I took my friend Amy to Zoe’s Kitchen, a fresh healthy Mediterranean restaurant. She hesitantly tried the cauliflower rice bowl. She LOVED it. She said she could eat it every day for the rest of her days. Zoe’s cauliflower rice bowl is cauliflower rice (duh), cucumbers, Israeli schug, tzatziki, feta, and a protein. It is delicious, low-carb, gluten-free, and light and healthy.
Unfortunately, we are Zoe-less in our home state of Ohio. Amy went on a quest to recreate the yummy cauliflower rice bowl, and her results are spectacular.
A complete printable recipe is at the bottom of this post.
Cauliflower rice
Have you tried cauliflower rice yet? You need to. You can make your own or buy it fresh or frozen. I buy it frozen at Kroger or Meijer’s, in 10 or 12 ounce packages. Take it out of the freezer a couple of hours before dinner and let it defrost. Once defrosted, I heated it up in a non-stick skillet over medium heat. No oil or anything else. I heated it about 5 minutes.
The Protein
Amy and I both loved the bowl with chicken breast. You could also use shrimp, salmon, or falafel. Amy marinaded her chicken in Garlic Expressions Salad Dressing. I used this Greek Chicken Marinade made with greek yogurt. I broiled our tenders, but you could grill them or roast them.
Cucumber
Cut cucumber into bite-sized pieces.
Feta
Crumble about a tablespoon of feta into the bowl, or more if you want.
Tzatziki
Tzatziki is a greek yogurt and cucumber sauce. I’ve made tzatziki many times, and it’s not tough, and there are a lot of recipes out there. Want to keep it really easy? Amy found this at Costco, and it was perfect for this dish:
Israeli Schug
I am new to schug. But I will not be a stranger in the future. It is really what makes this dish. It is like a cross between chimichurri sauce and pesto. Amy and I used and slightly adapted the one here. I used all 4 jalapeños (pulp and seeds carefully removed), and it was truly not very hot. I also reduced the oil by half, to reduce the weight watchers points. It would be delicious with the full oil, but it was also delicious without it.
Put it all together!
Make a pretty composed plate, like you get at Zoe’s. But then mix it all up so you get a little of all flavors in every bite. I think you’ll love it.
Thanks Amy!
Intrigued with cauliflower rice? Check out Low-Carb Cauliflower Fried Rice.
Zoe's cauliflower rice bowl (copycat recipe)
Ingredients
- cauliflower rice (1 package, about 12 ounces)
- crumbled feta (1-2 T per bowl)
- 1 cucumber, cut into bite-sized pieces (about 1/3 cup per bowl)
- 2 chicken breasts (or alternative protein)
- marinade of choice
- Tzatziki (store bought, or make your own -- about 1 T per bowl, or more)
- For the Israeli green schug:
- 4 jalapeno peppers, seeds and pulp removed
- 1/2 cup parsley
- 1/2 cup cilantro
- 4 tsps minced garlic
- 2 T lemon juice
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp ground coriander
- 1/4 tsp cumin
- 1/2 cup olive oil (or reduce to 1/4 cup to reduce ww points)
Instructions
- Marinade your chicken, if desired. For breasts, I cut into tenders.
- Defrost cauliflower rice.
- Wash and cut cucumber.
- Cook your chicken. I broiled it, 10 minutes on one side, 5 on the other.
- While the chicken cooks, make the schug. Remove seed and pulp from jalapeños. Place remaining schug ingredients, except for olive oil, in food processor. Pulse a few times.
- Heat the defrosted cauliflower rice in a non-stick skillet over medium high heat for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- While pulsing, add olive oil through lid in a thin stream, allowing to emulsify.
- Allow chicken to rest, then cut into bite-sized pieces.
- Assemble rice, chicken, cucumber, tzatziki, feta and schug in bowl.
- Admire how pretty it is, then mix it up and enjoy!
