The hot honey chicken plate at Sweetgreen is delicious, with blackened chicken, roasted sweet potatoes, quinoa, a carrot and cabbage slaw and crispy onions on top. But 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!
My husband always orders the hot honey chicken plate at Sweetgreen, so we set out to make our own. The entire process is pretty simple. The chicken is marinated in a spiced oil-balsamic mixture, then grilled until nice and charred. The chicken then goes atop a quinoa we cook in broth for extra flavor, alongside roasted sweet potatoes and a carrot-cabbage slaw.
The whole thing is then covered in a sweet, spicy, and tangy hot honey dressing, and a few frizzled shallots are sprinkled over the top for some extra crunch.
You can take any component of this dish and pair it with something else, too! For example, pair the chicken with this Mango Corn Salsa or use the hot honey dressing on our Edamame Crunch Salad. Or just roast the sweet potatoes by themselves (I know it's easy to roll your eyes at this, but they're the best sweet potatoes I've ever had).
Jump to:
Hot Honey Chicken Plate Ingredients
For the Chicken
- Chicken breast: We used chicken breast here, but Sweetgreen uses thighs. This is just a matter of personal preference, and breasts or thighs both work, just note that cooking times may vary between the two cuts. You can also use extra firm tofu to keep this recipe vegetarian!
- Olive oil: This forms the base of the marinade, so it's a key ingredient. You could also use avocado oil or another oil you have on hand, like peanut, sunflower, or safflower.
- Balsamic: Balsamic is key to giving the chicken a "blackened look" - you will get grill marks without it, but you won't get that crispy caramelized crust if you skip the balsamic.
- Kosher salt: To ensure correct salt levels, please use kosher salt! If using table salt or fine sea salt, you may want to start with less and add more to taste.
- Cumin: Cumin adds a smokiness to the marinade that you can't really get with any other spice.
- Coriander: Coriander adds an unmistakable fresh and citrusy flavor that's really hard to replicate - this is the secret ingredient that makes the chicken super flavorful.
- Black pepper: Black pepper adds smokiness and color, so don't skip it!
- Red pepper flakes: We only use a pinch here, but feel free to add more if you prefer a lot of spice.
For the Hot Honey Dressing
- Olive oil: This is the base of the dressing, and without it, the sauce ends up being too watery. We tried it a few different ways, and olive oil is the way to go!
- Apple cider vinegar: ACV adds a great tanginess to the dressing, but we understand it's something not everyone has in their pantry. You can try using a smaller quantity of white vinegar, just be sure to taste it as you go along.
- Dijon mustard: This gives the dressing a great tang and creaminess, and it's pretty much essential for any hot honey dressing.
- Honey: While honey is critical to this dressing, it can also throw it out of balance if you add too much, so be sure to follow the recipe and taste as you go along! If you added too much honey, you can balance it out with some more dijon or vinegar.
- Red pepper: Red pepper adds the heat that we need in the dressing.
- Kosher salt: Use kosher salt, not table salt, to ensure the the correct salt levels.
For the Slaw
- Red/Purple cabbage: This is super crunchy and forms the base of the slaw. We would definitely not recommend using another cabbage in its place, since the crunch is key and green or napa cabbage just don't have the same crunchiness.
- Carrots: Using pre-shredded carrots saves a lot of time, but you can also shred them, or cut them into matchsticks if you have the time.
- Mayo and mustard: Key to any slaw, mayo binds everything together and mustard adds tang.
- Honey: Since we're adding a lot of acid, we need honey to balance everything out.
- ACV: Adds sweetness and tang.
- Lime juice: Adds a freshness that really rounds out the slaw. You can also try lemon juice.
- Spices: Dried parsley, salt, and pepper all add flavor to the slaw.
For the Potatoes
- Sweet potatoes: We used red sweet potatoes since they have the best color, but you could also use any regular old potato you have on hand.
- Olive oil: To ensure your potatoes get crispy skins and don't stick to the pan, coat them in olive oil.
- Spices: We used salt, chili powder, onion and garlic powder, and nutritional yeast, but you feel free to use your favorite spices.
Everything Else
- Quinoa: This is the base for the bowl. If you don't have any quinoa, you could also use rice or any grain of your choosing.
- Broth: Cooking your quinoa in broth adds a lot more flavor. You can use vegetable or chicken broth. To cut down on costs, you can also just use water for cooking and add a little salt to season the quinoa.
- Shallots: We found it a bit wasteful to use a small part of an onion for this recipe, so we used shallots instead. They're a bit harder to cook, but are much easier to get crispy.
How to Make this Hot Honey Chicken Plate 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: Roast your sweet potatoes. Wash your sweet potatoes, then cut them into roughly 1" rounds and quarter each round. In a mixing bowl, toss with olive oil and spices until evenly coated, then move to a sheet pan and place in a preheated 400˚F oven for roughly 25-30 minutes, tossing them halfway through.
STEP 3: Make the quinoa. While your sweet potatoes are cooking, add quinoa to a pot and add broth or water, then cook according to package directions.
STEP 4: Make the slaw. Slice cabbage thinly. Grate carrots or use pre-shredded carrots, and combine cabbage, carrots, and the rest of the slaw ingredients in a mixing bowl.
STEP 5: Cook the 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. 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 6: Make the hot honey dressing: In a mixing bowl, combine all of the dressing ingredients and whisk vigorously to combine.
STEP 7: Make your crispy shallots (optional). This is bit tricky and takes around 10 minutes, so feel free to skip if you don't have the time. Slice 1-2 shallots thinly (a mandoline works great), and move to a cold pan, and cover with oil. Turn heat to medium or medium low, and watch the shallots closely.
Once they start to fry and bubble, maintain the heat on low or slightly above low (the oil should be around 220˚F-240˚F) - just make sure the shallots keep bubbling. Once they're a pale golden brown, pour them out into a sieve placed atop a mixing bowl. Then move the onions to a paper towel to siphon off any excess oil, and sprinkle generously with kosher salt.
STEP 8: Assemble. Add a cup of quinoa to a plate, add a few pieces of chicken and sweet potato, a half cup of slaw, pour over as much dressing as you like, and top with crispy shallots.
Substitutions and Variations
- Make it vegetarian: Substitute chicken with extra firm tofu. Make sure to let it marinade so it soaks up lots of flavor!
- Make it vegan: Use tofu instead of chicken, and sub in vegan mayo. You can use maple syrup or agave in place of the honey in this recipe. Cook the quinoa in water or vegetable broth.
- You can use chicken thighs instead of breasts, just make sure to cook them to an internal temperature of 165˚F.
- The old hot Sweetgreen honey chicken bowl used breadcrumbs instead of crispy onions (we used shallots), so feel free to use some well-spiced breadcrumbs instead!
- Grain choice: You can use orzo, couscous, rice, or any other grain of your choosing instead of the quinoa.
Storage
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- Assemble the bowls in airtight containers and refrigerate for up to 5 days. We like to store the sauce separately in a small container.
- To keep these hot honey chicken plates super fresh, we suggest using vacuum seal containers. These are our favorite and we use them every day!
Tips and FAQ
Top tip
Let the chicken marinate for at least 30 minutes. If you can, get it started in advance of everything else so it has about 2 hours to absorb the flavors of the marinade.
More tips
- Don't use too much oil on the sweet potatoes - they will fry in place instead of getting a nice char. They'll still taste good, but they won't look like the pictures in this post.
- Meal prep it! Since this recipe has a lot of components, it's best for meal prep.
- Whisk the dressing vigorously: You need to emulsify all of the ingredients, so give it a strong whisk to make sure everything gets incorporated.
This recipe is an interpretation based on a several sources, and it will vary slightly in terms of flavor. Most notably, we used chicken breasts instead of thighs. For every other component, we tried to reasonably recreate it! We also did a few taste-test comparisons in the name of research. 😉
More meal preppable recipes to try
Tried this recipe?
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📖 Recipe
Hot Honey Chicken Plate (Sweetgreen Dupe)
- Total Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
- Yield: 6 bowls 1x
- Diet: Gluten Free
Description
The hot honey chicken plate at Sweetgreen is delicious, with blackened chicken, roasted sweet potatoes, quinoa, a carrot and cabbage slaw and crispy onions on top. But 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!
Ingredients
Blackened Chicken:
- 2 pounds chicken breast or thighs
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 2 teaspoons chili powder
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- ½ heaping teaspoon cumin
- ½ teaspoon coriander
- ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
Sweet potatoes:
- 1 pound sweet potatoes
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon chili powder
- ½ teaspoon nutritional yeast
Hot Honey Dressing:
- ¼ cup olive oil
- ¼ cup dijon mustard
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
Cabbage-carrot Slaw:
- 4 cups cabbage
- 1 ½ cups shredded carrot
- ¼ cup mayonnaise
- 1 tablespoon dijon mustard
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon dried parsley
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- Juice of ½ lime
Quinoa
- 1 ½ cups quinoa, rinsed
- 3 cups vegetable or chicken broth/stock
Instructions
- 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.
- Roast your sweet potatoes. Wash your sweet potatoes, then cut them into roughly 1" rounds and quarter each round. In a mixing bowl, toss with olive oil and spices until evenly coated, then move to a sheet pan and place in a preheated 400˚F oven for roughly 25-30 minutes, tossing them halfway through.
- Make the quinoa. While your sweet potatoes are cooking, add quinoa to a pot and add broth or water, then cook according to package directions.
- Make the slaw. Slice cabbage thinly. Grate carrots or use pre-shredded carrots, and combine cabbage, carrots, and the rest of the slaw ingredients in a mixing bowl.
- Cook the 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. 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.
- Make the hot honey dressing: In a mixing bowl, combine all of the dressing ingredients and whisk vigorously to combine.
- Assemble. Add a cup of quinoa to a plate, add a few pieces of chicken and sweet potato, a half cup of slaw, pour over as much dressing as you like, and top with crispy shallots.
Notes
Crispy shallots (optional). This is bit tricky and takes around 10 minutes, so feel free to skip if you don't have the time. Slice 1-2 shallots thinly (a mandoline works great), and move to a cold pan, and cover with oil. Turn heat to medium or medium low, and watch the shallots closely. Once they start to fry and bubble, maintain the heat on low or slightly above low (the oil should be around 220˚F-240˚F) - just make sure the shallots keep bubbling. Once they're a pale golden brown, pour them out into a sieve placed atop a mixing bowl. Then move the onions to a paper towel to siphon off any excess oil, and sprinkle generously with kosher salt.
Storage: Assemble the bowls in airtight containers and refrigerate for up to 5 days. We like to store the sauce separately in a small container.
- Prep Time: 1 hour
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Category: Salads
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size:
- Calories: 741
- Sugar: 17 g
- Sodium: 1638 mg
- Fat: 33.3 g
- Carbohydrates: 64.5 g
- Fiber: 8.3 g
- Protein: 45.4 g
Liv says
This is a really outstanding recipe. Every single component is good. And indistinguishable from the restaurant version, if you ask me (frequent SG flyer). I would love a pan Asian riff on this with peanut flavors!
Lexi says
Thank you so much!! That means a lot 🙂
Lindsey W. says
This recipe has been on repeat and is my favorite online healthy recipe Ive found! The only challenge im running into, is that the hot honey dressing keeps clumping. How do you usually serve this dressing? Do you typically put it in the microwave?
Lexi says
Hm, I'm not sure why that would happen, we haven't had that issue! It's possible it's the kind of honey you are using. Is it a thick raw honey? I would imagine that could cause some clumping. So glad you enjoyed the recipe otherwise, thank you for your comment!
Julie says
The recipe was great but the website is not. It kept kicking me to random parts of the page.
Amy says
I’ve never eaten at a Sweet Green but this dish is amazing!! I would add extra spice next time. I didn’t have shallots so I crumbled some croutons over it. Delicious!!
Lexi says
So glad you enjoyed!
M says
Been craving this bowl from Sweetgreen and made it tonight for dinner - it tastes exactly the same! So delicious thank you!
Lexi says
So glad you enjoyed! Thanks so much!
Bekah says
Great recipe! Easy to read instructions and amazing flavor combos!
Heather says
This was fantastic! I had little pockets of time throughout a busy day so this was perfect. Since my family is a little scared of too much heat, I just left out the red pepper flakes in the dressing. I followed the recipe as is. My grocery store was out of red cabbage so I just used a green cabbage and the carrots. It was like a flavor explosion. When packing meals for the week, I did keep the slaw in a separate container. I like the temp contrast.
Cinthea Neuheisel says
I made this mostly as it is written and it was outstanding. I used a bag of broccoli slaw instead of shredding cabbage and it was a perfect time saver. I used chicken breasts, but wish I would have used chicken thighs. We had leftovers for lunch the next day and it held up well.
Jody Gibson says
Making for dinner today
I don’t have nutritional yeast - what do you recommend as substitute for the yeast?
Brent Harrison says
Sorry for the late reply, you can just leave it out. How did it turn out?
Holly says
Hello, we do not like things spicy but this still looks really tasty. Do you think it would be good without the spice? Some recipes need the spice to be balanced so I’m asking that here… thanks in advance!
Brent Harrison says
You could leave out the red pepper flakes, but I would leave everything else in.
Paige says
Have this made several times and is a go to in our dinner rotation. Love the honey mustard dressing!
Lexi says
So glad to hear that 🙂
Emily says
My husband and I made this last night and we loved it!! Perfect to prep on Sunday and eat throughout the week. So yummy!
J says
Is this best fresh and the ingredients hot, or should it all be cooled down? I've never had the Sweetgreen version and I'd like to prep everything but the chicken ahead of time, so I'm unsure if I should heat everything before serving or leave at room temp?
Brent Harrison says
You can eat it hot, at room temperature, or straight out of the fridge. Just make sure you don't leave everything out too long. The FDA's guidance is that chicken should not be left at room temperature for longer than two hours.
jamie says
Absolutely delicious, and filling.
Jan says
Made this last night and it was fabulous! Loved the leftovers too!
Lexi says
So glad you enjoyed!
Dylan says
Made it last night with my GF, tasted great and added to our ever evolving list of online recipes. On top of that, we just got a sweet greens in our state so we’re excited to go and compare. One question, why only marinate the chicken for up to 2 hours? Would there be any harm in marinating overnight?
Thanks
Lexi says
Thank you, so glad you enjoyed! You can definitely marinate longer if you'd like. Overnight would be great!
Kara says
This was excellent! Great flavor and the cabbage/carrot slaw was an unexepcted addition. This took some work -- nothing challenging, just a lot of ingredients and measuring -- but it was worth it!
Selena says
I’ve never had the original recipe but this recipe is Amazing! To be honest, I haven’t even eaten all of it together as I was meal prepping mid day for dinner. Each component is delicious and I am sure together it will be even better! Thank you for such a tasty recipe!
Lexi says
So glad you enjoyed! Thanks so much for your review!
Char says
Great recipe. I would make again.
I don't normally rate or comment on recipes, but I thought this was worth a comment. I gave it 4 stars instead of 5 as it was extremely salty (and I'm very liberal with salt). I would say cut the salt by 50% throughout the entire recipe (chicken marinade, coleslaw and especially honey sauce).
Lexi says
Hi! Thanks for your feedback. I'm curious what kind of salt you used for this – do you mind sharing?
Emily C says
Hi! Can you replace nutritional yeast with parm, or do you suggest something else? Thank you! ☮️
Brent Harrison says
Feel free to just leave it out!