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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.
Hi Molly, I made this tonight and it was excellent. Easy recipe with so much flavor. My husband said I can put the vinaigrette dressing on anything “it was so good”. Thank you, cant wait to make more of your dishes!
Thanks, Becky! So glad you loved it!
My grocery store only sells harissa sauce instead of the paste. Would that work or should I add something to the sauce to make it thick like a paste??
Hey Michelle! You could probably get away with harissa sauce for the flavor, but it wont’ be a exactly the same. I buy my Harissa paste on Amazon and keep it in the fridge for a while!
Harrissa is made with common ingredients. I’d recommend making it from scratch (always). 😉🙂
Amazing!! I followed the recipe exactly and I used every topping. Soooooo good!
Thank you for sharing❤️
The toppings make it soooo good! Glad you liked it and thanks for taking the time to share.
Very quick and easy recipe with fantastic flavor that you would anticipate requiring much more time to make than reality. Thank you so much for sharing! I added a little honey to the vinegrette but didn’t have onion powder so I just skipped it and it was still great. This is a keeper!
Thanks, Trish!! Totally agree! This is one of our favorites.
This was an incredible bowl – I used tofu instead of chicken and topped with ALL the toppings!
Sounds amazing! So glad to know it works with tofu!
Should the marinated tomatoes and cucumbers be made the day of, day before, or 2 days before?
Hello! You could make them up to 3-4 days before, but 20 minutes of marinating will work too. Thanks!
This was delicious & super flavorful.
Thanks!
Love the marinade! I cooked chicken breast sous vide in the marinade (omitted the raw garlic but added garlic powder) then seared on a griddle. So delicious!! Everyone at the “Mediterranean Bowl Party” said it was the best chicken there!
What a compliment! Thanks, Daralynn! I’m getting ready to test a grilled chicken recipe with this marinade so I’m glad you like it!
Marinated for 3 days and it came out perfect. With all of the marinading the chicken was pretty much cooked and required just high heat to brown and hit the cooked temperature.
This is a keeper
Thank you!!!
This was SO delicious! I added a little honey to the vinaigrette as well – was nice to have a little sweetness to cut the garlic flavour. I also added some pickled turnips! Definitely recommend making the pickled onions and marinated tomatoes and cucumbers. Will definitely be making this again (and will make sure I have feta on hand next time!)
Sounds amazing, Maddy! Thanks for taking the time to share.
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.
So good! Definitely making this again.
Thanks!!!
This came out soooo good! Definitely adding to the rotation! Thank you!
You’re so welcome!!
Delicious, fiancée approved.
Thanks!
Molly, I am not the type of girl who leaves reviews. I just try something and move on. I had to come back to your recipe and leave a review because WOW! My family all loved it. It is just scrumptious!!! Thank you for this post. I have shared it with 2 other friends already.
I love this so much, Katie! Thank you!
This has become a staple in our family! We make a bunch of the chicken and eat it throughout the week!! Thanks for this amazing recipe!! We love it!!
You’re welcome! It’s one of my favorites too!
This was so good and fairly easy! Chicken had a great taste, used breasts and they were still juicy. No rice, feta, vinaigrette, and tomato and cucumbers were also good!
Thanks for sharing, Faneshia!
This was SO delicious! I followed the recipe exactly. I used spinach and added some sliced radishes as toppings too. My husband and I loved it and I can’t wait until our kids are home from school so I can make it for them. I know they’ll love it too.
Love to hear that, Renee!! Thanks for leaving a review!
I used Calabrian chili paste instead of harissa. I’m sure it does not taste the same. But, it was delicious!
Thanks, Lauren!
loved this recipe!!! did slightly less harissa in both the chicken marinade & dressing because I don’t love spice but next time will follow the proportions exact for that. also made the crazy feta and the pickled onions and both were great!!
Thanks, Erin! The feta and onions are my favorite toppings. I don’t like spice either and I did the amount here too and it was good for me too. Thanks!
This was amazing! Loved it so much.
But the recipe was a little confusing. The marinade directions say to add things that are only listed under the vinaigrette section.
Hi Brittany!! So glad you liked it! I’m looking at the recipe again and I don’t think I see what you’re referencing. The chicken thighs list all of the marinade ingredients including oil, harissa, lemon, honey, salt, and pepper. Let me know if I’m missing something. Thanks!
It says add garlic to marinade in directions, but not on ingredient list.
Good catch, Bryna! I updated that!
amazing and we left off the cheese and substituted spinach for mixed greens. a new go to.
Love to hear that! It’s one of my go-tos as well!
My mom said the chicken alone was delish! Thank you!
We agree! Big fan of chicken thighs over here. Thanks, Tanya!
Wow! This was so delicious! I was skeptical during the process b/c it is a lot of work but in the end I decided it was totally worth it b/c it is way better than the original.
Sorry I somehow forgot to rate this recipe!
Oh my gosh “better than the original” is a HUGE compliment! It is a little work, I’ll admit. But if you buy the toppings premade it makes it much easier! Plus it’s great for meal prep!