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This chicken rice bowl is loaded with sweet potatoes, crisp romaine, and pickled red onions, all drizzled with an herby Green Goddess Ranch! It’s a satisfying, meal-prep-friendly dinner.
Who doesn’t love a good bowl meal? Honestly I eat about 9 of 10 dinners right out of a bowl. This chicken rice bowl recipe is one of my new favorite ways to do it, inspired by my recent Sweetgreen order.
There’s tender sweet potato, hearty chicken, crunchy romaine and tangy pops of pickled red onions, all brought together by the creamy, herby Green Goddess Ranch dressing. I could eat it every night! This is a great dinner idea for meal prep where you make one or more components ahead, making it come together simply when you’re ready to eat.
What You’ll Need
For this rice bowl recipe, I modeled it loosely off of the Chicken Avocado Ranch bowl at Sweetgreen, but it’s my own creation. Here’s what you’ll need:
- Long grain white rice: You can cook the rice or even use packets of pre-cooked rice for ease of prep (I like the brand Seeds of Change). See below for rice variations.
- Roasted sweet potatoes: These add a heartiness that makes it a satisfying meal. I like to slice them into half-moons and make roasted sweet potatoes in advance. The half moon shape makes them a little bigger than diced, which I’ve found holds up better in the fridge.
- Cooked chicken: I use either Pan Seared Chicken or Air Fryer Chicken Breast. Leftover rotisserie chicken also works in a pinch, or even crockpot shredded chicken.
- Sauce: My Green Goddess Ranch sauce is creamy, herby, garlicky, and really makes the bowl sing. See below for sauce variations.
- Pickled red onions: These add the pop of brightness and acidity. I like making a jar of homemade pickled red onions for the week if I have time, but they’re also easy to find jarred at the store.
- Romaine, avocado, and tortilla chips round out the bowl.
Meal Prep Tips for This Chicken Rice Bowl
This rice bowl recipe is a little different from my other recipes: I wouldn’t make the entire recipe at once. Instead, I would recommend prepping at least one or two of these components in advance. Here are my tips:
- Roast the sweet potatoes up to 2 days ahead and refrigerate until ready to serve. I actually made them in my air fryer (recipe coming soon!).
- Cook the rice the day of, or make it in advance and reheat on the stovetop with a splash of water over low heat. You can also make Instant Pot Rice which is a nice hands off method.
- The easiest method for chicken is air fryer chicken, which is what I normally use for this bowl. You can also make pan seared chicken thighs which are just as delicious. Or even mix up this bowl with leftover chicken from another meal.
- The pickled red onions take only 30 minutes hands off, so it’s actually easy enough to get them going while you make the rest of the bowl components.
- The sauce is easy to make in advance or day of while the rice cooks. It’s just a matter of how easy you want the recipe to be! Of course, you can use a store-bought jarred sauce in a pinch to make this recipe come together super fast.
Variations & Substitutions
- Vary the sauce. For a similar dairy-free sauce, try my Cilantro Sauce. This bowl would also be great with many other sauces, like Tahini Sauce, Tzatziki Sauce, or even Chipotle Ranch.
- Swap the grain. Brown rice, quinoa, or farro would be great here; millet would even work.
- Go meatless. Skip the chicken and add a fried egg, baked tofu, or air fryer tofu.
- Add more protein. Add a scoop of cottage cheese, like my Veggie Protein Bowls.
Make Ahead & Storage
This bowl is one of my favorites for meal prep because the components store independently:
- Sweet potatoes: roast ahead and refrigerate up to 5 days (best within a few days).
- Rice: cook and refrigerate up to 4 days. Reheat with a splash of water.
- Chicken: refrigerate up to 4 days. Slice just before serving.
- Green Goddess Ranch: refrigerate up to 1 week.
- Pickled red onions: refrigerate up to 1 month.
Dietary Notes
This chicken rice bowl recipe is gluten-free. For dairy-free, use my Cilantro Sauce instead, which is cashew-based.
Chicken Rice Bowls (with Green Goddess Ranch!)
This chicken rice bowl is loaded with sweet potatoes, crisp romaine, and pickled red onions, all drizzled with an herby Green Goddess Ranch! It’s a satisfying, meal-prep-friendly dinner.
This recipe is about component cooking, so the links to the various components are below. Just open each in a new tab when you’re ready to cook!
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Total Time: 45 minutes
- Yield: 4 1x
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Gluten-Free
Ingredients
For the rice
- 1 cup long grain white rice (see Notes)
- 1¾ cups water
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
For the bowls
- 1 recipe Roasted Sweet Potatoes (made in advance if desired)
- 1 pound cooked chicken, like my Pan Seared Chicken or Air Fryer Chicken Breast (see Notes)
- 1 recipe Green Goddess Ranch
- 6 cups chopped romaine hearts
- 1 ripe avocado, sliced
- 1 recipe Pickled Red Onions (purchased or made in advance)
- 4 handfuls crushed tortilla chips (optional)
Instructions
- Cook the sweet potatoes. Slice the potatoes into half-moons about 1/4-inch thick and make Roasted Sweet Potatoes. I like cooking them in advance, then refrigerating 1 to 2 days until serving (or up to 5 days).
- Cook the rice. Rinse the rice in cold water in a fine mesh strainer, then shake dry. Add the water to a pot and bring to a boil. Add the rice and salt, bring back to a boil, then reduce the heat to low and cover. Simmer for 12 to 15 minutes, until the water is completely absorbed (test by pulling back the rice with a fork). Remove from the heat, keep covered, and let rest for 10 minutes. (If you cook the rice in advance, heat it back up in a pot with a splash of water on low heat. It lasts 5 days refrigerated.)
- Cook the chicken. Use Pan Seared Chicken or Air Fryer Chicken Breast: both work great here.
- Make the sauce. Make the Green Goddess Ranch — it is also easy to prep ahead and will keep refrigerated for up to 1 week.
- Assemble the bowls. Place the chopped romaine in a bowl. Add rice, then top with roasted sweet potatoes, chicken, avocado slices, and pickled red onions. Add a handful of crushed tortilla chips if desired. Drizzle generously with Green Goddess Ranch and serve.
Notes
- Shredded chicken variation: You can also make this with shredded chicken, like my Crockpot Shredded Chicken (my favorite), Instant Pot Shredded Chicken, or Stovetop Shredded Chicken.
- Protein variations: Instead of chicken, use Baked Tofu, Air Fryer Tofu, Baked Salmon or Sauteed Shrimp.
- Grain variations: Try Brown Rice, Farro, Quinoa or even Millet.
