Mediterranean Chicken with Basmati Rice is marinated in a yogurt sauce with rich, warm spices. It is grilled and paired with an herbed basmati rice with vermicelli and topped with fresh tabbouleh for a fresh summer meal. 

Mediterranean Chicken with Basmati Rice

Grilling season is the best season! When grilling season arrives recipes like this Mediterranean Chicken with Basmati Rice are a favorite in our house.

The convenience, lack of dirty dishes and the fact we can hang out in our backyard during the warm summer months are just some of the reasons we love to fire up the grill.

 When we grill meat I like to marinade the meat before grilling it, preferably overnight.

Marinades help to flavor the meat, hold the juices in creating a more tender meat and adds variety to your typical grilled meats.

One of my go-to types of marinades is creating yogurt marinades, especially if the meal is Mediterranean inspired.

The yogurt is a great base to pair with rich, warm spices, like the cinnamon, cumin, paprika, nutmeg and cardamom in today’s recipe.

I mostly use plain yogurt but you could use Greek yogurt for a slightly tangier marinade.

For those of you who have been following A Cedar Spoon for any length of time, you probably know that my Mom’s family is Lebanese.

I have grown up eating all of those delicious Middle Eastern and Mediterranean flavors.

I try to incorporate them into many of my recipes.

Today’s Mediterranean Chicken with Basmati Rice is the perfect chance to incorporate some of those dishes I loved so much in my childhood.

Today’s Mediterranean Chicken uses Just BARE Chicken Drumsticks .

 I am excited to be partnering with Just BARE chicken again this year! You might remember that I created some delicious recipes in partnership with the brand last year.

I love so many things about Just BARE chicken, including the fact that the chickens are raised without antibiotics and fed an all vegetable and grain diet.

At Just BARE, the brand recognizes its ethical obligation to provide for the wellbeing and humane care of its chickens—and that responsibility is taken very seriously.

From breeding to hatching to processing, Just BARE’s policy is straightforward—the brand has zero tolerance for any abuse or mistreatment of its chickens.

Just BARE takes pride in its humane and responsible animal welfare practices.

I was also happy to hear that Just BARE is certified under the American Humane Certified® Farm Program every year.

You can also trace your chicken and see the family farm it came from.

If you have children it can be a fun exercise to do with them so they can learn where their food comes from and have an appreciation for the animal and the process of food going from farm to table.

To go with the Mediterranean Chicken I made a basmati rice that is similar to a dish my Grandma makes.

We call it Lebanese Pilaf but there are a variety of names for it. It uses a small amount of butter or ghee to soften the basmati rice along with vermicelli {you can also use finely broken angel hair pasta} and onion, cooked and mixed with fresh parsley and dried cranberries.

If dried cranberries aren’t your thing, you can try raisins or golden raisins. Or just skip the dried fruit completely.

I love using the rice as a base to lay the chicken on top of.

I topped the grilled chicken with a fresh batch of tabbouleh.

If you don’t want to make a full tabbouleh salad with the bulgur wheat you can just chop up some fresh tomatoes, parsley, mint, a squeeze of lemon juice and olive oil and use that as the topping. I often add a side of hummus, yogurt and pita for dipping.

A fresh summer meal doesn’t get much better than this!

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Mediterranean Chicken with Basmati Rice

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Mediterranean Chicken with Basmati Rice is marinated in a yogurt sauce with rich, warm spices. It is grilled and paired with an herbed basmati rice with vermicelli and topped with fresh tabbouleh for a fresh summer meal.

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Ingredients

For the Mediterranean Chicken:

• 1 cup plain yogurt {you can use Greek yogurt for a tangier sauce}
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon paprika
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne red pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon cardamom
• 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
• 2 garlic cloves, grated
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 1.25 pounds Just BARE Chicken Drumsticks

For the Basmati Rice:

• 2 Tablespoons butter or ghee
• 1 cup basmati rice
• 1/2 cup {or 3 oz.} vermicelli {or you can use finely broken angel hair pasta}
• 1/4 cup chopped sweet onions
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 1 Tablespoon freshly chopped parsley
• 1/3 cup dried cranberries {you can also use raisins or golden raisins}

Instructions

For the Mediterranean yogurt marinade:

1. Put the chicken drumsticks in a large Ziploc bag. In a medium mixing bowl add the yogurt, cumin, paprika, cayenne red pepper, cardamom, nutmeg, cinnamon, garlic, salt and pepper. Stir to combine. Pour the yogurt marinade over the chicken, seal the bag making sure to let out any air and use your hands to massage the marinade into the chicken, making sure to coat all of the chicken.
2. Put the Ziploc bag on a baking sheet or a big plate and refrigerate for 1 hour, or ideally overnight.

When ready to grill:

1. Be sure to brush your grill grate with olive oil to prevent any sticking. Heat the grill to 300-350°F. Remove chicken from the Ziploc bag and place on the grates and cook until the chicken reaches an internal temperature of 180°F making sure to turn a few times so they evenly cook. Remove and let sit for 5 minutes before serving.

For the Basmati Rice:

1. In a large pot, heat the 2 Tablespoons of butter over medium heat. Add the basmati rice, vermicelli and onion and sauté for 3-4 minutes, or until the onions begins to soften. Add the water according to the basmati rice instructions {for me I used 1 cup water and 1 cup chicken broth} and the salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat, cover and simmer for 20-25 minutes or until the rice is tender. Using a fork, fluff the rice. Stir in the fresh parsley and dried cranberries.
2. Serve the Mediterranean Chicken over a bed of the basmati rice and top with fresh tabbouleh. Enjoy!

Notes

Feel free to use raisins or golden raisins instead of the dried cranberries in the basmati rice or you can leave it out all together.

For the chicken, I use plain yogurt but you could use Greek yogurt for a slightly tangy marinade.

I top our chicken with fresh tabbouleh. If you don't want to make actual tabbouleh using bulgur wheat you could just chop up some fresh tomatoes, parsley and mint and a squeeze of lemon juice and use that as the topping.

This marinade would also work great on chicken thighs or chicken breasts at equal weight {1.25 pounds}.