Chicken and Wild Rice Bowl with Cashew Sauce

Chicken and rice bowls make the perfect high protein, healthy dinner – and this easy chicken and wild rice bowl with cashew sauce amps up the protein and the flavor even more! Loaded with spinach, almonds, and a cashew butter based dressing, our chicken and wild rice bowl is the nutritious yet flavorful dinner you’ve been searching for.

We’re always dreaming up new kinds of bowls we can make for healthy dinners. They’re a great way to combine unique flavors into a comforting yet healthy recipe. With a lot of love recently for our Sweetgreen spicy cashew dressing, we wanted to feature it in another new dish – and thought a protein-packed chicken and rice bowl was the perfect fit! 

Our chicken and wild rice bowl with cashew sauce has the perfect balance of textures and flavors. Juicy chicken, crunchy almonds, soft rice and spinach, and creamy dressing meld together into beautifully balanced bites. The flavor of this dish is cashew-forward, earthy and savory. If you love fresh and healthy bowls, you’re going to love this recipe!

Chicken and Wild Rice Bowl Ingredients

This easy chicken and rice bowl is based on 5 basic ingredients: chicken, rice, almonds, spinach, and cashew dressing. Yet just because its ingredients are simple, doesn’t mean it lacks any flavor. Each and every ingredient here plays its part in making this light and healthy bowl extremely flavorful!

Here’s exactly what ingredients you’ll need for our chicken and wild rice bowl:

• Wild rice
• Sweetgreen spicy cashew dressing
• Slivered almonds
• Baby spinach
• Sea salt
• Marinated chicken

To make the marinated chicken, you’ll need:

• Chicken breast
• Vegetable oil
• Rice vinegar
• Lime juice
• Minced garlic
• Sea salt

The main ingredient in our Sweetgreen spicy cashew dressing is cashew nut butter – if you have some laying around and are wondering what to do with it, make this dressing ASAP! This dressing is the key ingredient that makes this easy chicken and rice bowl recipe so tasty. With a spicy yet sweet flavor and a thick creamy texture, you’ll want to put this dressing on everything.

(And when you’re done with this healthy chicken and rice bowl, we suggest you try making a Sweetgreen crispy rice bowl with any leftover dressing!)

If you aren’t able to find slivered almonds, you can also use whole almonds, or throw some whole almonds into a food processor for a quick chop or two to help crush them into smaller pieces.

How To Make a Healthy Chicken and Wild Rice Bowl

You can make this healthy chicken and rice bowl in just about an hour, and all it takes is preparing each component separately before assembling to serve. So easy, you won’t believe how flavorful the final result is!

Here’s a step by step breakdown of how to make this easy dinner recipe:

1. First, make the wild rice since it will take about an hour. Rinse the rice under cold water, combine it in a small saucepan with water, and bring to a boil. Then, cover and lower the heat to steam the rice for about 45 minutes, before removing from heating and steaming for another 10 minutes.
2. Once the rice is on the stove, marinate the chicken. Combine chicken, vegetable oil, lime juice, rice vinegar, garlic, and sea salt in a bowl and let sit at room temperature for about 20 minutes. While you’re waiting, prepare the spicy cashew dressing (detailed instructions here).
3. When the chicken is almost ready, start preheating a cast iron pan over medium-high heat on the stove. Once it’s hot, add the chicken and cook for about 12 to 15 minutes, flipping every 3 minutes, until cooked through. Transfer the chicken to a cutting board and let it rest.
4. Then, lower the heat on your pan to medium-low. Add the spinach, almonds, olive oil, and salt directly to the pan you cooked the chicken in and sauté until the spinach is wilted and the almonds are toasted, just a few minutes. Remove from heat and set aside.
5. Next, slice the chicken into thin strips for serving.
6. Finally, fluff the rice and serve hot, topped with the sautéed spinach and almonds, sliced chicken, and a few tablespoons of the spicy cashew dressing.

Make sure to follow the order of preparation outlined above (and in the recipe card below) to make cooking this dish as efficient as possible. The wild rice takes time to steam, so make sure to get that started first. Then, once it’s cooking, you can set a timer and forget about it while you get the chicken marinating. While you’re waiting on the chicken, prepare the dressing, and then it’ll be time to start preheating the pan for cooking.

It’s important to note that cooking the spinach and almonds in the same pan you cooked the chicken in, after making the chicken, gives this dish so much cohesive flavor! Cooking any meat leaves behind tons of flavor in the pan you used, so we recommend taking advantage of this whenever you can.

Serving Suggestions

There are so many reasons you might want to make our chicken and wild rice bowl – it’s great for any occasion! Here are just a few ways we like to serve this dish:

• Make it as an elevated healthy dinner for your partner or your family, served with a side salad or dinner rolls
• Meal prep the individual components on the weekend and store in the fridge for easy lunches throughout the week
• Treat yourself to an extra-special, high protein lunch if you find spending time in the kitchen is therapeutic

No matter the reason, this cozy chicken and wild rice bowl always hits the spot.

Storing and Reheating Leftovers

You can store leftovers in one of two ways:

1. Combine the rice, sautéed spinach and almonds, and chicken in one container and keep in the fridge for up to 4 days. Store the cashew dressing separately, so that you can reheat the chicken and rice without warming up the dressing, too.
2. Store the rice, sautéed spinach and almonds, chicken, and dressing in 4 separate containers and keep in the fridge for up to 4 days. Then, reheat ingredients separately before combining, or combine rice, spinach and almonds, and chicken before reheating, and drizzle with dressing before serving.

Reheat single servings in the microwave for about 1 to 2 minutes, stirring halfway through, or in a small frying pan over medium-low heat for about 5 to 7 minutes.

We recommend letting the dressing sit out at room temperature for a few minutes before using it so that it becomes easier to drizzle.

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

This recipe perfectly combines a light, healthy meal with a satisfying and comforting dinner. If you think that sounds impossible, give this recipe a try and see for yourself! The soft texture and earthy flavor of the wild rice combined with sautéed spinach and smothered in a sweet yet spicy cashew sauce has everything needed to be comforting yet healthy tasting.

Plus, this chicken and rice bowl is absolutely PACKED with protein! Thanks to the chicken, almonds, spinach, and cashew sauce, a single serving has over 40 grams of protein. So if you are looking for a delicious and easy way to increase your protein intake, or just got home from a big day at the gym, give this recipe a try to help your body recover well.

And on top of that, it’s easy to make a large batch so you can eat healthy, flavor-packed leftovers all week long. Try making this easy chicken and wild rice with cashew sauce next week for dinner and a couple midweek lunches – you’ll be happy you did! 

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