Rosemary Chicken & Roasted Grapes Spinach Salad

This Balsamic and Rosemary Grilled Chicken Spinach Salad is topped with roasted grapes, with creamy, tangy goat cheese, walnuts, and a simple balsamic vinaigrette. I love healthy spinach salad recipes, and this one does not disappoint!

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Seasonal Salads

Fall has officially come to Lynchburg, VA! The leaves are changing, there’s a chill in the air, and suddenly I’m craving everything Pumpkin Spice. #Basic?

I guess it seems like no matter what the weather is like, though, even in the dead of winter. I’m always in the mood for a big salad.

Based on what’s in season, I like to change my salad ingredients, and this one has all the warm and cozy harvest flavors: the most delicious grilled rosemary chicken and roasted grapes served on top on baby spinach and drizzled in a rosemary balsamic vinaigrette, walnuts, and smoked salt and rosemary goat cheese. Yes, yes, yes!

Recipe Ingredients

• Chicken breasts marinated in: olive oil, balsamic vinegar, garlic, rosemary, and pepper. The marinade serves double duty, so save half to use as salad dressing!
• Baby spinach
• Chèvre or goat cheese
• Walnuts
• Roasted grapes (keep reading!)

Roasting Grapes

If you haven’t roasted grapes before, I definitely recommend it. They become so sweet and bright without sacrificing their juicy pop. Honestly, I eat them as-is or with yogurt and granola, but they’re a fantastic addition to the salad here.

While I waited for the chicken to cook, I was popping them into my mouth all on their own! I almost didn’t have enough left for the salads!!

When I roast grapes, I prefer to use a little walnut oil, but regular olive oil works great too! But if you have a little room in your budget, trust me, try the walnut oil. It’s got a rich, nutty flavor that pairs beautifully with the grapes and works wonderfully with this salad.

The nice thing about the rosemary balsamic marinade is that it doubles salad dressing… not to mention the flavors work so nicely with the goat cheese and walnuts!

I made this for dinner two nights in a row, and I still wanted more! If I hadn’t run out of grapes, I would’ve gone for three in a row.

Recipe Variations:

1. For Paleo and Whole30 options, all you need to do is leave off the goat cheese. It’s as simple as that!
2. I used Chevoo brand goat cheese (the smoked salt and rosemary flavored one), but you can substitute pretty much any other goat cheese that you have. 

You may also like: Chicken and Bacon Caesar Salad, Asian Ginger Shrimp Salad Bowls, Honey-LESS Mustard Grilled Chicken Platter.

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