Fall Harvest Bowl (Sweetgreen-Inspired!)

Embrace all that fall has to offer when you make this Sweetgreen-inspired harvest bowl featuring fall favorites like apples, sweet potatoes, brussels sprouts, and celery. Tossed together with a tangy balsamic vinaigrette – there’s a lot to love in these bowls!

This post is sponsored by Dandy® Fresh Produce. 

As a dietitian and plant-based eater, I love restaurants where you can build your own salad (like Sweetgreen). The only problem is that they can really add up if I make it a habit! Luckily, you can make a similar harvest bowl at home for a fraction of the cost but still just as delicious. 

If you haven’t been adding celery to your salads or grain bowls yet, this is your sign to finally give it a try! I love the added crunch of fresh celery in these bowls; it pairs well flavor-wise with the apple and adds another texture on top of the other chewy elements. My go-to celery for these bowls (and any recipe) is Dandy® fresh-cut celery. I love it because it’s naturally sweeter, crispier, and less stringy than other brands on the grocery store shelves!

Why You’ll Love These Bowls

• Good for You: if you’re on a mission to add more vegetables to your diet, these bowls are the perfect recipe to help you accomplish that. Noshing on one of these harvest bowls provides you with fiber, antioxidants, and plant-based protein. 
• Meal Prep Friendly: many elements of these bowls can be meal prepped in advance and stored in the fridge until you are actually ready to assemble and eat your bowls.
• Easy to Customize: make this recipe as written or get creative and roast up other veggies that you have on hand. You can even experiment with different dressings, grains, or toppings.

Ingredients You’ll Need for Your Harvest Bowls

Here’s a quick rundown of the main ingredients you’ll need for this easy salad recipe. See the recipe card at the bottom of the post for the specific amounts of each ingredient you’ll need. 

• Fall Veggies: I roasted up sweet potato and brussels sprouts for these bowls since they cook up in the same amount of time in the oven – you can just toss them onto the same tray to bake. If you’re looking for other veggies to try, here are a few other that I like in these bowls: broccoli, butternut squash, delicata squash, cauliflower
• Wild rice: for convenience sake, I like to use the microwavable pouches of pre-cooked wild rice but you can use the dried pantry staple too, you’ll just need to account for the cooking time (that’s a great thing to cook in advance if you can!). 
• Celery: for added crunch, chop up some Dandy® fresh-cut celery, I love the flavor combo of the celery with the apple in these bowls. 
• Kale: you’ll use some massaged kale to be the base of your bowls. I usually pick up the curly variety but lacinato kale is great too. You can also swap it out for lettuce if you’re not a fan of kale. 
• Chickpeas: I always keep my pantry stocked with a few cans of beans since they’re such an easy way to add protein (and fiber!) to any meal. You don’t have to use chickpeas either, you can easily swap with a different bean or lentils or tofu.
• Balsamic Vinaigrette: to bring it all together, you’ll top your bowls with a simple balsamic vinaigrette made from olive oil, balsamic vinegar, dijon mustard, and maple syrup.

Variations

Use a Different Grain: I like using wild rice, which is what they typically use in the Sweetgreen bowls. However, you can easily substitute with another grain of your choice like quinoa, brown rice, farro, or barley.

Swap out the Dressing: I love the sweet-tangy flavor of balsamic vinaigrette, but if that’s not your thing, you can swap it out for another dressing option. Try this lemon dijon dressing or this tahini sauce.  

Try Other Toppings: you can easily substitute the feta and almonds for other cheese and nuts if you’d like. Crumbled goat cheese and parmesan are delicious options. If you don’t have almonds, you could also try walnuts, pumpkin seeds, or pistachios.

How to Make Vegan Harvest Bowls

1. Roast the Veggies: Place Brussels sprouts and sweet potatoes in a bowl. Drizzle with the olive oil, sprinkle with rosemary, thyme, salt and pepper to taste and toss. Spread on a baking sheet and bake for 25-35 minutes or until browned.
2. Make the Wild Rice: While the veggies are roasting in the oven, make the wild rice according to package directions. I usually use 1 package for 4 bowls. 
3. Make the Dressing: Make the dressing by adding all the ingredients to a jar and shaking to combine.
4. Assemble: In shallow bowls divide the kale, wild rice blend, sweet potatoes and Brussels sprouts, chickpeas, apples, celery, almonds and feta. Drizzle with dressing and serve.

Meal Prep and Storage

Meal Prep: You can meal prep different elements of these bowls and store them in the fridge separately, or it is hearty enough to assemble completely and store in the fridge in meal prep containers. If you want to get a head start on making these bowls, you can roast the sweet potatoes and brussels sprouts in advance, cook the wild rice, and make the dressing. Store in the fridge for 2-3 days before combining with the rest of the salad ingredients.

Storage: once assembled, you can store this salad in the fridge in an airtight container for up to 4 days. They make a great packable lunch option!

The post Fall Harvest Bowl (Sweetgreen-Inspired!) appeared first on Dietitian Debbie Dishes.