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+ servings

Quick and Easy Summer Grill Bowls

Prep Time30 minutes
Cook Time20 minutes
Course: Bowl, dinner, Dressings and Sauces, Lunch, Main Course
Cuisine: BBQ, California Fresh
Keyword: arugula, bowl, grilled, grilled chicken, grilled veggies, summer
Servings: 1 person
Calories: 440kcal

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

* I use the So Delicious Unsweetened Dairy Free plain coconut yogurt which is labeled at 90 calories, 6 fat and 9 carbs for 3/4th cup (170 g). It’s a small enough amount that you could use most yogurts with very similar macros! I also love the Forager plant based sour cream. If you use non-fat Greek yogurt, your protein will be a little higher and fat a little lower. But nothing drastic. Use your favorite yogurt. If it’s too thick with plain Greek yogurt, simply thin it out with a little extra vinegar.
**Vinegar: I love to use the White Modena Vinegar (which used to be called white balsamic) from Trader Joe’s. I also LOVE my sweet, fruit-infused vinegars 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.
GF/DF: To keep this dairy free, I love to use the Follow Your Heart dairy-free feta. Trader Joe’s also has a good one. For the dressing, make sure to use a dairy-free yogurt base. My favorite is Forager plant-based sour cream.
MFP: Lillie Eats and Tells Summer Grill Bowl
MFP Lillie Eats and Tells Dairy-Free Herb Pesto

Nutrition

Serving: 1bowl | Calories: 440kcal | Carbohydrates: 54.7g | Protein: 34.9g | Fat: 9.1g | Fiber: 5.6g