30-Minute Chicken Poke Bowls — 🥕🍋🟩🌺🍗Fragrant jasmine rice is topped with juicy pieces of chicken coated in a SWEET and TANGY sauce! A mixture of fresh herbs and veggies on top adds tons of crunch and texture! This FAST and EASY recipe is perfect for meal prep, a satisfying lunch, and busy weeknight dinners! If you’re tired of eating bowls of salads, make these poke bowls instead!
Table of Contents
Never heard of a poke bowl before? Traditionally, it’s Hawaiian-inspired dish that’s typically made with rice, veggies, and sushi-grade raw fish like ahi tuna, and a finishing sauce for added flavor and creaminess.
But you won’t find sushi in these poke bowls because I’ve swapped that for juicy cooked chicken that’s laid over a bed of fragrant jasmine rice. Plus there’s cucumbers, carrots, shelled edamame, pickled red onions, and more!
Warm chicken, cool veggies, soft rice, crunchy veggies, savory and a little sweet, there’s everything amazing going on here and you’ll love it! 🙌🏻 And best of all, these chicken poke bowls are ready in 30 minutes.
The chicken in these poke bowls stays super moist and juicy, and the slightly sticky, salty-sweet sauce perfectly coats each bite of chicken. The sauce is made with soy sauce, lime juice, hoisin sauce, and a little honey to balance out all the salty and umami flavors going on.
Tip: If you love teriyaki chicken, then you’ll definitely want to make this poke bowl recipe!
Ingredients Needed
To make these Hawaiian-inspired chicken breast poke bowls, gather the following ingredients.
Not everything is essential and these are very mix-and-match with lots of room for inspiration and substitutions as you see fit. Don’t have something or don’t like it? Omit it!
- Reduced sodium or lite soy sauce (use gluten-free soy sauce if needed)
- Hoisin sauce
- Lime juice
- Honey
- Garlic cloves
- Ginger – fresh is great, dried is just fine too
- Olive oil
- Boneless skinless chicken breasts – timesaving trick is to use store bought rotisserie chicken and dice or shred it
- Cooked jasmine rice – I am a huge fan of Uncle Ben’s Ready Rice packets which are ready in 90 seconds in your microwave
- Cucumber
- Edamame
- Shredded carrots
- Fresh cilantro
- Pickled red onions, optional and see below
- Sesame seeds, optional
- Lime wedges, optional
- Red pepper flakes or chili oil, optional for a touch of heat
- Sriracha mayo, for serving, optional – mix a dollop of mayo with a few drops of sriracha and drizzle or buy it
Note: Scroll down to the recipe card section of the post for the ingredients with amounts included and for more complete directions.
How to Make Chicken Poke Bowls
If ‘poke bowl’ is a new term for you, know that they’re incredibly simple to prepare. You’re basically making a loaded chicken and rice bowl with lots of toppings!
Here’s a brief overview of the cooking process:
- Whisk together the soy sauce, hoisin, lime juice, honey, garlic, ginger; set aside.
- Preheat a large skillet over medium heat, add the olive oil, chicken, and cook for about 5 minutes or until done.
- Pour the sauce over the chicken and cook for about 2-3 minutes to coat the chicken.
- Divide the cooked rice among two bowls. Arrange the chicken, cucumber, edamame, carrots, cilantro, over the top.
- Optionally add or garnish with pickled red onions, sesame seeds, lime wedges, red pepper flakes, spicy mayo, or anything else you love.
How to Pickle Red Onions – Optional
I have a pickled red onions recipe that I first used on my Pulled Pork Tacos. Click that link for the full instructions on how to pickle the onions. Essentially all you’re doing is dissolving some salt and sugar in vinegar, pouring it over sliced red onions, and letting it sit for about 5 minutes. It’s a super quick and easy process!
Note that you can omit the pickled red onions if desired, or you can sometimes find them at the grocery store. Do whatever is easiest for you!
What to Serve with Chicken Poke Bowls
Recipe FAQs
Go for it! If you have leftover chicken from last night’s dinner or you poached chicken earlier this week for meal prep, add it to a skillet along with the sauce and cook long enough just to warm everything up.
You could also buy a rotisserie chicken at the grocery store, shred or dice it, and toss some of the meat with the flavorful sauce, and call it good.
Yes, this is an incredibly easy recipe to customize. I used jasmine rice because that’s what my family likes, but brown rice, basmati rice, sushi rice, or even quinoa would also work.
*To save time, feel free to use store-bought packets of instant rice. No one cares what tricks you used to get dinner on the table!
As far as the veggies and garnishes go, you can use pretty much anything you want! Avocado would be a great addition to these poke bowls. You can also swap the pickled red onions for thinly sliced fresh red onions. If you don’t like cilantro, use finely chopped green onion, bean sprouts, etc.
Hoisin sauce is a thick, dark, sweet and tangy sauce that’s particularly popular in Chinese cooking. It’s not at all like soy sauce which is thinner, and reads saltier and not at all sweet. Hoisin sauce is similar in consistency to American BBQ sauce (think Sweet Baby Ray’s consistency). If you don’t have hoisin sauce on hand, you may omit it. Just know that the sauce won’t have the same depth of flavor or thickness.
As written, this recipe makes about 4 chicken poke bowls. But the recipe is extremely flexible and can be sized up or down accordingly. There’s a slider tool in the recipe card to easily make the calculations for you.
Sure thing, just make sure to store the fresh veggies in a separate container from the chicken and rice. I prefer warming up the chicken and rice in the microwave before topping with all the vegetables. This keeps the chicken warm and juicy and the veggies cool and crisp.
Storage and Reheating Instructions
In the fridge: Store the chicken and rice in one airtight container, and the veggies and toppings in another. This keeps everything fresh! Leftovers will last up to 4-5 days.
To reheat: The chicken and rice both reheat like a dream, which makes these bowls fantastic for meal prep. Warm the chicken and rice in the microwave for 30-second bursts until hot, then top with the fresh veggies and the remaining garnishes.
Pin This Recipe
Enjoy AverieCooks.com Without Ads! 🆕
Go Ad Free
30-Minute Chicken Poke Bowls
Ingredients
- ¼ cup reduced sodium or lite soy sauce, use gluten-free soy sauce if needed
- 2 to 3 tablespoons hoisin sauce
- 2 tablespoons lime juice
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 2 to 3 cloves garlic, finely minced
- 1 teaspoon dried ginger, or 1 1/2 teaspoons freshly grated ginger
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 ½ pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts, diced into bite-sized pieces
- 4 cups cooked jasmine rice, divided (I use 2 Uncle Ben’s Ready Rice packets which are ready in 90 seconds in your microwave)
- 1 cup shelled edamame, cooked; divided
- 1 cup cucumber, diced small (peeled or not); divided
- 1 cup shredded carrots, divided
- ⅓ cup fresh cilantro, finely minced; divided
- ⅓ cup pickled red onions, optional; divided
- Lime wedges, optional but recommended for serving
- Sriracha mayo, optional for serving
- Sesame seeds, optional for garnishing
- Red pepper flakes or chili oil, for heat, optional for garnishing
- Salt and pepper, optional and to taste
Instructions
- To a medium bowl, add the soy sauce, hoisin sauce, lime juice, honey, garlic, ginger, and whisk to combine; set aside.
- To a large skillet, add the olive oil, chicken, and cook over medium-high heat for about 5 minutes, or until done and cooked through. Stir and flip chicken frequently to ensure even cooking.
- After chicken is cooked, reduce the heat to medium or medium-low, and add the sauce. Careful as it will bubble up when you add it. Cook for about 2 to 3 minutes, tossing and flipping the chicken in the sauce to coat evenly. Take the skillet off the heat and allow the chicken to rest momentarily in the skillet while you prep the bowls.
- Divide the cooked rice among 4 bowls and then top with the chicken. Tip – You can use traditional cooked rice of any type (jasmine, brown, basmati, etc.) or Minute style rice, but I am a fan of the Uncle Ben's precooked rice packets because they are quick, easy, and the rice turns out just fine for this use.
- Evenly divide the remaining ingredients between all the bowls: the cooked chicken, edamame, cucumber, carrots, cilantro. And top or garnish with optional pickled red onions, lime wedges, sriracha mayo (1/4 cup mayo + 1 teaspoon or as desired of sriracha whisked together), sesame seeds, red pepper flakes. If desired, you can also add salt and pepper, as desired to taste. The sodium in the soy/hoisin sauces may or may not be enough for everyone's preferences for salt.
- Serve immediately. Bowls are best served when the chicken and rice are warm, and everything else is cool and crisp.
- Storage – Leftovers should be stored in airtight containers so that the chicken and rice are together, and all the veggies are separate in another container for up to 4-5 days in the fridge. Reheat the chicken and rice for about 30-seconds in the microwave before serving the leftovers, and top with the veggies and garnishes as desired.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
©averiecooks.com. Content and photographs are copyright protected. Sharing of this recipe is both encouraged and appreciated. Copying and/or pasting full recipes to any social media is strictly prohibited.
More Easy Bowl Recipes:
Buffalo Chicken Burrito Bowls — These chicken burrito bowls are ready in 15 minutes, making them perfect for busy weeknights or a quick lunch! Plus, they’re easily customizable.
Mongolian Beef Stir-Fry Bowls — These EASY Chinese-inspired Mongolian beef stir-fry bowls are ready in just 10 minutes!! Loaded with rich savory flavor, crisp-tender vegetables, and served over rice! Faster than calling for takeout when you’re craving Asian food!!
Chicken Egg Roll in a Bowl — These egg roll bowls are easy, ready in 15 minutes, full of flavor, have lots of texture, and are way healthier than actual egg rolls!
Easy Chicken Shawarma Salad Bowls – An EASY version of chicken shawarma that’s fast, HEALTHY, and delish!! Fragrant spices, juicy lemony chicken, fresh veggies, and a tangy Greek-yogurt sauce that’s cooling and PERFECT!!
Mexican Sweet Potato Bowl — An EASY alternative to a salad!! Loaded with Mexican-inspired ingredients and topped with a light lime-cumin vinaigrette! Ready in 20 minutes and perfect for MEAL PREPPING!!
Chickpea and Sweet Potato Bowl — A big ole round bowl full of goodness just like Buddha!! The bowls are fast, EASY, naturally vegan and gluten-free! If you need a HEALTHY recipe that tastes like comfort food, this is it!!
