Dinner, Recipes

Copycat SweetGreen Harvest Bowl

Save money and make this riff on a Sweetgreen Harvest Bowl. Kale, warm wild rice, roasted sweet potatoes, apples, goat cheese, and pecans, this bowl is tossed in a creamy balsamic dressing. Delicious, homemade, & substantially more affordable!

Miami is sometimes late in the game in having restaurants come our way. I had heard about SweetGreen for some time and we were to get it, but then the pandemic hit. Needless to say, we now have SweetGreen and I finally got to try it! Known for their salads and bowls, they are bringing ‘fast food’ to you in a healthier way with real ingredients. The bowl I had was quite delicious. It’s just one of the reasons I love eating out: sampling dishes and trying to recreate them at home! Which is what I did!

And speaking of Miami being late to the game for acquiring new restaurants, I might have to retract that. Recently there have been a slew of restaurants opening up. I’ve started my list of the ones that I want to try! Lion and the Rambler, Luca Osteria, and Krus Kitchen are just a few to get me started! Tasting new dishes allows me the inspiration to create new dishes of my own. Just like this Copycat SweetGreen Harvest Bowl. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do!

ingredients in bowls: kale, wild rice, sweet potato, pecans, goat cheese, apple chunks, balsamic vinaigrett

Ingredients: SweetGreen Harvest Bowl

Roasted Sweet Potato – Recommend roasting a few sweet potatoes up for the week to have on hand. Do not recommend boiling them. They heat up well, although are better fresh. Since this is all mixed together you’ll never know the difference. Prep in advance.
Wild Rice – Aiming for a whole grain here, this is a great way to use brown rice, quinoa, or wild rice. Use what grain you might be making for the week and make a little extra. My foolproof method for making brown rice is how I made the wild rice.
Kale – This is one way I like to use curly kale vs dinosaur kale. You’ll be massaging the kale with the salad dressing to make it more tender. Curly kale is more affordable (volume wise) than dinosaur kale. However, use the one you prefer.
Goat Cheese – In this bowl/salad, I used goat cheese and pecans for my protein and omitted the chicken. That means I used more than maybe you’ll need, however, you be the judge.
Apple – Crisp and sweet are the apples I recommend here: Gala, HoneyCrisp, Rome. If you prefer a more tart apple, have at it.
Maple-Glazed Pecans – In my picture I used just plain old pecans, but I must say if I had my maple-glazed pecans on hand, that would surely take this salad/bowl up a notch! Note to self – make sure to always have maple-glazed pecans in the fridge!
*Grilled Chicken – SweetGreen used chicken as their animal protein for the bowl. The bowl/salad was hearty enough for me with just the goat cheese and pecans. Complemented with the rest of my lunch, it filled me up (and gave me enough protein!)
Balsamic Vinaigrette – My go-to salad dressing and one I have on hand at all times.

How To Make SweetGreen’s Harvest Bowl

Make the balsamic vinaigrette – As I mentioned above, this is a staple in my house and great to have on hand for this salad/bowl or any other salad you might have for the week: Heirloom Tomato Salad, Fig, Arugula Burrata Salad, or just an average everyday salad.
Preheat the oven to 400. Wash and cut the sweet potato in half lengthwise. Cut each half lengthwise one more time, and then cut into small cubes. Add the sweet potatoes to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Spray with a little oil and season with pepper. Roast for 15 minutes, flip and then roast for 15 more minutes (cook time will vary on size of sweet potato chunks!)
Cook your wild rice (or whole grain of choice). The perfect brown rice method is great for the whole grains and doesn’t require measuring the water out. Try it!
Wash the kale and remove the stems. Tear/Cut the leaves into thin bite sizes pieces.
Cut your cooked chicken (if using) and apple. Grab your goat cheese and pecans.
When the sweet potatoes and wild rice are done cooking, it’s time to assemble! Start with about 1-2 cups of kale and drizzle 1-2 tablespoons of the dressing. Massage the dressing into the kale (your hands will get messy, but it’ll be well worth it!).
Next, add 1/3 cup of wild rice, and as much chicken, apples, goat cheese, and pecans as you prefer (I gave some amounts as a guide, but know that portions will vary from person to person!)
Eat and enjoy!
Store your ingredients separately and assemble your salad each day of the week.

OTHER LUNCH IDEAS

kale, wild rice, roasted sweet potatoes, cut apple chunks, goat cheese, and balsamic vinaigrette on a plate

Copycat SweetGreen Harvest Bowl

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5 from 1 review

Print Recipe

Total Time: 35 minutes
Yield: 1 1x

Ingredients

Units Scale

2 cups kale
1/3 cup wild rice, cooked
1/3 cup roasted sweet potato
1/2 apple, diced
2 tablespoons goat cheese
1 tablespoon pecan pieces
1–2 tablespoons balsamic vinaigrette

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Instructions

Make balsamic vinaigrette.
Preheat the oven to 400. Wash and cut the sweet potato in half lengthwise. Cut each half lengthwise one more time, and then cut into small cubes/chunks. Add the sweet potatoes to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Spray with a little oil and season with pepper. Roast for 15 minutes, flip and then roast for 15 more minutes (cook time will vary on size of sweet potato chunks!)
Cook your wild rice (or whole grain of choice). The perfect brown rice method is great for the whole grains and doesn’t require measuring the water out. Try it!
Wash the kale and remove the stems. Tear/Cut the leaves into thin bite sizes pieces.
Cut your cooked chicken (if using) and apple. Grab your goat cheese and pecans.
Assemble. When the sweet potatoes and wild rice are done cooking, it’s time to assemble! Start with about 1-2 cups of kale and drizzle 1-2 tablespoons of the dressing. Massage the dressing into the kale (your hands will get messy, but it’ll be well worth it!).
Add 1/3 cup of wild rice, and as much chicken, apples, goat cheese, and pecans as you prefer (I gave some amounts as a guide, but know that portions will vary from person to person!)
Eat and enjoy!
Store your ingredients separately and assemble your salad each day of the week.