Lemon Garlic Chicken with Broccoli Rice

Is it just me or does the warmer weather make you want to eat lighter? I'm craving all the fresh fruits, crisp vegetables, and grilled meats. In keeping with that theme, I decided to throw together a meal that doesn't weigh you down but still has a good balance of flavors. How does lemon garlic chicken with broccoli rice, fresh orange segments, harissa yogurt, crumbled feta, toasted almonds, and dill sound to you? I hope delicious because it sure was!

Print Recipe

Lemon Garlic Chicken with Broccoli Rice

Total Time45 minutes mins

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Mediterranean

Keyword: chicken, rice

Servings: 4

Author: Cherry on My Sundae

Ingredients

Harissa yogurt

• ½ cup Greek yogurt plain
• 1 tablespoon rose harissa
• ⅓ cup grated cucumber

Broccoli rice

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 small onion chopped
• 3 cups small broccoli florets
• 1 garlic clove minced
• 1 teaspoon coriander
• ½ teaspoon ground fennel
• 2 cups cooked brown rice
• 1 orange peeled, chopped
• ¼ cup chopped scallions
• ¼ cup chopped mint
• ¼ cup toasted sliced almonds
• juice of ½ lemon
• extra virgin olive oil
• salt and pepper

Lemon garlic chicken

• 1 lb chicken breast or thighs skinless, boneless
• 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
• salt and pepper
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 4 garlic cloves minced
• ¼ cup chopped parsley
• ½ teaspoon chopped fresh thyme
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• ¼ cup fresh dill
• ¼ cup crumbled feta

Instructions

• Preheat grill to medium heat.
• Make harissa yogurt. Combine yogurt with harissa and grated cucumber in a medium bowl. Set aside.
• Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a large saute pan over medium heat. Add chopped onions and cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Add broccoli florets and cover the pan. Cook for 7-8 minutes or until tender. Remove cover and add garlic, coriander, fennel, and rice. Stir to combine and cook until rice is warm, about 4-5 minutes.
• Remove rice from heat and add orange, scallions, mint, and almonds. Season rice with lemon juice, extra virgin olive oil, salt, and pepper. Toss until well combined and set aside.
• Season chicken with Italian seasoning, salt, and pepper. Lay chicken on grill and cook grill marks appear, about 5 minutes. Flip chicken over and continue to cook until juices run clear. Remove chicken from grill and keep warm.
• Meanwhile, make lemon garlic sauce. Melt 2 tablespoons butter in a medium saute pan over medium heat. Add garlic and saute until golden brown, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat and add parsley, thyme, and lemon juice, stirring to combine. Spoon sauce over chicken.
• Portion rice into 4 bowls and lay chicken on top. Place a generous dollop of harissa yogurt on top and sprinkle fresh dill, toasted sliced almonds, and crumbled feta. Serve immediately.

Watch how to make this:

**Helpful tips and common mistakes

When I was trying to think of a new summer recipe, I thought about the broccoli orange salad from Souplantation. I know it might sound strange, but I actually loved their broccoli orange salad. Who knew broccoli and oranges go so well together? So I took that idea and ran with it.

Let's start with the broccoli rice. Cut a head of broccoli into small florets. You don't want to cut them too big since it's going to be mixed in with the rice.

Cook the broccoli in a large saute pan until the thick stems get fork tender. Then, add the seasonings including garlic, coriander, fennel, and cooked rice. I used brown rice but you can also use white rice or another type of grain like quinoa or farro.

Stir everything together and cook until the rice is warm. Remove the rice from heat and stir in the fresh orange, scallions, mint, and toasted almonds. You can serve the broccoli rice cold and enjoy it more like a salad or serve it warm as I did.

Now that the rice is done, let's move on to the chicken. We're going to just season the chicken with salt, pepper, and Italian seasoning - keeping it simple.

Cook the chicken on whichever cooking method you prefer. I went with the grill since it's the summertime but you can also use the stovetop or oven.

While the chicken is cooking, prepare the lemon garlic sauce. This is where the magic happens people. All you have to do is melt a couple of tablespoons of butter and saute minced garlic until golden brown.

Remove the garlic from heat and add fresh parsley, thyme, and a good squeeze of lemon juice. Spoon that sauce over the cooked chicken and voila! You have one delicious lemon garlic chicken.

For the finishing touch, combine yogurt with rose harissa and grated cucumber. You can use regular harissa paste instead and if you must, you can even go with dried harissa spices. I personally prefer the paste over the spice mix but that's just my taste.

Assemble the lemon garlic chicken with broccoli rice into bowls and place a generous dollop of harissa yogurt on top. Sprinkle fresh dill and crumbled feta on top if desired.

I'm not going to lie, I was a little worried that this dish might be boring. Thank goodness it was exactly the opposite! The bright juicy chicken with the hearty broccoli rice, sweet oranges, and spicy yogurt all come together to make one great meal. I'll definitely be making this one several more times this summer.

For more rice bowl inspiration check out this Korean spicy chicken bowl!