Low-Carb Greek Chicken Bowls

These bowls are fresh, colorful and easy enough for a weeknight. Lemon herb chicken sits over crisp greens with cucumber, tomatoes, avocado, a little feta and a creamy homemade yogurt sauce.

You get the flavors of a Greek chicken bowl without the rice, the pita or a heavy bottled dressing. Most of the work is chopping, and the chicken and sauce can be made a day ahead.

It suits a lunch you want to carry to work, or a dinner that does not leave you feeling heavy afterwards.

How This Bowl Keeps Blood Pressure in Mind

A recipe does not become good for blood pressure just because it is low-carb. What matters is the overall way you eat, and where the sodium in a meal is coming from.

This bowl leans on the same kinds of food as the DASH eating plan from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute: vegetables, poultry, dairy and vegetable oils. It keeps the carbohydrate low by leaving out the grains.

The sodium sits almost entirely in two ingredients: the feta and the olives. The chicken, vegetables and yogurt carry very little on their own. So this recipe uses feta as a garnish rather than a main ingredient, makes the olives optional, and leaves any extra salt to you.

There is no single sodium number that suits everyone reading this. If you have been given a target, season to it. If you have not, this is a meal you can make without guessing.

For the wider picture, see low-carb foods that support healthy blood pressure, or how much sodium you really need on low-carb.

Choosing Your Ingredients

Chicken

Buy plain chicken breast, with no marinade, brine or seasoning already added. Pre-seasoned and frozen chicken often carries a salt solution, which quietly changes the whole bowl. There is more on this in Best Protein Sources for Blood Pressure: Check the Sodium.

Boneless, skinless thighs work well too. They stay juicier and forgive a few extra minutes in the pan, though they carry more fat than breast.

Feta

Feta gives these bowls their Greek flavor, and it is also the saltiest thing in them. In this recipe it supplies about two thirds of the sodium in each bowl.

A small amount goes a long way when it is crumbled over the top. Sodium varies between brands, so compare labels and pick the lowest one you enjoy.

Olives

Olives taste wonderful here, but they are cured in brine. The NHLBI suggests going easy on salty side dishes such as pickles, olives and sauerkraut.

Use a few, rinse them first, or leave them out. The bowl still works without them.

Greek Yogurt

Plain, unsweetened Greek yogurt makes a thick sauce with very little sodium of its own. Flavored yogurts and some shop-bought tzatziki bring sugar or salt with them, so check the label if you go that way.

The Small Details That Make This Bowl Work

Give the chicken at least 15 minutes in the lemon and herbs. That is about how long it takes to chop the vegetables and make the sauce, so nothing waits.

Squeeze the grated cucumber before it goes into the yogurt. Cucumber is mostly water, and without this step the sauce turns thin within an hour.

Use a thermometer for the chicken. Poultry needs a safe minimum internal temperature of 165°F (74°C), measured in the thickest part. Thin pieces get there sooner than the suggested minutes.

Let it rest for about 5 minutes before slicing, so the juices stay in the meat and not on the board. Build the bowls while it rests.

Slice the avocado last. It browns quickly once it is cut.

About the Nutrition Figures

One serving is one bowl, a quarter of everything in the recipe. The recipe card below shows about 266 mg of sodium per bowl without olives and with no salt added. Each bowl also works out at about 5 g of saturated fat and about 10 g of net carbohydrate.

The olives make a real difference. Kalamata olives vary a lot between brands, from about 1,270 to 2,130 mg of sodium per 100 g across the brands listed in USDA FoodData Central. Eight olives, at about 4 g each, add roughly 110 to 190 mg of sodium to each bowl, which takes it to somewhere around 380 to 450 mg.

These are ingredient-based estimates, not laboratory values. They are calculated per ingredient from USDA FoodData Central entries for raw chicken breast, olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, the dried herbs and paprika, romaine, cucumber, tomatoes, avocado, onion, feta, whole-milk Greek yogurt and dill. They assume no added salt and do not include the garnish herbs or lemon wedges. Net carbohydrate is total carbohydrate minus fiber. Your own labels, especially the feta, will move these numbers.

One figure worth naming: each bowl carries roughly 1,180 mg of potassium, from the chicken, avocado, tomatoes and greens. For most people that is simply food. If you take an ACE inhibitor, an ARB or a potassium-sparing diuretic, or you have kidney disease, talk to your doctor or pharmacist about how a meal like this fits.

Easy Variations

Without Dairy

Leave out the feta, and swap the yogurt sauce for olive oil, lemon juice, garlic and chopped dill whisked together.

A Little Heat

Add chili flakes, a pinch of cayenne or extra smoked paprika to the chicken. They add flavor without adding salt.

More Greens

Add another handful of spinach or mixed leaves. It fills the bowl out without changing the carbohydrate much.

Meal-Prep Tips

Cook the chicken and make the sauce ahead. Keep the chicken, chopped vegetables and sauce in separate airtight containers in the fridge.

Cooked chicken keeps for 3 to 4 days in the refrigerator. Slice the avocado and put the bowls together when you are ready to eat.

The chicken is good warm or cold, which makes this an easy packed lunch.

What to Serve With It

The bowl is filling on its own. If you want more on the plate, roasted cauliflower, grilled zucchini, steamed broccoli or cauliflower mash with olive oil and herbs all keep the meal low in carbohydrates.

Frequently Asked Questions

Are Greek chicken bowls low-carb?

They can be. Many Greek-style bowls are built on rice, pita or both. This version uses leafy greens, cucumber, tomatoes and avocado instead, which brings it to about 10 g of net carbohydrate per bowl.

Can I make Greek chicken bowls without feta?

Yes. Leave it out and the lemon, oregano, garlic and yogurt sauce still give the bowl plenty of Greek flavor. It also takes out most of the sodium, since the feta supplies about two thirds of it.

Are olives okay if I have high blood pressure?

Olives can fit into a balanced way of eating, but they are cured in brine and can be high in sodium. Use only a few, rinse them first, look for a lower-sodium brand, or leave them out. If you have been given a sodium limit, count them toward it.

Can I use store-bought tzatziki?

You can, but read the label first. Most dietary sodium, over 70% according to the FDA, comes from packaged and prepared foods rather than the salt shaker. A homemade sauce takes five minutes and lets you set the garlic and lemon to taste.

A Bowl to Keep in Rotation

Nothing in this bowl is seasoned for you before it reaches your kitchen. That is what makes it easy to fit around whatever guidance you are working to.

For another bowl, try the low-carb salmon avocado bowl. For a one-pan chicken dinner, the lemon herb chicken and broccoli uses the same flavors. There are more in the recipe archive.

If you would like a place to start, try the free 60-second blood pressure check. It helps you work out where to begin, gives you a short plan of your own, and the Blood Pressure Support Cheat Sheet comes with it.

This recipe provides general food information, not medical advice. Follow any sodium, potassium or protein limits prescribed by your healthcare professional.