Sweetgreen Harvest Bowl Copycat Recipe

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This easy Sweetgreen Harvest Bowl copycat recipe brings one of our favorite salads to life at home! It features fresh kale, warm wild rice, roasted sweet potatoes and chicken breast, crunchy apples and almonds, and creamy goat cheese or avocado all served with a balsamic vinaigrette dressing.

An overhead shot of two bowls filled with the harvest bowl salad with a small container of dressing to the side.

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Why You’ll Love This Recipe
Ingredient Notes
Equipment You’ll Need
Step by Step Directions
Tips & Variations
FAQ
Sweetgreen Harvest Bowl Copycat Recipe

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

Sweetgreen is a fast, casual restaurant with hundreds of locations across the US that serves delicious salads and warm grain bowls. Sweetgreen's Harvest Bowl is one of their most popular salads (it is our favorite thing on the menu!). If you don't have a Sweetgreen near you, or simply would like to make your own at home, this copycat version of their harvest bowl salad is a great way to satisfy your Sweetgreen craving! Whether you've become a regular or it's your first time trying this fan favorite salad, it may just become one of your favorite new recipes.
This big salad is filled with seasonal ingredients such as apple, sweet potato, and kale making the perfect fall salad.
We include an easy homemade Sweetgreen balsamic vinaigrette recipe that is absolutely perfect for this salad.
This harvest bowl Sweetgreen recipe is a great option for meal prep. All of the components store well and make for an easy lunch or dinner the next day too.

Ingredient Notes

Ingredients needed for Sweetgreen Harvest Bowl copycat recipe: chicken breasts, kale, wild rice, salt, sweet potato, apple, almonds, olive oil, and avocado (or goat cheese). — Please note the ingredients for the dressing are not shown in this photo.

You will need the following ingredients to make this salad.

Salad ingredients:

Cooked wild rice or brown rice - it isn't a warm grain bowl without some type of warm whole grain! Sweetgreen uses warm wild rice for their harvest bowl which we mimic in this recipe. We find that wild rice can take awhile to cook, so we like to buy the frozen precooked wild rice at Trader Joe's—all you have to do is pop it in the microwave for a few minutes and you're ready to go! If you don't like wild rice, you can swap it for brown rice or quinoa depending on your preference.
Chicken breasts - you will need two to three large chicken breasts for this recipe which provides lean proteins. We recommend butterflying each chicken breast to reduce the cook time and help it cook more evenly. Next, season with sea salt and pepper (you could even throw on a little garlic powder if you'd like) and then bake! You can always use pieces of rotisserie chicken for a quicker option.
A sweet potato - one medium sweet potato will be plenty for this recipe. To keep true to the Sweetgreen harvest salad, we cut the potato into thin rounds and then quarter each round. Add it to a baking sheet with a little bit of olive oil, salt, and pepper and roast at the same time as the chicken.
Chopped kale - while there are several different varieties of kale (curly leaf kale, baby kale, lacinato kale, etc.), the one most commonly found at the grocery store is the curly leaf kale, which we will use for this recipe. You can buy pre-chopped kale to speed up the preparation for this recipe, but we prefer to buy an individual bunch of kale and prepare it ourselves. This is because we are able to remove the tough ribs of the kale that make it difficult to chew and cut the kale into smaller pieces. We prefer to cut our kale so that it is more shredded than chopped. We also like to take the extra step to massage kale—it helps to break down the fibers in the kale to make it easier to chew and digest.
An apple - we prefer to use Pink Lady or Honey Crisp apples for this recipe. They are more crisp and tart than other varieties. If you have the tradition of apple picking each fall, you can also use one of the apples that you picked for this recipe!
Roasted and salted almonds - chop up the almonds and use them to top the salad. They are the perfect addition for a little bit of saltiness and crunch.
Goat cheese or avocado - the harvest bowl at Sweetgreen traditionally uses creamy goat cheese as a topping. If you aren't a fan of goat cheese, try swapping it for avocado to achieve a similar creaminess.

For the salad dressing:

Olive oil or avocado oil - either will work!
Balsamic vinegar - if you can use a high-quality balsamic vinegar, it will make it taste even better! You can use a regular balsamic or a white balsamic (as shown in the pictures).
Minced garlic and sea salt - both enhance the flavor of the dressing. For ease, you can buy pre-minced garlic.
Pure maple syrup or honey - adds the perfect sweetness to tie the ingredients together.

See the recipe card below for a complete list of ingredients and measurements.

Equipment You’ll Need

Cutting board and knife
Baking sheet lined with parchment paper or aluminum foil
Measuring cups and spoons
Large bowl

Step by Step Directions

For the full recipe instructions, scroll down to the recipe card at the bottom of the page.

A parchment-lined baking sheet with pieces of sweet potato.

Step 1: If you are not using microwavable pouches for the rice, start the rice first as it takes the longest to cook. Follow the directions listed on the package of rice.

Step 2: Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Next, prepare the roasted sweet potatoes and chicken. Peeling the sweet potato is optional. Cut the sweet potato into thin rounds, no thicker than ¼ inch thick. Cut each round into quarters. Place the sweet potatoes on a parchment-lined baking sheet and season with a little bit of olive oil, salt, and pepper.

A parchment-lined 8x10 baking dish with raw, seasoned chicken breasts.

Step 3: Next, butterfly each chicken breast, season with salt and pepper, and place in a parchment-lined 8x10 pan. Place the baking sheet and the baking dish side-by-side in the oven and roast for 15-20 minutes, or until the potatoes are soft and the chicken reaches an internal temperature of 165 degrees Fahrenheit. Let the chicken rest for 5 minutes before cutting. Once cool, cut the chicken into small cubes (bite-sized pieces).

An assembled harvest bowl and balsamic dressing being drizzled over the top of the salad.

Step 4: While the potatoes and chicken are cooking, begin to prepare the kale. Remove the tough ribs and chop into fine shreds. Place into a large serving bowl and massage for 1-2 minutes to help tenderize the kale. Chop the apple and roasted almonds. Prepare the goat cheese if using, or dice the avocado.

Step 5: Measure and add all dressing ingredients to a dressing bottle and mix well.

Step 6: Assemble the salad in one large bowl or as individual portions. Add the warm wild rice, chicken, sweet potatoes, apples, almonds, and goat cheese or avocado on top of the kale. Top with your preferred amount of dressing and enjoy!

Tips & Variations

If you are anticipating that you will have leftovers, we would recommend to add dressing to each individual portion to prevent the salad from getting soggy while sitting in the fridge overnight.
You can mix up the seasonal produce in the salad with butternut squash or roasted Brussels sprouts for some other great fall flavors.
If you aren't a fan of kale, feel free to swap it out for Spring mix, spinach, or arugula.
If you prefer a creamy balsamic vinaigrette, try adding 1 tsp of Dijon mustard to the dressing.
Sweetgreen is also known for their hot sauce on salads and bowls. If you are a fan of spice, you can try adding a touch of your favorite hot sauce.

An overhead shot of an assembled harvest bowl.

FAQ

How should I store leftovers?

If you put the salad together in one large serving bowl, simply cover the bowl with a lid, aluminum foil, or plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator. If you prepared individual portions, we would recommend storing the ingredients in separate containers. You can put the rice, chicken, and potatoes together in one airtight container so you can warm them up all together. We would recommend adding the apples, avocado/goat cheese, and almonds fresh the next day. Consume within 4-5 days.

Is it (GF/DF/V/VG)?

This recipe is gluten-free and dairy-free. For a vegetarian option, simply remove the chicken. For a vegan option, remove the chicken, use maple syrup instead of honey in the dressing, and use avocado instead of goat cheese. You could even swap the chicken with roasted chickpeas (roast them on the same pan as the sweet potatoes) for some additional protein.

If you like this recipe, check out some of our other delicious recipes!

If you make this copycat Sweetgreen Harvest Bowl recipe, please let us know how it turns out in the comments below and/or rate the recipe! Don’t forget to tag us on Instagram to show us your finished product—it makes our day every time we see you trying the recipes we love!