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This Peach Salad is the ultimate summer salad — ripe, juicy peaches with tender avocados, creamy goat cheese, and crisp honey-almonds. Drizzle on the best balsamic vinaigrette and dig in!
Try some of our other favorite summer salads like this Fruit Salad Recipe (with peaches), this Cucumber Feta Salad, or this quick Corn Salad with avocado.
Looking for a grilled peach salad? Check out our post for how to make grilled peaches and add a grilled peach in this recipe.
A Simple Peach Salad
While there are quite possibly a few dozen ingredients you could throw into a summery salad, we’re keeping it simple with four salad additions and a quick balsamic vinaigrette.
We’ll let the stellar summer produce do the talking and, I think you’ll agree, simple is best here! This salad is sweet with a nice savoriness, it’s creamy, and it’s so fresh and light tasting.
With perfectly ripe peach and avocado, this salad feels more like a treat than an obligatory task to “get in your greens.”
Peach Salad Ingredients
- sliced and candied or roasted almonds (I use a bag of store-bought honey roasted almonds
- ripe avocado (chopped or sliced)
- ripe peach (chopped or sliced)
- goat cheese (or feta, burrata, or mini mozzarella pearls)
QUICK TIP
Fully ripe avocados are game changers for this salad. A ripe avocado adds an incredible creamy texture and a superior flavor. You can tell an avocado is ripe by gently pressing near the stem. If the avocado yields to that gentle pressure, it’s ripe and ready to be added to this salad!
Peach Salad Dressing
The dressing whips together so quickly–it’s so worth it to make it from scratch — you know exactly what’s in it and the flavor is top-notch!
- Balsamic vinegar. The better your balsamic vinegar, the better the flavor of the dressing will be.
- Dijon mustard. Make sure to use Dijon, not yellow mustard.
- Olive oil. We recommend extra virgin olive oil for this recipe.
- Red wine vinegar. Instead of relying solely on balsamic vinegar, we add this vinegar which keeps the dressing punchy, but not as intensely flavored. It adds a nice, almost imperceptible rounding-out flavor!
- Honey. Since the two kinds of vinegar offer a fair amount of tang, we like balancing that out with some honey.
- Salt and pepper. Add to taste preference, remembering that an extra pinch can be the difference between a good and a stellar dressing!
QUICK TIP
To control how sweet this Fresh Peach Salad is, adjust the honey in the dressing. For a sweeter dressing, add additional honey, slowly, and to taste. For a tangier dressing, reduce the honey.
How To Cut Peaches For Fruit Salad
To cut a peach, run a knife around the natural seam of the peach from end to end and then twist the peach to open. Remove the pit by scooping it out with a spoon or pinching the pit with two fingers and pulling it out.
If the peaches aren’t ripe enough to twist in half, cut around the pit the best that you can then thinly slice (or chop) the peaches for this salad.
QUICK TIP
How do you know if your peaches are ripe? Give the peach a firm yet gentle squeeze. If there is a little bit of give, the peach is likely ripe or close to it. Next you want to check the color. The perfect ripe peach will be deep golden/yellow, not pale. Lastly, look for the texture of the peach. A ripe peach will have shriveled skin around the stem. The wrinkles are a great sign of a ripe peach. Don’t forget to use your nose, as well: a ripe peach will smell very peachy. The riper the peaches, the better the salad will taste!
VARIATIONS
Make This Salad Your Own!
- Peach Salad Burrata: Leave out the goat cheese and replace with burrata (I’d also add in some prosciutto here!) Or make a Peach Salad with Mozzarella using mini mozzarella pearls and prosciutto.
- Swap out the nuts: Replace the almonds with roasted and lightly salted pistachios (coarsely chopped).
- Put in some onion: Add in a thinly sliced red onion for some more tang.
- Peach Salad With Feta: If you aren’t a fan of goat cheese, use feta instead.
- Peach Salad Vegan: To remove animal products, replace the honey with agave or pure maple syrup and leave out the cheese (or use a vegan alternative).
STORAGE
Dress Only What You’re Going To Eat Promptly!
- Once dressed, this Summer Peach Salad doesn’t sit very well with the dressing and avocado mixed into it. (The avocado browns and takes on an odd texture; the dressing wilts the greens.)
- If you aren’t planning to eat the entire salad in one sitting, toss and add dressing to the amount you’ll be eating at this time. Undressed, the salad stays fresh for 1-2 days. After a couple of days, the lettuce, cheese, and avocado deteriorate significantly.
More Salad Recipes:
Peach Salad
This Peach Salad is the ultimate summer salad — ripe, juicy peaches with tender avocados, creamy cheese, and crisp honey almonds. Drizzle on the best balsamic vinaigrette and dig in!
Peach Salad
This Peach Salad is the ultimate summer salad — ripe, juicy peaches with tender avocados, creamy cheese, and crisp honey almonds. Drizzle on the best balsamic vinaigrette and dig in!
Ingredients
Dressing
- 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
- 1/2 tablespoon red wine vinegar
- 1/2 tablespoon Dijon mustard
- 1/2 tablespoon honey
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- Fine sea salt & pepper
Instructions
-
DRESSING: In a wide-mouth jar with a lid, combine all the dressing ingredients. Season to taste with salt and pepper; I add 1/8 teaspoon fine sea salt and 1/16 teaspoon pepper. Briskly shake to combine and emulsify. (Don’t have a jar? Briskly whisk in a bowl instead!) Check to make sure honey isn’t sticking to the bottom — whisk it into the mixture if it is. Taste and adjust the flavor to personal preference. Store in the fridge until ready to use.
-
SALAD: Set out mixed greens on individual plates or in a large bowl/platter. Remove pit from peach and thinly slice or dice. Add to greens. Remove peel and pit from avocado and thinly slice or dice. Add to greens. Toss gently (read Note 2 first) with about 3/4 of the dressing (shake dressing again before drizzling on). Then add the almonds and goat (or feta) on top and drizzle with the remaining dressing. Enjoy promptly.
Recipe Notes
- To toast the almonds: Add the sliced almonds in a single layer to a completely dry skillet (don’t add any oil) on medium-high heat. Stir the almonds every 15 seconds for about 1-2 minutes or until the color slightly darkens and they start to smell good– but watch carefully to prevent burning.
- To candy almonds: Check out the directions in this Strawberry Poppy Seed Salad.
Note 2: Storage: Once dressed, this salad doesn’t sit very well with the dressing, cheese, and avocado mixed into it. (The avocado browns & the dressing wilts the greens.) If you aren’t planning to eat the entire salad in one sitting, toss and add dressing to the amount you’ll be eating at this time. Undressed, the salad stays fresh for 1-2 days. After a couple of days, the greens, cheese, and avocado deteriorate significantly. Salad will not freeze/thaw well.
Nutrition Facts
Serving: 1serving | Calories: 284kcal | Carbohydrates: 15.9g | Protein: 6.5g | Fat: 23.6g | Cholesterol: 3.5mg | Sodium: 118.7mg | Fiber: 6.9g | Sugar: 7.3g
We do our best to provide accurate nutritional analysis for our recipes. Our nutritional data is calculated using a third-party algorithm and may vary, based on individual cooking styles, measurements, and ingredient sizes. Please use this information for comparison purposes and consult a health professional for nutrition guidance as needed.
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