Juicy Chicken Shawarma Bowls

(Low Cal + High Protein)

Servings: 8 meal-prep bowls
Calories: Approximately 500–550 calories per serving
Protein: Approximately 40–45 g per serving
Prep time: 25 minutes + marinating
Cook time: 35–45 minutes

These Lower-Calorie and High Calorie Chicken Shawarma Bowls are exactly the kind of meal prep I love.

You get juicy, heavily seasoned chicken thighs, turmeric brown rice, fresh crunchy vegetables and a creamy homemade garlic sauce. It feels like a proper meal and gives you a little bit of everything in every bite.

I also kept the vegetables really simple. Instead of making a separate salad, I chopped up grape tomatoes, bell peppers, cucumber and red onion and used them as fresh toppers. No extra dressing needed!

Each bowl comes out to approximately 500–550 calories with 40–45 g of protein, depending on the exact ingredients and brands you use.

And trust me, do NOT skip the garlic sauce.

Why You'll Love These Chicken Shawarma Bowls

This is a great recipe if you're looking for a meal prep that:

Makes 8 filling meals
Has approximately 40–45 g of protein per serving
Stays around 500–550 calories
Uses juicy chicken thighs instead of dry chicken breast
Has fresh, crunchy vegetables
Can easily be customized
Actually tastes like something you would want to eat even if you weren't counting calories

I also love that you're getting a pretty substantial amount of food in each container. My goal with meal prepping isn't to make the smallest meal possible. I want to find that sweet spot where I'm eating fewer calories while still feeling satisfied.

Ingredients

Chicken Shawarma

1.4 kg boneless, skinless chicken thighs
2 tbsp Edit Gourmet Spice Shawarma Seasoning
2–2½ tsp salt
1 tbsp + 1 tsp garlic powder
1 tbsp + 1 tsp onion powder
1 tbsp + 1 tsp ground cumin
⅓ cup (80 mL) fresh lemon juice

Don't Have Shawarma Seasoning?

I used 2 tbsp of Edit Gourmet Spice Shawarma Seasoning because I already had it and it made this recipe super easy.

If you don't have a shawarma seasoning blend, you can use sumac and Lebanese 7-spice instead.

1 tbsp + 1 tsp sumac
2 tbsp + 2 tsp Lebanese 7-spice

You can then continue with the rest of the seasonings in the recipe.

Turmeric Brown Rice

2 cups dry brown rice (approximately 380–400 g)
1 tsp (5 g) butter
2 tsp turmeric
Chicken broth, using the amount recommended for your specific brown rice or rice cooker

I went with brown rice for this meal prep because I wanted something a little more hearty and filling.

The turmeric gives the rice that beautiful yellow colour and makes the entire bowl look so much more appetizing without adding a complicated extra step.

Fresh Vegetable Toppers

Grape tomatoes, chopped
Bell peppers, chopped
Cucumber, chopped
Red onion, finely chopped
Pickles (sliced or chopped)

You'll want approximately 1,200 g of chopped vegetables total, or enough to give each meal around 150 g.

I didn't turn these into a salad or add any dressing. I literally just chopped everything up and added it to my containers as fresh toppers.

It's easy, colourful and gives the bowls a much-needed fresh crunch.

Lighter Homemade Garlic Sauce

This might be my favourite part of the entire bowl.

Instead of making a traditional garlic sauce that's heavier in oil, I made a lighter creamy version using 0% Greek yogurt as the base.

Ingredients

2 cups 0% Greek yogurt
2 tsp Kewpie mayonnaise or low fat mayo
10-15 garlic cloves
4 tbsp lemon juice
2 tsp salt
1½ tsp black pepper
Water, as needed

The entire batch is approximately 410 calories, depending on the exact brands you use.

This makes more sauce than you necessarily need for eight bowls, which is completely fine. Keep the extra in the fridge and use it for other meals throughout the week.

How to Make Chicken Shawarma Bowls

Step 1: Marinate the Chicken

Add 1.4 kg of boneless, skinless chicken thighs to a large bowl.

Add the shawarma seasoning, salt, garlic powder, onion powder, cumin and lemon juice.

Use your hands or tongs to mix everything together until every piece of chicken is completely coated.

Cover and let the chicken marinate for at least 30 minutes.

If you have time, you can also prepare the chicken the night before and let it marinate in the refrigerator overnight.

The longer it sits, the more time all of those spices have to flavour the chicken.

Step 2: Make the Turmeric Brown Rice

Rinse 2 cups of brown rice thoroughly under cold water.

Add the rinsed rice to your rice cooker with the chicken broth, butter and turmeric.

Give everything a good stir and cook using your rice cooker's brown rice setting.

The amount of broth you'll need can vary depending on the type of brown rice you're using, so I recommend following the liquid ratio on your rice package or rice cooker.

Once the rice is finished, fluff it and allow it to cool slightly before portioning.

For eight meals, you'll need approximately 960 g of cooked brown rice, or:

120 g cooked brown rice per bowl.

Step 3: Cook the Chicken Shawarma

You can cook your chicken in the air fryer, oven, grill or skillet.

I love getting some colour on the outside of the chicken while keeping the inside nice and juicy.

Air Fryer Method

Preheat your air fryer to 400°F (204°C).

Arrange the chicken thighs in a single layer without overcrowding them.

Because you're cooking 1.4 kg of chicken, you'll most likely need to work in batches.

Air fry until the chicken is nicely browned and the thickest part reaches an internal temperature of 165°F (74°C).

Cooking time will vary depending on the thickness of your chicken thighs and your air fryer.

Once cooked, let the chicken rest for 5–10 minutes.

Then slice or chop it into bite-sized pieces.

I recommend weighing all of your cooked chicken at this point and dividing it evenly between your eight containers.

Aim for approximately:

130–140 g cooked chicken per bowl.

Step 4: Prepare Your Fresh Vegetable Toppers

This part could not be easier.

Chop your:

Grape tomatoes. Bell peppers. Cucumber. Red onion and/or pickles

That's it.

I didn't add vinegar, oil or dressing because I wanted these to act as fresh toppings rather than a separate salad.

The chicken and garlic sauce already have so much flavour that the vegetables really don't need anything else.

Plus, leaving them plain keeps them fresh and crunchy.

Aim for approximately:

150 g of chopped vegetables per bowl.

Step 5: Make the Lighter Garlic Sauce

Add the Greek yogurt, Kewpie mayo, garlic, lemon juice, salt and black pepper to a bowl or blender.

Mix or blend until smooth.

Slowly add a little water at a time until you get the consistency you want.

I like mine thick and creamy but still loose enough that I can drizzle it all over the chicken and rice.

Taste and adjust the lemon, garlic, salt or pepper if needed.

Then refrigerate until you're ready to eat.

Warning: 15 cloves of garlic makes this GARLICKY — which is exactly how I like it! If you're not as obsessed with garlic as I am, you can definitely start with less and adjust to taste.

How to Portion Your Chicken Shawarma Meal Prep

This recipe makes 8 meal-prep bowls.

For each container, I portioned approximately:

ComponentPer BowlTotal for 8Cooked chicken shawarma130–140 gDivide cooked chicken evenlyCooked turmeric brown rice120 g960 gFresh chopped vegetables150 g1,200 gLighter garlic sauce30–45 g240–360 g

For each container, start with:

130–140 g chicken + 120 g brown rice + 150 g vegetables.

I recommend keeping the garlic sauce separate and adding 30–45 g when you're ready to eat.

If you're trying to stay closer to the lower end of the calorie range, use around 30 g of sauce.

If you love your bowls extra saucy and have a little more room in your calories, go closer to 45 g.

How Many Calories Are in a Chicken Shawarma Bowl?

Each bowl is approximately:

500–550 calories
40–45 g protein

Remember that these are estimates.

Chicken thighs are going to cause the biggest variation because the amount of fat can vary quite a bit between packages and brands.

Your rice, Greek yogurt, Kewpie mayo and shawarma seasoning can also slightly change the final calorie count.

If you're tracking your calories closely, I always recommend using the nutrition labels from the actual ingredients you have at home.

How to Store Your Chicken Shawarma Bowls

Store your assembled meal-prep bowls in airtight containers in the refrigerator.

I highly recommend keeping the garlic sauce in separate small containers instead of putting it directly over your food.

When you're ready to eat, heat up the chicken and brown rice.

Then add your cold chopped vegetables and garlic sauce afterward.

You get warm seasoned chicken, fluffy turmeric rice, cold crunchy vegetables and creamy garlic sauce all in the same bite.

So good.

Meal Prep Tip: Keep the Fresh Ingredients Fresh

If you're making all eight servings at once but won't be eating them immediately, you can also store your chopped vegetables separately.

This is especially helpful with the cucumber and tomatoes because they naturally release water as they sit.

Then all you have to do is heat your chicken and rice and add the vegetables and garlic sauce right before eating.

It takes an extra few seconds but makes the bowl taste much fresher.

Easy Substitutions

One of the best things about a bowl like this is that you can easily customize it based on what you already have.

Don't have brown rice? Use jasmine or basmati rice.

Don't like chicken thighs? You can use chicken breast, but you'll want to adjust the cooking time so it doesn't dry out.

Don't have my exact shawarma seasoning? Use the sumac and Lebanese 7-spice substitute above.

You can also change up the vegetables depending on what's in your fridge.

The important thing for me is keeping the basic formula the same:

Protein + rice + lots of fresh vegetables + a really good sauce.

That's what makes a meal-prep bowl actually satisfying.

Why This Is Going Into My Meal-Prep Rotation

This is exactly what I want my meal prep to look like.

I don't want to feel like I'm eating sad “diet food” just because I'm trying to be more mindful of what I eat.

Give me the chicken. Give me the rice. And PLEASE give me the garlic sauce.

The goal for me is learning how to make the foods I already love fit into my lifestyle instead of completely removing them.

This Chicken Shawarma Bowl has a good portion of juicy chicken, enough rice to actually feel satisfying, tons of crunchy fresh vegetables and a creamy sauce to bring everything together.

It looks like real food. It tastes like real food. And it's something I'm genuinely excited to pull out of the fridge for lunch or dinner.

That's the kind of meal prep I can actually stick to.