When you're craving a sweetgreen harvest bowl and can't get to one, here's your opportunity to make the salad at home. Chocked full of kale, warm wild rice, sweet potatoes, apples, goat cheese, and almonds, this salad is tossed in a creamy and tangy balsamic dressing.
I'm a total sweetgreen fan girl, one of their OG customers actually, who used to take a mental health day to stroll down the streets of Georgetown to join other people doing adulty things like eating a salad by the water. Their original storefront was absolutely adorable. The Harvest Bowl salad has always been my favorite, so it's no surprise I would want to do a copycat harvest bowl recipe.
What's Not to Love About the Harvest Bowl?
- Packed full of healthy, whole ingredients. It's got kale, sweet potatoes, wild rice, apples, almonds...packed full of only the good stuff. It's also hearty, so you feel full after eating it unlike some salads.
- The balsamic dressing will be your go-to dressing. Anytime I need a quick balsamic vinegar, I use this one. It's creamy thanks to Greek yogurt, making a tangy coating for the salad.
- Double the recipe and eat it all week. It's not the fastest recipe to make, but it's 100% worth it. I always double the recipe so I can eat the Harvest Bowl for lunches.
- So much cheaper. I love sweetgreen, but their salads can get expensive. This one is made much cheaper and can feed the whole family.
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Harvest Bowl Ingredients
Here's what you'll need to make this sweetgreen harvest bowl dupe:
- Kale: I love buying the pre-washed, pre-cut kale to make my life easier.
- Wild rice: I prefer Lundberg's Family Farm organic wild rice. It's got a nice bite to it and never turns out mushy.
- Chicken breast: Feel free to use whatever your favorite chicken is -- chicken thighs, breasts, etc. or use rotisserie chicken for even easier prep.
- Umami, olive oil, salt and pepper: The umami adds a little bit of flavor to the chicken breast.
- Sweet potatoes: I roast simply with salt, pepper, and olive oil.
- Apples: Use whatever apples you love. Fall is the perfect time to make this salad but apples are now delicious year-round.
- Goat cheese: a nice cheddar is also delicious. The cheese gets slightly warm when the wild rice and chicken is added. That's my favorite part!
- Almonds: You could also sub in pistachios or walnuts.
For the dressing you'll need:
- Greek yogurt: I prefer to use 0% Greek yogurt because it's thinner. Allow the Greek yogurt to sit out on the counter for a bit while getting everything else together.
- Dijon mustard: For a little zip.
- Balsamic vinegar: Use the best quality vinegar you have. It really does make a big difference.
- Honey: just a touch of sweetness to balance out the vinegar.
- Lemon: for freshness
- Olive oil: Feel free to use another oil like sunflower or avocado oil if you prefer.
worn slap out? Try these Time-Saving tips!
- Buy the microwaveable wild rice that heats in the microwave for 90 seconds. It's a lot faster than the 45 minutes it takes to make wild rice on the stove top.
- Buy pre-cut sweet potatoes. Our Whole Foods carries cubed sweet potatoes. Easy peasy, lemon squeezy.
- Use rotisserie chicken instead of roasting your own chicken.
- Buy pre-washed, pre-chopped kale.
- Use a store-bought balsamic vinaigrette. There's no shame in that game.
Sweetgreen's harvest bowl dressing
Within the last year, sweetgreen changed their balsamic dressing recipe. It's much thinner now because they're using only oil rather than Greek yogurt. I'm an OG girl though, so I prefer the creaminess of this dressing.
Aside from the Greek yogurt (I use 0% fat), you'll need a good quality balsamic vinegar, Dijon mustard, honey, lemon, salt, pepper, and olive oil. The yogurt gives the dressing a creaminess that's unmatched, the Dijon a little kick, the honey some sweetness, and the lemon more freshness.
Storage & Meal Prep
This salad is delicious for leftovers. If you're saving this for a another meal at home, I recommend storing the kale in a separate container in the fridge with a paper towel inside to reduce any moisture. Cut the apples just before serving again.
If you're meal prepping, place all of the ingredients together (with the exception of the apple and the dressing) in individual containers. The salad will stay fresh for 3-4 days.
Other Favorite Salad Recipes You Don't Want to Miss
- Copycat Chick-Fil-A Superfood Kale Salad
- Copycat Cosi Signature Salad with Sherry Shallot Vinaigrette - the second most popular salad we eat in our house!
- Peach Burrata Salad with Pecans and Balsamic Glaze - the easiest summertime salad.
- Strawberry Caprese Salad with Balsamic Dressing -- the same dressing as this sweetgreen salad!
Sweetgreen Harvest Bowl Calories
I'm not a calorie counter by any means, but I know this is a popular question. According to sweetgreen's online menu, the Harvest Bowl has 740 calories.
xox,
kathryn
As always, if you make anything from the blog, be sure to let me know! I love hearing from you in the comments on this post below or find Worn Slap Out on Facebook, Instagram, or Pinterest!
Sweetgreen's Harvest Bowl Recipe
Ingredients
For the salad:
- 8 cups kale deveined, washed and chopped
- 2 cups wild rice cooked
- 2 cups chicken breast cooked and cubed
- 1 teaspoon umami seasoning
- 1 Tablespoon olive oil
- 1 cup sweet potatoes roasted in cubes
- 1 cup apples chopped
- ¼ cup goat cheese crumbled
- ¼ cup almonds chopped
For the dressing:
- ½ cup plain Greek yogurt (I use 0% fat)
- ¼ cup balsamic vinegar
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- 1 teaspoon honey
- juice from half a lemon
- ¼ tsp. salt
- ⅛ tsp. freshly ground black pepper
- 2 Tablespoons olive oil
Instructions
For the salad
- First, get your wild rice cooking according to package directions. I like to use chicken stock instead of water to give the wild rice more flavor.
- Preheat oven to 375˚F. Line a two large baking sheets with parchment paper. Add your chicken breasts on one baking sheet and your sweet potatoes on the other. Toss the sweet potatoes with olive oil and generously salt and pepper both the chicken and sweet potatoes. Sprinkle umami seasoning on the chicken breasts (optional). Roast both sheets for 30 minutes or until the chicken reaches an internal temperature of 165˚F.
- Meanwhile, chop the kale, apples, and almonds. Set aside.
For the dressing:
- In a small bowl, combine all of the dressing ingredients except the olive oil. Using a whisk, slowly add the olive oil while whisking vigorously.
- Combine all salad ingredients in a large bowl. Pour dressing over the salad, toss, and enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
Annemarie says
What brand wild rice do you use?
Kathryn says
I'm a bit snobby with my wild rice preference. I only really like Lundberg wild rice. I can get it at Safeway or Whole Foods around me!
Kami Stewart says
This sounds amazing. I’ve been dreaming about SweetGreen since I visited one in LA. Can’t get it near me, so I’m totally making this.
We also tried a bowl or salad that had a pesto dressing…not sure what that one was called, but it was SO good!
Kathryn says
Ooooh yes -- I think that's the vinaigrette they pair with the chicken pesto parm! I love that place. Hope you give this Harvest Bowl a try at home!
Erin says
This was a 10/10! SO similar to the original, and it makes my heart happy not to pay $15 per salad 🙂 thanks for putting this together!
Kathryn says
Yay! It's our favorite around here -- and I love not paying $15 per bowl, too! 🙂 I make a double-batch and eat it for a couple of meals, too!
Olivia Morgan says
This salad is so good
Kathryn says
Isn't it?! I'm so glad you love it, too, Olivia!
<3,
Kathryn
Alyssa Payne says
I would love to know what seasonings to use for the chicken and sweet potato! What would you recommend??
Kathryn says
Hi Alyssa! 90% of the time I just use salt and pepper (lots of pepper!) before roasting the chicken in the oven. Sometimes I'll add either garlic powder or umami seasoning I get at Trader Joe's! Garlic powder and smoked paprika are also great together.
<3,
Kathryn
Kat says
I know I'm late to this, but did you ever find a dairy free way to make the dressing? My wife is allergic to dairy, but I'm obsessed with this salad
Kathryn says
Sorry it's taken me so long, Kat. Replace the yogurt with about 1/3 cup of sunflower oil or avocado oil. Use an immersion blender to mix and voila!
Jen says
I’ve made this several times, and also use the dressing in a separate salad I make with candied pecans, apples and dried cherries. Love it! Thank you!
Kathryn says
Yay! So glad you love it, Jen! I make the dressing for a lot of different salads, too!
<3, Kathryn
Erika says
Tastes just like Sweetgreen’s harvest bowl, but better! Simple and delicious!
Kathryn says
Awww gee, Erika! Thanks so much! I had this salad today for lunch actually, too!
<3, Kathryn