Bright and fresh Pita Bowl using ground American lamb , loaded with flavors of the Mediterranean is a MUST try! The Pita bowl involves minimal cooking, complete versatility with ingredients and offers a quick healthy nutritious dinner that’s so TASTY! These are my favorite way to make Mediterranean bowls!
I’m honoured to partner with the American Lamb Board to share with you yet another tasty lamb recipe. All opinions are my own.
If you’re new to lamb, this is a great place to start. Ground lamb recipes are one of the most popular ways to introduce more lamb to your meals.
And of course when I mention lamb, I’m referring to fresh local American lamb, always. “American lamb is a great way to start the new year off on the right foot – it’s naturally nutrient rich and a good source of protein.” More on American lamb below.
Some of my favorite ground lamb recipes include: Turkish Pizza (a street food in Turkey that’s delicious and unique!). Lamb meatball subs on the grill (Italian meets American meatballs). Pull apart bread–A fun cheesy bread that’s perfect for sharing. And a twist on the popular Crunchwrap supreme.
While this recipe is as easy as it gets, I wanted to share a video, break down the steps and ingredients so you can imagine yourself making it with endless variations 🙂
What is a Pita Bowl?
Basically a pita bowl is a bowl of goodness loaded on a pita bread. Now you can have the pita bread fried like a taco shell or baked, or you can leave it as is.
There’s a difference between the type of bread to use for each type of bowl. And when it comes to a fried or baked pita base, you’ll also need to pay attention to the weight of toppings.
With a fresh pita lining the bowl, you can simply go crazy with toppings and that’s the BEST feeling in my opinion!
What type of Pita bread to use for Pita bowl?
Here’s the deal, when lining a bowl with fresh pita, it’s best to use the thin pita pictured above. The thin bread complements the toppings so beautifully without taking over. It also never feels heavy when it’s a thin layer.
To use the thin pita bread, you’ll need to make it even thinner by splitting each pita bread in half and use just one half to line your bowl.
If you’re frying or baking the pita to make crunchy firm pita bowls, then you’ll need to use thick pocket pita bread. Once you separate the two halves of bread, you can bake or fry it to form a crunchy pita base.
I would caution loading those fried pita bowls with plenty of toppings since the bowls will break apart and you don’t want that!
Pita Bowl Ingredients
Lamb:
Ground American Lamb —Absolutely the freshest! American lamb is quality lamb that has a sweet rich buttery taste. That comes from the breed, the way lamb is raised and overall the high industry standard. So I can’t stress enough BUYING American Lamb for all your lamb dishes. The taste is unbeatably AMAZING!
Seasoning – Simple salt and pepper is all you need, since lamb is so fresh tasting!
Onions — to cook and flavor the ground lamb
Garlic – minced or grated for maximum flavor
Chilli flakes —optional but if you know me, you know it’s a MUST 🙂
Fresh herbs —Since this has a Mediterranean flare: we’ve used fresh parsley, thyme, oregano and dill. Feel free to use your favorites of course!
Toppings:
Here’s where you can really be as creative as you want! And also feel free to clean up your fridge hahaha!
In keeping with the Mediterranean theme, I used:
- Green and black
- Tomatoes
- Feta
- Arugula
- Onions
- Cucumbers
- Herb Yogurt Sauce
- Tahini sauce
- Bell peppers
- Garlic chickpeas
How to Make Pita Bowls
First of all, have your sauces ready—here’s the Tahini Sauce.
The yogurt sauce is as simple as can be— you can find it at the Lamb stew Recipe or the Lamb Shanks and Skyr.
Both these sauces can be prepared days in advance and stored in your fridge. I always make large batches of them because I know I’ll be using them often.
Once your sauces are ready, gather your ingredients and start making the pita bowls.
- Cook the Lamb
Start by sautéing onions in a heavy duty skillet with olive oil until the onions are translucent.
At that point add in the American ground Lamb with garlic to the skillet and season with salt and pepper.
Cook stirring often until the lamb is cooked through and turns brown in color. USDA recommends ground lamb reach an internal temperature of 160F
Finish off the lamb with some chilli flakes and fresh herbs. I love using a combo of parsley, oregano and thyme for this recipe. However, you can use whatever herbs you like. The lamb is the real STAR here! 🙂
Now the lamb is ready.
- Assemble the Pita Bowl
Line your serving bowl (I used a standard size pasta bowl) with one half a thin style pita bread. (See more on the types of pita above).
I love the pasta bowls best here because they’re neither too deep nor too flat—they’re the PERFECT size.
Start layering the bowls.
Greens at the bottom (I used arugula) and then chickpeas on top.
To favour the base of my pita bowl recipe, I drizzle some tahini sauce over the greens and chickpeas before layering more toppings.
Now add the lamb to one half of the bowl making sure to use the entire half. This is your source of protein and your main flavor power here so don’t skimp.
Next, you’re going to add the remaining ingredients in the other half like tomatoes, cucumbers, onions, olives and feta cheese.
Dollop some yogurt on one end.
Drizzle more tahini sauce over the bowl, and sprinkle extra chilli flakes (optional).
A final fresh herb finish gives your bowls the brightest taste—I love finishing off with mint and dill.
Another optional thing but so good is adding some homemade hot sauce!
And there you have it, PERFECT Pita Bowls.
These are best enjoyed right away with a lemon wedge.
SO GOOD!
Pita Bowl / Mediterranean Bowl Tips
- Use American Lamb for tastiest and freshest lamb you can get!
- This recipe is great to make using leftover lamb too! Think of a leftover roast you have and shred the lamb meat to use in these bowls.
- Chose the type pf pita bread depending on the shell you want, but make sure to load your toppings carefully if the shell is baked/fried.
- A pasta bowl is the perfect size bowl in general as it’s not too deep nor too shallow.
- Always flavor the base with sauce before loading on the toppings—I used Tahini sauce.
- Use your favorite toppings and don’t feel like you need to stick to these only.
- Pita bowls are best to serve right after assembling, however you can easily prepare each ingredient in advance. Assemble only before serving.
- Enjoy!
Ground Lamb Recipes
Cheesy Pull Apart Bread with Lamb Crumbles
Smashed Potatoes With Spicy Lamb
Fall Harvest Bowl with Lamb Meatballs Recipe
American Lamb Meatball Subs On The Grill
The Best Lamb Burgers Loaded with Nachos
Pita Bowl
Bright and fresh Pita Bowl using ground American lamb , loaded with flavors of the Mediterranean is a MUST try! The Pita bowl involves minimal cooking, complete versatility with ingredients and offers a quick healthy nutritious dinner that’s so TASTY! These are my favorite way to make Mediterranean bowls!
Ingredients
Lamb:
- 1 Tablespoon olive oil
- 1 large onion diced
- 2 pounds ground American lamb
- 1/2 teaspoon each salt and pepper or to taste
- 6 cloves garlic minced
- 1/4 cup fresh herbs mix of oregano, parsley and thyme
- 1/4 teaspoon chilli flakes optional
Pita Bowls:
- 3 Pita breads either thin style or thick separated into two halves
- 3 cups arugula
- 1 can chickpeas drained and seasoned with salt garlic powder and olive oil
- 1 cup cherry tomatoes cut in half
- 1 cup cucumbers cubed
- 1 red onion diced
- 1 cup olives mixed green and kalamata olives
- 1/2 cup feta cheese cubed
- Fresh mint and dill leaves
Sauces:
- Tahini Sauce https://www.twopurplefigs.com/perfect-tahini-sauce/
- Yogurt Sauce https://www.twopurplefigs.com/lamb-stew-ali-nazik/
- Hot Sauce https://www.twopurplefigs.com/hot-pepper-sauce/
Instructions
-
Start by preparing the lamb.
-
Saute onions in a heavy duty skillet with olive oil until the onions are translucent.
-
Add in the American ground Lamb with garlic to the skillet and season with salt and pepper.
-
Cook stirring often until the lamb is cooked through and turns brown in color. USDA recommends ground lamb reach an internal temperature of 160F
-
Finish off the lamb with the chilli flakes and fresh herbs.
-
The lamb is ready now and can be set aside.
-
Assemble the bowls. Start by lining your serving bowl with half a pita bread.
-
Always, start with greens at the bottom and the chickpeas.
-
To flavor the greens and chickpeas, drizzle some tahini sauce on top.
-
Now add the lamb to one half of the bowl making sure to use the entire half.
-
Next, you’re going to add the remaining ingredients in the other half like tomatoes, cucumbers, onions, olives and feta cheese.
-
Dollop some yogurt on one end.
-
Drizzle more tahini sauce over the bowl, and sprinkle extra chilli flakes (optional).
-
Finish off the bowl with fresh herbs and chilli flakes.
-
Ready to enjoy!
Recipe Video
Recipe Notes
Pita Bowl Tips
- Use American Lamb for tastiest and freshest lamb you can get!
- This recipe is great to make using leftover lamb too! Think of a leftover roast you have and shred the lamb meat to use in these bowls.
- Chose the type pf pita bread depending on the shell you want, but make sure to load your toppings carefully if the shell is baked/fried.
- A pasta bowl is the perfect size bowl in general as it’s not too deep nor too shallow.
- Always flavor the base with sauce before loading on the toppings—I used Tahini sauce.
- Use your favorite toppings and don’t feel like you need to stick to these only.
- Pita bowls are best to serve right after assembling, however you can easily prepare each ingredient in advance. Assemble only before serving.
- Enjoy!
Tayler
I made these pita bowls for dinner last night and my family devoured them! Definitely adding to our regular rotation!
cyndy
This is the best pita bowl I have ever made! Thanks for the inspiration. I drizzled some creamy garlic sauce over the top too – Delicious all the way around and everything was super flavorful!
Jess
This is a total must try. I am drooling looking at the pictures!
Holley
Pita bowls are such a great idea! Definitely my new dinner time go to!
Nathan
These pita bowls turned out so delicious! I’ll take any excuse to cook lamb, it’s one of my favorites. A new go-to for sure!
Jen
I always get ground lamb from my Aunt’s farm and I never know what to do with it. This recipe was perfect!
Ned
So healthy, so delicious! I’m SO going to make this again! Thank you!
Andrea
Oh my goodness! I am loving all the Mediterranean flavors and textures in this amazing pita bowl.
Anjali
This was a great recipe for meal prep! I prepped all of the ingredients on Sunday, and used this for lunch throughout the week!
Beth
This recipe is so easy, so versatile, and so delicious! I love recipes like this one that allows my family to pick and choose what they will enjoy eating!
Traci
100% devourable! Love all the ingredients and how crazy easy this is! Lamb is one of our favorite meats and this bowl makes it really shine. Thanks for sharing!
Carrie Robinson
Wow! Now this looks incredible! I know my fiance would love this. Making soon for sure! 🙂
Katherine
Oooh this is a bowl of all the best things! So many great flavors and textures.
Dannii
What a delicious bowl! So full of flavour, and easy to adapt too.