Halal Cart Chicken Bowls are a lighter version of the New York street cart dish–a Halal Guys copycat. This is a great recipe for meal prep!
Mildly spiced chicken, turmeric-scented rice, and a creamy white sauce come together to make the best chicken and rice bowl!
When Jeff and I went to New York years ago, we were floored to find out that bars stayed open until 4am (they close at 2am in California). Oh, to be in my twenties again. Now, staying out until 4am is about the last thing I’d want to do, but at the time we were pretty excited.
Of course, after a full night (morning?) of drinking, you want something to soak up all of that booze. That’s where the street vendors come in. The first NY street food experience we had was stumbling out of a bar into a Halal cart that was parked right in front of that exit. Genius.
Maybe it was the booze, but that chicken bowl was one of the best things I’ve ever eaten. Standing on a dirty sidewalk, just devouring that chicken, rice, and sauce.
I dreamed of that meal for a long time, until a Halal Guys opened up near us. Not exactly the same as my NY experience, but dang tasty! When I few of you on Instagram asked that I try out a copycat version of their chicken bowls, I was totally up for the challenge! You know I love creating copycat recipes (see Louisiana Chicken Pasta, for one).
HOw to Make Halal Cart Chicken Bowls
You want to start by marinating your chicken breasts, The traditional version of this dish usually has chicken thighs, but we’re looking to lighten it up a tad. You can marinate the chicken up to 24 hours in advance.
I also suggest that you make your sauce at the same time you begin marinating your chicken and refrigerate it until you’re ready to serve. This will allow the dried herbs to permeate the sauce.
When you’re ready to cook, start your rice. Just a little bit of tumeric adds that bright color and aroma.
While the rice simmers, cook your chicken. You can do this on the grill or in a skillet. You want to get lots of color on the meat.
Let the chicken rest, then slice or dice it up. Toss it with more lemon juice and the extra juices from the chicken.
Now just shred up some lettuce and diced your tomatoes, and you’re in chicken bowl heaven!
I hope you love this recipe as much as we do! If you make it, be sure to tag me on Instagram or Facebook (@litecravings) and use the hashtag #litecravingsrecipes. I sometimes miss a tag here or there, but I always check in on the hashtag. And don’t forget to add the image to your Pinterest boards!
Halal Cart Chicken Bowls
Ingredients
FOR THE CHICKEN
- 2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breast cutlets
- 2 tbsp lemon juice (1 large lemon)
- 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 1/2 tsp ground coriander
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- 1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
- 1 lemon (for after you cook the chicken)
FOR THE WHITE SAUCE
- 1/3 cup light mayo
- 1/2 cup nonfat, plain Greek yogurt
- 1 tbsp lemon juice (1/2 large lemon)
- 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
- 1 tsp sugar
- 1/2 tsp dried dill
- 1 tsp dried parsley
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt
- freshly ground black pepper, to taste
FOR THE RICE
- 1 cup long grain white rice (like jasmine or basmati)*
- 1 tbsp butter
- 1 tsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1/2 tsp ground turmeric
- 1/4 tsp ground cumin
- 2 cups fat free chicken broth
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt
TO SERVE
- shredded iceburg lettuce
- chopped tomatoes (I used grape tomatoes)
- sriracha or harissa-style hot sauce
Instructions
FOR THE CHICKEN
- Place all ingredients, except for the extra lemon, in a resealable bag. Massage the marinade into the chicken, then refrigerate for at least 2 hours, up to 24 hours. Turn the bag every now and then to move the marinade around.
- When you're ready to cook, remove chicken from bag and discard marinade. Grill or saute over medium heat until chicken is cooked through to 165F. The time will depend on the thickness of your chicken, about 4-7 minutes a side.
- Let chicken rest for about 5 minutes, then slice. Top sliced chicken with the juice of 1 lemon, then toss with the juice from the cut chicken.
FOR THE RICE
- Heat butter and olive oil in a sauce pan over medium-high heart. Add rice and cook until translucent and slightly toasted, about 3-5 minutes, stirring constantly.
- Add broth and seasonings. Cover, bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer and cook for 15 minutes.
- Remove lid, place clean kitchen towel over the top of the sauce pan, then return lid to the top. Let sit for 5 minutes. This will absorb the moisture, making the rice extra fluffy.
FOR THE WHITE SAUCE
- Combine all ingredients and refrigerate.
TO SERVE
- Layer lettuce, tomatoes, rice, and chicken, Drizzle with white sauce and hot sauce to taste.
- If making for meal prep, let all ingredients cool. Layer your bowls with rice, then chicken, then tomatoes, then lettuce. When you're ready to eat, mix it all together and top with sauces.
This was delicious! I doubled the rice (for my non-WW family) and made it in the rice cooker. The sauce brought the meal together. It reminded us of our favorite Mediterranean restaurant. Thank you!!
How did you make the rice in the rice cooker? Did you add the oil and butter to the rice cooker? Sounds like that would be nice!
So flavorful! And so easy to throw together! Love how fluffy the rice is, and low point white sauce is what dreams are made of 😍😋
So delicious and low in points! Take the time to marinade the chicken and get the sauce together – I did both of mine overnight and it was well worth it.
Great idea!
Absolutely delicious! The best rice I’ve ever had.
This is such a good recipe!! My whole family loved it. It was so flavorful and delicious!! I passed the recipe along to a friend and her and her boyfriend also couldn’t stop raving about it.
I have cooked A LOT of dinners during my marriage and this one made my husband’s top 5 favorites. The flavor is amazing. I sauteed my tomatoes (I can’t eat raw one) in the same pan that I cooked the chicken in which gave them a great flavor!
Great tip! Thank you for reviewing my recipes. You’re the sweetest friend!
This was out of this world! Wasn’t too hard and soooo satisfying! Definitely making this again
I’m so glad you enjoyed it, Erin!
Just made this for dinner. So easy and super yummy! Thank you!
One of my favorites, for sure. You’re welcome!
Delicious! I had mine without rice over lettuce & my daughter put hers in a wrap! Thank you for this awesome recipe!
This is one of my favorites! All of the flavors are fantastic and it is super filling.
Loved the Chicken! Only did about a pound of chicken and marinated it for an hour and grilled it. It was perfect! We added some fresh cilantro and more garlic. Loved the rice as well! For the sauce I mixed up the Greek yogurt dill, lemon juice and salt to keep it a little lighter and added cucumbers as well. I could definitely have this at least once a week! Thanks so much!
Awesome! I love that you were able to adjust it to your taste, too. 🙂
This recipe is excellent! We make this every other week in the spring and summer. So flavorful and doesn’t taste diet at all. I use brown rice and cook it with all of the ingredients for the rice in the Instantpot for 13-14 minutes. If you cook the rice this way, you adjust the broth to be 1 cup per 1 cup of rice.
This was amazing! My entire family loved it!! I did the sauce and the marinade early I’m the day, and it was so easy to throw together for a quick dinner. I did two ingredient dough and made a pita to go alongside my serving, while my non WW family had regular naan. I will be making this again soon.
I made this for the first time last week and my family LOVED it. My only regret is that I didn’t double or triple it so we could have leftovers. This will definitely go in the regular rotation. I already have recommended it to a friend and they loved it also.
Delicious, second time we’ve made it. It was too hot to make the day I put the chicken in the marinade (we ordered in) so the chicken got extra flavorful by sitting in it for 24+ hours! Thanks, Geri!
Don’t you love those happy accidents? Glad it was delicious and that you enjoyed it!!!
I prepped this for lunch this week. Wow, so good. The rice is what really ties it all together. I’ve been planning to make it forever, and I finally did. It was easy and it’s definitely going to be on my menu again!