You are in for a treat with this copycat Cava recipe for the delicious harissa avocado bowls. Keep this post on hand the next time your taste buds are craving a grain bowl bursting with nutrients and fresh flavor!

I had Cava Grill for the first time while out of town in 2023 and fell in love! Since I don’t have a restaurant local here in southern Louisiana, I decided it was time to make my own copycat Cava bowls at home! If you’ve never even heard of Cava…it’s a casual restaurant with a mediterranean style menu. You could think of it like the mediterranean version of Chipotle! 

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Cava copycat harissa avocado bowls

As with any of my copycat recipes, we’re gonna first look at the original menu item here. At first glance, you might be overwhelmed with the list of ingredients in this recipe. But take a deep breath – we’re not making everything from scratch! I have three recipes listed at the end of this post that I feel are necessary to create this bowl at home. I’ve also included some suggested substitutions for a few additional short cuts with other ingredients if needed. I store each ingredient listed below in a separate air-tight container in the fridge and assemble at meal times. 

Mixed greens

Use whatever leafy green you enjoy or hand on hand – spring mix, baby spinach, kale, romaine, etc. 

Rice

Basmati rice is the grain used in the original bowl, but feel free to use another grain that you have on hand. I go for whole whole grains like brown rice or quinoa! If wanting to reduce time spent cooking, you could use a pre-cooked grain that you simply heat in the microwave – like microwavable rice bowls.

Fire-roasted corn

This is an ingredient that I would rather save time on. I get a bag of fire-roasted corn from the freezer section at my local grocery. If you can’t find “fire-roasted” corn…you can absolutely use a rinsed and drained canned corn here!

Harissa Chicken

I use air fryer harissa chicken thighs that I marinate in: harissa sauce, harissa seasoning, lemon juice, and salt. If you don’t have the time or energy to marinate and cook your own protein…simply use a pre-cooked grilled chicken tossed in some harissa sauce and/or seasoning. However, I find the marinated harissa chicken adds so much flavor! 

Hummus

I couldn’t pass up the Cava brand hummus in my local store…but any hummus brand will do. I suggest a simple traditional hummus. You could also make your own if you’d like. I use my food processor to make the crazy feta…so store bought hummus is the plan for me! 

Crazy feta

Speaking of crazy feta…this was easily my favorite ingredient in the Cava bowl I had. You could skip this recipe and just add some crumbled feta cheese, but in my opinion this is the best part! It’s basically a blend of yogurt, fresh jalapeno, seasonings, and feta cheese.

Avocado

Cucumber

Pickled onions

I’ve been making my own pickled onions at home for years now. I use the quick pickled onion recipe from How Sweet Eats. This is another item that you could opt for store-bought or skip altogether if desired.

Hot Honey Harissa vinaigrette

This vinaigrette is just 5 simple ingredients whisked together: olive oil, mild harissa sauce, hot honey, apple cider vinegar, and some salt. 

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The recipe below includes serving suggestions that I use for my own Cava bowls at home, but feel free to adjust portions to your nutrition or performance goals and/or liking. How about serving with a side of pita bread or pita chips? Yum!

This post may contain affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.