Keep it super simple — that's what makes this chicken, kale, and sweet potato bowl with almond butter sauce a winner!
This recipe works great for meal prep or a basic lunch. It's gluten free, paleo, and Whole30, too!
What's in these sweet potato salad bowls
As mentioned above, I like to keep it simple. Therefore, the ingredient list is practically spelled out in the recipe title and the photos.
You'll need:
- kale
- sweet potatoes
- boneless, skinless chicken breast
- red onions
- carrots
- almond butter (or whatever nut butter suits you)
- chopped almonds
- coconut aminos
- rice vinegar
Pretty simple, right? You probably have quite a bit of that on hand already!
How to put together a sweet potato bowl
Whenever I'm making a bowl like this, I always start with whatever takes the longest to cook.
Roast the sweet potato and onion.
Fortunately, you can accomplish this on the same sheet pan. Up to you whether you'd like to just chop the onion in half and slice it up after it roasts, or slice it into rings before roasting.
Meanwhile, cook the chicken and prepare the carrots.
Flatten the chicken with a mallet or pounder to ensure it cooks evenly (and speed up cooking time overall.) The only seasoning you need is salt and pepper — the almond butter sauce will add more flavor in the end!
You can either use shredded carrots or use a Y peeler to make carrot ribbons from whole carrots.
Chop up the kale and massage it.
Yes, massage it. Drizzle olive oil over the chopped up kale and use your fingers to work it in — this breaks up the toughness of the kale so it's more palatable raw. Preparing it this way is what made me like kale!
Make the almond butter sauce.
Combine it all in a bowl and add water as necessary to thin. I kept it pretty thick so I could drizzle it on for photos, but if I was just making this to eat, I'd have it a bit thinner so it was more "saucy."
Assemble the bowls!
Start with a big handful of kale. As shown in the pictures, I like bowls that are partitioned out, with a section of chicken, a section of sweet potato, a section of roasted onion, a section of carrots, etc. Drizzle with the sauce and garnish with chopped almonds. Enjoy!
If you're preparing these specifically for meal prep: start with the chicken and sauce on the bottom, then the sweet potato, onion, carrot, and finally the kale. Stir it together before you eat!
Tips and tricks for this recipe
My biggest tip: Don't skip massaging the kale.
I know it sounds weird, but it seriously makes a huge difference in how easy it is to eat raw. Kale gets a bad rap for being tough. After you knead some oil into it, that toughness starts to break up and it's much more tender.
So get those massaging fingers to work and get after that kale!
How to customize this recipe to fit your tastes
Just not a fan of raw kale? Try adding the chopped kale to the baking sheet with the sweet potatoes in the last 5-7 minutes of cooking. This will "wilt" the kale and tenderize it.
Want to add a different veggie? Bell peppers would work well here, raw or roasted!
Not a fan of almond butter? Use whatever nut or seed butter you'd like! Peanut butter or tahini would be great here!
More quick and easy salad bowl recipes
Did you try this recipe? I'd love to hear what you think! Comment below or tag me on Instagram.
Print📖 Recipe
Chicken, Kale, and Sweet Potato Bowl
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 40 minutes
- Total Time: 55 minutes
- Yield: 2 servings 1x
- Category: Main Dish
- Method: Roasted
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Gluten Free
Description
Simple and delicious, Chicken, Kale, and Sweet Potato Bowls make a great lunch or meal prep dish!
Ingredients
For the bowls:
- 1 large sweet potato, diced
- 4 cups chopped kale
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil, divided
- 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
- ¼ cup sliced red onions
- ½ cup shredded carrots
- Chopped almonds, for garnish
- Lime wedges, for garnish
For the almond butter sauce:
- ⅓ cup almond butter
- 2 tablespoons coconut aminos
- 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Add the diced sweet potatoes to the baking sheet and drizzle in 2 teaspoons olive oil and season with salt. Toss to coat. Spread the sweet potatoes out in a single layer. Add the ½ red onion to the baking sheet. Bake for 30 minutes, stirring the potatoes halfway through.
- While the potatoes are roasting, prep the kale. Drizzle the kale with 2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil. With your fingers, massage the oil into the kale. You’ll feel the kale start to lose its toughness and get more tender. That’s what we’re going for! Set aside.
- Heat 2 teaspoons olive oil in a skillet. Pound the chicken breasts to even thickness with a meat pounder. Season generously with kosher salt and pepper. Cook the chicken for 4-6 minutes on each side. Remove to a plate and let rest for 5 minutes. Slice crosswise into thin strips.
- Make the almond butter drizzle by combining the almond butter, coconut aminos, and rice vinegar in a medium bowl. Add water to thin to your desired consistency.
- Finally, we’re ready to assemble the bowls. Split the kale, sweet potatoes, roasted red onion, chicken slices, and shredded carrot. Drizzle with almond butter sauce. Garnish with chopped almonds and lime wedges.
Keywords: chicken kale sweet potato bowl
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