Crispy Rice Bowl (Sweetgreen Dupe)

The Crispy Rice Bowl at sweetgreen is my personal favorite. It's made with arugula, wild rice, blackened chicken, fresh veggies, seasoned crispy rice, and a delicious spicy cashew dressing. Since sweetgreen is pretty expensive, we decided to make our own at home!

This recipe is perfect for meal prep, and will save you money!

It's cliché to call a recipe addictive, but I really can't stop making these bowls. There are a decent amount of components, but everything is pretty easy to make. The chicken is marinated in a spiced oil-balsamic mixture, then grilled until slightly charred.

Wild rice is cooked in broth for extra flavor, then puffed rice is toasted with soy sauce and spices. Carrot, cucumber, and cabbage add freshness, while toasted almonds add crunch.

The whole thing is then topped with a spicy and creamy cashew dressing. There's a reason why this is one of sweetgreen's most popular bowls and one of our most requested recipes!

If you're looking for more sweetgreen dupes, check out the super delicious Hot Honey Chicken Plate Dupe.

Jump to:

• Crispy Rice Bowl Ingredients
• Ingredient Spotlight
• How to Make this Crispy Rice Bowl Recipe
• Substitutions and Variations
• Storage
• Tips and FAQ
• Top tip
• More copycat recipes
• 📖 Recipe
• 💬 Reviews

Crispy Rice Bowl Ingredients

For the bowl

• Blackened chicken: We used chicken breasts instead of the thighs that Sweetgreen uses, but you can use either based on your personal preference. The chicken is marinated in a blend of olive oil, balsamic, salt, pepper, red pepper flakes, cumin, coriander, and chili powder.
• Wild rice: There are a few varieties of wild rice out there, and we recommend avoiding the rice that's entirely purple grains - it can be a bit tough. Try using a wild rice blend instead, like this one from Lundberg.
• Puffed rice: We used puffed brown rice which you can find in the cereal aisle. Nature's Path and Arrowhead Mills both make a good product. In a pinch, you could try Rice Krispies, but they definitely don't taste as good or have as much crunch as the higher-quality stuff.
• Almonds: We used raw almonds and toasted them. You could also use whatever nuts you prefer, like pecans, walnuts, or cashews.
• Arugula: Arugula is our salad base of choice, but you can also use spinach or romaine.
• Lime: This is squeezed atop the salad once it's done for an extra touch of freshness and acidity.
• Carrots, cabbage, and cucumbers: These are all added raw to the bowl, and they add freshness and crunch. You could also use pickled vegetables or a different assortment of vegetables.
• Cilantro: We add a sprig atop the finished bowl for garnish. You can leave it out if you don't care for cilantro. It's also added to the dressing.

For the dressing

• Kosher salt: Make sure you're using kosher salt, not table salt, or your dressing will be too salty! Lower the quantity we put in the recipe card if you're using table salt.
• Garlic: This goes into the dressing raw, but you could also use roasted garlic or garlic powder for a milder and sweeter flavor.
• Cilantro: This adds freshness and a green tint to the dressing. You can leave it out if you really don't like cilantro, or replace it with parsley.
• Sesame oil: We love using toasted sesame oil in the dressing – it adds a lot more flavor. But if you can't find any, regular sesame oil is perfectly find!
• Ginger: Fresh ginger adds lots of flavor to the dressing, but you can always use powdered if you don't have any.
• Rice wine vinegar: You should be able to find this at any grocery store, but if not, feel free to use red wine vinegar or apple cider vinegar instead. Regular white vinegar might be a bit too acidic.
• Maple syrup: This adds sweetness and balances out the heat in the dressing. Use agave or honey if you don't have any maple syrup.
• Red chili flakes: If you don't like spice, GO LIGHT on the red pepper flakes. Seriously, this dressing is supposed to be spicy, and it is written as such, so don't go overboard if you don't like spice.
• Cashews: We soaked raw, unsalted cashews in hot water for 30 minutes to make sure that they're soft enough to blend.
• Lime juice: Use freshly squeezed if possible.
• Water: This will thin out the dressing. You can add more if your finished dressing is too thick for your liking.

Ingredient Spotlight

There's an official recipe for the creamy cashew dressing that's been put out there by Sweetgreen, and we tried it and it wasn't... quite right. We opted for soaked cashews instead of cashew butter in this recipe because our cashew butter versions were a bit too thick. Here are some tips to make sure your cashews blend up nice and creamy:

• Soak them for a few hours in room temp water or in hot tap water (as hot as you can get it) for 30-45 minutes, swapping out the water halfway.
• Don't use roasted cashews - they won't absorb moisture as well as raw ones.

How to Make this Crispy Rice Bowl Recipe

STEP 1: Marinate the chicken. In a mixing bowl, combine olive oil and balsamic vinegar, and add in all the spices. Whisk to combine, then toss in the chicken and use tongs to get them evenly coated. Cover with plastic wrap and move to the fridge to marinate for 30 minutes to 2 hours.

STEP 2: Get your cashews soaking. Pour hot tap water over your cashews and soak for as long as you marinate your chicken, 30 minutes to 2 hours. Swap your water out with fresh hot water halfway through soaking.

STEP 3: Start cooking your rice. Add rice, chicken or vegetable broth, and olive oil to a pot, bring to a bowl, then cover and lower to a simmer for 40-45 minutes. We recommend following the directions on the back of your package, as cooking times will vary based upon the products you use.

STEP 4: Prepare the crispy rice. In a mixing bowl, toss together puffed rice, soy sauce, oil, and spices. Move to a large pan and cook over low/medium low heat until rice is brown and crispy. These can burn pretty quickly, so watch carefully and stir frequently.

STEP 5: Toast your almonds. Toast almonds over medium low heat, until they have a little color and are releasing a nutty aroma. These also can burn quickly, so stir frequently. Let the almonds cool, then chop.

STEP 6: Blend together the dressing. Combine soaked cashews and the rest of the dressing ingredients, and blend together until creamy. The cilantro is often the last thing to fully blend, so wait until you can't see any more large green pieces.

STEP 7: Grill your chicken. At this point, your chicken should have been in the fridge for at least 30 minutes. We'd recommend marinating for about 2-3 hours for maximum flavor, but you can take it out now and move it to the grill or a grill pan over medium-high heat.

Make sure there's a high heat oil in your grill pan or that your grill grates are well lubricated. Cook until one side is blackened (about 6-8 minutes) then flip and cook for another 6-8 minutes. Our grill pan was around 400˚-450˚F and we used avocado oil. The chicken should reach an internal temperature of around 165˚F. Let it rest for a few minutes, then cut into roughly 1" x 1" pieces.

STEP 8: Assemble your crispy rice bowls. Spread a bed of arugula over your bowl or plate, then add chicken and wild rice. Chop cabbage, carrots, and cucumber and add to the plate, then add crispy rice. Sprinkle almonds in the center. Add a sprig of cilantro, squeeze a lime over the whole thing, and drizzle with dressing.

Substitutions and Variations

• Vegetarian - swap out the chicken for tofu. You can use the same marinade and grill the tofu. Just be sure to press some of the moisture out of the tofu before marinating.
• Nut free - You can use coconut milk or silken tofu instead of the soaked cashews. You can then just leave the almonds out of the recipe as well.
• Gluten free - puffed rice cereal should be naturally gluten free, but check the label to make sure. The only other ingredient you'll have to swap is soy sauce. Use tamari instead. 
• You can use brown rice or white rice instead of wild rice.
• Feel free to swap out any of the vegetables we used for your favorites.
• Arugula can be swapped out for a green of your choosing, like spinach or baby kale.
• Make it a wrap or taco: serve it with tortillas!
• If you don't like how the spicy cashew dressing sounds, you can try a milder dressing like our Creamy Balsamic Vinaigrette.

Storage

Kept in an airtight container, these should keep for 3-5 days in the refrigerator. Just be sure to store the crispy rice away from any wet ingredients, or it'll get soggy and lose the crunch factor. You should also only dress the bowl at the time of eating, so be sure to set aside the dressing as well.

This is a perfect recipe to meal prep, so you can place lunch or dinner sized portions into individual containers (keeping the crispy rice and dressing set aside), and enjoy them throughout the week!

Tips and FAQ

More tips

• The dressing is supposed to be spicy, so go light on the red pepper flakes if you're spice-sensitive.
• Meal prep it! This recipe has a lot of components, so it's best to make a big batch. Our recipe makes about 6 large servings, so it's perfect to make at the beginning of the week and enjoy as a lunch or dinner each day.

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