Harvest Bowl

Harvest Bowl: Savory garlic-herb chicken, butternut squash, brown rice, and kale salad, all topped with sweet honey-Dijon sauce.

Harvest Bowl

This Harvest Bowl has become my go-to as the weather cools down. I recently got a new grill and have been on a grilling kick since then (hi, Grilled Curry Chicken!)

I decided to try grilling butternut squash, and honestly, I haven’t turned on the oven since! The squash gets caramelized and delicious on the grill, and it cooks in a fraction of the time.

Harvest Bowls also feature seasoned grilled chicken, a quick kale salad, and tender brown rice. Drizzle everything with irresistible honey-Dijon sauce, and you’ve got fall in a bowl. Yum!

Brown Rice

I typically start these Harvest Bowls with brown rice, but use any grain you like. Some other ideas:

• White rice or basmati rice
• Quinoa
• Farro
• Barley
• Check out this list for more ideas!

Quick Kale Salad

This kale salad takes just minutes with only four ingredients. Use the same sauce from the Harvest Bowls to dress it. If you prefer, you can use a different lettuce, but kale works well with the squash and chicken.

Here’s the trick: massage the kale.

1. Remove thick stems and slice the kale thinly.
2. Rinse in a colander or salad spinner.
3. Sprinkle with sea salt and massage for about a minute until it turns dark green.
4. Rinse again and dry completely.

This makes the kale tender and ready for your salad!

Harvest Bowl Honey Dijon Sauce

The sauce is super easy with just four ingredients (plus salt and pepper). Just blend them all together!

1. Apple cider vinegar: Gives a fall flavor. Don’t use other vinegars.
2. Dijon mustard: Use Dijon, not regular or grainy mustard.
3. Honey: Sweetens the sauce and balances the tang. Add more if needed.
4. Mayo: For creaminess, use full-fat mayo.

Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Butternut Squash

Get your grill ready—you’ll never want butternut squash any other way!

Choose a good squash: look for a solid beige color and one that feels heavy for its size. In the U.S., the best time to buy ripe squash is September through November. Ripe squash has a hard, even-colored rind with no green spots.

Harvest Bowl Chicken Grilling Tips

• Slice chicken breasts in half and pound them to an even thickness for quicker, more even cooking.
• Season generously with a store-bought chicken blend, like garlic-herb. Add more if needed.
• Oil the grill grates by rubbing them with oil-soaked paper towels. This helps with searing and prevents sticking.
• Let the cooked chicken rest covered with foil for 5-10 minutes before slicing to keep it juicy.

More Grilled Recipes

• Grilled Chicken Marinade all-purpose chicken marinade
• Grilled Flank Steak with a simple herb sauce
• Chicken and Wild Rice with grilled sweet potatoes
• Grilled Pineapple with a graham cracker crumble
• The BEST Grilled Fajita Chicken with peppers and onions

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4.84 from 6 votes

Harvest Bowl

By Chelsea Lords

Harvest Bowl: Savory garlic-herb chicken, butternut squash, brown rice, and kale salad, all topped with sweet honey-Dijon sauce.

Prep Time: 45 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 15 minutes minutes

Total Time: 1 hour hour

Servings: 4 servings

Ingredients 

USMetric

 

1x2x3x

Chicken

• ▢ 1 pound boneless skinless chicken breast
• ▢ 3 tablespoons olive oil
• ▢ 3 teaspoons chicken grilling seasoning blend (See Note 1)
• ▢ Fine sea salt and pepper

Butternut Squash

• ▢ 1 small (1 and 1/2 lbs) butternut squash, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch thick slices
• ▢ 3 tablespoons olive oil

Bowls

• ▢ 1 cup brown rice plus water, 1 tablespoon butter, & 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
• ▢ 2 cups finely sliced kale
• ▢ 1/2 cup dried sweetened cranberries
• ▢ 1/4 cup honey-roasted sliced almonds
• ▢ 1/4 cup shaved Parmesan cheese

Sauce

• ▢ 3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
• ▢ 3 tablespoons Dijon mustard (not yellow mustard)
• ▢ 3 tablespoons honey
• ▢ 3 tablespoons regular, full fat mayo

Instructions 

• BROWN RICE: Prepare brown rice according to package directions. Note 2
• CHICKEN: Stir together the olive oil, chicken seasoning, and salt & pepper to taste (I add 3/4 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper) in a small bowl and set aside. Slice large chicken breasts in half horizontally. Cover chicken breasts with plastic wrap (to avoid splatter). Using a meat mallet or the bottom of a frying pan, pound breasts to an even thickness (you don't want to flatten the meat, just create an even thickness). Pat chicken dry with a paper towel. With a pastry brush (or your hands) brush both sides of all the chicken breast pieces with the seasoning and oil blend. Set aside.
• GRILL: Preheat grill to medium high (400-450 degrees F.) Add chicken to cleaned and greased grill (I rub grill grates with a vegetable oil-drenched paper towel). Grill for 4-5 minutes per side, flipping over halfway through, or until chicken registers 160 degrees F. Remove to a plate and tent with foil. If needed, add an extra sprinkle of salt and/or chicken seasoning to the chicken breasts off the grill. Thinly slice or chop chicken breasts.
• BUTTERNUT SQUASH: Cut off both ends and then peel the squash. Using a very sharp knife, cut the squash into 1/2-inch thick slices. When you slice where there are seeds, cut around the center with a pairing knife and then press the center seedy section out to remove. In a small bowl, combine the oil and salt and pepper (to taste; I add 1/4 teaspoon of each). Use a pastry brush to spread the oil mixture over both all sides of the squash slices. Grease grill grates and then add squash directly to heated (450 degrees F) grill grates. Grill for 4-5 minutes per side or until tender. Remove and then chop for the bowls.
• QUICK KALE SALAD:  In a medium-sized bowl combine kale, cranberries, almonds, and shaved Parmesan. Toss with some of the sauce (see next step) until well coated.
• SAUCE: In a small blender, combine all of the sauce ingredients. Season with salt and pepper to taste (I add 1/8 teaspoon of salt and a small pinch of pepper). Pulse to combine ingredients. Transfer the sauce to a glass jar and refrigerate until ready to use.
• ASSEMBLE: Divide even amounts of brown rice into 4 separate bowls and top with even amounts of chicken and butternut squash. Add kale salad in equal parts and drizzle everything with additional sauce. Enjoy!

Video

Recipe Notes

Note 1: I use McCormick® chicken grilling blends (garlic and herb). Feel free to bump up this amount to personal preference, or sprinkle extra on chicken right off the grill.

Note 2: Brown rice: To prepare the brown rice,  bring 2 and 1/2 cups water to a boil then add in the brown rice, 1 tablespoon butter, and 1 teaspoon salt. Cover, reduce the heat to low and simmer for 45-50 minutes or until water is absorbed and rice is tender. Remove from heat and let stand, covered, for 10 minutes. Remove the lid, fluff, and set aside.

Nutrition

Serving: 1serving | Calories: 951kcal | Carbohydrates: 103g | Protein: 42g | Fat: 44g | Saturated Fat: 8g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 10g | Monounsaturated Fat: 23g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 90mg | Sodium: 606mg | Potassium: 1306mg | Fiber: 6g | Sugar: 38g | Vitamin A: 12084IU | Vitamin C: 144mg | Calcium: 452mg | Iron: 6mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

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