Tandoori Chicken Rice Bowls
Published Nov 11, 2026
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Tandoori chicken bowls are high-protein and full of flavor, with juicy marinated tandoori chicken shredded over zesty lemon rice. Add a crisp carrot-cucumber salad or any toppings you’d like! These chicken rice bowls are easy to customize for meal prep lunches and quick weeknight dinners.
Easy Homemade Tandoori Chicken Bowls
Tandoori chicken rice bowls might be my new favorite way to eat pulled chicken. If you’ve tried my halal cart-style chicken over rice or this lemongrass chicken, you already know I love, love, love marinated chicken. And you can’t beat the convenience of shredded, tender tandoori chicken in this rice bowl recipe.
Prepared with fragrant Indian spices, the tandoori marinade brings serious flavor. Ginger, paprika, lemon, garlic… It’s all in there. I shred and serve the chicken over a bed of lemon rice with a crunchy carrot-cucumber salad. So many flavors, so many textures. Just wait until you try it!
The pulled tandoori chicken does take a little planning since it marinates for a couple of hours, BUT it also makes for easy meal prep for this same reason.
What You’ll Need
Here’s what I use to make this easy tandoori chicken rice bowl recipe. See the recipe card for the full recipe details and exact measurements.
- Boneless, Skinless Chicken – Breasts or thighs. I usually use breasts as they’re quick-cooking and easy to shred, but any cut of chicken will work. You can even make this recipe with leftover sheet pan tandoori chicken.
- Tandoori Chicken Marinade – I often make this with store-bought tandoori chicken marinade (I like the ones from Private Selection and Adonis). However, I include a from-scratch yogurt marinade below and in the recipe card notes if you’d prefer homemade.
- Rice – Basmati rice or long-grain white rice cooked according to the package directions, or you can make a quick batch of Instant Pot rice. You’ll season the cooked rice with lemon zest, lemon juice, and turmeric to create a base for the bowls.
- Cucumber and Carrot – Diced or sliced with a vegetable peeler to make the salad.
- Lemon Juice – Freshly squeezed, plus salt and freshly ground pepper for the dressing.
Homemade Tandoori Marinade
I used store-bought tandoori chicken marinade, but you can also make it from scratch! To make a homemade tandoori marinade, combine plain yogurt with lemon, garlic, ginger, cumin, coriander, paprika, garam masala, turmeric, and cayenne in a bowl (see the recipe card for the amounts). Mix until well combined. Marinate the chicken for at least 2 hours, or overnight in the fridge before cooking.
How to Make Tandoori Chicken Rice Bowls
This recipe needs about 5 minutes of hands-on time, and the oven does the rest. It’s a great way to prepare a week’s worth of meals with hardly any effort.
- Marinate the chicken. First, add the chicken breasts and tandoori marinade to a zip-top bag or shallow dish. Seal and refrigerate for at least 2 hours to soak up all that flavor.
- Bake the chicken. Next, preheat your oven to 400ºF. Transfer the marinated chicken (with the marinade) to a baking dish. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, or until the internal temperature hits 165ºF. Once it’s cool enough to handle, shred the chicken using two forks.
- Make the lemon rice. In a bowl, combine your prepared rice, lemon zest, lemon juice, turmeric, salt, and pepper. Fluff with a fork to mix.
- Toss the salad. Toss the cucumber and carrots with lemon juice, salt, and pepper until well-coated and crisp.
- Assemble the bowls. Lastly, scoop the lemon rice into bowls, layer on the shredded chicken and cucumber salad, and finish with parsley and lemon wedges. Enjoy!
Recipe Tips and Variations
- Don’t skip the marinating time. Two hours lets the tandoori marinade really soak into the chicken. If you have extra time, overnight is even better.
- Make it spicy. Stir an extra pinch of cayenne or chili powder into the marinade for a bolder kick.
- Use thighs instead. Boneless, skinless chicken thighs work just as well and stay juicy.
- Swap the rice. Try it with my jeera rice, vegetable biryani rice, or cauliflower rice for a low-carb option. You can also swap the rice completely with quinoa, farro, barley, or another grain.
- Instead of shredding the chicken, chop the chicken breast into chunks, thread it onto skewers, and grill it, like chicken satay.
- Go full halal cart-style. Serve with white sauce and chopped iceberg lettuce for that street food feel.
- Add a yogurt drizzle. A quick garlic-yogurt sauce or tzatziki would be amazing on top. You could also try the creamy Macedonian taratur sauce from my chicken skewers recipe.
Serving Tandoori Chicken Rice Bowls
I love how the vibrant lemony rice complements the bold tandoori spices. For extra crunch, I add a fresh topping like the cucumber-carrot salad, cucumber onion salad, or coleslaw. Or, try these other easy serving ideas:
- Bowl toppings: Keep it simple with shredded lettuce, diced cucumber, tomatoes, or pickled jalapeños.
- Bread: Serve these bowls with naan or lavash bread on the side. You can also wrap the shredded chicken up inside flatbread, shawarma-style, with the rice and salad.
- Appetizers: Try these homemade samosas or Indian samosa chaat.
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Tandoori Chicken Rice Bowls
Ingredients
FOR THE CHICKEN
- 2 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts
- 1 cup tandoori chicken marinade, *see notes
FOR THE RICE
- 2 cups cooked rice
- ½ teaspoon lemon zest
- juice of 1 lemon
- ¼ teaspoon turmeric powder
- salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
FOR THE SALAD
- 1 English cucumber, diced or cut into thin strips with a vegetable peeler
- 1 large carrot, diced or cut into thin strips with a vegetable peeler
- 1 to 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, or to taste
- chopped fresh parsley, for garnish
- lemon wedges, for serving
Instructions
For the chicken
- Marinate the chicken. Combine the chicken breasts and marinade in a sealable Ziploc bag and refrigerate for 2 hours.
- Bake. Preheat the oven to 400°F. Transfer the chicken and marinade to a glass baking dish. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, or until the chicken's internal temperature reaches 165°F. Remove from the oven and shred the chicken. Set aside.
For the rice
- Make the lemon rice. Meanwhile, combine the cooked rice with lemon zest, lemon juice, turmeric powder, salt, and pepper in a bowl; mix until thoroughly combined. Taste and adjust accordingly. Set aside.
For the salad
- Make the salad. Combine the diced cucumbers, carrots, lemon juice, salt, and pepper in a bowl; mix until well combined.
Assemble
- Assemble the rice bowls. Divide the lemon rice between 4 bowls. Layer the chicken and salad over the rice. Garnish with parsley. Serve with lemon wedges
Notes
- 1 cup plain yogurt
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon ground coriander
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1 teaspoon garam masala
- ½ teaspoon turmeric
- ½ teaspoon chili powder or cayenne (optional)
- Salt and black pepper to taste
Nutrition
Nutritional info is an estimate and provided as courtesy. Values may vary according to the ingredients and tools used. Please use your preferred nutritional calculator for more detailed info.
Meal Prep and Storage
The pulled tandoori chicken used in these bowls makes excellent leftovers. Toss it into salads, wraps, with noodles, or alongside a scoop of Mediterranean rice for quick, last-minute meals.
- Refrigerate. The chicken, rice, and salad can all be packed into containers and refrigerated for up to 4 days.
- Reheat. Warm up the chicken rice bowls in the microwave, leaving off the salad until it’s time to serve.
- Freeze the chicken. The pulled chicken freezes well for up to 2 months. Store it in a freezer-safe container and thaw it in the fridge before serving.
Drooling over here. Ive never tried tandoori. Looks so delicious
This looks like an easy healthy dinner. Can’t wait to try.
I can just see the delicious flavor!! YUM!
Kate, this looks seriously amazing. I could eat this all the live long day.
The flavor factor is awesome! Totally calling my name!
That chicken looks super flavorful! I need to try this asap!