Sweetgreen-Inspired Batch Prep: Build Your Own Bowls All Week
Why batch prep works when meal prep feels boring
Whenever I talk about meal prep, one of the most common comments I hear is “I get bored eating the same thing every day.” And while I don’t mind repeating meals, I also don’t think you have to eat things on repeat to reap the benefits of doing some food prep. Enter: batch prepping. This isn’t a new concept on the KLN blog (see our intro to Batch Prep), but it can still be daunting to pick your menu.
So I’m going to show you one of my menus (with some super simple recipes) after I explain how I definitely ripped it off from my favorite take-out lunch place.
The fast-casual bowl restaurant “secret” you can steal at home
You see, fast casual restaurants like Sweetgreen, Cava, Chipotle, etc. all run on a batch prep model.
When you walk in, they have pre-made components that are ready to be assembled in a variety of combinations that makes the menu look and feel extensive while actually being built upon a limited number of ingredients.
The idea is to take that concept and shrink it to a size that is manageable for you while also still providing the variety you’re looking for, so that’s what I’m going to walk you through. While I don’t have a Sweetgreen or Cava near me, the menus are all relatively similar!
Step One: Find overlap in a menu you already like
Take a look at the full menu and identify which components you see across multiple meals that you like.
My favorite takeout lunch place is a small local chain (toss’d, if you’re curious and/or local to Utah) that does salads and rice bowls. There are four meals that I get there regularly (the Harissa Marinated ChickeN Bowl being my favorite!) and they have a lot of overlapping components.
Step Two: Choose your repeatable components
Identify two proteins, two bases (in this case, rice and lettuce for rice bowls or salads), two pre-prepped veggies, crucial sauces/dressings/toppings, and then any components that may be easy to add in later as needed. The more these things appear alongside each other in meals, the better.
Step Three: Decide what you’ll make vs. buy
Decide what is easy to prepare yourself, and what you’d rather buy for ease. Based on the Toss’d menu
My chosen components
Harissa marinated chicken*
Blackened chicken*
Lettuce mix
Rice* (they make a sofrito brown rice, but I can’t be bothered to do anything more complicated than start some rice in my rice cooker)
Roasted sweet potatoes*
Charred corn relish*
Pickled onions*
Chimichurri
Ranch dressing
Anything with an asterisk, I will prepare myself (and am sharing below). Anything not indicated with an asterisk I buy premade.
Bonus inclusions (add as desired)
These are things that don’t take a lot of prep work but can be added as you see fit:
Canned black beans or chickpeas
Cherry tomatoes
Sliced avocado
Cheese (I often use cottage cheese)
Hot sauce, chili crisp, or hot honey
Or any other salad or rice bowl topping you enjoy
This is also one of those situations where having extra condiments hanging out in your fridge drawer can be a big benefit – if you’ve been collecting salad dressings, give them a try and see how they fit in with the other components.
Now: on to the recipes. These each make ~8 servings, so adjust as needed depending on how many servings (total) you need for the week.
Recipes (each makes ~8 servings)
Harissa marinated chicken
~2lbs chicken thigh (or breast)
1-2 Tbsp harissa paste
2 tsp harissa spice blend (the less I have to measure the better, but you can use equal parts cumin and smoked paprika)
1 tsp minced garlic
1 Tbsp oil
2 Tbsp lemon juice or white vinegar
Salt to taste, if needed
Mix all marinade ingredients (harissa paste through salt). Taste test and adjust spices before adding chicken thigh. Allow chicken to marinate for ~2-8 hours.
Blackened chicken
2 lbs chicken breast (or thigh)
Blackened seasoning
Ok, this is barely a recipe but I really recommend buying some basic spice mixes you like. Your cooking time will go down, your food flavor will increase.
Sprinkle your chicken with your blackened seasoning, then cook.
Cooking Note:
Grilling is incredibly efficient for batch prep, but I also recommend utilizing the broiler in your oven if you don’t have a grill. Move oven rack to the middle position and turn the broiler on high. Cook chicken for ~6-10 minutes per side (until internal temperature reaches 160 degrees) on a foil-lined sheet tray,
Roasted sweet potatoes
4-5 large sweet potatoes, cut into equal sized chunks
1 Tbsp avocado oil (or cooking oil of choice)
Salt, pepper
(optional) 2 tsp cumin + 1 tsp paprika
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
Toss sweet potatoes in desired seasoning and spread onto sheet tray(s), not overcrown pan.
Bake for 45-55 minutes (flipping potatoes and rotating tray halfway through) or until edges begin to turn dark and center is soft.
Corn Relish
12oz bag fire roasted corn (frozen)
4oz jar pimento peppers
1-2 tsp vinegar
Salt & pepper to taste
Allow corn to thaw. Toss all ingredients and store in an airtight container.
Pickled onions
One large red onion, thinly sliced
1 cup water
1 cup vinegar (I like to use white or apple cider)
~2 Tbsp white sugar
Combine water, vinegar, and sugar in a microwave-safe container. Heat in the microwave for 60-120 seconds, or until sugar is fully dissolved. Place sliced onion in a jar and submerge with vinegar mixture. Allow to sit for at least 2 hours before using.
How to assemble your meals (4 base combos)
With these components you have four base meals: Harissa chicken salad, Blackened chicken salad, Blackened chicken rice bowl, and Harissa chicken rice bowl. You could obviously replace one of the chicken selections for beef, pork, tofu, or another protein of your choice (if two chicken options sounds too boring).
My favorite combo (and how to riff on it)
My personal favorite combo? Harissa marinated chicken + rice + sweet potatoes + corn relish + pickled onions + cherry tomatoes + cottage cheese + chimichurri with a little bit of chili crisp. If you try it and hate it, you’ve got other combos you can try. And you can always use this same template to take inspiration from your own favorite lunch place.
Less work, more variety. Enjoy.
Find more macro-friendly recipes on the blog or grab our free cookbook Everyday Macros here for simple and streamlined meal prep recipes and ideas.
Whitney Landon-Berg
Strength enthusiast and behavior change nerd who helps clients navigate significant weight loss goals with compassion and a no-shame, real-life approach to nutrition.
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