I recently did a poll on my Instagram and asked for feedback on what types of recipes I should share. Easy, weeknight and fall recipes ranked pretty high. This recipe for my Fall Chicken & Veggie Rice Bowls is both. It’s packed full of delicious fall vegetables, mouth-watering chicken, Pecans and cranberries, fresh Parmesan served over rice and drizzled with an apple cider vinaigrette. You can’t go wrong with this savory bowl. Not to mention the high protein and nutrient content making it healthy and guilt-free!
You’ll start by marinating your chicken. I like to do so for at least an hour before cooking. This is an apple cider marinade which contains apple cider, apple cider vinegar, white wine, olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, ground thyme, basil and parsley and salt and pepper. Whisk mixture together in a large bowl then pour over chicken or add chicken and marinade to a large plastic bag, seal and shake.
One of the things that’s great about this recipe is that it’s completely customizable. Hate Brussels sprouts? Leave em out! Love green beans? Throw em in! Prefer white potatoes over sweet? Swap em. This is totally up to you and cook times are the same. I went with Brussels sprouts and sweet potatoes as they are inherently fall veggies. Bell peppers are definitely more summery, but I love the added flavored. I used a variety of mini bell peppers but feel free to use one full sized red or whatever you want.
**Note about how to make kale not suck: Bring a large pot of water to boil. Add salt. Add chopped kale and boil for about 30 seconds. Remove to a cold ice-water bath for a few minutes then set out on paper towels to dry (or use a salad spinner).**
Add chopped Brussels, sweet potato and red pepper to a large bowl. Toss with a little olive oil. Then add mixture of salt, pepper and ground thyme and toss again. Shake out on a baking sheet after spraying with nonstick spray. Bake for 25-30 mins at 400 degrees.
For your chicken you can either grill it or throw it in a baking dish in the oven at the same time as your vegetables.
Meanwhile prepare your vinaigrette which is a mixture of apple cider vinegar, garlic, dijon mustard, olive oil, salt and pepper. Blend until smooth in a food processor, bullet or blender.
Mix your chopped kale with the Pecans and cranberries. (Almonds or walnuts also work great.) Add everything to a bowl over cooked rice. I use brown rice for this recipe but white works fine too!
Drizzle with your vinaigrette and toss together to mix.
Look at all those tasty toppings!
One thing I also love about this meal is it heats up great! It makes a good amount, so I always throw the rest in the fridge and heat up for lunch or dinner again later in the week. Enjoy!
If you liked this recipe you might also like:
- Apple Cider Marinade (1/4 cup apple cider, 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar, juice from ½ of a lemon
- ½ cup dry white wine, ⅓ cup olive oil, ½ tsp ground thyme, ½ tsp ground basil, ¼ tsp ground parsley, ½ tsp salt, ½ tsp pepper)
- 1 lb chicken
- 1 lb Brussels sprouts, trimmed and halved
- 2 sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into bite-sized pieces
- 1 large red pepper or 4 small mini assorted peppers, chopped
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- ½ tsp ground thyme
- ½ tsp salt
- ½ tsp pepper
- 2 cups kale, chopped
- ¼ cup Pecans, chopped
- ¼ cup dried cranberries
- ¼ cup Fresh Parmesan
- 3 cups brown (or white) rice, cooked
- Apple Cider Vinaigrette (1/4 cup apple cider vinegar, 2 gloves garlic, ½ tbsp dijon mustard, 2 tsp honey, ½ tsp salt, ¼ tsp pepper, ⅓ cup olive oil)
- Preheat oven to 400.
- Whisk together ingredients for marinade in a large bowl.
- Pour over chicken in a bowl or large plastic bag. Toss to coat. Marinate for 1 hour (or longer if you'd like).
- Add Brussels sprouts, sweet potato and peppers to a large bowl. Toss with olive oil then thyme, salt and pepper.
- Place on a baking sheet sprayed with nonstick and roast in oven for 25-30 minutes.
- Grill chicken or place in a baking dish and cook in oven while veggies are cooking until no longer pink (about the same time as veggies are done).
- Meanwhile, prepare apple cider vinaigrette by adding all ingredients to a food processor, bullet or blender and mixing until smooth.
- Mix kale with cranberries and Pecans in a small bowl. See note in post on how I prepare kale.
- Slice chicken into strips once finished cooking.
- Add rice to bowls. Top with roasted veggies, chicken, kale salad, fresh Parm and drizzle with vinaigrette.
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