Maple Roasted Chicken Salad
Our Maple Sausage Seasoning is sweet and savory and practically screams "autumn" at us, so we embraced its cozy nature and used it to make a sweet and savory, fall-themed salad.
We roasted both chicken breast and acorn squash in Maple Sausage Seasoning; using it on two different elements opens up the full experience the different qualities of this spice on these two different ingredients. Since we had so many flavors going on, we dressed this salad in a simple Dijon mustard vinaigrette. It gave zingy, pungent contrast to the savory nature of the blend and to the sweet elements, like the apples and roasted grapes.
1 to 1 1/2 pounds of boneless, skinless chicken breast, in four pieces
2-3 Tablespoons Maple Sausage Seasoning, divided, plus more to taste
Non-stick cooking spray
1 large acorn squash, cut into wedges
2 Tablespoons olive oil, divided
1 bag of firm, ripe grapes
1/4 teaspoon each Fine Sea Salt and Black Pepper Fine Grind
4 cups salad greens
1/2 of a small red onion, thinly sliced
1/2 of a gala apple, thinly sliced
Dijon Mustard Vinaigrette
Crunchy fruit-and-nut garnish to top
- Preheat oven to 400°F.
- Toss chicken breast in 1 Tablespoon Maple Sausage Seasoning, or more if necessary. Lay in a baking pan covered in parchment and spray on both sides with non-stick cooking spray.
- Toss acorn squash wedges in 1 Tablespoon Maple Sausage Seasoning, or more to taste, and in 1 Tablespoon olive oil. Put in a roasting pan.
- Break grapes into small clusters. Toss grape clusters in 1 Tablespoon olive oil, Fine Sea Salt, and Black Pepper Fine Grind. Place in a roasting pan.
- When oven is ready, put chicken, acorn squash, and grapes in. Turn all ingredients after 15 minutes, and bake for another 10-15 minutes or until squash and grapes are brown and roasted and the chicken breast is at an internal temperature of 165°F. When done, remove from oven and set aside to cool.
- Meanwhile, divide salad greens between four bowls, and then arrange red onion and apples on the greens.
- When the roasted ingredients are cool, slice the chicken breasts and lay one over each bowl. Arrange roasted squash and roasted grape clusters around the chicken.
- Drizzle salads with Dijon Mustard Vinaigrette, and top with a fruit and nut garnish, fresh chives, or fresh parsley.