THE SPLIT PLATE / RECIPE

High-Protein Halal Cart Chicken Rice Bowls

Yellow rice cooked in chicken bone broth (not water) + Bare Bones broth powder = the rice does ~5g of the protein lift on its own. Adult bowl: 550 cal / 50g protein with toum + harissa. Kid tray: same chicken + rice in a compartment tray with toum drizzle on the chicken, lettuce + tomato in a side bowl. No harissa for kids — that's the only split-cook lever.

YIELD4 servings
TOTAL TIME40 min
COOK METHODSee method
EST. / SERVING~550 cal | ~50g protein
KEY TO SUCCESS: TWO PARALLEL TIMERS — rice (~20 min from boil to fluff) + chicken (~10 min on the griddle). Start the rice FIRST, then start the chicken when the rice is at the simmer stage. Both finish within 5 min of each other.

Ingredients

PROTEIN

  • 1.5 lb Trader Joe's Shawarma-Style Chicken Thighs (or 1.5 lb boneless skinless thighs + DIY marinade — see substitutionNotes)
  • Cooking spray (Chosen Foods avocado oil)

TOPPINGS SHARED

  • 1/2 head iceberg lettuce, shredded
  • 2 Roma tomatoes, diced
  • Pinch kosher salt (for tomatoes)
  • Mezete Toum sauce (on BOTH plates)

ADULT FORMAT

  • 1 big white plate per adult

Option 1

  • 1 compartment kid tray per child (4-section tray, like EZPZ Happy Mat)
  • 1 small white bowl per child (for lettuce + tomato)
  • 1 tbsp Mezete Toum (drizzle over chicken only, NOT the rice)
  • (NO Shuug harissa — adult-only)

Option 3

  • 1 compartment kid tray per child (4-section tray, like EZPZ Happy Mat)
  • 1 small white bowl per child (for lettuce + tomato)
  • 1 tbsp Mezete Toum (drizzle over chicken only, NOT the rice)
  • (NO Shuug harissa — adult-only)

YELLOW RICE

  • 1 cup uncooked basmati rice, rinsed
  • 1.5 cups Kirkland Organic Chicken Sipping Bone Broth
  • 1 tbsp ghee
  • 1 Bare Bones Instant Bone Broth Powder stick (15g, chicken)
  • 1.5 tsp kosher salt
  • 0.5 tsp garlic powder
  • 0.5 tsp onion powder
  • 0.5 tsp cumin
  • 1 tsp turmeric

ADULT SAUCES

  • 2 tbsp Mezete Toum (drizzle over chicken + rice)
  • 1 tbsp Shuug Original Harissa Hot Sauce (drizzle over chicken only)

Option 2

  • 1 compartment kid tray per child (4-section tray, like EZPZ Happy Mat)
  • 1 small white bowl per child (for lettuce + tomato)
  • 1 tbsp Mezete Toum (drizzle over chicken only, NOT the rice)
  • (NO Shuug harissa — adult-only)

Allergens: dairy, soy.

AT THE PLATE FORMAT + THE HARISSA. Same yellow rice, same griddled chicken, same iceberg + tomato. The ONLY split-cook lever is: (1) format (big plate adult vs compartment tray kid), and (2) harissa (adult only). Mezete toum drizzle is on BOTH plates. Macro split: 8 oz / 4 oz chicken portion.

Method

Shared base

  1. 1.MISE. Pull Trader Joe's shawarma chicken from fridge (let sit 10 min to take chill off). Rinse 1 cup basmati under cold water until water runs mostly clear. Measure 1.5 cups Kirkland Sipping Bone Broth, 1 tbsp ghee, spices (1.5 tsp salt / 0.5 tsp garlic powder / 0.5 tsp onion powder / 0.5 tsp cumin / 1 tsp turmeric), and the Bare Bones Instant Bone Broth stick. Set out Mezete toum + Shuug harissa.
  2. 2.START THE RICE. Rinsed basmati + 1.5 cups bone broth + ghee + Bare Bones powder + all the spices into a pot. Bring to a boil over high heat, then drop to LOWEST heat, cover with a tight lid, simmer undisturbed 15 min. NO peeking — the steam is what cooks the rice.
  3. 3.GRIDDLE THE CHICKEN. Griddle or large skillet over medium-high heat. Cooking spray. Chicken thighs in a single layer. 3-4 min undisturbed for the contact-sear, then flip. 2-3 min on second side. Chop into the pan with a spatula at the 5-min mark — halal-cart edges form on the chopped sides. Cook to 165°F internal, ~10 min total.
  4. 4.PREP THE COLD SIDE. Dice 2 Roma tomatoes ~1/4-inch. Shred 1/2 head iceberg thin. Pinch of salt on the tomatoes only. Set aside.
  5. 5.RICE FINISH. Off heat at the 15-min mark. Let rest covered 10 min (this is non-negotiable — rest is when the steam finishes setting the grains). Fluff with a fork. Should be loose, separate, yellow, fragrant.

Adult — Big Plate, Toum + Harissa

  1. 6.ADULT PLATE. ~3/4 cup yellow rice mounded on one side of the plate. ~8 oz chopped halal-cart chicken next to it. Shredded iceberg + diced Roma alongside or on top. Mezete toum drizzle over the chicken AND rice (~2 tbsp). Shuug Original Harissa drizzle over the chicken only (~1 tbsp).
  2. 7.EAT IMMEDIATELY. The contrast is the point — warm rice + crispy chopped chicken edges + cold lettuce + tomato + creamy toum + smoky harissa. Don't let it sit.

Kid — Compartment Tray, Toum Only (NO HARISSA) · Option 1

  1. 6.KID TRAY. Compartment tray. Section 1: ~1/2 cup yellow rice. Section 2: ~4 oz chopped chicken with 1 tbsp Mezete toum drizzled over. Largest section: small white bowl filled with shredded iceberg + diced Roma tomato. NO HARISSA anywhere on the tray.
  2. 7.ASSEMBLY (kid leads). Most kids eat the rice + chicken first, then graze on lettuce + tomato. Some scoop chicken into the lettuce bowl and eat it together. Either pattern works. Don't pre-mix anything.

Kid — Compartment Tray, Toum Only (NO HARISSA) · Option 2

  1. 6.Same kid tray format. Replace the yellow rice with plain white basmati (cooked 1/4 cup uncooked = ~3/4 cup cooked = ~1/2 cup per kid). Everything else identical. Toum drizzle still on the chicken.

Kid — Compartment Tray, Toum Only (NO HARISSA) · Option 3

  1. 6.Warm 1 small flour tortilla 15 sec in microwave. Spread 1 tbsp Mezete toum down the center. Add ~4 oz chopped chicken + a small spoon of yellow rice + a pinch of iceberg + a couple tomato dice. Fold the bottom up, roll the sides in. Cut diagonal. Wrap eats clean without harissa on the kid side.

SPLIT PLATE SERVING

Adult — Big Plate, Toum + Harissa: Serve the adult portion as described above.

Kid — Compartment Tray, Toum Only (NO HARISSA): Serve the kid portion as described above.

Keys to success

  • RICE: 1 cup basmati rinsed until water runs mostly clear (drains out the surface starch — fluffy not gluey). 1.5 cups Kirkland Sipping Bone Broth + 1 tbsp ghee + 1.5 tsp salt + 0.5 tsp garlic powder + 0.5 tsp onion powder + 0.5 tsp cumin + 1 tsp turmeric + 1 Bare Bones Instant Bone Broth Powder stick. Bring to boil, reduce to lowest heat, cover, 15 min undisturbed. Off heat, rest covered 10 min. Fluff with a fork.
  • CHICKEN: griddle/large skillet over medium-high. TJ shawarma chicken thighs in a single layer (don't crowd — work in 2 batches if needed). 3-4 min undisturbed for the contact-sear, then flip, 2-3 min on the second side. Chop INTO the pan with a spatula at the 5-min mark — halal-cart edges form on the chopped sides. Total ~10 min to 165°F internal.

If something fails

Yellow rice came out gluey / sticky: Either you didn't rinse the basmati enough (rinse until water runs mostly clear) or you peeked under the lid before the 15-min simmer finished. Rinse + lid-on-no-peeking. If gluey now, fluff aggressively with a fork — separates the grains.

Chicken edges aren't crispy enough for halal-cart vibe: You chopped on the griddle too early. Let the thighs sit undisturbed for 3-4 min FIRST to develop the contact sear, THEN chop. The new chopped surfaces will keep crisping while everything else holds heat.

Toum tastes way too garlicky: Mezete toum IS aggressive raw garlic — that's the authentic profile. Two fixes: (1) drizzle 1 tbsp instead of 2 per plate, OR (2) mix the toum with a tbsp of plain Greek yogurt before drizzling to mellow it.

Adult bowl macros came in higher than 550: Most likely cause: (1) used 2 lb chicken instead of 1.5 lb (4 servings × 8 oz adult / 4 oz kid = 24 oz = 1.5 lb), (2) over-portioned toum (more than 2 tbsp adds ~70 cal per extra tbsp), (3) skipped the griddle-drain step and let chicken oil soak into the rice.

Kid wouldn't touch the rice: Try plain white rice on the kid side instead of yellow. Bone broth + turmeric is a flavor lift adults like but kids sometimes reject. Cook a small separate pot of plain basmati for the kid section. The chicken + toum carry the kid plate even with plain rice.

Forgot the Bare Bones powder: Drop the protein headline to 45g (lost ~5g from the rice). Recipe still works — the powder is the macro multiplier, not a flavor requirement. Add a 1/2 tsp more turmeric or cumin to compensate for the slight loss of savory depth.

Storage and reheating

Store: Cook fresh — but rice + chicken hold well separately. Store cooked yellow rice in an airtight container 3 days; store griddled chicken in another 3-4 days. Don't pre-build the plates — iceberg wilts, tomato weeps. Assemble at meal time.

Reheat: Rice: microwave 60-90 sec covered with a 1 tbsp splash of Kirkland bone broth. Chicken: skillet over medium 2-3 min OR microwave 30-60 sec covered. Toum is room-temp from the fridge (don't reheat). Harissa is room-temp from the fridge.

Lasts: Cooked rice + chicken: 3-4 days fridge. Mezete Toum: 18 months shelf-stable, opened bottle 30 days fridge. Shuug Harissa: per bottle date, usually 30+ days opened in fridge. Iceberg + Roma: 2-3 days max. Best lunch-the-next-day recipe — pack rice + chicken + sauce in separate containers, assemble at the office.

Estimated nutrition

~550 cal | ~50g protein.

thesplitplate.com/recipes/high-protein-halal-cart-chicken-rice-bowls

High-Protein Halal Cart Chicken Rice Bowls
Split Cook Method™Core Signatures

High-Protein Halal Cart Chicken Rice Bowls

Yellow rice cooked in chicken bone broth (not water) + Bare Bones broth powder = the rice does ~5g of the protein lift on its own. Adult bowl: 550 cal / 50g protein with toum + harissa. Kid tray: same chicken + rice in a compartment tray with toum drizzle on the chicken, lettuce + tomato in a side bowl. No harissa for kids — that's the only split-cook lever.

Make this when

You want halal-cart-style dinner without ordering out. 1 lb 8 oz Trader Joe's shawarma chicken thighs onto a griddle, yellow rice cooked in Kirkland bone broth + Bare Bones powder for the protein bump, Mezete toum + Shuug harissa for adults, deconstructed compartment tray with toum-only for kids. 40 minutes, one cook, two finishes.

Total time
40 min
Yield
4 servings
Protein
~50g
Calories
~550
Cost / serving
$5.50
Allergens and safety

Contains: dairy, soy

Packaged ingredients change formulas — check the label on what's actually in your kitchen.

Spicy adult version
Adjust servings

Ingredients

Adults
Kids

PROTEIN

YELLOW RICE

TOPPINGS SHARED

ADULT FORMAT

ADULT SAUCES

KID FORMAT

KID SAUCE

Method

Split point

AT THE PLATE FORMAT + THE HARISSA. Same yellow rice, same griddled chicken, same iceberg + tomato. The ONLY split-cook lever is: (1) format (big plate adult vs compartment tray kid), and (2) harissa (adult only). Mezete toum drizzle is on BOTH plates. Macro split: 8 oz / 4 oz chicken portion.

2 adult bowls (8 oz chicken + 3/4 cup yellow rice + iceberg + tomato + Mezete toum + Shuug harissa, plated on big white plates) / 2 kid compartment trays (4 oz chicken with toum drizzle only + 1/2 cup yellow rice in another compartment + lettuce/tomato in a side bowl, no harissa).

Shared base

Cook once — this part works for everyone.

  1. 1
    MISE

    Pull Trader Joe's shawarma chicken from fridge (let sit 10 min to take chill off). Rinse 1 cup basmati under cold water until water runs mostly clear. Measure 1.5 cups Kirkland Sipping Bone Broth, 1 tbsp ghee, spices (1.5 tsp salt / 0.5 tsp garlic powder / 0.5 tsp onion powder / 0.5 tsp cumin / 1 tsp turmeric), and the Bare Bones Instant Bone Broth stick. Set out Mezete toum + Shuug harissa.

  2. 2
    START THE RICE

    Rinsed basmati + 1.5 cups bone broth + ghee + Bare Bones powder + all the spices into a pot. Bring to a boil over high heat, then drop to LOWEST heat, cover with a tight lid, simmer undisturbed 15 min. NO peeking — the steam is what cooks the rice.

  3. 3
    GRIDDLE THE CHICKEN

    Griddle or large skillet over medium-high heat. Cooking spray. Chicken thighs in a single layer. 3-4 min undisturbed for the contact-sear, then flip. 2-3 min on second side. Chop into the pan with a spatula at the 5-min mark — halal-cart edges form on the chopped sides. Cook to 165°F internal, ~10 min total.

  4. 4
    PREP THE COLD SIDE

    Dice 2 Roma tomatoes ~1/4-inch. Shred 1/2 head iceberg thin. Pinch of salt on the tomatoes only. Set aside.

  5. 5
    RICE FINISH

    Off heat at the 15-min mark. Let rest covered 10 min (this is non-negotiable — rest is when the steam finishes setting the grains). Fluff with a fork. Should be loose, separate, yellow, fragrant.

Adult — Big Plate, Toum + Harissa

  1. 6
    ADULT PLATE

    ~3/4 cup yellow rice mounded on one side of the plate. ~8 oz chopped halal-cart chicken next to it. Shredded iceberg + diced Roma alongside or on top. Mezete toum drizzle over the chicken AND rice (~2 tbsp). Shuug Original Harissa drizzle over the chicken only (~1 tbsp).

  2. 7
    EAT IMMEDIATELY

    The contrast is the point — warm rice + crispy chopped chicken edges + cold lettuce + tomato + creamy toum + smoky harissa. Don't let it sit.

Kid — Compartment Tray, Toum Only (NO HARISSA)

  1. 6
    KID TRAY

    Compartment tray. Section 1: ~1/2 cup yellow rice. Section 2: ~4 oz chopped chicken with 1 tbsp Mezete toum drizzled over. Largest section: small white bowl filled with shredded iceberg + diced Roma tomato. NO HARISSA anywhere on the tray.

  2. 7
    ASSEMBLY (kid leads)

    Most kids eat the rice + chicken first, then graze on lettuce + tomato. Some scoop chicken into the lettuce bowl and eat it together. Either pattern works. Don't pre-mix anything.

Adult plate | Kid plate

2 adult bowls (8 oz chicken + 3/4 cup yellow rice + iceberg + tomato + Mezete toum + Shuug harissa, plated on big white plates) / 2 kid compartment trays (4 oz chicken with toum drizzle only + 1/2 cup yellow rice in another compartment + lettuce/tomato in a side bowl, no harissa).

Adult plate

Adult — Big Plate, Toum + Harissa

50g
Protein
550
Calories

What makes it different

  • 1 big white plate per adult
  • 2 tbsp Mezete Toum (drizzle over chicken + rice)
  • 1 tbsp Shuug Original Harissa Hot Sauce (drizzle over chicken only)
Kid plate

Kid — Compartment Tray, Toum Only (NO HARISSA)

27g
Protein
305
Calories

What makes it different

  • 1 compartment kid tray per child (4-section tray, like EZPZ Happy Mat)
  • 1 small white bowl per child (for lettuce + tomato)
  • 1 tbsp Mezete Toum (drizzle over chicken only, NOT the rice)
  • (NO Shuug harissa — adult-only)

Three keys to success

  1. 1TWO PARALLEL TIMERS — rice (~20 min from boil to fluff) + chicken (~10 min on the griddle). Start the rice FIRST, then start the chicken when the rice is at the simmer stage. Both finish within 5 min of each other.
  2. 2RICE: 1 cup basmati rinsed until water runs mostly clear (drains out the surface starch — fluffy not gluey). 1.5 cups Kirkland Sipping Bone Broth + 1 tbsp ghee + 1.5 tsp salt + 0.5 tsp garlic powder + 0.5 tsp onion powder + 0.5 tsp cumin + 1 tsp turmeric + 1 Bare Bones Instant Bone Broth Powder stick. Bring to boil, reduce to lowest heat, cover, 15 min undisturbed. Off heat, rest covered 10 min. Fluff with a fork.
  3. 3CHICKEN: griddle/large skillet over medium-high. TJ shawarma chicken thighs in a single layer (don't crowd — work in 2 batches if needed). 3-4 min undisturbed for the contact-sear, then flip, 2-3 min on the second side. Chop INTO the pan with a spatula at the 5-min mark — halal-cart edges form on the chopped sides. Total ~10 min to 165°F internal.

Go deeper

Storage and nutrition

Storage: Cook fresh — but rice + chicken hold well separately. Store cooked yellow rice in an airtight container 3 days; store griddled chicken in another 3-4 days. Don't pre-build the plates — iceberg wilts, tomato weeps. Assemble at meal time.

Reheat: Rice: microwave 60-90 sec covered with a 1 tbsp splash of Kirkland bone broth. Chicken: skillet over medium 2-3 min OR microwave 30-60 sec covered. Toum is room-temp from the fridge (don't reheat). Harissa is room-temp from the fridge.

Lasts: Cooked rice + chicken: 3-4 days fridge. Mezete Toum: 18 months shelf-stable, opened bottle 30 days fridge. Shuug Harissa: per bottle date, usually 30+ days opened in fridge. Iceberg + Roma: 2-3 days max. Best lunch-the-next-day recipe — pack rice + chicken + sauce in separate containers, assemble at the office.

Watch the full cook

Brands I use

Trader Joe's
Shawarma-Style Chicken Thighs (1.5 lb pack, pre-seasoned with yogurt + Middle Eastern spice marinade)
The speed unlock — pre-marinated thighs ready to griddle in 0 prep time. Marinade is genuinely good (no need to add more seasoning). Sub the DIY shawarma marinade in substitutionNotes if TJ isn't accessible.
Mezete
Mezete
Toum Sauce (315g squeeze bottle — Middle Eastern garlic aioli, plant-based, shelf-stable 18 months)
The white sauce on BOTH plates. Plant-based + shelf-stable = a bottle lives in the fridge for months. Aggressive garlic — that's the authentic profile. Cross-recipe candidate with chicken sandwiches, bowls, anything that wants a garlic-mayo drizzle.
Shuug
Shuug
Original Harissa Hot Sauce (9 oz bottle — roasted red pepper + chili + cumin + ghost pepper)
Adult-only heat layer. Smoky, sharp, slow-build heat. ~15 cal / 1g fat per tbsp drizzle — negligible macro impact, huge flavor impact. NEVER on kid plates.
Bare Bones
Bare Bones
Instant Bone Broth Powder Sticks (15g packet, chicken — 45 cal / 10g protein / 0g fat per stick)
Mixed into the rice cooking liquid = ~5g protein lift per adult serving. The difference between a 45g and 50g protein headline. Free macro win that costs ~$1.50 per stick.
Kirkland Signature
Kirkland Signature
Organic Chicken Sipping Bone Broth (32 fl oz carton or 8.45 fl oz pouches — 1.5 cups for the rice cook, 45 cal / 9g protein per 8 fl oz)
Replaces water entirely as the rice cooking liquid. Rice picks up savory depth that water-cooked yellow rice never gets. Cross-recipe across id 4, 24, 30, 38, 39, 41, 42, 43.

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#chicken#rice-bowl#halal-style#shawarma#split-cook#weeknight#high-protein#halal-cart#gluten-free#middle-eastern