Meet your new favorite meal prep or easy weeknight dinner, Greek Chicken and Rice Skillet. This dish has it all; it’s packed with veggies, protein, and whole grains, too. Ground chicken is cooked with a flavorful Greek-inspired spice combination, and then combined with delicious sautéed zucchini, red onion, cherry tomatoes, hearty brown rice, and fresh herbs. Topped with Kalamata olives and feta, this dish is delicious on its own, but even better when paired with pita bread for dipping.
What you will need to make this recipe
To make this recipe, you will need:
- fat free ground chicken breast
- If you can’t find ground chicken breast, you can add chicken breast to a food processor and grind up the chicken breast.
- This can be a great alternative to purchasing ground chicken breast, and it can be more affordable too.
- zucchini
- red onion
- cherry tomatoes
- cooked brown rice
- I like to use frozen, pre-cooked rice. It is a huge time saver! You can find this in the freezer section of your grocery store; I use the Steamfresh brand a lot, or I will stock up on the Trader Joe’s brand when I go there.
- fresh basil
- mint leaves
- fresh parsley
- Kalamata olives
- feta cheese
For the spice mixture, you will need:
- kosher salt
- cumin
- Italian seasoning
- onion powder
- garlic powder
- paprika
- dill
- nutmeg
The spice mixture makes about 6 teaspoons. This recipe uses about 5 (or more to taste) so you might have some leftover.
How to make Greek Chicken and Rice Skillet
First, prepare the spice mixture simply by combining all of the spices in a small bowl.
To make this recipe, start out by chopping your vegetables. Chop the zucchini and red onion, and half the cherry tomatoes. Preheat a large skillet over medium high heat and add olive oil spray. Add the chopped zucchini and onion to the pan, and then add 2 teaspoons of the spice mixture you prepared. Cook this mixture for 10 minutes or until the zucchini and onion are tender and caramelized. Then remove the vegetables from the pan and place them in a bowl to the side.
In the same pan, add more olive oil spray followed by the ground chicken. Add 3 teaspoons of the spice mixture to the chicken. Cook the chicken until it is no longer pink, breaking the meat up with the spatula. Then, add the cooked zucchini and onion back in. Add the halved cherry tomatoes to the mixture and cook for another 5-10 minutes or until the tomatoes are broken down and begin to moisten the mixture.
Next, add the cooked brown rice and fresh herbs. At this point, you can taste for seasoning and add more, if desired. Finally, top with the feta and olives.
One serving of this skillet is 1.5 heaping cups.
How to meal prep this dish
For meal prep, portion this skillet recipe out into four servings at a heaping 1.5 cup each. Store the servings in glass storage containers for maximum freshness. To reheat, simply microwave individual portions until heated through.
This recipe freezes well. To freeze, I suggest freezing in individual serving sizes in small freezer bags. Simply microwave individual portions to defrost and reheat. You can leave the olives and feta cheese off if you plan on freezing this, and then add them right before serving.
Serving suggestions
I love this dish as is (it’s easy to eat just the way it is!) or with mini pitas for dipping. You can also pair it with a Greek salad for a fuller meal. It is super versatile!
Greek Chicken and Rice Skillet
Equipment
- large skillet
- large frying pan
Ingredients
- 3 cups zucchini, chopped, about 2 small zucchini
- 2 cups red onion, chopped, about 1 large red onion
- olive oil spray
- 1 lb fat free ground chicken breast
- 2 cups cherry tomatoes, halved, 1 pint
- 2 cups cooked brown rice
- 2 tbsp mint, fresh
- 2 tbsp basil, fresh
- 2 tbsp parsley, fresh
- 1 oz feta cheese
- 1 oz Kalamata olives
Spice Mix
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- 1 tsp cumin
- 1 tsp Italian seasoning
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp paprika
- 1/2 tsp onion powder
- 1/2 tsp dill
- 1/4 tsp nutmeg
Instructions
- Combine all of the spices together to form the spice mixture.
- Chop the zucchini and red onion.
- Preheat a large skillet over medium high heat.
- Spray olive oil spray, and then add the chopped zucchini and onion.
- Season with 2 teaspoons of the spice blend.
- Cook the vegetables over medium high heat for 10 minutes, tossing frequently.
- Remove the vegetables from the pan and place them in a bowl to the side.
- In the same skillet, add more olive oil spray and the ground chicken.
- Add 3 teaspoons of the spice mixture to the chicken meat, and break the meat apart with a wooden spoon.
- Cook the chicken until it is no longer pink, then add the reserved cooked vegetables back to the pan.
- Add the halved cherry tomatoes to the pan.
- Cook this mixture for another 5-10 minutes or until the tomatoes break down and add moisture to the mixture.
- Stir in the cooked brown rice.
- Stir in the chopped herbs.
- Top with the Kalamata olives and the feta.
- Taste for seasoning, add the remaining seasoning mix if desired. Otherwise, save the reserved seasoning mix for another recipe.
Notes
- 1 WW point (purple plan)
- 5 WW points (blue plan)
- 6 WW points (green plan)
Nutrition
You might also enjoy these other Greek-inspired dishes:
The ultimate healthy lunch: Greek Protein and Grain Bowls
Greek Turkey Burgers with Cucumber Salad and Yogurt Sauce
A fun dinner: Greek Mini Beef Sliders
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I haven’t made it yet, of course, but it reminds me of the couscous chicken bowl I made a few times and love! I don’t usually spend this many points on lunch, so I’m thinking I’ll sub a 1/3 or half the rice with riced cauliflower and see how that works, or maybe just up the veg and use less. Love the 4 serving recipes, by the way. Six was a lot for me. Thanks as always for your work!
Definitely making this for the week!! Just have to grab a zucchini. I love bowls like this- no matter the season, I love having a hot lunch.
This was quick, easy and so good! Large and filling portion. Will be adding to the regular rotation.
This is incredible! I will definitely be making this again. All of your recipes are delicious.
OH. MY. This is delicious!
So good Stephanie! Just madethis and can’t wait for lunch tomorrow!
Wow, this is incredible! So much flavor and so filling for my lunches!
Just made this for my lunch prep and it is, as I think the kids say, “bussin.” So easy and delish. Serving along with some naan dippers.
Delicious and filling
This is a tasty and colorful dish. Easy to prepare and very healthy! I love that I made it for dinner and had the leftovers for lunches. The fresh herbs were a great addition, and who doesn’t love some Kalamata olives? Faabulous!
I loved this! Super filling and so flavorful.
The seasoning blend made this recipe extra special! Love the feta and olives on top! Lunches are set for my week!
This was delish and so easy to make. Loved it!
Everyone loved this- even the kids! Will definitely be making this again!
This is SO good!!! Made it tonight for dinner and we LOVE it! I added a little sweet red pepper and probably eyeballed the spices on the heavy end. It’s going into a regular rotation!
This is delicious. This recipe is going on repeat. You get some saltiness from the feta and olives. Savory flavors from the herbs and it’s so satisfying from the chicken, rice and veges. Love it.
So easy and so delicious! I omitted the olives, but my husband added some to his and he said it was wonderful! Another sweetsavoryandsteph hit in our house
Another delicious and easy meal. I’ve never known what to do with ground chicken before. Thanks!
Tried this today and it was amazing! Toddler approved too!
Made this for dinner tonight and it’s delicious!! Really easy to make and full of flavor!!
Quick and delicious! I had all the ingredients on hand!
Just made this for dinner to night and once again it was delicious. I am never disappointed with Stephanie recipes.
This was so very delicious and easy! Thank you for creating healthy, tasty recipes!
I literally just made this for dinner – didn’t have the dry dill or nutmeg, but even without had a lot of flavor with the mix of other dried spices and fresh herbs. The ground chicken actually came out very tender too and I was glad to use some of the frozen rice in the freezer since didn’t really have a use for it! Will make again.
I am going to make this next week for meal prep for lunches! Thank you for updating and linking it to the new WW program. I have recently stumbled across you through WW and you have inspired me to get back into the kitchen to cook yummy WW friendly meals. I love the oatmeal bakes! We just had the Smash burgers last night and they were on point! Thank you so much!!!!
Absolutely delicious! My entire family loved it. It’s being added to the rotation. Thank you, Steph for all the delicious recipes.
This is my first time doing a dinner recipe of yours and it did not disappoint!! I’ve stuck with the oatmeal bakes until now. This was so good with the perfect amount of seasoning. Next up will be the southwest chicken and rice skillet.
So delicious. Perfect for a filling meal prep.
I make this recipe whenever I am not sure what to meal prep. It is always fantastic and leaves me full and happy. Really easy to put together and fun to make.
Perfect nutritious meal for everyone in the family. Second time making it and tastes amazing.
I’ve made this a few times now for weekday lunches. Love all the flavors and fills me up! Can’t get enough!
This was such an easy and tasty dish!
Do
You think this could be made with cooked shredded chicken but keeping rest of prep/measurements the same? I can’t find ground chicken and gagging at the thought of grounding my own (4 months pregnant aversions!)
Excellent meal on a cold snowy evening!! Thank you!!
One of my go to recipes for lunch meal prep. So flavorful and such a great quantity per serving!
My husband LOVED this dish he said the flavor was so good! I totally agree it was simple but delicious!
Such a great recipe! I made this for meal prep this week, I don’t love zucchini so I used carrots and mushrooms in it’s place and it’s so so good! I’m so excited for lunch this week!
The flavors were delicious and it was very filling!!! Thanks for another great recipe!
Made some subs based on my own taste preferences- ground turkey, no olives. I love the skillets. They are so easy, filling, and great meal prep(for lunch or dinners). Thanks as always Steph!
Can you freeze this? Please
Made this with a couple variations: Purple rice as base and instead of mixing all together, I layered it in a bowl adding a scoop of hummus, a bit of Greek salad, avocado, with some crumbled feta and capers to top it off. Delish!