Make this meal prep salad on Monday to enjoy throughout the rest of the week. Ingredients include chicken, arugula, goat cheese, walnuts, Sweet Sapphire™ Grapes, and a white balsamic vinaigrette.
This post has been sponsored by IFG and Fabbri Farming Company. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
Having a meal prep salad on hand feels like secret weapon during busy weeks, don’t you agree? All you have to do is invest a little time upfront in grocery shopping and prepping to be rewarded with fully ready lunches (or dinners!) at your fingertips for the next few days. This recipe makes four servings and is bursting with flavor from the variety of ingredients included: chicken, goat cheese, walnuts, Sweet Sapphire™ grapes, basil, arugula, red onion, and a white balsamic vinaigrette.
Sweet Sapphire™ grapes make this meal prep salad extra special. They add a sweetness and a crunch, plus the unique shape makes this salad visually interesting. Have you tried them before or seen them at your local grocery store? They are easy to spot with their premium black color, and are so big that some people prefer to take two bites. Compared to any other grape on the market, Sweet Sapphire™ Grapes are a unique eating experience; my kids love them because their “finger”shapes are highly snackable, I love them because they are delicious to snack on and make a nice finishing touch to salads and appetizers.
Fabbri Farms. a second generation grower founded in 1938 in California’s fertile San Joaquin Valley, is the grower of the Sweet Sapphire™ grapes. Fabbri Farms specialize in premium varieties of table grapes grown using patented, sustainable farming practices. Their mission is simple – delighting people with healthy foods that are unique and delicious.
While these grapes are grown at Fabbri Farms, the creator of Sweet Sapphire™ Grapes is IFG, located locally in Bakersfield. Known for other famous table grapes that have developed a cult following such as CottonCandy™, Candy Snaps™ and Jack’s Salute™, IFG’s breeder, Dr. David Cain, uses simple traditional cross breeding to develop varieties that have special flavors and shapes that capture the attention of consumers and make grape eating a new experience. IFG has licensed growers in 15 different countries with the goal to provide consumers a year-round supply of this amazing fruit. Stay tuned as there are some other new varieties from IFG making their debut in the market later this season too!
Ingredients
Arugula is perfect for this salad base, with it’s distinctive peppery taste.
Walnuts are easy to toast at home…don’t skip that step as it really elevates the flavor of the nuts.
Goat Cheese adds a rich tanginess and a creamy texture. A little bit goes a long way.
Sweet Sapphire™ grapes add a snap and crunch, with a fresh, sweet, and bright flavor. This variety is sold throughout retailers in the United States, including Costco, Kroger, Sams Club, Food Lion, and Wal Mart. Check your local grocer for these grapes, and ask the produce manager to carry them if they don’t already!
Basil adds dimension, freshness, and flavor.
White Balsamic Vinaigrette is easy to make at home in a jar and is made by combining white balsamic vinegar, extra virgin olive oil, honey, salt, and pepper.
Meal Prep Salad Directions
First, toast the walnuts. Preheat the oven to 375°F. Place 1 cup of walnuts on a baking sheet and bake in preheated oven for 5-10 minutes until browning slightly and toasted to your preference. Take out of the oven and set aside to cool.
Make the vinaigrette by adding 1/4 cup white balsamic vinegar, 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil, 1 teaspoon honey, 1/4 teaspoon salad and 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper to a jar. Blend the dressing in a jar by vigorously shaking until well blended. Divide the dressing between four small meal prep salad dressing containers with lids. Save any extra dressing for future use.
Create the salad base by dividing the arugula, basil, grapes, red onion and chicken between the four glass salad containers.
Create the goat cheese walnut medallions. Chop the toasted walnuts into small bits and divide goat cheese log into eight medallions, and gently press walnut bits into the outside of the goat cheese until mostly covered. Add two goat cheese walnut medallions to each salad container.
Add salad dressing jars to salad containers. Put a lid on salad containers and refrigerate until use.
When you are ready to eat your salad simply pour your dressing to the mix and enjoy!
Meal Prep Salad with Arugula, Chicken, Sweet Sapphire™ Grapes, Walnut, Goat Cheese with White Balsamic Vinaigrette
Make this meal prep salad on Monday to enjoy throughout the rest of the week. Ingredients include chicken, arugula, goat cheese, walnuts, Sweet Sapphire™ Grapes, and a white balsamic vinaigrette.
Ingredients
- 2 cups Sweet Sapphire™ grapes rinsed and patted dry
- 8 cups arugula
- 4 cups cooked chicken a rotisserie chicken works fine for this
- 1 cup walnuts
- 4 oz goat cheese log
Dressing
- 1/4 cup white balsamic vinegar
- 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1 teaspoon honey
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
- 1/8 red onion thinly sliced
- 12 large basil leaves sliced into thinly cut ribbons
Instructions
White Balsamic Vinagrette
-
To make salad dressing add white balsamic vinegar, olive oil, honey, salt, and pepper in a jar. Screw on lid and shake vigorously until well mixed. Set aside.
Salad Assembly
-
First toast the walnuts. Preheat the oven to 375°F. Place 1 cup of walnuts evenly spread out on a baking sheet and bake in preheated oven for 5-10 minutes until browning slightly and toasted to your preference. Take out of the oven and set aside to cool.
-
Divide the arugula, basil, grapes, red onion, and chicken between the four glass salad containers.
-
To create the goat cheese walnut medallions, divide goat cheese log into eight medallions. On a large cutting board chop the toasted walnuts into small bits. Gently press walnut bits into the outside of each goat cheese medallion until mostly covered. Add two goat cheese walnut medallions to each salad container.
-
Complete salad assembly by adding salad dressing jars to salad containers. Put a lid on salad containers and refrigerate until use.
Recipe Notes
Feel free to leave grapes whole in this recipe or slice horizontally or vertically, whichever way you like!
This salad should last for 3-4 days, if you have a partner or roommate to share it with that works out perfectly if you don't want the same salad four days in a row 😉
Kid’s love Sweet Sapphire™ grapes too! In addition to using these delicious grapes in your meal prep lunches, add them to you children’s lunchboxes too!
You Might also Enjoy these Posts
Meal Prep Salad with Citrus Fennel Feta and Mint
Strawberry Blueberry Spinach Salad with Goat Cheese
Lunch Meal Prep Greek Salad Bowl Recipe
Lunch Meal Prep Black Bean Jicama Salad Recipe
Grape Fontina Rosemary Skewers
Grapes with Sour Cream & Brown Sugar
If you make any if the meal prep salads please share on instagram using hashtag #rainbowdelicious & and tag me at @rainbowdelicious , I’d love to see what you are up to in your kitchen!
I love, love salads for lunch, so this has been bumped to the top of my ‘must try’ list!
So glad you are going to try! I love salads for lunch too and this one is a winner!
This salad is so easy and delicious. Simple to make but features a sweet treat with these grapes.
Thanks Sharon! It is a delicious salad!
I love these grapes!! The whole thing looks delicious, this would be perfect to bring for lunch at work!
Yes! definitely an easy workday lunch! And the grapes are great for just snacking too!
Crunchy and surely delicious. Amazing combination of ingredients.
Thanks Veena! I love this flavor combo too!
Just beautiful. Would love to have this for lunch 4 days in a row.
I’ve done it and it was delicious every single day!
Love how easy this salad makes meal planning for the week! I’m definitely adding this salad to my lunch rotation. Thanks for sharing!
Glad to hear this Amanda! Enjoy the salads!
I love to eat salads for lunch during the week. This meal prep salad is perfect and easy for keeping my eating on track.
Enjoy Kelly!
This is perfect for lunch boxes. My kids love these grapes! (cut up of course!) I have just bought a rotisserie chicken, so this will be my lunch today!
My kids love them too! Definitely a good idea to cut them for little ones since they are a long shape! Enjoy Jacqui!
I have been meaning to do more meal prep this year, but I somehow never get around to it. This needs to happen in my house soon, it looks so good!!
It is hard to make the initial time investment into meal prep, but when I do it I’m so glad I did. Thanks Cathleen!
This looks like a completely different variety of grapes. The salad looks quite interesting with all the yummy ingredients in it.
The Sweet Sapphire grapes are definitely worth trying, I hope you get a chance to make this salad Renu!
I’ve never seen those kinds of grapes before! Grapes and goat cheese is a really good combination, so I know I will love this salad!
Check/ask for them at your local grocery store – they are awesome! I love the combo too, enjoy!
Those grapes are so cool!
I agree, Erika! Kids love them too!
I love salads for lunch and unexpected touches to them which the addition of grapes do here. Great idea!
Thanks Candiss! I love lunch salads too, and these grapes are perfect in this combo!
Toasting the walnuts for the cheese is such a great way to upgrade this salad! I love all of the ingredients and love even more that this calls for an easy rotisserie chicken to pull together. What a great meal prep recipe!
The toasting really does make such a difference! Thanks Jenni!
Wow, this will be a great addition to my salad collection. I loved the addition of chicken and adding grapes to the chicken salad is interesting.
It is an interesting combo that tastes really good together- hope you get a chance to try it Lathiya!
Those grapes are gorgeous! I’ve never heard of them but need to look for them. Perfect fit in that salad!
Thanks Lisa! They are really one of a kind, I hope you get a chance to try them!
prepping for the week is always a good idea!
So true! It is just one less thing to have to think about during the day!
What a perfect salad for a meal prep lunch. I love everything about this.
Thanks Andrea! It is one of my favorite combos!
I have never heard of sweet sapphire grapes before – they look so rich in antioxidants!
They are delicious too, I hope you get a chance to try them Erica!
Lovely combination of ingredients. Can’t wait to make this. Delicious.
Thanks Kushigalu! Enjoy!