California Avocado Greek Rice Salad Bowls

Written by our friend Rachael of La Fuji Mama

My kids adore Greek salad, so I know that serving one is a sure-fire way to get them to eat their veggies. I recently had the idea of turning our usual Greek salad into a bowl—an all-in-one meal that would combine all the ingredients that they loved with some additional, more filling ones. These ingredients depart from the traditional Greek salad ingredients to feature Fresh California Avocados in two different ways: as a topping and to make a creamy vinaigrette to drizzle over the finished bowls.

I started with some long-grain brown rice which I baked in the oven. I learned this method a few years ago and love using it when I need rice to be prepping other parts of a meal. It allows you to stick the rice in the oven, set a timer, and not worry about burning it on the stovetop. You could make the rice using any method you want, however, and just pick up with step 3 in the directions!

The rest of the ingredients require no cooking. The salad dressing takes only minutes to prepare and if you’ve never used avocado in a salad dressing, then you are in for a treat. It makes the creamiest dressing you can imagine. This recipe makes more than enough for the bowls, but it will last in the refrigerator for 4 or 5 days and is delicious used as a dip for raw veggies.

Once the rice and dressing are made and the toppings are cut up, all that’s left to do is assemble them and eat. You could assemble these bowls and then serve them, or set out the ingredients and have everyone assemble their own, so they can customize them to their liking. This recipe doesn’t have any meat, but you could easily include some sliced grilled chicken or even leftover rotisserie chicken!

California Avocado Greek Rice Salad Bowls

Serves: 4
Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 45–50
Total time: 55–65 minutes

Ingredients for the Creamy Avocado Greek Salad Dressing:
1 ripe, Fresh California Avocado, seeded and peeled
3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup white wine vinegar
1/4 cup water
3 tbsp. freshly squeezed lemon juice
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 ½ tsp. dried oregano
1 tsp. fine grain sea salt
1/2 tsp. dried parsley
1/2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper

Ingredients for Herbed Brown Rice:
2 cups boiling water
1 cup long-grain brown rice, rinsed
3/4 tsp. fine grain sea salt
2 tbsp. fresh basil, finely chopped
1 tbsp. fresh mint, finely chopped

Toppings for the Avocado Greek Rice Salad Bowls:
1/2 cup Kalamata olives, pitted and halved
1/2 cup grape tomatoes, halved
1/2 cup red onion, chopped
1 medium green bell pepper, chopped
1 (14-ounce) can quartered artichoke hearts in brine, drained and sliced in half lengthwise
8 oz. crumbled feta cheese

Directions

1. Make the Creamy Avocado Greek Salad Dressing: Combine all the ingredients in a blender jar and blend until smooth and creamy. Taste and add additional salt, if needed. Pour into a glass jar, cover, and store in the refrigerator until you are ready to use it.
2. Make the Herbed Brown Rice: Preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Combine the boiling water, rinsed brown rice, and salt in an 8×8-inch baking dish then cover it with two layers of tin foil. Bake the rice in the preheated oven on the lowest rack until tender, approximately 45 to 50 minutes. Remove the rice from the oven and uncover it. Add the fresh chopped herbs and fluff everything together with a fork. Cover the baking dish with a dishtowel and let it sit for 5 minutes.
3. Assemble the bowls: Portion the herbed brown rice into 4 individual serving bowls. Top with Kalamata olives, grape tomatoes, red onion, green bell pepper, and artichoke hearts. Sprinkle with some crumbled feta cheese and drizzle with the Creamy Avocado Greek dressing.
4. Serve!