Mediterranean Bowls

A tasty, fresh bowl that's perfect for meal prep

Anatomy of a Bowl

While searching for meal ideas, chances are that you have stumbled upon a ton of bowl recipes. Bowls have taken over the internet, and for good reason. Beyond being trendy and eye-catching, bowls tend to be easy, flexible, nutritious, and perfect for meal prep.

Clockwise from top: White sugar, breadcrumbs, white vinegar, cucumber, tomato, red onion, garlic, egg, white onion, white rice, lemon, paprika, ground beef, yogurt, and extra virgin olive oil. Not pictured: Feta cheese.

But what is a bowl? Isn’t it just a trendy name for a salad? Bowl recipes tend to emphasize the importance of a balanced meal and usually include a combination of foods that cover a wide range of food groups. When making a bowl, you can break its components into five categories.

These categories are:

  • Carb or Grain: rice, buckwheat, noodles, farro, couscous, potatoes, etc.
  • Protein: chicken, tofu, fish, chickpeas, eggs, halloumi, beans, etc.
  • Veggies: broccoli, cabbage, lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers, kale, avocado, etc.
  • Sauce: peanut sauce, sweet chilli sauce, vinaigrette, creamy dill sauce, etc.
  • Extras: cheese, seeds, pickled vegetables, etc.

Using this formula, it is easy to create a delicious and nutritious meal with what you have on hand. This also makes them easy to adapt to your preferences or needs since any component can be swapped for another ingredient in the same category. The possibilities are truly endless and a bowl can be a great opportunity to play with different combinations and flavours.

Some more bowl ideas include:

  • Burger Bowls: roasted potatoes, tomatoes, lettuce, seasoned ground beef, shredded cheddar cheese, chopped pickles, sauteed onions, and burger sauce.
  • Thai Peanut Bowls: shrimp, rice noodles, shredded cabbage, cucumbers, shredded carrots, cilantro, green onions, crushed peanuts, and spicy peanut sauce.
  • Sushi Bowls: sushi rice, avocado, edamame beans, raw salmon, cucumbers, green onion, nori, and spicy mayo.
  • Burrito Bowls: shredded chicken, Mexican rice, black beans, corn, shredded cheese, tomatoes, jalapenos, salsa, and cilantro lime sour cream.
  • Bulgogi Bowls: white rice, bulgogi beef, cucumbers, shredded carrots, kimchi, and green onions.
  • Falafel Bowls: falafel, lettuce, tomatoes, pickled onions, cucumbers, feta, and a garlic yogurt sauce.
  • Bún Bowls: rice vermicelli, lemongrass pork, cucumbers, shredded carrots, lettuce, beansprouts, cilantro, mint, chillies, and nuoc cham sauce.‍
  • Tofu Bowls: spiced tofu, roasted sweet potatoes, roasted broccoli, buckwheat, chevre, pickled beets, lemon vinaigrette.

How to Make It

Prep the Pickled Onions

Add the water, vinegar, salt, sugar, and red pepper flakes to a saucepan and heat over medium heat until the salt and sugar have completely dissolved, then set aside to cool.

The brine is heated in a saucepan.

Tightly pack your thinly sliced red onion into a small jar or similar container and fill with your brine. Seal the jar and set it aside for at least 20 minutes.

Brine goes into the jar full of tightly packed onions.

You can double or triple this recipe easily and add several spices to incorporate different flavours. You can use this quick pickling method with several vegetables and it will last in the fridge for 2-3 weeks.

The finished, beautifully pink pickled red onions. Dead easy, and a great condiment.

Prep the Lemon Rice

In an Instant Pot or small pot, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add the diced onion and sauté for about 5 minutes or until it has softened.

Creating a flavored base of fat before cooking rice can impart a ton of flavor to the grains.

Add the garlic, lemon zest, and turmeric and sauté until fragrant (about 30 seconds).

Yes: this will smell amazing.

Add your rice and toast it slightly before adding your broth, half of the lemon juice, bay leaf, pepper and salt.

The rice is briefly toasted in the oil, so that the first thing the rice touches is this flavorful fat.
Broth is also added...
Followed by lemon juice, a bay leaf, salt, and pepper.

If using an Instant Pot, cook the rice on high pressure for 3 minutes and allow to naturally release for 15 minutes. If cooking the rice on stovetop, bring the pot to a boil, reduce the heat to a simmer, cover, then allow to cook until all of the liquid is absorbed.

Add the remaining lemon juice while fluffing the rice and set aside.

Make the Meatballs

Preheat the oven to 375°F. Meanwhile, heat olive oil in a small pan and add your diced onion. Sauté the onion until browned slightly (about 10 minutes) then set aside to cool.

Cooking off the onions before adding them to the meatballs ensures you don’t get the unpleasant raw onion flavor in the cooked meatballs.
Onions shrink considerably from cooking due to their high water content.

Add ground beef, egg, sautéed onions, breadcrumbs, garlic, oregano, paprika, salt, and pepper until well-combined. If you don’t want to use beef for your meatballs, other ground meats like chicken or turkey will also work beautifully. You can also use other proteins like grilled chicken, chickpeas, or grilled shrimp instead of meatballs.

The egg and the breadcrumbs help bind the meatballs together. You can omit them, but you risk the meatballs crumbling apart.

Form the ground beef mixture into small meatballs (this recipe made us 28) and place on a baking sheet.

Before.

Bake the meatballs for 12-15 minutes or until they reach an internal temperature of 165°F. The cooking time may vary depending on the size of your meatballs and the temperature of your oven. Set aside to cool. The meatballs should last several days in the fridge.

After. A couple of these never made it to the bowls due to snacking related casualties.

Prep the Yogurt Sauce

In a small bowl, add yogurt, garlic, vinegar, and salt and mix until well-combined.

Garlic yogurt sauce is so easy to make, it may become a staple in your home.

Assemble the Bowls

Divide the lemon rice, meatballs, tomatoes, pickled onions, cucumbers, feta and yogurt sauce between four bowls and serve. If using this recipe for meal prepping, you can store the prepped ingredients separately or divided into four containers in the fridge.

Colorful, fresh, and absolutely delicious.
Time to cook
45 Minutes
Difficulty Level
Easy
Jump to recipe

Mediterranean Bowls

Published on:
April 28, 2025
Time to Cook:
45 Minutes
Serves:
4
Ingredients

For the Pickled Onions:

  • 1/2 red onion, thinly sliced
  • 1/2 cup white vinegar
  • 1/2 cup water
  • 1 tbs salt
  • 1 tsp sugar
  • 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes

For the Lemon Rice:

  • 1 cup dry white rice
  • 1 tbs olive oil
  • 1/2 onion, diced
  • 4 cloves garlic
  • 1/2 tsp tuermeric
  • 1 1/2 cups chicken broth
  • 1 lemon, juiced and zested
  • 1 bay leaf
  • salt and pepper to taste

For the Meatballs:

  • 1 lb lean ground beef
  • 1 tsp olive oil
  • 1/2 onion, diced
  • 1 large egg
  • 4 cloves garlic, grated
  • 1 tsp dried oregano
  • 1/2 tsp paprika
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/4 tsp pepper

For the Yogurt Sauce:

  • 1/2 cup Greek yogurt
  • 4 cloves garlic, grated
  • 2 tbs vinegar
  • 1/4 tsp salt

For the Toppings:

  • 2 cups tomato, diced
  • 2 cups cucumber, diced
  • 120 grams feta
Equipment
  • Knife
  • Baking sheet
  • Small pan
  • Jar or similar container
  • Large bowl
  • Small bowl
  • Instant pot or small pot with lid
Steps

For the Pickled Onions:

  1. In a small pot, heat vinegar, water, salt, sugar, and pepper flakes over medium heat until the salt and sugar have dissolved completely. Take off the heat and aside to cool.
  2. Tightly pack the thinly sliced red onion in a small jar or similar container, then add the brine until the jar is completely filled.
  3. Set the jar aside in the fridge for at least 20 minutes.

For the Lemon Rice:

  1. In an Instant Pot or small pot, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add the onions and sauté until softened (about 5 minutes).
  2. Add the garlic, lemon zest, and turmeric to the pot and sauté for 30 seconds.
  3. Add the rice and toast slightly (30 seconds) before adding the broth.
  4. Add half the lemon juice, bay leaf, salt, and pepper.
  5. Pressure cook the rice on high pressure for 3 minutes and allow to naturally release for 15 minutes. If cooking the rice stovetop, reduce the heat to a simmer, cover, and cook for 15 minutes or until all the liquid is absorbed.
  6. Fluff up the rice and stir in the remaining lemon juice.

For the Meatballs:

  1. Preheat the oven to 375°F.
  2. In a small pan, heat olive oil over medium heat, add the onion, and sauté until browned (10 minutes). Set aside to cool.
  3. In a large bowl, mix together the ground beef, browned onions, egg, breadcrumbs, garlic, oregano, paprika, salt, and pepper until well-combined.
  4. Form the ground beef mixture into small balls (we had 28) and place on a baking sheet.
  5. Bake the meatballs for 12-15 minutes or until they reach an internal temperature of 165°F. Remove from the oven and set aside.

For the Yogurt Sauce:

  1. In a small bowl, add yogurt, garlic, vinegar, and salt and mix until well-combined.

For Assembly:

  1. Divide the pickled onions, lemon rice, meatballs, tomatoes, cucumber, feta, and yogurt sauce equally between for bowls and serve.