The Best Harvest Bowl Recipe

This harvest bowl recipe is a sweet green copycat that incorporates all the flavors of fall since it’s made with roasted chicken, wild rice, sweet potato, kale and topped with a tangy balsamic vinaigrette.

With fall coming, I’m craving soups and roasted vegetables like Brussels sprouts and sweet potatoes. This harvest bowl recipe incorporates many of my favorite fall flavors into a meal that is not only healthy but also gluten-free. While there are a few different components to creating these bowls, they come together quickly and can easily be prepared in advance.

This harvest bowls recipe is actually inspired by Sweetgreen’s harvest bowls – one of the most popular items on their menu. (For good reason: It’s delicious!) Making these harvest bowls at home will save you money, because visiting Sweetgreen too often can really add up.

Ingredients for Harvest Bowls

Use these simple, fresh ingredients packed with nutritional value to make these delicious harvest bowls.

• Wild rice: For faster prep, we like to use these convenient microwave-safe pouches. Of course, you can also make a batch of wild rice in advance. If you don’t want to add rice, you can substitute quinoa, brown rice, or farro.
• Chicken: rotisserie chicken or grilled chicken makes preparation easy. If you don’t have cooked chicken, you can also roast it along with the vegetables. I usually use pre-marinated, boneless, skinless chicken breasts because they cook the fastest. If not pre-marinated, simply season your chicken with garlic powder, onion powder, and Italian seasoning.
• Sweet potato: We love the color and natural sweetness of the sweet potatoes in these harvest bowls. (Not to mention, sweet potatoes are full of antioxidants, vitamin A, vitamin C, and potassium.) You can substitute them with butternut squash if you prefer.
• Brussels sprouts: For a heartier, fiber-rich bowl, we also like to roast Brussels sprouts. Just roast them alongside the sweet potato.
• Herbs (Rosemary, Thyme): This herb blend adds delicious flavor to roasted vegetables.
• Kale: This hearty green makes a great vitamin, mineral, and antioxidant-rich base for these harvest bowls.
• Crispy apple: we love the crunch and sweetness of the apples in these bowls. Our favorite apple variety to use includes: Honeycrisp, Gala, Pink Lady or Fuji. If you want to add more sweetness to your bowls, dried cranberries are also delicious.
• Almonds: Speaking of crunchy, slivered almonds also add a delicious crunch to these sweet green copycat harvest bowls. You can substitute another nut or seed – we recommend walnuts, pecans, pistachios or sprinkles.
• Feta or Goat Cheese: For a little creaminess, add a sprinkling of crumbled feta or goat cheese to the top of your sweetgreen harvest bowls.
• Olive oil: you will need olive oil for the roasted vegetables as well as for the dressing.
• Balsamic vinegar: add flavor to the dressing.

Variants

Swap the protein: Don’t have chicken on hand to make these harvest bowls? You can easily replace the chicken with another protein like grilled salmon, steak, or a plant-based protein like beans or tofu for a vegetarian harvest bowl.

Use another dressing: We love balsamic vinaigrette on these bowls, but we also enjoy it with the vinaigrette in this chicken and wild rice salad or a simple tahini vinaigrette.

Replace the kale with another green: If you’re not a fan of kale, you can make this harvest bowl over another leafy green vegetable – try spinach, arugula, or spring mix.

Make it dairy-free: omit the goat cheese.

Make it vegan: Omit the chicken and replace it with cooked tofu or canned beans like chickpeas or navy beans. You should also skip the cheese, but you can replace it with a vegan feta cheese.

Make it Paleo and Whole30: Skip the wild rice and cheese and omit the maple syrup from the balsamic vinaigrette.

How to Make This Harvest Bowl Recipe

These healthy harvest bowls are simple to assemble in just a few steps.

Roast the vegetables: Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Spray a large rimmed baking sheet with nonstick cooking spray (or line with parchment paper). Place Brussels sprouts and sweet potatoes on a baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with rosemary, thyme, salt and pepper to taste and toss to combine. Bake in the preheated oven for 25 to 35 minutes or until crisp, golden and fork tender. Total roasting time may vary depending on the size of your vegetable pieces.

Prepare the wild rice and chicken: While the vegetables roast in the oven, prepare the wild rice according to package directions. Cut the cooked chicken into bite-sized pieces.

Prepare the balsamic vinaigrette: Prepare the vinaigrette by adding the olive oil, balsamic vinegar, Dijon mustard, maple syrup, salt and pepper to a bowl and whisk to combine. (Or add to a mason jar and shake to combine).

Assemble: In four shallow bowls, divide the kale, cooked rice mixture, sweet potatoes and Brussels sprouts, cooked chicken, apples, almonds and cheese. Whisk the vinaigrette again, then divide it among the four bowls.

Can I prepare harvest bowls?

Yes, one of the things I love about these harvest bowls is that the components can easily be prepared in advance. This makes it so quick and easy to put together on busy nights. Chicken, vegetables and rice can all be cooked 2-3 times in advance and stored in airtight containers in the refrigerator.

Simply reheat in the microwave or oven before assembling your bowls.

You can also prepare the balsamic vinaigrette up to a week in advance. Simply store it in a jar or salad dressing container in the refrigerator until ready to use.

Storage

If you prepare any of the components of these bowls (i.e. chicken, wild rice, roasted vegetables) in advance, they can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.

Assembled bowls can be stored in the refrigerator for 2 to 3 days in an airtight container. They transport well, so these harvest bowls are perfect for packing to work or school.