What to Add to a Cava Bowl: The Ultimate Guide to Perfect Customization

December 8, 2025 •

3 min read

Over 60% of consumers customize their meals at fast-casual restaurants like Cava, highlighting a growing trend in personalized dining. This guide explores exactly what to add to a Cava bowl to craft a meal that perfectly suits your taste, whether you're a first-timer or a seasoned veteran looking for fresh ideas.

Quick Summary

This guide provides a comprehensive breakdown of the best ingredients for customizing your Cava bowl. Explore the variety of bases, dips, proteins, and toppings available to create a delicious, personalized Mediterranean meal that aligns with your dietary needs.

Key Points

Start with a Base: Choose greens, grains, or a mix to build your foundation, like SuperGreens, saffron rice, or black lentils.
Layer on Flavor: Add creamy dips and spreads such as hummus, tzatziki, or the famously spicy Crazy Feta®.
Add Your Protein: Power up your bowl with options like grilled chicken, falafel, spicy lamb meatballs, or hearty roasted vegetables.
Pile on the Toppings: Bring in texture and zest with toppings like pickled onions, fiery broccoli, feta cheese, or avocado.
Finish with a Dressing: Drizzle on a dressing like Lemon Herb Tahini, Garlic Dressing, or Hot Harissa Vinaigrette to tie all the flavors together.
Combine and Experiment: Mix and match bases, proteins, and toppings to create thousands of unique, delicious, and healthy combinations tailored to your taste.

Building Your Perfect Cava Bowl

Creating your ideal Cava bowl is a journey of choosing and combining fresh, flavorful Mediterranean ingredients. The possibilities are vast, allowing for endless combinations that cater to every dietary preference and craving. From starting with a wholesome base to piling on the final crunchy toppings, each step offers a chance to build a unique and satisfying meal. The key is understanding your options and how they work together to create a harmonious and delicious dish.

Choosing Your Foundation: Bases

The base of your bowl sets the stage for the rest of your ingredients. Cava offers a variety of nutritious options to choose from, or you can opt for a mix to get the best of both worlds. Options include various greens like SuperGreens and romaine, along with grains such as saffron basmati rice, brown rice, and black lentils.

The Flavorful Core: Dips and Spreads

The dips and spreads are where much of Cava's signature flavor lies. You can combine a few for a layered taste experience. Popular choices include traditional hummus, roasted red pepper hummus, Crazy Feta®, tzatziki, and roasted eggplant dip (baba ganoush).

Powering Up: Proteins

For many, the protein is the star of the bowl. Cava offers a great variety for meat-eaters and vegetarians. Options range from grilled chicken and spicy lamb meatballs to plant-based choices like falafel and roasted vegetables.

The Finishing Touches: Toppings and Dressings

This is where you can truly let your personality shine, adding texture, color, and flavor. Toppings include fiery broccoli, pickled onions, crumbled feta cheese, and avocado. Dressings like Lemon Herb Tahini, Greek Vinaigrette, and Hot Harissa Vinaigrette can complete your creation.

Cava Bowl Combination Comparison


Feature	High-Protein Power Bowl	Vegetarian Falafel Bowl	Spicy Harissa Bowl
Base	Brown Rice + SuperGreens	Saffron Basmati Rice + Romaine	Brown Rice + Arugula
Dips	Hummus, Tzatziki	Red Pepper Hummus, Tzatziki, Crazy Feta®	Harissa, Crazy Feta®, Roasted Eggplant
Protein	Grilled Steak, Grilled Chicken	Falafel, Roasted Vegetables	Harissa Honey Chicken, Spicy Lamb Meatballs
Toppings	Cabbage Slaw, Pickled Onions, Feta	Fire-Roasted Corn, Cucumber & Tomato Salad, Avocado, Pita Crisps	Fiery Broccoli, Pickled Onions, Kalamata Olives
Dressing	Lemon Herb Tahini	Greek Vinaigrette	Hot Harissa Vinaigrette

Creating Your Signature Bowl

Ultimately, there is no wrong answer when it comes to customizing your Cava bowl. Your perfect bowl depends on your mood, your dietary goals, and your cravings. By understanding the building blocks—from the base and proteins to the dips and toppings—you can create a bowl that is truly your own. For even more inspiration and to see all your ordering options, visit the official Cava website.

Conclusion

Building a Cava bowl is a creative and rewarding experience that offers a fresh, healthy, and highly customizable meal every time. By mixing and matching bases, proteins, dips, toppings, and dressings, you can create a bowl that perfectly satisfies your appetite and taste buds. Whether you're craving a light, veggie-packed meal or a hearty, protein-rich dish, the key is to experiment with the wide array of Mediterranean-inspired ingredients to find your ultimate combination.

Frequently Asked Questions

For a healthy bowl, start with SuperGreens or a grains + greens mix. Choose a lean protein like grilled chicken or falafel. Opt for dips like traditional hummus or roasted eggplant, and load up on fresh veggies like cucumber and tomatoes. Finish with a lighter dressing such as the Greek Vinaigrette or Lemon Herb Tahini.

Yes, it is easy to make a Cava bowl vegetarian or vegan. Choose a base of greens, grains, or lentils, and for your protein, select falafel, roasted vegetables, or black lentils. All hummus options and the roasted eggplant dip are vegan-friendly. Just ensure you omit any cheese toppings or dressings containing dairy, such as tzatziki or Crazy Feta.

For a spicy bowl, the key ingredients are Harissa Honey Chicken, Spicy Lamb Meatballs, and the Hot Harissa Vinaigrette. The Crazy Feta® dip and Fiery Broccoli topping also add a significant kick of heat.

You can typically choose up to three dips or spreads for a standard Cava bowl. Combining different dips like hummus, tzatziki, and Crazy Feta® can create a complex and flavorful profile.

Crazy Feta® is a signature Cava dip made from whipped feta cheese blended with jalapeño and onion. It offers a tangy, salty, and distinctly spicy flavor that is a favorite among customers.

Yes, Cava offers many naturally gluten-free options. The bases of greens, brown rice, saffron basmati rice, and black lentils are gluten-free. Most proteins, dips, toppings, and dressings are also gluten-free, but always confirm any dietary restrictions with the staff when ordering.

A great starter bowl uses a base of Saffron Basmati Rice with a mix of grilled chicken and traditional hummus. Add some fresh tomato and cucumber salad for freshness, a sprinkle of feta cheese, and finish with a simple Lemon Herb Tahini dressing for a balanced and flavorful introduction.