Sweetgreen Harvest Bowl Recipe

This Sweetgreen Harvest Bowl Recipe is an easy copycat version of one of Sweetgreen’s tastiest fall salad recipes. It’s made with chicken, goat cheese, sweet potato, kale, apple and almonds. Then topped with Sweetgreen’s balsamic vinaigrette.

Sweetgreen salads are delicious, but if you don’t live near one or want to save money, it’s easy to make a copycat version at home.

This Harvest Bowl recipe is packed with fall flavors and is one of my favorites to make all throughout September and October.

Plus, it’s topped with Sweetgreen’s Balsamic Vinaigrette for a little bit of tang.

Jump to:

• Why You’ll Love This Recipe
• Ingredients & Substitutions
• How To Make A Sweetgreen Harvest Bowl
• Variations
• Expert Tips
• Recipe FAQs
• 📖 Recipe

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

• Sweetgreen copycat — This copycat Harvest Bowl recipe is as close as you can get to the real thing! I‘ve tried to re-create this salad as best as possible so it is just like what you’d buy in store.
• Inexpensive — Sweetgreen is delicious, but it becomes expensive buying salads regularly. You can make this copycat version at home for a fraction of the cost.
• Great for lunch — This is a healthy, tasty salad recipe that is perfect to meal prep for lunches throughout the week. Plus, the wild rice and chicken make it a filling meal so you won’t get hungry quickly.
• Customizable — Just like if you were to order in store, you can make lots of substitutions or customizations to get your bowl recipe just how you like it. There are lots of suggestions below for customizing your Harvest Bowl.

Ingredients & Substitutions

• Roasted Chicken: Sweetgreen’s roasted chicken is marinated with their umami seasoning and sunflower oil, then baked in the oven. However, any type of roasted or grilled chicken with a mild seasoning works well for this salad bowl.
• Sweet Potatoes: You can roast sweet potatoes in the oven or in an air fryer. For an exact Sweetgreen copycat, you’ll want to use their umami seasoning, but you can also just use some olive oil, salt and pepper instead.
• Apples: Use an apple that has a nice crunch to it, such as Honeycrisp, Fuji or Pink Lady. I sometimes use Granny Smith which adds a bit of sour tartness that I enjoy. Pears work really well as a substitute in this recipe.
• Goat Cheese: Goat cheese goes so well in this salad, especially with the balsamic vinaigrette. Use a plain goat cheese so you don’t overpower the other flavors. If you don’t like goat cheese, use feta as a substitute.
• Almonds: Sweetgreen uses chopped roasted almonds. However, I like to use sliced almonds as it save time during preparation.
• Wild Rice: Wild rice is the base to this bowl recipe. If you’ve never cooked wild rice before, it is pretty easy to do, just follow this Sweetgreen Wild Rice Recipe. If you don’t like wild rice, you can use quinoa or brown rice as a substitute.
• Kale: For greens, the Harvest Bowl uses chopped kale. I can’t always find kale in the store, so I sometimes use a spring mix or arugula which I find works just as well.
• Sunflower Oil: The balsamic vinaigrette is made with sunflower oil, which has a bit of a more neutral flavor than olive oil. Avocado oil makes a great substitute. That being said, you can use olive oil too, it just has a bit of a stronger taste to it.
• Balsamic Vinegar: Use a high quality balsamic vinegar that you enjoy the taste of.
• Dijon: You’ll need a little dash of dijon for the dressing. Regular mustard doesn’t work as a substitute.
• Honey: A bit of honey sweetens up the dressing just enough. You can use maple syrup instead if you prefer.

How To Make A Sweetgreen Harvest Bowl

Step 1: Add the sunflower oil, balsamic vinegar, dijon, honey and salt and pepper to a jar with a tight lid. Shake well to 15 seconds until the dressing is emulsified.

Step 2: Add the chicken, sweet potatoes, apples, goat cheese, almonds, wild rice and kale to your salad bowl. Drizzle the balsamic dressing on top of the salad, mix well and serve.

Variations

You can adjust your Harvest Bowl however you like. If there is an ingredient that you don’t like in this salad, try replacing it with something else. Here are some ideas for optional add-ins or substitutions:

• Sunflower or pumpkin seeds
• Arugula or spinach
• Feta cheese (instead of goat cheese)
• Brown rice or quinoa (instead of wild rice)
• Tofu (instead of chicken)
• Roasted chickpeas
• Pears

Expert Tips

• Shake the dressing well. For emulsified dressings, such as this vinaigrette, it is really important to shake the dressing vigorously. This helps create a creamy, thick dressing.
• Meal prep in advance. There are a lot of individual ingredients in this salad. I like to meal prep this salad in advance and use salad tupperware containers to store each serving in the fridge.
• Make it vegan. To make this Harvest Bowl vegan, replace the chicken with tofu. Leave out the goat cheese or use vegan cheese instead. Lastly, use maple syrup instead of honey in the balsamic vinaigrette.

Recipe FAQs

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