Oh my goodness, do I love a grain bowl!!! At JWU, in the Artisan Cafe class, which is a culinary class for baking & pastry students where we simulate a working cafe, grain bowls like this are a hit. Students come order salads, soups, grain bowls, sandwiches, pastries and every kind of coffee, juice or smoothie you can imagine. Grain bowls are also a great way to create a nutritious and delicious meal at home. This one features Southwestern flavors and garnishes. Grain bowls give unlimited swap-out possibilities for your particular crowd. It is so easy to veganize or make grain bowls vegetarian or pescaterian – just eliminate the chicken and add more veggies or tofu or shrimp or whatever the mood calls for. Quinoa is an excellent choice because it is an ancient grain that is a complete protein – a bonus for those trying to incorporate more plant-based items into a meal plan.

The vegetables that I chose for this particular grain bowl cook roughly at the same amount of time. If your people are not squash or cauliflower fans, you can certainly swap in things they like. However, if you choose say, asparagus, for example, which cooks very quickly, you should consider adding it only during the last few minutes of roasting so that you don’t lose that bright green color or end up with a mushy texture. Mushrooms do soak up a lot of the marinade, so if using them, consider making a bit more of the marinade. Other than that, go with what you and your crowd like.

If you swap out the chicken thighs for breasts or tenders, they will cook faster, so adjust the timing for that. Same would be true for thin pork chops or shrimp – faster cooking time and they can easily dry out. If you are using tofu, press it and pat it dry before adding to the marinade. I would suggest coating it in cornstarch and placing a rack on the sheet pan before cooking it to help promote a crunchy crust.

If you want to switch out the quinoa, brown rice, farro, buckwheat, and wheatberries are healthy alternatives – or even switch to lentils or black beans, but then, you better call it a legume or bean bowl to keep it factual 😉

These garnishes work great for me. After serving this, I found out Jack does not like tomatoes or avocadoes in a “salad” – new information! Some other options could be different kinds of greens like spinach or romaine, crumbled queso fresco or grated cheddar, a scoop of salsa or pre-made guacamole, southwest-seasoned roasted chickpeas. Get creative because the only thing that matters is that you are choosing what you like and want to eat.

One more thought – the longer you marinate the chicken, the more flavor it will have. Marinades must have two things – acid and oil, and all the spices just go to set the flavor profile. The acid break down the protein to help tenderize, and help the seasonings and flavorings penetrate the meat, while the oil does help spread that flavor evenly, it also protects it from drying out in the cooking process. Salt draws out moisture, which allows osmosis to occur so that the flavors reabsorb into the meat where the moisture once was. If you have a vacuum sealer, consider marinating that way, which speeds up the process and gives you better flavor in a shorter period of time. However, be careful not to marinate for too long. To get technical, acids do denature and unravel the proteins, but over time they will also tighten them back up – think ceviche and how it “cooks” with acid and not heat. I still think you would be okay to marinate the thighs here in this recipe overnight and be fine if that is what works with your timing.