Copycat Starbucks Hearty Veggie and Brown Rice Salad Bowl
Have you guys tried the hearty veggie and brown rice salad bowl from Starbucks? I absolutely LOVE it, but at my local Starbucks, it’s hit or miss. In fact, usually when I’m on the go and stop in for a quick lunch or dinner- no such luck, they’re all out. If you’re as crazy about the Starbucks veggie and brown rice salad bowl as I am or you just want a damn good salad, you’ve got to give this copycat recipe a try!
This Copycat Starbucks Hearty Veggie and Brown Rice Salad Bowl is a great, tasty choice for those of you that are conscientious about eating only the freshest and most nutritious foods. It’s also perfect for those of you making a resolution to eat more veggies, eat healthier and/or eat clean foods! Best of all, everyone can enjoy because it’s gluten-free, vegan and dairy-free.
The recipe makes about 4 servings- you can share with your family and friends or use it for meals throughout the week. Check out my tutorial for making the ultimate salad in a Jar and for tips on prepping salads for lunch or dinner throughout the week. I try to eat at least one salad per day, so I’m sure to get my fill of daily veggies.
Here’s what Starbucks says about their veggie and brown rice salad bowl- “If you’ve ever heard someone dismiss vegetables as “rabbit food,” you should introduce them to our Hearty Veggie & Brown Rice Salad Bowl. This is one substantial (and quite satisfying) serving of tossed roasted butternut squash, beets, kale, red cabbage, steamed broccoli florets and garden peas with lemon tahini dressing. If rabbits ate nothing but this, we imagine they’d grow to be over six feet tall.”
In creating this copycat recipe, I used all of the same ingredients that Starbucks uses in their salad. However, I made the lemon tahini dressing a little simpler and used maple syrup instead of honey, to keep things vegan. The hearty veggie and brown rice salad bowl is really great, but the lemon tahini dressing- that’s where it’s at. You’re going to want to put this stuff on everything!
Copycat Starbucks Hearty Veggie & Brown Rice Salad Bowl
Ingredients
For the
- 6-9 cups kale and red cabbage or greens of choice, I used kale and red spinach found at Trader Joe's
- 2 cups cooked brown or wild rice
- 2 cups broccoli florets, about 1 small head of broccoli
- 2-3 cups cubed butternut squash, I buy precubed squash*
- 2 small beets, steamed or roasted (I used steamed baby beets from Trader Joe's, found in the produce department)
- 1/2-1 cup fresh garden peas, I used fresh garden peas from the produce section at Trader Joe's. You can use frozen or canned peas.
For the Lemon Tahini Dressing:
- 4 tablespoons tahini
- 1 tablespoon maple syrup
- 1 large lemon, juiced (about 3 tablespoons lemon juice)
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 2-3 tablespoons water to thin, as needed
Instructions
- Cook brown rice according to package directions and roast cubed squash and broccoli florets at 425 degrees F. for about 25-30 minutes.
- Meanwhile, prepare greens and whisk together dressing ingredients.
- Once brown rice and veggies have cooked and cooled slightly, create your salads by dividing chopped greens into 4 bowls and top with veggies, rice and dressing. Enjoy!
Notes
**The amounts of vegetables used in the salad are suggested and the measurements I use to make this salad. Feel free to use however much of each vegetable you like. If you prefer, you can even replace the vegetables listed for other favorites or leave them out completely. Quinoa could be used instead of brown rice.
***Recipe inspired by Starbucks.
Did you make this recipe?
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Something to think about….
Have you ever tried the Starbucks version of the hearty veggie and brown rice salad bowl? Do you like it as much as I do?
On the Starbucks website they shared that the first recorded usage of the slang word “veggie” appeared in 1955. Funny, I hardly ever say vegetable. What do you say veggie or vegetable?
Have you ever tried a copycat recipe? Feel free to link up, if it’s a good one! I think next on the list is Starbucks Spinach Feta Wrap- I love those things!
Did you make any healthy eating resolutions for 2015? How are you doing with those, so far?
You might want to check out this other really great copycat recipe- Panera Breads Autumn Squash Soup.
I want to tell you… I bought the Starbucks salad you posted here several years ago while traveling from one state to another. Enjoyed every bite of it so much. Wanting to make it at home I tried several copycat dressings; but none came close to the taste I remembered, so I gave up. Now a couple years later I started wanting to make the salad again, so began looking for a dressing to try like in the Starbucks salad. Clicked on your link and decided to try it! I can’t tell you how thrilled I was after tasting it. Your dressing is exactly as I remember the taste. Maybe better. All I know is I’ve made it a few times now and, repeatedly, I’m so happy to have tried your recipe! Tonight I made it and drizzled, heavily, :-), over shredded green and red cabbage, sliced tomatoes, carrots, bell peppers, and spinach. May sound strange, but it good! I gave you a 5 star rating, but would have much preferred giving you at least 10!!!!!!! Thanks for so much for the recipe! My search is over!
This comment makes me so happy! I have actually been craving this salad and totally need to make it again – it’s been forever!
Any thoughts if I don’t have tahini on hand like I thought I did??
You could use a nut or seed butter. Or you could leave it out completely. If you don’t substitute anything for it you may not need the water for thinning. Good luck!
Thanks so much for sharing! I had this salad at Starbucks the other day and instantly wanted to recreate it at home! 🙂
Hope you get a chance to give it a try!
Thanks so much! Recipe worked great
I am vegan and I just discovered this salad at. Starbucks this past week????
Awesome! I’m so glad you enjoyed it. It’s one of my favorites!
This was amazing!!!! Thank you for posting!
I’m so glad you enjoyed it!! Thanks so much for your comment!
This is one of my favorite recipes! I’m made it about 5 times in the past few weeks, and it doesn’t get old. I swapped the maple syrup for a few drops of Stevia in the dressing recipe; other than that, I kept everything the same. DELICIOUS! Thanks for publishing this recipe!
That is amazing to hear!! I’m so glad you love this salad as much as I do!!
I tried to replicate the salad on my own last night and didn’t quite get the salad dressing right. It was ok but not as good as the Starbucks salad. I’m going to give your dressing a try later today. Is there any reason you left out the tamari soy sauce and parsley from your dressing?
Thanks again for sharing!
Let me know what you think, if you give mine a try. I don’t have a good reason for leaving out soy sauce and parsley. 🙂
Just made this for lunch. Very good – thank you! Used spring mix instead of cabbage & kale which I imagine are better in a warm sakad. Is it normally served warm or cold?
At Starbucks it’s sold cold and that’s the way I served it, but you could do either. Glad you liked it.
Thank you so much for this. I had one of these the other day and loved it. I love my meat, but like to eat vegetarian meals multiple times a week. This salad is great and yes, the tahini dressing is awesome. I was already thinking of trying to make it on my own and then I found your recipe. So excited to make it.
Hope you’ve had a chance to give this a try and loved it as much as I do!
I love this bowl at Starbucks, just had it for lunch. Thanks for making a nice list of what I need to make it at home! I’m going to get the ingredients this weekend.
It’s one of my favorite salads… hope you enjoy!
how did you prepare the Kale for the Starbucks veggie bowl? And I love the copycat Panera Autumn Squash soup. It’s fabulous and one of the best soups I’ve eaten. I’ve shared that recipe with many friends.
I used baby kale, so all I did was chop it up. I’m so glad that you like the Autumn Squash soup recipe. thanks so much for your sweet comment!!
I love veggie bowls like this! They make the most healthy but delicious dinners.. this is definitely a recipe I need to make!
I love starbucks pre-packaged salads! This looks great! Might have to give it a try this week! Beautiful photos, too, by the way 🙂