Mediterranean Brown Rice Tuna Bowls

You’ll love these quick brown rice and tuna bowls, prepared Mediterranean-style with a simple chickpea, tomato and cucumber salad and my homemade Greek ladolemono dressing. Ready in about 15 minutes!

This post is sponsored by Tonnino Wild Caught Yellowfin Tuna, I used their delicious 100% wild caught yellowfin tuna fillets in olive oil in today’s easy rice bowls. 

Easy Tuna Dinner Bowls

Tuna is a convenient pantry staple and protein option that you can turn into a quick meal any night of the week. One of my new favorites is today’s Mediterranean-style rice and tuna bowls. 

These rice bowls make an unfussy dinner with delicious Tonnino wild caught tuna fillets, already cooked brown rice, and a simple chickpea, cucumber and tomato salad (which is just a variation of my 3-ingredient Mediterranean salad). 

To dress the salad and the rice bowls, I reach for my go-to Greek ladolemono dressing, made with lots of fresh lemon juice, good extra virgin olive oil, garlic and oregano. This homemade dressing can be prepared ahead, it will keep well in the fridge for up to 2 weeks (just store it in a tight-lid mason jar)! 

What kind of tuna to use?

Tuna is nutrition rich, containing omega-3 fatty acids, B-6 and B-12 vitamins, as well as vitamin A, iron, zinc, magnesium and more! But the question people ask me often is what kind of tuna I use?

For me, it’s important to use quality, responsibility caught wild tuna. And for the past several months, I’ve been using Tonnino Wild Caught Yellow Fin Tuna, which my family loves! 

If you haven’t checked them out before, Tonnino is the #1 gourmet tuna brand here in the U.S. First, Tonnino is delicious 100% wild caught, low mercury tuna, and a heart healthy protein. And you get whole tuna filets that have been carefully hand-packed in jars. I love that Tonnino uses simple ingredients without any additives or fillers. And they only source tuna from responsible fisheries, utilizing environmentally friendly fishing methods with complete traceability. 

In today’s rice bowls recipe, I used Tonnino Yellowfin Tuna packed in olive oil, but there are other options within the Tonnino family to check out! 

Ingredients: What you need to make these easy tuna bowls

• Tonnino Yellowfin Tuna– I used 2 jars of their yellowfin tuna packed in olive oil. 
• Brown rice– You’ll need 2 to 3 cups cooked brown rice. Start with about 1 to 1 ½ cups of rice and follow the package instructions. Other grains will work as well (see options below). 
• For the salad– 1 can chickpeas (drained and rinsed), cherry tomatoes, English cucumber, shallots (or green onions), and fresh parsley. 
• For the ladolemono dressing– lemon juice, olive oil, 1 to 2 cloves of garlic, and a good dash of dried oregano. 
• Feta cheese, optional for garnish

How to make tuna bowls 

• Cook the rice. If your rice is not already prepared, you can start with just over 1 cup dry brown rice, rinse it well and follow the package instructions to cook until the rice is tender and no longer hard or too chewy. You can cook the rice one night ahead of time and refrigerate until you need it. 
• Make the ladolemono dressing. Start by whisking together ¼ cup fresh lemon juice with minced garlic, dried oregano, and a pinch of kosher salt and black together. While whisking vigorously, drizzle in some good extra virgin olive oil and keep whisking (you’ll need about ¾ cup of olive oil for this homemade dressing).
  
  
  
• Make the salad. Mix together the chickpeas, tomatoes, cucumbers, shallots, and parsley. Season lightly with kosher salt and black pepper. Add about ¼ cup of the ladolemono dressing and toss to coat the salad well with the dressing.
  
  
  
• Assemble the tuna rice bowls. Divide the rice and salad among 4 bowls, then add the Tonnino Yellowfin Tuna fillets to each bowl. Dress the tuna and rice with a bit of the ladolemon dressing to your liking. Enjoy! 

Meal-Prep Tips

If you want to prepare these tuna bowls for lunch the next day, you can hold the dressing and keep the tuna in its jars (this way, the tuna will not oxidize or change color). Arrange the brown rice and salad in meal-prep containers and store them in the fridge. Add the tuna and dressing when you’re ready for lunch! 

Tuna Rice Bowl Variations

The great thing about these rice dinner bowls is that you can totally change them up and make them your own. Here are some ideas: 

• Try another grain. This recipe calls for cooked brown rice, which is generally considered healthier than white (though we love white rice too, read more into white versus brown rice in our guide.) If you like, you can try another grain such as farro or barley, both have a hearty texture and a slightly nutty, delicious flavor. You can prepare the grains ahead of time and store them in the fridge. 
• Change the salad. You can go fully Greek with these rice bowls and make my easy Traditional Greek salad in place of the chickpea salad in today’s recipe. You can also try my bean salad, fattoush, or any other Mediterranean salad that catches your eye, making a little bit more of the salad dressing to dress your tuna fillets and grains as well. 
• Use another Tonniono Tuna option. If you can handle a little heat, try their yellowfin tuna fillets with jalapeno in olive oil! 
  

More tuna recipes to try

Salads

Best Mediterranean Tuna Salad Recipe

Italian

Tuna Pasta Recipe, Mediterranean-Style

Salads

Niçoise Salad with Tuna and Artichoke Hearts

Italian

Italian-Style Rice Salad

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5 from 16 votes

Mediterranean Brown Rice and Tuna Bowls Recipe

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Suzy Karadsheh

Simple rice dinner bowls with tuna and Mediterranean chickpea, cucumber and tomato salad. use already cooked brown rice or work ahead by cooking the brown rice (or grain of your choice) according to package instructions 1 to 2 days in advance. You can also prepare the salad and ladolemono dressing (just keep the dressing separately in the fridge in a tightly-closed mason jar).

Prep – 15 minutes mins

Cuisine:

Mediterranean, Mediterranean Diet

Serves – 4 people (up to)

Course:

Dinner

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

• ▢ Greek Ladolemono dressing, see the recipe

For the Chickpea, Cucumber and Tomato Salad

• ▢ 1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
• ▢ ½ English cucumber, cubed
• ▢ 1 shallot, halved and thinly sliced
• ▢ 1 cup canned chickpeas, drained and rinsed
• ▢ 1 cup chopped fresh parsley
• ▢ Kosher salt and black pepper

For the Brown Rice and Tuna Bowls

• ▢ 2 cups cooked brown rice, follow package instructions for cooking. You will likely start with 1 dry cup of rice.
• ▢ 2 6.7- ounce jars of Tonnino Yellowfin Tuna Fillets in Olive Oil
• ▢ Feta cheese, optional

Instructions

 

• Make the ladolemono dressing according to this recipe.
• Make the cucumber, tomato, and chickpea salad. In a medium mixing bowl, combine the tomatoes, cucumbers, chickpeas, shallots, and parsley. Season with kosher salt and black pepper and drizzle with about ¼ cup of the ladolemono dressing. Toss to combine and adjust seasoning.
• Assemble the tuna bowls. Divide the brown rice, salad, and tuna fillets among 4 serving bowls. Top everything with a bit of the ladolemono dressing. Taste and adjust seasoning. If you like, finish with feta cheese.

Notes

• You can make the ladolemono dressing ahead of time and keep it in the fridge in a tightly closed mason jars. It will keep well for 1 to 2 weeks, if stored properly.
• Meal-Prep Tip: if you want to prepare these tuna rice bowls for your lunches, hold the dressing and do not add the tuna until later. Assemble the brown rice and salad in meal-prep containers and cover and refrigerate. Add the tuna and dressing the next day when you are ready for lunch. 
• Variations: You can swap the rice for another grain of your choice like farro or barley (both wonderful Mediterranean grains). You can also replace the salad with another Mediterranean salad of your choice, just make more of the dressing to use for the tuna and rice as well. 
• Nutrition estimate does not include the ladolemono dressing. You can view the nutrition estimate for the dressing here. 
• Visit our Shop to browse quality Mediterranean ingredients. 

Nutrition

Calories: 335.9kcalCarbohydrates: 33.3gProtein: 30.3gFat: 8.8gSaturated Fat: 1.6gMonounsaturated Fat: 3gCholesterol: 15.3mgSodium: 575.4mgPotassium: 552.5mgFiber: 4.7gSugar: 2.2gVitamin A: 1557IUVitamin C: 30mgCalcium: 68.4mgIron: 3.6mg

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