The Best Harvest Bowl Recipe

This harvest bowl recipe is a sweetgreen 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 the arrival of fall, I am craving soups and roasted vegetables like brussels sprouts and sweet potatoes. This harvest bowl recipe incorporates a lot of my favorite fall flavors in one meal that is not only healthy but gluten-free too. While there are a few different components to create these bowls, they come together quickly and can easily be meal prepped in advance. 

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

Ingredients for Harvest Bowls

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

Wild Rice: for quicker prep, we like to use those convenient microwavable pouches. Of course, you can also meal prep a batch of wild rice in advance. If you don’t want to add rice, you can substitute it with quinoa, brown rice, or farro. 

Chicken: rotisserie chicken or grilled chicken make for easier prep. If you don’t have cooked chicken, you can also roast it at the same time as the veggies. I usually reach for pre-marinated boneless, skinless chicken breasts since 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 sweet potatoes in these harvest bowls. (Not to mention, sweet potatoes are loaded with antioxidants, vitamin A, vitamin C, and potassium.) You can substitute with butternut squash if you prefer. 

Brussels sprouts: For a heartier bowl that is also packed with fiber, we like to roast some brussels sprouts as well. Just roast them alongside the sweet potato. 

Herbs (Rosemary, Thyme): this combo of herbs adds delicious flavor to the roasted veggies. 

Kale: this hearty green makes a great base that is loaded with vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants for these harvest bowls. 

Crisp Apple: we love the crunch and sweetness of apples in these bowls. Our favorite variety of apples to use include: honeycrisp, gala, pink lady, or fuji. If you would like to add more sweetness to your bowls, dried cranberries are also delicious.

Almonds: speaking of crunch, slivered almonds also add a delightful crunch to these sweetgreen copycat harvest bowls. You can substitute with a different nut or seed – we recommend walnuts, pecans, pistachios, or pepitas.

Feta or Goat Cheese: for a bit of creaminess, add a sprinkle of feta cheese or crumbled goat cheese to the top of your sweetgreen harvest bowls. 

Olive Oil: you’ll need olive oil for the roasted veggies as well as the vinaigrette.

Balsamic Vinegar: add flavor to the vinaigrette. 

Variations

Swap the Protein: don’t have chicken on hand to make these harvest bowls? You can easily substitute the chicken for 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 the balsamic vinaigrette on these bowls, but we also enjoy it with the dressing from this chicken and wild rice salad or a simple tahini dressing.

Switch the Kale for Another Green: if you aren’t a fan of kale, you can build this harvest bowl on top of another leafy green veggie – try spinach, arugula, or spring mix. 

Make it Dairy Free: omit the goat cheese. 

Make it Vegan: omit the chicken and replace with cooked tofu or canned beans like chickpeas or white beans. You should also skip the cheese, but can substitute 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 put together in a few steps.

Roast the Veggies: Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Spray a large rimmed baking sheet with non-stick cooking spray (or line with parchment paper). Place Brussels sprouts and sweet potatoes on baking sheet. Drizzle with the olive oil, sprinkle with rosemary, thyme, salt and pepper to taste and toss. Bake in a preheated oven 25-35 minutes or until crispy, browned and fork tender. The total time for roasting may vary based on the size of your veggie pieces. 

Make the Wild Rice & Chicken: While the veggies are roasting in the oven, make the wild rice according to package directions. Chop the cooked chicken into bite size pieces. 

Make the Balsamic Dressing: Make the dressing 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: Among four shallow bowls divide the kale, cooked rice blend, sweet potatoes and Brussels sprouts, cooked chicken, apples, almonds and cheese. Whisk dressing again then divide dressing among the four bowls.

Tools You’ll Need

Baking sheet

Chef’s knife

Cutting board

Measuring cups

Can I Meal Prep Harvest Bowls?

Yes, one of the things I love about these harvest bowls is that the components can easily be prepped in advance. It makes it so quick and easy to assemble on busy nights. The chicken, veggies, and rice can all be cooked 2-3 in advance and stored in airtight containers in the fridge.

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

You can also make the balsamic vinaigrette up to a week in advance. Just store in a jar or dressing container in the fridge until ready to use. 

Storage

If you meal prep any of the components of these bowls in advance (ie. chicken, wild rice, roasted veggies), they can be stored in the fridge for up to 3 days.

Assembled bowls can be stored in the fridge for 2-3 days in an airtight container. They transport well so these harvest bowls are great for packing for work or school.