Homemade CAVA Bowl Recipe with Instant Pot Chicken

If you’ve ever had a bowl from CAVA, you know that they are so darn delicious. This is how you can have those delicious bowls at home for cheaper. Like other bowls, this recipe is extremely versatile, and a great way to use up leftovers in your fridge. This bowl has a Greek spin with the olives and tzatziki and is a great, easy recipe for lunch prep.

❤️ Why You’ll Love This CAVA Bowl Recipe

• Healthy: This recipe uses healthy, easy ingredients for a nutrient-packed dish
• Versatile: Swap out any of the ingredients for whatever you have on hand to personalize your bowls
• Quick: Make this CAVA bowl recipe with instant pot chicken in just under an hour
• Budget-Friendly: Save your money by not eating out at CAVA and making it right at home

🍲 Ingredients

Pickled Veggies – You can quickly pickle any veggie and it’ll come out slightly vinegary and crunchy. Use this recipe for pickled onions, or get creative with quick pickling things like cucumber, carrots, and hot peppers.

Capers – Capers add a yummy, salty and pickled flavor to this bowl. However, they are entirely optional if you aren’t a big fan or don’t have any in your fridge.

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👩‍🍳 How to Make CAVA Bowls at Home

To make the instant pot chicken

1. Mix the salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder and zataar and season the chicken breasts with the mixture. Set aside.
2. Press the saute function and add the olive oil to the insert.
3. Once warm, place the chicken breasts in and sear/cook for 3 minutes per side. Then add the diced onion and saute 4-5 minutes until softened.
4. Add the juice from one lemon and the chicken broth and cook for a minute.
5. Close the lid and make sure the vent is sealed.
6. Press the manual/pressure cook button and set the time for 7 minutes.
7. The Instant pot will come to pressure and then cook. When the cooking time is over, allow to naturally release steam for 10 minutes and then push the valve to release the rest of the steam. Then, remove the lid and remove the chicken and to a bowl or cutting board. Shred the chicken into small pieces and then add the chicken back to the pot to stir together with the sauce/onions.
8. While the chicken is cooking, cook the rice or grain of choice according to packet directions.

Assemble the bowls

1. Assemble the bowls by dividing the cooked rice, cooked shredded chicken, lentils, black olives, capers, jalapenos, pickled vegetables, tzatziki, crumbled feta cheese and tomato salsa between 4 bowls.

🪄 Tips and Tricks

• Meal prep these CAVA bowls in advance for a quick and easy lunch or dinner
• Use my homemade tzatziki recipe for fresh, homemade tzatziki for these bowls

🗒 Substitutions

There are so many substitutions for these CAVA bowls because they’re entirely customizable. Here is some inspo:

• Protein: Make these bowls with ground chicken, beef, turkey, or lamb instead. You can also use chicken thighs or chicken breasts for this recipe
• Grains: You can swap the basmati rice for your favorite grain like quinoa, couscous, or another type of rice
• Lentils: Not a big lentil fan? Use a bean instead like chickpeas or black beans.

🗒 Best served with

• Greek Tzatziki Sauce
• Pickled Onions
• Quick Pickled Vegetables

👝 How to Store Leftovers

Store leftovers in the fridge for up to 3 days. You can keep your ingredients all separately and assemble them when you’re ready to consume.

🤔 Common Questions

Homemade CAVA Bowl Recipe with Instant Pot Chicken

5 from 1 vote

This recipe brings the delicious bowls from CAVA into a budget-friendly version you can make at home.

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Prep Time 15 minutes mins

Cook Time 40 minutes mins

Total Time 55 minutes mins

Course Main

Cuisine Greek-Inspired

Servings 4 bowls

Calories 475 kcal

Ingredients

  

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For the chicken

• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 500 g chicken breasts
• 2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp pepper
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp onion powder
• 2 tsp zataar
• 1/2 yellow onion, diced
• juice of 1 lemon
• 1/3 cup chicken broth

For the bowls

• 1 cup dry basmati rice, cooked according to package directions (or 1 cup of another grain, cooked)
• 14-15 oz can lentils, drained and rinsed
• 1/2 cup black olives, halved
• 1/4 cup capers
• 1 large jalapeno, sliced
• 2 cups pickled vegetables of choice (pickled onions, pickled cabbage) (use our pickled onion recipe)
• 1 cup tomato salsa
• 1/2 cup tzatziki (use our easy Greek tzatziki recipe)
• 1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese
• fresh parsley and/or dill for garnish

Instructions

 

To make the instant pot chicken

• Mix together the salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder and zataar and season the chicken breasts with the mixture. Set aside.
• Press the saute function and add the olive oil to the insert.
• Once warm, place the chicken breasts in and sear/cook for 3 minutes per side. Then add the diced onion and saute 4-5 minutes until softened.
• Add the juice from one lemon and the chicken broth and cook for a minute.
• Close the lid and make sure the vent is sealed.
• Press the manual/pressure cook button and set the time for 7 minutes.
• The Instant pot will come to pressure and then cook. When the cooking time is over, allow to naturally release steam for 10 minutes and then push the valve to release the rest of the steam. Then, remove the lid and remove the chicken and to a bowl or cutting board. Shred the chicken into small pieces and then add the chicken back to the pot to stir together with the sauce/onions.
• While the chicken is cooking, cook the rice or grain of choice according to packet directions.

Assemble the bowls

• Assemble the bowls by dividing the cooked rice, cooked shredded chicken, lentils, black olives, capers, jalapenos, and pickled vegetables.
• Add a scoop of tzatziki and crumbled feta cheese and tomato salsa between 4 bowls.

Video

Notes

• These bowls are very customizable! Add/delete toppings based on your personal tastes. Some other delicious topping ideas: greens of choice, fresh tomatoes, cucumbers.
• This recipe is delicious as meal prep lunches too!

Nutrition

Calories: 475kcal | Carbohydrates: 39.8g | Protein: 40.4g | Fat: 17.9g | Saturated Fat: 5.3g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 8.5g | Cholesterol: 110.2mg | Sodium: 2365.6mg | Fiber: 8g | Sugar: 6.7g

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