Halal Cart Chicken Over Rice Recipe (Tastes Just Like The Halal Guys)

This Halal Cart chicken over rice recipe is anything but your average chicken and rice dish. It combines juicy marinated chicken with yellow basmati rice, Halal white sauce, toasted pita bread, and fresh veggies, making for a beautifully spiced and flavorful dish. Plus, in addition to tasting incredible, it's super easy to make!

The Best Chicken Over Rice

If you love the combination of chicken and rice, just wait until you get your hands on this chicken over rice recipe.

Now, while chicken and rice can typically be bland and boring, this recipe is loaded with flavor! Instead of plain chicken, you get Halal Cart chicken marinated in lemon juice, herbs, and garlic. Then, all of that deliciousness gets paired with buttery, savory yellow rice, some perfectly seasoned Halal white sauce, pita bread, tomatoes, and crisp lettuce.

Honestly, this chicken over rice recipe is so good it gives Halal Guys themselves a run for their money! And I don't know about you, but I think Halal Guys serves some of the best chicken and rice on planet Earth. So you know if I'm saying that, then this stuff has got to be good.

In addition to being delicious though, this chicken over rice recipe is also a breeze to make. All it takes is four simple steps, and you can have dinner on the table in under 45 minutes!

Why This Recipe Works

It has the best chicken marinade. The chicken for this recipe is marinated in a blend of spices and seasonings that give it that authentic Middle Eastern flavor.

Homemade rice. This recipe includes steps to make homemade yellow rice for an even more authentic flavor.

The famous white sauce. You can complete this rice chicken meal by finishing it off with this halal white sauce.

Ingredients

The ingredient list for this chicken over rice bowl is super simple, so there's a good chance that you'll have most - if not all - of them at home already.

Halal cart chicken:

• 6 chicken thighs, boneless and skinless
• 1 tbsp. lemon juice
• 1 tsp. dried oregano
• 1 tsp. dried basil
• 1 garlic clove, chopped
• ¼ cup olive oil
• salt and pepper

Fluffy yellow rice:

• 2 tbsp. butter
• ½ tsp. turmeric
• ½ tsp. cumin
• 2 cups chicken broth
• 1 cup long grain Basmati rice
• Salt

For serving:

• Halal white sauce
• Pita bread, toasted with butter in the oven
• 2 tomatoes, cut in wedges
• 1 ½ cup shredded lettuce
• Fresh parsley
• Lemon

Ingredient Substitutions And Additions

If you don't have boneless skinless chicken thighs - or don't want to use them - then you can swap them for chicken breast. I just prefer using chicken thighs because they're what the Halal Guys use.

Also, if you don't have the ingredients for my Halal white sauce - or don't want to buy it - then you can use plain Greek yogurt or sour cream instead. Of course, though, if you go this route, your chicken and rice bowls won't be quite as flavorful.

Lastly, for the toppings, I used shredded lettuce, chopped tomatoes, and toasted pita since that's traditional to New York City street food, but you can really add anything you want on top or just eat the chicken and rice.

How To Make Chicken Over Rice

Now the fun really starts - it's time to make some Halal Cart chicken over rice!

As I mentioned earlier, this recipe is super simple to make. You basically just marinate the chicken, cook it on the stovetop, cook your rice, and assemble everything together. That's really all there is to it!

Anyway, let's stop wasting time and get cooking!

Step 1: Prep Work

First, you'll begin by marinating the chicken.

So, to do that, you'll want to put the chicken in a bowl and add in the lemon juice, dried oregano, dried basil, garlic, salt and pepper, and half of the olive oil. Then, you can give the chicken and the marinade a mix to combine them together. Once the chicken is well coated in the marinade you'll want to pop it in the fridge and let it marinate for at least 1 hour before cooking it.

Step 2: Cook The Chicken

After the chicken is done marinating, you'll want to put a heavy skillet - or cast iron skillet - on the stovetop over high heat. Once the skillet is really hot, add the rest of the olive oil to it and move it around the pan.

Then, after the oil gets hot, you can place the marinated chicken in the skillet and cook the chicken for about 6 minutes on both sides until it's nice and browned.

Next, you'll want to reduce the heat to medium-low and continue to cook the chicken thighs for about 15 minutes or until they're fully cooked. You'll know they're done when the internal temperature reaches 165°F. 

Now, once you've got your copycat Halal Cart chicken fully cooked, you can transfer it to a cutting board and cut it into thin strips. Then, season with additional dried herbs and lemon juice as needed and set it aside.

Step 3: Cook The Rice

While the chicken is cooking, you can cook the flavorful rice.

So, to make the rice, you'll want to melt the butter in a pot along with the turmeric and cumin.

Then, once the butter is melted - and you've got some aromatics emitting from the pot - you can add the dry rice into the pot and mix it until it's fully coated in the seasonings and the butter. You'll know the rice is toasted enough when the edges of the rice begin to look a bit transparent.

Next, you can add the chicken broth and salt to the pot and bring it to a boil. Once it's boiling, reduce the heat to a simmer and cover the pot with the lid. Now you can let it continue to simmer for 12-15 minutes or until the rice has fully absorbed the liquid.

Step 4: Assemble The Chicken and Rice Bowls

By now, the chicken and rice should be ready to go, so you can get out all of the ingredients you'll be using to assemble your Halal chicken and rice bowls. As I said, for me that's some halal white sauce, shredded lettuce, fresh parsley, lemon, and toasted pita. 

Then, when you've got all of those finishing ingredients rounded up, you can place the rice in a bowl, top it with the chicken, and add all of those flavor-boosting finishing elements.

Finally, dig in and enjoy!

How To Store Chicken Over Rice

This recipe for chicken over rice makes about 4 dinner-sized servings. So, since the portions are so large, there's a good chance you'll end up with leftovers.

Speaking of leftovers, if you do end up with some, you'll want to store them in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days. 

How To Reheat 

I'm not going to lie, these Halal cart style chicken over rice bowls taste really delicious cold. Like, really, really delicious cold.

But, with that said, you can reheat 'em if you want. I know some people aren't a fan of eating cold chicken like I am.

Anyway, I've found that the best way to reheat the chicken is to put it in the oven at 400°F for about 10-15 minutes. I just place the chicken on a wire rack over a baking sheet and bake it like that. The results are great every time.

As for the rice, you can just add it to a bowl with an ice cube - or a splash of water - and microwave it in 30 seconds increments until it's thoroughly warm. 

Then, to finish up, just reassemble the bowls with the same fix-ins as before. 

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