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Make this epic farro and chicken recipe for dinner or turn it into a healthy meal prep lunch for the office with the tips in this post.
Healthy Mediterranean Chicken Farro Bowls
You’ll love digging your fork into through layers of juicy marinated chicken, fresh veggies, hearty farro, and feta cheese. And, if that wasn’t enough, a creamy Tzatziki sauce drizzled over the top seals the deal and makes this Mediterranean chicken bowl taste incredible.
I can’t get enough of these farro bowls as a family dinner that everyone loves or packed as a healthy office lunch-which is why I put them up on this site and make them at least once a month!
If you've never cooked farro, don't worry. It's a lot like cooking rice and resembles barley or brown rice when cooked. Its nutty flavor also makes it a healthy and delicious alternative to regular rice in soups, stews, and salads.
Benefits of Farro
Farro is a great source of vitamins and minerals, including iron, zinc, magnesium, antioxidants, and vitamin B3. It also has more fiber than many grains, which helps improve digestive health and reduce the risk of diabetes and heart disease.
That’s not all. Compared with other grains, farro has a considerable amount of protein. This helps keep you full longer, avoiding unhealthy snacking, and leading to a healthy weight.
Ingredients
With this meal, you have all the benefits of farro and all the other delicious ingredients we add to these bowls. You’ll find the ingredient measurements at the end of the post, but first, check out what you need to make this tasty and nutritious recipe:
- Farro: packs much more flavor and nutrients than regular rice or couscous.
- Chicken breast: marinated in delicious lemon oregano flavors and pan-seared to juicy perfection.
- Lemon-oregano marinade: a very simple marinade that packs on the flavor.
- Cherry tomatoes: chopped fresh tomatoes also work great.
- Cucumber: crisp and refreshing!
- Kalamata olives: have a unique flavor, but you can swap them out for your favorite variety of pitted olives.
- Red onion: if you love their sharp flavor, add them!
- Tzatziki sauce: a delicious sauce made with cucumber and Greek yogurt. Check out my recipe for homemade Tzatziki below.
- Feta cheese: tangy feta brightens the flavors of the farro bowls and adds a creamy element.
- Lemon: to squeeze over the toppings.
- Fresh dill or parsley: chopped and sprinkled over the chicken and veggies.
How to Make Mediterranean Farro Bowls with Chicken
Sometimes, I cook the farro ahead of time and the chicken so I can simply assemble this meal on a busy weeknight. Here is how to make this start-to-finish:
- Marinate the chicken
First, marinate the chicken in the lemon marinade for at least 20 minutes. For the most flavorful chicken, marinate it for 4 hours. - Cook the farro
You bring it to a boil in a pot with water or stock for about 30 minutes. Yes, it’s that easy! - Cook the chicken
You pan-sear the chicken until it reaches an internal temperature of 165F. It takes about 7 minutes per side. Let it rest before slicing. Don’t forget to discard the marinade! - Make the dressing
If you’re making your own tzatziki sauce, here’s when you grate and squeeze the cucumber, grate the garlic, and combine all the ingredients. - Build your bowl
Scoop the cooked farro into bowls and top with juicy chicken slices, tomatoes, cucumber, olives, red onion, tzatziki sauce, and feta cheese. Squeeze lemon, grab a fork, and enjoy!
Recipe Video
If this is your first time making farro or one of these types of simple layered bowls, check out this quick video that shows you how:
Recipe Variations
These farro bowls are not just great for meal prep, but also for customizing with ingredients of your choice:
- Make it vegetarian: swap the chicken for chickpeas.
- Add legumes: whether you keep the chicken or not, chickpeas, beans, peas, and lentils are nutritious add-ins.
- Hummus: keep the Mediterranean flavor profile by adding your favorite hummus.
- Add more veggies: some great additions are chopped bell pepper, spinach, cooked broccoli, or Brussels sprouts.
- Make it extra crunchy: you can also top your farro bowls with seeds and nuts of your choice for crunchiness and extra nutrition.
- Use rotisserie chicken: quicker and just as delicious!
How to Serve Farro Bowls
I like setting these Mediterranean Farro Bowls up self-serve so everyone can build their bowl.
All of the cooking and chopping steps can be done beforehand and the ingredients stored in separate containers. Come dinner-time, having everything ready will make things go quickly, just give the farro and chicken a quick warm-up in the microwave and build your bowl.
Meal Prep Farro Bowls
These farro bowls are a great Mediterranean meal you can prep ahead and refrigerate for up to 3 days.
Layer the cooked farro and chicken inside your glass meal prep containers and top with cucumber, tomato, olives, and red onion. Pack the feta cheese and Tzatziki sauce into separate sauce containers.
When ready to eat, enjoy this salad cold or reheat it in the microwave and top with the sauce and cheese. So good and simple!
Mediterranean Chicken Farro Bowls
Watch how it’s made:
Ingredients
The Marinated chicken:
- 1 pound chicken breasts
- 3 tablespoons olive oil, more for cooking
- 1 lemon zest
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 2 cloves garlic, grated
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
The farro:
- 1 cup farro
- 3 cups water or stock
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
Bowls:
- 1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved
- 1 seedless cucumber, coarsely chopped
- ½ cup kalamata olives
- ½ red onion, sliced
- Tzatziki sauce
- ¼ cup crumbled feta cheese
- Lemon wedges, for serving
Tzatziki sauce:
- 1 cucumber
- 1 garlic clove
- 1 cup plain yogurt
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon lemon juice
- ¼ teaspoon dried dill
Instructions
Marinate the chicken:
- In a large zip bag, place the chicken breasts, olive oil, lemon zest, lemon juice, garlic, oregano, salt, and pepper. Marinate in the refrigerator for at least 20 minutes, ideally 4 hours or overnight.
Cook the farro:
- Rinse and drain farro. Place farro in a pot with salt and water or stock. Bring it to a boil, reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer for 30 minutes until the grain is tender. Drain off any excess water.
Cook the chicken:
- In a large skillet, heat olive oil over medium-high heat, place the chicken breasts on the hot surface, and cook the first side for 7 minutes. Flip the chicken breast over and continue to cook for an additional 5-7 minutes until the internal temperature has reached 165F. Discard the marinade.
- Remove chicken from pan onto a plate and wait 5 minutes before slicing.
Make the tzatziki sauce:
- Grate the cucumber on top of a couple of paper towels. Once grated, squeeze any excess moisture over the sink and transfer the grated cucumber into a bowl. Grate the garlic clove in the bowl. yogurt, salt, lemon juice, and dill. Stir to combine and refrigerate until ready to serve.
Assemble:
- In a bowl, make a base of farro. Top with sliced chicken, tomatoes, cucumber slices, olives, red onion, tzatziki sauce, and feta cheese. Serve with lemon wedges.
Paulette D Olmsted says
I have been looking for healthier recipes and this was awesome. Simple to make and very tasty. My finicky eater loved it. I like watching the videos Laura creates as it makes it easier and more fun to cook.