Sweetgreen Just Launched Its Best New Menu Items to Date—and We Tried Them First

It’s no secret that getting back into a routine after the holidays can be tricky. Especially if you spent the week between Christmas and New Year’s Day following “airport rules”—the internet’s term for a space where you can eating cookies for breakfast, having a midday mimosa, and spend entire days watching every show on Netflix, if you want to.

So, if you’re not ready to get back to reality yet and do the dreaded first-of-the-year grocery shopping trip, but still want a meal packed with nutrients and protein, there’s a fast food restaurant for that. We’re serious.

Sweetgreen, the fast-casual chain known for its salads, grain bowls, and protein plates, has a new menu in January that is loaded with filling proteins—but doesn’t skimp on flavor. Because, this month, Sweetgreen is ditching the “all or nothing” mentality and giving you all your favorite mix-ins topped with one of America’s most beloved sauces: ranch.

Sweetgreen Releases New Ranch Menu

The new ranch-centric menu features two protein plates and two grain bowls topped with the chain’s fan-loved Green Goddess Ranch dressing, which is made with avocado oil, dill, basil, cilantro, garlic, and onion. Sweetgreen is introducing its BBQ Chicken and Ranch plate, Honey BBQ Steak and Ranch plate, Blackened Chicken and Ranch bowl, and Spicy Green Goddess bowl.

The BBQ Chicken and Ranch plate starts with a bed of white rice topped with roasted sweet potatoes, avocado, pickled onions, blackened chicken, and a mixture of tangy BBQ sauce and Green Goddess Ranch dressing, and has 39 grams of protein.

Sweetgreen’s Honey BBQ Steak and Ranch plate features white rice, roasted sweet potatoes, shredded cabbage, spicy broccoli, garlic steak, and a mixture of BBQ sauce and Green Goddess ranch dressing. This plate is an online-ordering exclusive and has 31 grams of protein.

The Blackened Chicken and Ranch bowl clocks in at 35 grams of protein with its blackened chicken, romaine, quinoa, chickpeas, tomatoes, avocado, cucumber, goat cheese, basil, and Green Goddess Ranch dressing.

Lastly, the chain’s new Spicy Green Goddess bowl adds Sweetgreen’s fan-loved hot sauce to the classic Green Goddess bowl made with blackened chicken, spring mix, quinoa, roasted sweet potatoes, tomatoes, shredded cabbage, cucumbers, cilantro, and Green Goddess Ranch dressing. The new take is available to order online only and has 24 grams of protein.

The new menu is available at all Sweetgreen locations nationwide beginning Jan. 7 through Feb. 10. I tried the herby ranch-dressed menu early, and here is my honest review.

My Honest Review

After trying all the new offerings, I had two takeaways; The first is that Sweetgreen’s Green Goddess Ranch dressing is so delicious, fresh, and herbaceous. The second is that it tastes even better when mixed with another Sweetgreen sauce.

Of the two plates I tried, which included the Honey BBQ Steak and Ranch plate and the Blackened Chicken and Ranch plate, my favorite was the Honey BBQ Steak and Ranch, which actually surprised me. I went in thinking barbecue sauce and Green Goddess Ranch wouldn’t go together—but, wow, was I wrong.

Sweetgreen’s BBQ Sauce is delicious on its own and deserves a rotation in your go-to order. When paired with the Green Goddess dressing, you get an extra-tangy, sweet, herby flavor that takes the simple steak, veggie, and rice bowl to the next level.

Picking my favorite salad of the Blackened Chicken and Ranch bowl and Spicy Green Goddess bowl was a bit trickier. I loved the chickpeas, avocado, and goat cheese in the Blackened Chicken and Ranch bowl. However, the Spicy Green Goddess bowl has Sweetgreen’s hot sauce dressing, which I adore. So, to compromise, I would either add the hot sauce as an additional dressing to the Blackened Chicken and Ranch bowl or add goat cheese to the Spicy Green Goddess bowl to make my perfect customized creation.

Overall, you can’t go wrong with any of the options—and if you’re looking for an easy, protein-packed meal to start off 2025, any one of Sweetgreen’s new ranchy offerings will do the trick.

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