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This Mango Chicken Bowl is filled with grilled lemon chicken, white rice, butter lettuce, avocado, and sweet slices of mango, all drizzled in a spicy habañero vinaigrette. It’s a delicious lunch or light dinner option and perfect for meal prepping, too.
This Mango Chicken Bowl makes a great meal-prep lunch or light dinner idea. It has a variety of flavors and textures that just simply taste great together.
Start by marinating chicken breast in a lemon-thyme marinade and grill until plump and juicy. Add that to soft butter lettuce leaves, a scoop of chewy white rice, and sweet mango. Top off the bowl with green onions, smooth avocado, and a spicy habañero sauce.
If habañeros feel like a bridge too far, just make regular red wine vinaigrette. It’s a great addition to these chicken rice bowls, too.
Table of Contents
Recipe ingredients
At a Glance: Here is a quick snapshot of what ingredients are in this recipe.
Please see the recipe card below for specific quantities.
Ingredient notes
- Red wine vinegar: If you don’t have red wine vinegar, substitute lime juice for an equally delicious dressing. If habañero chiles are too spicy, just make regular Red Wine Vinaigrette.
- Mexican oregano: Mexican oregano has a lemony-citrus flavor and is preferred here, but you can substitute Mediterranean oregano (Italian, Greek, or Turkish) if desired.
- Butter lettuce: Or substitute romaine lettuce, green leaf lettuce, or iceberg lettuce.
- Cooked rice: Steam a package of instant rice in the microwave or on the stovetop. Or try my Baked Rice or Homemade Brown Rice if you have time (any long-grain rice such as jasmine rice or basmati rice are welcome). Cooked quinoa works too.
- Mango: To peel the mango, using a paring knife, cut off the stem end. Using a Y-shaped vegetable peeler, peel from the cut bottom edge in one swift motion. Continue until all of the peel has been removed. You could also use your paring knife to carefully remove the peel, tracing strips from top to bottom until all of the peel has been removed.
- Cucumbers: Look for thin-skinned hot house, English, or Persian cucumbers. To substitute standard cucumbers, peel them before slicing.
Step-by-step instructions
To make the vinaigrette:
- To make the vinaigrette, In a medium bowl or jar with a tight-fitting lid, add olive oil, red wine vinegar, habañero chilies, and oregano. Whisk or shake to combine and season to taste with salt. Store in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
To make the chicken:
- For the marinade ingredients, in a small bowl, whisk together lemon juice, olive oil, salt, pepper, and thyme leaves. Place the chicken in a large freezer-safe plastic bag. Pour in marinade, squeeze out the air, and close the bag. Mash until chicken is evenly coated. Place the plastic bag in a dish and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes or overnight before cooking the chicken.
- Preheat the grill over medium-high heat for 5 minutes. Oil grates. Place chicken over direct heat on the grill, close the cover, and grill for 5 minutes on each side, turning once. Transfer chicken to indirect heat and continue to cook until an internal thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the largest chicken breast reaches 165 degrees, 5 to 10 minutes longer.
- Remove to a cutting board and tent with foil for 10 minutes. Slice or chop into small pieces and season to taste with salt.
To assemble the bowls:
- Divide lettuce between 4 bowls. Top with chicken, cooked rice, mango, avocado, and cucumber.
- Garnish with scallions. Drizzle with habañero vinaigrette and serve.
Recipe tips and variations
- Yield: This recipe makes four entree-sized bowls with about 6 ounces of cooked chicken per bowl.
- Storage: Store extra chicken in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
- Make ahead: The chicken, rice, mango, cucumber, scallions, and habañero vinaigrette can be prepared up to 3 days in advance. Store separately in airtight containers in the refrigerator. Wrap the washed, dried lettuce leaves rolled in a clean kitchen towel in the refrigerator.
- Chicken choices: The recipe calls for boneless skinless chicken breasts, but chicken thighs work great too, and are even juicier and more flavorful. Or, substitute leftover rotisserie chicken.
- More bowl ingredients: Change up your bowl with additional ingredients like carrots, cabbage, corn, sliced red pepper, fresh cilantro, basil, or a small red onion. Salads are meant to be customized. For extra crunch, top your bowl with toasted sesame seeds or toasted coconut (so good with the mango!).
- Make a marinade: Tweak the marinade with garlic, cumin seeds, soy sauce, honey, or even sriracha.
- To bake the chicken: Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Coat a baking dish with oil or nonstick spray and arrange the chicken in a single layer. Cover with parchment paper, tucking the paper around the chicken so it is completely covered. Bake for 30 to 40 minutes, until the chicken reaches 165 degrees when tested with an internal thermometer. Remove to a platter and tent with foil for 5 minutes.
- To sauté the chicken: Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat until shimmering. Add chicken in a single layer and cook until browned on one side, about 5 minutes. Flip the chicken, reduce heat to medium, partially cover, and continue cooking until the internal temperature reaches 165 degrees on an internal thermometer, about 10 to 15 minutes.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you cut butter lettuce?
To prepare butter lettuce, place the head on the cutting board with the stem facing up, the leaf-side down. Using a sharp knife, remove the stem by inserting the knife at an angle, and gently rotate the head of lettuce. Remove the stem, take apart the leaves, rinse the leaves to remove the dirt, and pat dry. Tear into pieces by hand to prevent bruising the leaves.
How do you peel a mango?
Using a paring knife, cut off the stem end. Using a Y-shaped vegetable peeler, peel from the cut bottom edge in one swift motion. Continue until all of the peel has been removed. You could also use your paring knife to carefully remove the peel, tracing strips from top to bottom until all of the peel has been removed.
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Mango Chicken Bowl
This Mango Chicken Bowl is filled with grilled lemon chicken, white rice, butter lettuce, avocado, and sweet slices of mango, all drizzled in a spicy habañero vinaigrette. It's a delicious lunch or light dinner option and perfect for meal prepping, too.
Ingredients
For the vinaigrette:
- 1/2 cup olive oil
- 1/4 cup red wine vinegar (see note 1)
- 2-3 habañero chiles stemmed and seeds removed, minced
- 1 teaspoon dried Mexican oregano (see note 2)
- Salt to taste
For the the chicken:
- 1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
- 1/4 cup olive oil plus more for oiling the grill
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves
- 2 pounds boneless, skinless, chicken breasts
For the bowl:
- 1 head butter lettuce cut or torn into 1-inch pieces (see note 3)
- 2 cups cooked rice (see note 4)
- 1 cup diced mango (see note 5)
- 1 pound Persian cucumbers or other thin-skinned cucumber, cut in half and sliced into 1/4-inch slices, about 2 cups (see note 6)
- 1 large avocados peeled, pitted, and sliced
- 1/4 cup thinly sliced scallions
Instructions
To make the vinaigrette:
- In a medium bowl or jar with a tight-fitting lid, add olive oil, red wine vinegar, habañero chilies, and oregano. Whisk or shake to combine and season to taste with salt. Store in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
To make the chicken:
- In a small bowl, whisk together lemon juice, olive oil, salt, pepper, and thyme leaves. Place the chicken in a large freezer-safe plastic bag. Pour in marinade, squeeze out air and close the bag. Mash until chicken is evenly coated. Place the plastic bag in a dish and refrigerate at least 30 minutes or overnight.
- Preheat grill over medium-high heat for 5 minutes. Oil grates. Place chicken over direct heat on the grill, close the cover, and grill 5 minutes on each side, turning once.
- Transfer chicken to indirect heat and continue to cook until an internal thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the largest chicken breast reaches 165 degrees, 5 to 10 minutes longer.
- Remove to a cutting board and tent with foil for 10 minutes. Slice or chop into small pieces and season to taste with salt.
To assemble the bowls:
- Divide lettuce between 4 bowls. Top with chicken, cooked rice, mango, avocado, and cucumber. Garnish with scallions. Drizzle with habañero vinaigrette and serve.
Notes
- Red wine vinegar:If you don’t have red wine vinegar, substitute lime juice for an equally delicious dressing. If habañero chiles are too spicy, just make regular Red Wine Vinaigrette.
- Mexican oregano: Mexican oregano has a lemony-citrus flavor and is preferred here, but you can substitute Mediterranean oregano (Italian, Greek, or Turkish) if desired.
- Butter lettuce: Or substitute romaine lettuce, green leaf lettuce, or iceberg lettuce.
- Cooked rice: Steam a package of instant rice in the microwave or on the stovetop. Or try my Baked Rice or Homemade Brown Rice if you have time.
- Mango: To peel the mango, using a paring knife, cut off the stem end. Using a Y-shaped vegetable peeler, peel from the cut bottom edge in one swift motion. Continue until all of the peel has been removed. You could also use your paring knife to carefully remove the peel, tracing strips from top to bottom until all of the peel has been removed.
- Cucumbers: Look for thin-skinned hot house, English, or Persian cucumbers. To substitute standard cucumbers, peel them before slicing.
- Yield: This recipe makes four entree-sized bowls with about 6 ounces of cooked chicken per bowl.
- Storage: Store extra chicken in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
Nutrition
Serving: 1 bowlCalories: 844kcalCarbohydrates: 78gProtein: 56gFat: 34gSaturated Fat: 5gPolyunsaturated Fat: 4gMonounsaturated Fat: 22gTrans Fat: 0.03gCholesterol: 145mgSodium: 863mgPotassium: 1488mgFiber: 8gSugar: 36gVitamin A: 20142IUVitamin C: 35mgCalcium: 139mgIron: 6mg
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Meggan Hill is a classically-trained chef and professional writer. Her meticulously-tested recipes and detailed tutorials bring confidence and success to home cooks everywhere. Meggan has been featured on NPR, HuffPost, FoxNews, LA Times, and more.