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California Chicken, Veggie, Avocado and Rice Bowls. Also known as the non-boring chicken and rice dinner bowl that’s so darn GOOD. Spice rubbed grilled chicken served up bowl style with grilled peppers, zucchini, mashed avocado, tomatoes, and crumbled cheese. This easy, healthy, chicken and rice bowl is made almost entirely on the grill, all in under 30 minutes, using fresh from the market ingredients. It’s a great weeknight meal that can easily double as a delicious packed lunch the following day.
You guys! Yes, I have another chicken and rice bowl for you, and it’s SO GOOD. This bowl has been a staple in my kitchen for years and years. It’s kind of my form of summer comfort food. This recipe brings back all the childhood memories for me. While this is absolutely nothing like the chicken and rice my dad served my brothers and me as kids, it still has the core ingredients, grilled chicken and steamed rice.
I am not even joking when I say this, but we ate grilled chicken and rice at least twice a week during the summer months back in Cleveland. It was my dad’s go-to dinner. Probably because it was the easiest thing he could cook up after work and also because we all loved it. With a house of 6 boys and 2 girls (my mom and I…Asher hadn’t entered the world yet), it was a miracle if everyone actually agreed on a dinner, let alone loved it.
Point of the story? I grew up on dinners of chicken and rice. Looking back, Dad’s were a tad on the bland side, but regardless, I loved them. To this day chicken and rice is still a comfort food for me.
Enter in these California chicken, veggie, avocado and rice bowls. They’re kind of inspired by my dad’s grilled chicken. Kind of inspired by the fresh flavors and produce of California style cooking. And kind of DELICIOUS.
First up is the chicken. This is definitely not my dad’s style of grilled chicken, which was a very basic, olive oil, salt, and pepper situation. Nah, this chicken is well seasoned and so much more flavorful. Think lemon pepper with plenty of garlic, a little heat, a touch of paprika, and so much fresh parsley and basil (mostly because our garden is overflowing with herbs right now). It’s simple and subtle, but yet also flavorful.
Best part? You can most likely find all of the ingredients in your pantry. Well, with the possible exception of fresh herbs, which you may even be growing in your garden? YES.
I love a pantry staple recipe. Keeps weeknights stress-free.
OK. Moving onto the rest of the bowl…the rice, the veggies, and the avocado.
For the rice, I just did a super simple steamed rice. Steamed rice is my fall back and what I have loved forever. That said, you can certainly use brown rice, quinoa, or even cauliflower rice if you’re looking to bulk up your vegetable content. Any of these will honestly be great.
Next, the vegetables. I used a mix of bell peppers and zucchini. Now, before you dismiss the vegetables, let me explain something. Grilling vegetables gives them a whole new identity. They char up, turn sweet, and take on a nice smoky flavor. They’re so good, I could eat them every single day. Especially bell peppers, they’ve been my favorite since I was kid…again I was an odd little girl that loved her veggies. Nothing has changed.
The chicken and the vegetables are grilled at the same time. While that’s happening, your rice should be cooking away on the stove. By the time the rice is cooked, the chicken and vegetables should be coming off the grill. At this point, it’s time to assemble.
Well almost…
You need some mashed avocado first. More specifically, mashed avocado with lemon, parsley, and a good amount of flaky salt.
Ok, now we can assemble.
It goes like this, rice, chicken veggies, and a large dollop of mashed avocado. Add fresh cherry tomatoes and a little bit of cheese. I personally love blue cheese, but you can use crumbled goat or feta cheese if you prefer. And finally, toasted walnuts, because walnuts feel very “California” to me.
About 30 minutes after starting you’ll have the prettiest, tastiest, healthy bowl of chicken, veggies, avocado, and rice. I know it’s kind of simple, but trust me, the flavors are out of this world good. I couldn’t love this bowl more. It’s the chicken and rice dish I loved growing up, but much more “done up”.
Lastly, I feel like I should mention that this is without a doubt one of my mom’s all-time favorite recipes. I’ve never met someone who loves a simple chicken and rice dinner more than her. So every chance I get, I make this for her. She likes her bowls with double the rice, extra basil, more peppers than zucchini, and possibly a side of buttery grilled corn too. Oh, and bread, can’t forget the bread!
Hey…she knows what she loves.
If you make these California Chicken, Veggie, Avocado and Rice Bowls, be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love to hear from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. And of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
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Hi Teighan, Just discovered this recipe through the HuffPost Taste section and made it for supper tonight. Delicious! We loved the combination of flavours. I replaced the blue cheese with feta cuz blue cheese scares me 🙂 I’m looking forward to trying more of your tasty-looking recipes. Thanks!
Hi Meredith!! SO happy you tried and liked this!! Thank you so much!! Can’t wait to hear more from you(:
I have tried this recipe twice now and my husband and I both love it. We love it enough for me to post this comment! So good!
YAY! So happy you guys love it Cheryl!! Thank you!!
I made this rice bowl yesterday exactly as described here and it was AWESOME! This was a yummy combination of flavors..I used jasmine rice and came out well using the method described in the instructions – I’ve tried other rice bowl recipes and didn’t like them– thanks for posting this, I’m a believer again!
Thanks for sharing this! I am pretty sure my clan would go bananas for this. Gonna bust out the grill ASAP.
Thanks so much! Hope you love the recipe!
This recipe is STELLAR. So good and so fresh.
Thank you!!
No, Thank you!! Happy you like it!
Teighan, I just wanted you to know that I’ve been making this dish now regularly for about a year, and it’s one of my healthy go-tos! Just discovering the rest of your blog, and your photos are gorgeous. Just sending some admiration from one blogger to another!
So happy you love this recipe, thank you! Happy new Year! 🙂
De Lish OUs!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Our new family favorite!
YEAH! So happy you love them! THANKS!
Too much story. Scrolling to the end to get to the recipe. Whatever happened to a recipe and instructions and maybe a picture?
The photo alone drew me in and I knew I have to make this! And I did! Not to sound dirty, but I love how it all comes together in the month. Great instructions, simple ingredients and I need to make more! AMAZING RECIPE Gurlfriend!
Haha! Thank you so much!! I am so excited you love this! 🙂
i am so excited to make this! it looks so delicious! thanks for the recipe! did you feel like it was dry and needed a dressing of any sort? I was curious what would pair well with it?
Hey!! I think that whatever you favorite dressing is would be great. Maybe balsamic?
I just found your blog and I love it. You’ve probably already figured out how to cook good brown rice, but if not try looking up Alton Brown’s baked brown rice recipe. It turns out perfect every. single. time. No joke. I do use a little less salt as I find his recipe makes it a little too salty. Unfortunately, we’ve given up eating brown rice as I found out that most brown rice has high traces of inorganic arsenic.
I don’t ever leave reviews but I had to share. I have made this twice and its to die for. I use my own guac recipe and add cilantro and lime to the rice. This is my families new favorite dinner! The chicken makes a killer salad or pita the next day, too! Thank you for this recipe! YUM
SO EXCITED you love this recipe! THANKS!!
When I saw this recipe I could tell just looking at it I was going to love it. I just made it and it is awesome! I did cheat and used rotisserie chicken, I also cooked my zucchini on the cooktop. I used feta instead of blue cheese. I loved that every bite had something different. I will make this one a lot!!!!
Ooooh, yum!
Thanks Cassie!