Name: Jerk Chicken Caribbean Rice Bowls
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 12 min
Total time: 27 min
Yield: 4
Cuisine: Continental
Ingredients: 1 tsp cumin; 1 tsp smoked paprika; 1 tsp dried thyme; 1 tsp allspice; 1 tsp garlic powder; ½ tsp onion powder; ½ tsp cayenne; ½ tsp cinnamon; ½ tsp black pepper; ¼ tsp nutmeg; 1 tbsp olive oil; 1 lb boneless skinless chicken thighs; 2 cups cooked cauliflower "rice" or conventional rice; shredded cabbage; chopped fresh tomato; shredded cheese; guacamole; chopped fresh cilantro; lime wedges

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These easy, healthy Jerk Chicken Caribbean Rice Bowls start with a flavorful spice blend and are finished with your favorite fresh toppings. They’re family friendly and perfect for busy weeknights.

Overhead photo of a Jerk Chicken Bowl topped with tomatoes, cilantro, shredded cheddar and guacamole

A Caribbean Inspiration

My husband and I recently spent some time at an all-inclusive resort in the Caribbean for some much needed relaxation. As we usually stay at all-inclusive resorts in the Caribbean, we don’t get our hopes up too high on getting a great taste of the islands when it comes to the food onsite (lots of buffets!).

We often head offsite to find more authentic dishes featuring those wonderful spicy, sweet and savory Caribbean flavors. Wonderful fruit like fresh pineapple, star fruit and mango (oh, mango salsa is so good!). Delicious spices like all-spice, ginger, nutmeg, cumin, and cinnamon. And then the heat that comes from things like a good scotch bonnet pepper.

The combination of flavors that come from these fresh ingredients is wonderful and something we look forward to each time we travel to that area of the world.

Jerk Chicken – A Caribbean Flavor Treat

At this particular resort, we were pleasantly surprised by the quality and variety of the food. The restaurants changed up their menus everyday and for the most part, it tasted really good. The buffet would often have a station set up where they were grilling the meat right there and then serving it up.

One day at lunch, this station was serving up jerk chicken on top of a fry bread. First, they had marinated the chicken in some type of Caribbean jerk sauce and then grilled the chicken. Then, to finish the dish off, they had all kinds of fresh toppings like tomato, lettuce, cheese, guacamole, and fresh cilantro.

I made a note of it in my phone right away knowing that I had to create a version of this for the food blog when I got home.

Making Caribbean Jerk Seasoning

Once we were home, I started doing some research on jerk seasoning. I wanted to recreate the spice of the jerk chicken using all those Caribbean spices (my own little “taste of the tropics”).

I was a bit surprised that jerk seasoning doesn’t have as much heat as I would have thought. It does have a lot of bold flavor, but does that without having too much heat.

I did find that it does take a relatively long list of spices to create a really good jerk seasoning. However, it only takes a few minutes to mix it all up.

I do use a lot of those spices that make up those great tropical flavors like nutmeg, all-spice, cinnamon and cumin. Then the heat and smokiness come from a combination of cayenne pepper and smoked paprika.

I decided to make this more of a seasoning blend in which you cover each of the chicken pieces as opposed to a jerk marinade. It just makes for a quicker recipe preparation while keeping the delicious flavor of all those Caribbean spices.

Making the Jerk Chicken

The jerk chicken is pretty easy to prepare. Simply coat each piece of chicken with the jerk seasoning mix. In a large skillet, sear the chicken for 5-6 minutes per side.

Once the chicken is done, set aside under aluminum foil for a few minutes to rest (I usually do about 10 minutes). After that time, thinly slice to prepare for serving.

The toppings including chopped tomatoes, shredded cabbage, shredded carrots, cilantro leaves and guacamole

The Jerk Chicken Caribbean Rice Bowls

Since we’d been eating with reckless abandon for an entire week, I knew I had to make this jerk chicken recipe a little healthier. That meant skipping the fry bread.

That’s how the Jerk Chicken Caribbean Rice Bowls were born. Instead of fry bread, I put the chicken on a bed of fluffy rice (in this case, roasted cauliflower rice) and then got crazy with all kinds of fresh toppings.

The toppings are really those things that you love and can be done to your taste. I have some of my favorites listed below. But, you can do your own – red bell pepper, red onion, green onions, jicama – it’s all up to you!

What Type of Rice to Use?

To make this jerk chicken rice bowl a little healthier and a little more low carb, I used cauliflower rice. It has a lot of the same consistency as actual rice and the flavor is complimentary. I like to use the frozen cauliflower rice that you can find at any local grocery store for ease of preparation.

However, if you would rather use actual rice, a regular white rice, jasmine rice or even brown rice work just as well. It’s still healthier than a fry bread!

Jerk chicken bowl served over rice with all of the toppings

Tips and Tricks

I prefer using boneless chicken thighs, because of their richer flavor and they have less tendency to dry out.
You can easily double or even triple the ingredients for the spice mix. That way you will have it on hand to make future Caribbean bowls even quicker to make.
If you’re pressed for time, store-bought cooked rice in a pouch only takes a couple of minutes to heat up. I also like to make a large batch of rice and freeze any leftovers, which helps make this recipe extra quick and easy.
The spice mix is not terribly spicy. It’s more of a warm spice mix. If you’d like your bowl to be more spicy, you can increase the amount of cayenne pepper based on your spice tolerance.

Ingredients Needed to Make Jerk Chicken Caribbean Rice Bowls

Full instructions can be found below in the printable recipe card

For Caribbean Jerk Seasoning:

Cumin
Smoked paprika
Dried thyme
Allspice
Garlic powder
Onion powder
Cayenne
Cinnamon
Black pepper
Nutmeg

Remaining Ingredients:

Olive oil
Boneless skinless chicken thighs – For a more juicy, flavorful chicken, I prefer to use a chicken thigh over a chicken breast.
Cooked cauliflower “rice” or conventional rice – Cauliflower rice cooks up in minutes as well as pre-cooked rice in a pouch.

Desired Toppings:

Shredded cabbage – To save time I buy pre-shredded cabbage.
Chopped fresh tomato
Shredded cheese – I like to use cheddar cheese, but Monterey jack or gouda would also be good choices.
Guacamole – To get these bowls on the table quickly, I use store-bought, but if I have a few extra minutes this is my go-to recipe for homemade guac.
Chopped fresh cilantro – If you’re not a fan of cilantro, fresh parsley is a good substitute. It will still add a brightness to the dish.
Lime wedges

How to Make Jerk Chicken Caribbean Bowls

Mix first 10 ingredients together, through nutmeg to make the spice mix.
Combine 1 tbsp spice mixture with 1 tbsp olive oil.
Rub mixture onto both sides of the chicken.
Heat a large skillet to medium heat.
Sear chicken until cooked through, about 5-6 minutes per side.
Thinly slice chicken.
Divide rice between 4 bowls.
Top each bowl with 1/4 of the chicken and desired toppings.

More Rice Bowls to Enjoy

Overhead close up of the plated bowl focusing on the grilled sliced jerk chicken

Yield: 4

Jerk Chicken Caribbean Rice Bowls

These easy, healthy Jerk Chicken Caribbean Rice Bowls start with a flavorful spice blend and are finished with your favorite fresh toppings. They’re family friendly and perfect for busy weeknights.

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 12 minutes

Total Time 27 minutes