumbers, and tomatoes on a white table.
Top each bowl with cucumbers and halved cherry tomatoes.
A person holds a bowl of rice topped with cucumbers, cherry tomatoes, pickled onions, and a chickpea mixture, spooning yogurt sauce over it. Surrounding the bowl are fresh herbs, vegetables, and more sauce in bowls.
Now top with crumbled feta, pickled red onions, and a dollop of sauce.
A person holds a bowl filled with rice, cucumbers, tomatoes, pickled onions, herbs, crumbled cheese, and a chickpea mixture, surrounded by bowls of fresh ingredients and sauce on a white countertop.
If you’d like, garnish with some fresh parsley and dig in!
A bowl filled with rice, spiced chickpeas, sliced cucumber, cherry tomatoes, pickled onions, fresh herbs, feta cheese, and a dollop of creamy sauce, with a fork and a hand holding the bowl.
5 from 11 votes

Chickpea and Ground Chicken Shawarma Bowls

Yield: 6 servings
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 12 minutes
Total Time: 32 minutes
Cuisine: Mediterranean
Course: dinner
Author: Taesha Butler
These chicken shawarma bowls bring all those warm, bold flavors home in a way that fits perfectly into a busy weeknight. The ground chicken is loaded with grated zucchini and finely chopped spinach that cook right into the meat. Then we added chickpeas and a classic shawarma spice blend. Everything cooks up quickly in one skillet and gets piled into bowls with fresh veggies and a creamy yogurt dressing. Truly the kind of dinner that makes weeknight dinners feel a little extra exciting.
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Ingredients
 

For chicken + chickpeas

  • 1½ tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 pound ground chicken, or ground turkey
  • 2 cups grated zucchini, about 1 medium zucchini
  • 2 cups lightly packed baby spinach , finely chopped after measuring
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1 teaspoon onion powder
  • 1 teaspoon paprika
  • ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
  • ¼ teaspoon ground cumin
  • ½ teaspoon ground turmeric
  • ¼ teaspoon ground coriander
  • 15 ounces canned chickpeas , drained and rinsed

For bowls:

  • 3 cups cooked white rice
  • 3 cups small dice cucumber
  • 1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved
  • ½ cup crumbled feta cheese
  • 1 cup pickled red onions, optional

For yogurt sauce:

  • 1½ cup plain Greek yogurt, 2% or whole milk
  • 1½ tablespoon lemon juice , or 1 teaspoon white wine vinegar
  • 1 clove garlic, grated or 1 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1½ teaspoon dried dill, 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley or dill
  • ½ teaspoon kosher salt , to taste
  • ground black pepper, to taste
  • Chopped fresh parsley, optional garnish

Instructions
 

To make chicken and chickpeas

  • Add the oil to a large skillet over medium heat. Once hot, add the ground chicken.
  • Let the meat sit for a minute so it can get a nice brown crust, then use a spoon to break it up into crumbles. Cook until no longer pink and cooked through, about 7 minutes.
  • Once the ground chicken is cooked through, add the grated zucchini and spinach and stir to combine. Continue cooking until the veggies have wilted down and most of their moisture has cooked off, about 3 to 4 minutes.
  • Season the chicken and veggies with the salt, garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, pepper, cumin, turmeric, and coriander. Stir in the drained and rinsed chickpeas and let them soak in the flavors for about 1 minute.
  • Taste the chicken and chickpea mixture and add more salt or other seasonings if you feel like it needs it. Set it aside to cool a bit while you make the sauce.

To make yogurt sauce

  • Combine all the ingredients together in a medium bowl or large liquid measuring cup. Whisk together.
    If the sauce is too thick to drizzle, stir in a little water until it’s the right consistency.
    The sauce can be made a day in advance and stored in an air-tight container in the fridge.

To assemble bowls:

  • Portion ½ cup cooked rice into each bowl and top with ¾ cup (or 130g) of the chicken and chickpeas mixture.
  • Top each bowl with about ½ cup diced cucumbers, about ½ cup halved cherry tomatoes, a heaping tablespoon of crumbled feta, and 3 tablespoons pickled red onions.
  • Drizzle or dollop 2 to 4 tablespoons of the sauce (depending on how much you want) over each bowl and sprinkle a little fresh parsley over the top (if you like) before enjoying.
    Bowls are best enjoyed right after assembling them. If you would like to make them ahead, store the cooked chicken + chickpeas, cooked rice, and veggies, feta and sauce separate in the fridge for up to 2 days and assemble bowls as directed when you are ready to eat.

Notes

Nutritional information calculated with a bowl have 4 tablespoons of yogurt sauce on top.
Serving: 1bowl or 1/6 of the recipe assembled, Calories: 423kcal, Carbohydrates: 45g, Protein: 30g, Fat: 14g, Saturated Fat: 4g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g, Monounsaturated Fat: 6g, Trans Fat: 0.05g, Cholesterol: 75mg, Sodium: 846mg, Potassium: 1022mg, Fiber: 6g, Sugar: 8g, Vitamin A: 1540IU, Vitamin C: 35mg, Calcium: 154mg, Iron: 3mg
Nutritional information provided here is only an estimate shared for convenience and as a courtesy. Information will vary based on ingredients + brands used to create the recipe.