We LOVE to grill. Being in southern California, it’s a year-round thing for us, but grab an indoor grill pan if that’s not your world, and you can still enjoy these Quick and Easy Summer Grill Bowls all year! They’re the perfect way to use all the leftover grilled goodies– or the reason you’ll fire up the BBQ and INTENTIONALLY grill extras of EVERYTHING. If you’re a serious fan of Cava bowls like I am, you’ll want to learn how to make them at home. Cava bowls aren’t complicated: find a base you love like grains or greens, a delectable protein, veggies galore, and delicious toppings. Lately, I’ve been using a lot of tabouli as a topping. It is just so refreshing in summer.
Here are a bunch of oh-so-satisfying summer grill bowls for you to consider.
What You’ll Need for a Summer Grill Bowl:
- Arugula
- Quality balsamic vinegar
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Cooked brown rice
- Grilled chicken, chopped
- Grilled bell pepper, chopped
- Grilled zucchini, chopped
- Grilled pineapple, chopped
- Grilled onion, chopped
- Grilled corn, sliced off the cob
- Feta, blue, or goat cheese (I used dairy-free feta)*
- Dairy-free Herb Pesto, recipe below
- Lemon, basil leaves, and salt and pepper to finish
What you’ll need for the Dairy-free Herb Pesto:
- Cilantro
- Parsley
- Fresh basil
- Dairy-free plain yogurt*
- White balsamic vinegar**
- Toasted almonds
- Fresh garlic, or frozen cubes
- Pinch of red pepper flakes
- Pinch of kosher salt and pepper
This bowl is meant to be built with leftover grilled chicken and veggies for ease. Because that’s what I did, so you should too, haha. BUT, if this fresh grilled bowl sounds delicious and you don’t have leftovers, just fire up the grill of course!
Grilled Chicken
If you’re starting from scratch, grill up your chicken using your favorite marinade. In our house, we LOVE the bulk apple cider dijon grilled chicken or the balsamic herb grilled chicken… But honestly, any marinade recipe will work. You can even work with a pre-cooked rotisserie chicken if you’d like.
Grilling Your Veggies
Like I said before, this recipe is written to use up your already grilled veggies. So, simply grill as many veggies as you’d like! We do a couple of bell peppers, a zucchini or two, half of our pineapple (the kids want to eat the other half cold of course), an onion, and a couple of ears of corn. The goal is to build bowls all week with any leftovers. It’s one of those goals that makes you feel like a champ because you’ll accomplish it. Not like a new year’s goal. No stress here.
Wipe your grill down carefully with oil. Slice your bell pepper, zucchini, pineapple, and onion into nice large pieces so they’re easy to flip and handle on the grill. For onions, keep that knot on the end and slice so that it keeps each wedge from falling apart. Spray your veggies with a mist of olive oil spray, and season liberally with salt and pepper. I also like adding a light sprinkle of garlic powder before placing all the veggies on the grill.
You’ll want your grill to be at medium-high heat for the most flavor. Grill everything until they’re charred and tender. Make sure to watch your zucchini. It will need to come off first so it doesn’t get too soft! That can be gross. Warning.
Make Your Dressing
Add your cilantro, parsley, fresh basil, dairy-free plain yogurt, white balsamic vinegar, toasted almonds, garlic, a pinch of red pepper flakes, and a pinch of kosher salt and pepper into a small blender or food processor.
Dairy Free Dressing if you need it!
I love dairy, but I’m currently avoiding it to heal some tummy stuff, and I’ve really grown to love all the dairy-free options. My favorite dairy-free yogurt (to use in place of non-fat Greek) is the So Delicious Unsweetened Dairy Free plain coconut yogurt OR the Forager plant-based sour cream. It’s such a small amount that you could use most yogurts with very similar macros! For this dressing, I used the Forager. It’s great when you don’t want a hint of coconut or anything sweet. If you are ok with dairy, you could also use non-fat Greek yogurt. Your protein will be a tiny bit higher and fats a little lower. It’s nothing drastic, since we’re generally eating about 2 Tbsp of a dressing and not 2 cups. HA. So just use your favorite yogurt.
Blend everything until pretty smooth. The nuts will leave the dressing a little chunky– that’s good! Just blend until it’s at your preferred consistency. If the sauce feels too thick, simply thin it out with a little extra vinegar.
I love using White Modena Vinegar from Trader Joe’s (it used to be called white balsamic). But, I also LOVE my sweet, fruit-infused bottles of vinegar from Baker and Olive. Just use a slightly sweet vinegar that you like! The clearer the vinegar, the better for color, but dark works too.
This dressing is fantastic on these summer grilled bowls, but you can enjoy this drizzled on all the grilled meats, sandwiches, bowls, wraps, and salads! If you want it thinner for an easier drizzle, just add a little more vinegar or lemon juice.
Time to Build Your Bowl
A key component of this bowl is seasoned arugula. To season your arugula, toss your greens with salt, pepper, and balsamic vinegar. I love to use a delicious fruit-infused light balsamic vinegar from Baker and Olive. Lemon and peach are my absolute favorites! Make sure to toss gently.
To the bowl, add your cooked brown rice, grilled chicken, and all of your chopped grilled veggies and pineapple. Top with crumbled dairy-free feta (or your favorite cheese!). I love to use Follow Your Heart’s dairy-free Feta. Trader Joe’s also has a good one. Then, finish off with the dairy-free herb pesto you prepared and a squeeze of lemon. It’s going to be looking an awful lot like a Cava bowl about now.
Serving Suggestions:
This bowl makes the perfect weeknight dinner using yummy grilled leftovers. Or you can build prepped bowls for lunches all week! Add some fresh basil and salt and pepper before you dive in. ENJOY.
Similar Recipes:
Macro-Friendly Spicy Shrimp Taco Bowl
Quick and Healthy Crispy Carnitas Quinoa Bowl
Mediterranean Grain Bowl (Cava Copycat)
If you’re looking for other delicious healthy meals check out my cookbooks. I’ve also added a cookbook-style meal plan to help make macro-friendly eating that much easier. You can always find new recipes and see what I’m up to on Instagram and TikTok, (sort of– that one’s new haha) so come hang out!
*Disclosure: I only recommend products I would use myself and all opinions expressed here are my own. This post may contain affiliate links that at no additional cost to you, I may earn a small commission. Read the full privacy policy here.
Quick and Easy Summer Grill Bowls
Ingredients
- 1 cup Arugula
- 1/2 Tbsp Quality balsamic vinegar (7 g)
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 1/3 cup Cooked brown rice (75 g)
- 1/2 cup Grilled chicken, chopped (100 g)
- 1/3 cup Grilled bell pepper, chopped (45 g)
- 1/3 cup Grilled zucchini, chopped (45 g)
- 1/3 cup Grilled pineapple, chopped (40 g)
- 1/4 cup Grilled onion, chopped (30 g)
- 1/4 cup Grilled corn, sliced off the cob (40 g)
- 1 1/2 Tbsp Feta, blue or goat cheese (10 g, I used dairy free feta)*
- 3 Tbsp Dairy-free Herb Pesto, recipe below (45 g)
- Lemon, basil leaves, and salt and pepper to finish
Dairy-free Herb Pesto (serves 12)
- 1 cup Cilantro (40 g)
- 1 cup Parsley (30 g)
- 1-2 cups Fresh basil (30 g)
- 2/3 cup Dairy-free plain yogurt* (150 g)
- 6 Tbsp White balsamic vinegar** (90 g)
- 1/2 cup Toasted almonds (60 g)
- 3 cloves Fresh garlic, or frozen cubes
- Pinch of red pepper flakes
- Pinch of kosher salt and pepper
Instructions
- This bowl is meant to be built with leftover grilled chicken and veggies. If you’re starting from scratch, grill your chicken using your favorite marinade. We LOVE the bulk apple cider dijon grilled chicken, or the balsamic herb grilled chicken. But any will work. You can even work with precooked chicken if you’d like.
To Grill Your Veggies
- The recipe is written using your already grilled veggies, but if you don't have any already, simply grill as many as you’d like! We do a couple of bell peppers, a zucchini or two, half of our pineapple, an onion, and a couple of ears of corn. Build bowls all week with any leftovers! To grill the veggies, wipe your grill down carefully with oil. Slice your bell pepper, zucchini, pineapple and onion into nice large pieces so they’re easy to flip and handle on the grill. Keep that knot on the end of your onion and slice so that it keeps each wedge from falling apart. Spray your veggies with a mist of olive oil spray, and season liberally with salt and pepper. Add a light sprinkle of garlic powder and place all veggies on the grill over medium high heat. Grill until they’re charred and tender. Zucchini will need to come off first so it doesn’t get too soft!
Make Your Dressing
- Make your dressing by adding all ingredients to a small blender or food processor and blend until pretty smooth. The nuts will leave it a little chunky– that’s good! But blend until it’s your preferred consistency. Enjoy this drizzled on all the grilled meats, sandwiches, bowls, wraps, and salads!
Build Your Bowl
- Build your bowl by adding arugula with ½ Tbsp balsamic vinegar. I love to use a delicious fruit-infused light balsamic vinegar from Baker and Olive. Lemon and peach are my favorite! Add salt and pepper your greens. Toss gently.
- To the bowl, add your cooked brown rice, grilled chicken, and all of your chopped grilled veggies and pineapple. Top with crumbled dairy-free feta (or your favorite cheese!) and Dairy-free Herb Pesto. Finish with a squeeze of lemon, some fresh basil, salt and pepper to taste. Enjoy!
Notes
MFP Lillie Eats and Tells Dairy-Free Herb Pesto
Nutrition
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