Healthy Southern Bowl Recipe (Flavor-Packed!) (2024)

Turn collard greens into a powerhouse meal with Southern Style Grain Bowls. Fully loaded with flavor and the perfect way to fill up on everything important (and yummy)!

It’s been a while since I’ve shared one of my infamous bowl recipes, so I figured now was the perfect time to show you how to make these southern style grain bowls. And with autumn inching closer and closer every day, we need to stock up on cozy bowl recipes ripe for enjoying on the couch!

These bowls are made with a delicious blend of rice, sweet potato, red onion, chickpeas, collard greens, and a delicious hummus and lemon juice sauce. Not only do these power your body, the blend of flavors are *chef’s kiss*!

How to make Southern Style Grain Bowls

We’ll start this recipe by cooking the potatoes, chickpeas, and onion. From there, simply create the sauce, cook your collard greens, and assemble!

Step 1: Cook the rice
We’ll start by cooking 1½ cups of rice according to the instructions on the package. Once finished, add a cover to keep it warm.

Step 2: Prep and cook the veggies
Then, preheat the oven to 400ºF (204ºC). In a medium bowl, toss together 1 large chopped sweet potato, 1 drained 14 oz can of chickpeas, 2 tbsp of olive oil, and the following spices: ½ teaspoon each of cumin, smoked paprika, and garlic powder, and ¼ teaspoon each of salt, pepper, and ground cinnamon.

Spread the veggie mix onto a parchment-lined baking sheet. Cut a red onion into large chunks and add it to the sheet. Bake the tray for 30 minutes, flipping everything over after 15. The veggies are done when the sweet potato is fork tender.

Step 3: Create the sauce
Meanwhile, stir together ½ cup of hummus, 1 tablespoon of lemon juice, and 1 clove of minced garlic for the sauce. Add a splash of cold water to reach a pourable sauce consistency.

Step 4: Cook the collard greens
Sauté the collard greens until they’re soft. Using this recipe, it should take about 20 minutes.

Step 5: Assemble the bowls
Assemble the southern style grain bowl by spooning the cooked rice into serving bowls followed the veggies, collards, and sauce!

Switch up your southern style grain bowl with these ideas

This grain bowl recipe can be mixed and matched in a ton of different ways.

• Grains: Switch out the rice in favor of quinoa, farro, bulgur, or whatever you like! My guess is that bulgur would be particularly delish.
• Starches: Replace the sweet potato with some other fall starch faves like butternut squash or pumpkin!
• Sauces: As for the sauce, you can use whatever you’d like, whether it’s yum sauce, feta tzatziki, or something else!

More Loaded bowl Ideas

Power up and fuel your body with some more delicious bowl recipes! The lemony arugula option is a personal fave.

• Vegan Tuna Sushi Bowl
• Lemony Arugula Grain Bowls
• Vegetarian Pineapple Poke Bowls
• Stone Fruit Smoothie Bowl