These ground chicken and couscous bowls are a delight for the taste buds! With fluffy couscous, perfectly seasoned ground chicken, refreshing mint yogurt sauce, creamy hummus and colourful, tasty toppings, every bite will want you going back for more.
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, I love bowl meals. Whether it’s pulled pork rice bowls, burrito bowls or salmon rice bowls, they just make my belly happy.
I’m sure you, like me, have been known to get similar meals at restaurants. They’re delicious, yes, but never as good as homemade. When they’re homemade, they’re always a little tastier and the bowl is filled up way more. And who doesn’t love that?
Main Recipe Components
- Couscous: The couscous is simply prepared with some broth (or water) and butter. Nothing fancy, it just works. I used Moroccan couscous (not Israeli or Pearl couscous), which is the quickest to cook.
- Ground chicken: The ground chicken is seasoned with flavouful spices, such as cumin, cinnamon, nutmeg and clove. Talk about yummy!
- Toppings: Cucumber, tomatoes, roasted red pepper, red onion, black olives and feta cheese not only add a wonderful taste to these chicken and couscous bowls but plenty of colour and texture.
- Sauce and hummus: Another delicious topping component. You can’t have a yummy bowl recipe without a good sauce! For these bowls, I like to use mint yogurt sauce and hummus. I always love a little extra sauce on my bowl because it’s just so darn tasty.
- Garnish: I love topping these bowls with fresh mint leaves and a squeeze of lemon juice to really brighten things.
How To Make Ground Chicken and Couscous Bowls
Here is an overview of how to make these ground chicken and couscous bowls (full details are in the recipe card below):
Prepare the couscous
Couscous is pretty easy to prepare. You just have to place some chicken broth (or water) in a saucepan with a little butter, and then bring to a boil. Place your couscous in a heatproof bowl, then pour the heated broth (or water) over top. Tightly cover the bowl with some plastic food wrap and allow it to stand for 5 minutes or so until it’s cooked.
Tip: I didn’t season the couscous with salt because I used a salted broth. If your broth is not salted, feel free to add some to taste.
Cook the ground chicken
Heat some olive oil in a skillet, then add the ground chicken and seasoning. Cook the ground chicken until it’s done, being sure to break it up into crumbles as it cooks.
Assemble the bowls
Uncover your bowl of couscous, then fluff with a fork. Distribute the couscous between four bowls (I like to use wide bowls to allow for lots of room to nicely display the toppings).
Next, divide the ground chicken between all four bowls and top with cucumber, tomatoes, roasted red pepper, red onion, olives and feta cheese..
Dollop each bowl with hummus and drizzle the yogurt sauce over the ground chicken.
Top with mint leaves and serve with lemon wedges. Easy!
Tips and Variations
- I used 2 cups of couscous which, once cooked, yielded a generous amount for four bowls. You can use a little less if you prefer.
- Though these are couscous bowls, you can cook up some quinoa or rice instead.
- You can totally swap out ground turkey for the ground chicken.
- Instead of serving these couscous bowls with mint yogurt sauce, try my lemon dill yogurt sauce for a twist. The dill works wonderfully with these bowls too.
- I used a classic hummus as the hummus component. You can use either homemade or store-bought, whatever you prefer. To mix things up, instead of classic hummus, try a flavoured variety, like roasted garlic hummus.
More Tasty Ground Chicken Recipes
If you make these ground chicken and couscous bowls, be sure to leave a comment below!
Ground Chicken and Couscous Bowls
Ingredients
Couscous
- 2 cups chicken broth, or water
- 3 tablespoons butter, or margarine
- 2 cups couscous
Ground Chicken Mixture
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 pound ground chicken
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon ground clove
- ¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
Toppings
- 1 cup sliced cucumber
- 1 cup sliced grape tomatoes
- 1 cup sliced roasted red pepper
- ½ cup sliced red onion, or to taste
- ¼ cup sliced Kalamata olives
- ¼ cup crumbled feta cheese
- ½ cup hummus
- ½ cup mint yogurt sauce
- mint leaves, garnish to taste (optional)
- 4 lemon wedges, for serving
Instructions
Couscous
- Place the chicken broth (or water) and butter in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil.
- Place the couscous in a heatproof bowl, then pour the broth (or water) over top. Tightly cover with plastic food wrap and let stand while you prepare the rest of the recipe.Note: I didn't season the couscous with salt because I used a salted broth. If your broth is not salted, feel free to add some to taste.
Ground Chicken Mixture
- Heat olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add the ground chicken, then season with salt, onion powder, garlic powder, cumin, cinnamon, nutmeg, black pepper, clove and crushed red pepper flakes. Cook, breaking the ground chicken into small pieces as it cooks and stirring occasionally, until fully cooked through, about 8 to 10 minutes.
Assemble the Bowls
- Remove the cover from the couscous and fluff with a fork.
- Distribute the couscous between four bowls, then top with the ground chicken mixture. Arrange the cucumber, tomatoes, roasted red pepper, red onion, olives and feta cheese over top. Dollop each bowl with hummus and drizzle the yogurt sauce over the ground chicken. Top with mint leaves (if using) and serve with lemon wedges. Enjoy!Tip: If you want more toppings, just add a little more to taste!
A note on times provided: appliances vary, any prep and/or cook times provided are estimates only.
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Tried this recipe?
If you do make this recipe, thank you!! It would mean so much if you could leave a comment below. Love to know how you enjoyed it, and it helps other readers too!
Rob
Do you make the couscous first or just pour the boiling hot broth over the dry couscous and let sit?
Dawn | Girl Heart Food
Hi Rob! The hot broth is poured over the uncooked couscous, then covered (you can find all the details in the recipe card). I hope you enjoy the recipe! 🙂
David @ Spiced
This bowl sounds like it’s packed with flavor! The ground chicken alone is seasoned to perfection, but then add in all of the other flavors, and I know I’d be quite happy. Definitely need to try this out for dinner soon!
Michelle
These look so hearty and delicious, Dawn! I need to up my protein intake, and this would be a great way to do it with that seasoned ground chicken… bookmarked! Happy Thanksgiving, my friend!
Dawn | Girl Heart Food
Thank you very much, Michelle!! I hope you love the recipe!! Happy Thanksgiving to you too. 🙂
Valentina
This could be lunch or dinner for me. What a delicious blend of ingredients — I love how you added so many warm spices to the chicken. So delicious with the minty sauce! 🙂 ~Valentina
Dawn | Girl Heart Food
Thanks so much, Valentina!!