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This homemade CAVA bowl features tender chicken marinated in a delicious honey harissa sauce and tossed with Mediterranean-style toppings. It’s all placed over a bed of basmati rice and lettuce, drizzled with a hot harissa vinaigrette, and served with a warm pita.
Do you love rice bowls? Try copycat Sweetgreen harvest bowls, ground turkey teriyaki rice bowls, or honey garlic salmon rice bowls next.
Learn how to make CAVA’s popular honey harissa chicken recipe right at home. Plus, get ideas for recipe variations and tips for meal prepping ahead of time.
Do you like making homemade versions of delicious recipes from your favorite restaurants? Next time, try our Sweetgreen Harvest Bowl copycat recipe or grilled burger bowl with a Smash Burger-inspired special sauce.
Why You’ll Love This CAVA Honey Harissa Chicken Recipe
As convenient as it is to grab dinner to-go, making your own copycat CAVA bowls is easy, fun, and more affordable. Here’s why you’ll love this recipe:
- Quick weeknight dinner: This recipe is as easy to clean up as it is to prep and put together. If you’re looking for a quick weeknight meal the whole family will enjoy or something easy to prep and save for lunches all week, look no further.
- Best flavor: The sweet drizzle of honey balances the heat of the harissa paste. It’s not often you get sweet, spicy, and savory all in one! Tons of bold flavors all around.
- Versatility: If there’s an ingredient you don’t have on hand, there’s a substitution for it! From the rice base to the meat, the veggies, and the homemade vinaigrette, every element of this dish is customizable. You could make this dish once a week and always find a way to change it up!
- Hearty meal: Aside from the protein-packed chicken that will keep you plenty satisfied, this recipe has healthy fats and is loaded with veggies. It’s a complete meal in a bowl!
Ingredients You Need
Here are the simple ingredients for this CAVA honey harissa chicken recipe. Most are pantry staples and easy (and affordable) to find in grocery stores. Jump down to the recipe card for exact measurements and nutrition information.
Honey Harissa Chicken Marinade
- Boneless skinless chicken thighs: The dark meat is extra juicy.
- Extra virgin olive oil: Substitute with avocado oil.
- Harissa paste: This is the star of the show. However, it’s pretty spicy, so start with less and add more as needed.
- Honey: The sweetness of honey helps to mellow out the spicy paste. Maple syrup is a good substitute.
- Lemon juice: Adds a citrus flavor.
- Kosher salt and black pepper: For seasoning.
Hot Harissa Vinaigrette
- Extra virgin olive oil: Substitute with avocado oil instead.
- Harissa paste: Adjust to desired heat level.
- Lemon juice: To add zest.
- Onion powder: For flavor.
- Garlic cloves: If you don’t have fresh garlic, substitute with 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder.
- Kosher salt: Kosher salt is best for cooking.
Bowl and Toppings
- Basmati rice: Cook rice according to the package instructions.
- Mixed salad greens: Kale, spinach, or leaf lettuce like arugula.
- Olive oil: Easily substitute with avocado oil.
- Avocado: Adds a creamy texture.
- Pickled red onions: Get these storebought or follow our Mexican pickled onion recipe to make your own at home instead.
- Crumbled feta: See recipe notes for how to make crazy feta.
- Marinated cucumbers and tomatoes: Find this in the deli section of your local grocery store, but to make it at home, see recipe notes.
- Hummus: Add to taste.
- Pita Chips, pita bread, or naan: For serving.
Pro Tip: There are a lot of toppings and options for these bowls. We highly recommend using all of them, if possible. If we had to choose three toppings they would be pickled onion, feta (preferably crazy feta), and avocado.
How to Make CAVA Honey Harissa Chicken
The full printable recipe is below, but let’s walk through the steps with some photos and a video so you have a clear idea of what to expect. This CAVA harissa honey chicken recipe is really easy and these step-by-step instructions will make sure it turns out every time.
Marinate chicken. Toss the chicken in a medium bowl or a large plastic bag with 2 Tablespoons of olive oil, Harissa, honey, lemon juice, garlic, salt, and pepper. Cover and marinate in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes or as long as overnight.
Prep the toppings. When you’re ready to make the bowls, cook the rice and prep all of your desired toppings. Toss and coat your greens with a small drizzle of olive oil.
Cook the chicken. Drizzle 2 Tablespoons olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Once it’s hot and shimmering, place the chicken thighs smooth side down and sear them until they’re deeply golden-brown, 5-6 minutes without moving. After that, flip and cook for another 4-5 minutes. For the best results, use a meat thermometer and cook until the internal temperature reaches 160°F. Use a sharp knife to roughly chop the cooked chicken on a cutting board.
Make the vinaigrette. Add the vinaigrette ingredients to a medium jar and whisk or shake well.
Make the vinaigrette. Add the vinaigrette ingredients to a medium jar and whisk or shake well.
Recipe FAQs
Harissa is a spicy and flavorful chili pepper paste or sauce that is commonly used in North Africa and Middle Eastern cuisines. It’s known for its robust, fiery taste. Harissa’s main component is chili peppers and often includes a blend of spices such as cumin, coriander, caraway, and paprika. It’s a versatile ingredient that can be used as a condiment, marinade, or flavor enhancer.
CAVA’s harissa honey chicken is a blend of spicy and sweet. When making your own harissa paste marinade for this chicken, you can control the spice level by adding less harissa or more honey.
The type and quantity of chili peppers used in harissa can vary, but it’s typically quite spicy and can range from moderately hot to very hot, depending on the specific recipe and the chili pepper variety used. Sriracha sauce, on the other hand, is made with red jalapeño peppers and typically has a milder heat level compared to many harissa varieties.
Recipe Variations
One of our favorite ways to throw together dinner is in a bowl recipe! The best part about them is that they’re so versatile, especially the toppings. Switch up the main ingredients based on what you have at home or what you’re craving. Here are some additional toppings and ingredient variations:
- Make a homemade tzatziki sauce using Greek yogurt, finely grated Persian cucumbers, lemon juice, garlic, sea salt, and fresh dill. Drizzle it over the spicy chicken pieces.
- Substitute chicken thighs with Greek chicken meatballs, boneless skinless chicken breasts, falafel, or tofu.
- Replace the white rice with yellow rice, brown rice, quinoa, or black lentils.
- Top with chickpeas, kalamata olives, lemon zest, and diced red peppers.
Meal Prep and Storing Tips
This is an easy dinner to meal prep ahead of time. To do this, make the dressing, then marinate and cook the chicken ahead of time. When you’re ready to enjoy the dish, cook the rice and prepare the toppings, assembling the full recipe.
Store leftovers in airtight containers in the fridge for up to 4 days. Keep the chicken, rice, dressing, and toppings in separate containers.
If you make this recipe, I’d love for you to give it a star rating ★ below. You can also tag me on Instagram so I can see it!
More Bowl Recipes
If you need a new idea for a rice bowl recipe that can be easily prepped and thrown together, we have plenty for you to try!
We love this savory quinoa breakfast bowl or veggie quinoa power bowl in the morning and this ground turkey teriyaki rice bowl went viral on social media for good reason!
Fan of seafood? Your taste buds will love these Salmon rice bowls or fiesta lime shrimp bowl.
Try these quick and easy air fryer salmon bites over rice or make a simple grilled burger bowl.
CAVA Honey Harissa Chicken Recipe
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Ingredients
Honey Harissa Chicken Thighs
- 1 1/2 lbs boneless skinless chicken thighs
- 4 Tablespoons olive oil divided
- 2 Tablespoons Harissa paste (Note 1)
- 1 Tablespoon honey
- Juice from 1/2 a lemon
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
Hot Harissa Vinaigrette
- 1/4 cup good quality extra virgin olive oil
- 2 Tablespoons Harissa paste adjust to desired spice level
- 2 Tablespoons lemon juice (1/2 lemon)
- 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
- 2 garlic cloves minced (or 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder)
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
Bowl and Toppings
- 2 cups Cooked Basmati rice 1 cup uncooked (Note 2)
- Mixed salad greens + olive oil to taste
- 1 Ripe avocado sliced
- Pickled red onions to taste homemade or store-bought
- Crumbled feta or Crazy feta to taste (Note 3)
- Marinated cucumbers and tomatoes store-bought or homemade (Note 4)
- Hummus to taste
- Pita Chips pita bread, or naan for serving
Instructions
- Marinate the chicken. Toss the chicken in a medium bowl or a large plastic bag with 2 Tablespoons of olive oil, Harissa, honey, lemon juice, garlic, salt, and pepper. Cover and marinate in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes or overnight.
- Prep the toppings. This is a good time to make and prep the toppings while the chicken is marinating. Cook the rice according to the package directions and prep all of your desired toppings. Toss your greens with a small drizzle of olive oil and toss to coat.
- Make the vinaigrette. Add all of the vinaigrette ingredients to a medium jar and whisk to combine or close the lid and shake well. Transfer to the refrigerator to chill while you make the chicken.
- Drizzle 2 Tablespoons olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Once it’s hot and shimmering, place the chicken thighs smooth side down and sear until deeply golden-brown, 5-6 minutes without moving. Flip and cook for another 4-5 minutes or until the internal temperature reaches about 160°F (165°F target temperature while it rests). Transfer the cooked chicken to a cutting board.
- Assemble the bowls. Add greens, rice, and desired toppings to serving bowls. Use a sharp knife to roughly chop the chicken and arrange them in the bowls. Drizzle with prepared vinaigrette and serve with warm pita bread.
Notes
Video
Equipment
- Freezer bag or bowl for marinating chicken
- Medium skillet
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Holy Cow this is good!!!! The flavors are spot on and the crazy feta is amazing!!!! Bravo!
The crazy feta is my fav too! Glad you liked it! Thanks.
This came out soooo good! Definitely adding to the rotation! Thank you!
You’re so welcome!!
Delicious, fiancée approved.
Thanks!