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This peach salad recipe is irresistibly fresh! Pair the juicy fruit with cheese crumbles, toasted nuts, fresh greens, and a balsamic vinaigrette for one of my top ways to use ripe, fresh peaches.
When it’s the season, you’ve got to make all of the peach recipes. It’s just a handful of months, but my, is it glorious! One of my favorite ways to embrace the brightness of fresh peaches is this peach salad recipe.
If a salad can taste as satisfying as a dessert, this one is it! It stars juicy, ripe peaches and a sweet balsamic vinaigrette, with creamy goat cheese, nutty toasted almonds, and pops of sweet corn.
When I first took these photos, I polished the salad off the minute I was done shooting it. It’s become a favorite in my family all summer long!
What you’ll need
Here’s what you’ll need to put this peach salad together, with a few notes on substitutions:
- Ripe peaches: Use only the best juicy ripe peaches. If they’re hard when you give them a gentle squeeze, wait a few more days to make this salad.
- Toasted almonds: It’s worth taking the extra few minutes to toast the almonds. It enhances the nutty, crunchy flavor.
- Mixed greens: I like a mix of butter lettuce and other greens.
- Red onion: Slice them French cut (length-wise) for best presentation. (Here’s how to cut an onion!)
- Canned corn: Canned corn is easiest, but if you happen to have leftover grilled corn, it’s divine! You can also use fresh corn cut from the cob.
- Goat cheese or feta cheese: It’s best with chèvre, but nearly as good with feta. Omit the cheese for a vegan salad.
- Balsamic vinaigrette: Make it with balsamic vinegar, Dijon mustard, maple syrup, salt, pepper, and olive oil.
How to ripen peaches
When you shop for peaches, there’s a lot of variation in ripeness. You might find them rock hard or so juicy they’re almost bruising. If you start with hard peaches, you’ll need several days to ripen them, especially if they’re out of season. Here’s how to ripen peaches:
- Place the peaches in a paper bag.
- Add a banana inside the bag. The banana emits ethylene gas, which helps the peaches ripen at the same time.
- Gently close the top of the bag. This traps the gases inside.
- Wait for 1 to 5 days, depending on the ripeness of the peaches. Check each day by gently squeezing the fruit to see if the flesh feels soft.
Delicious variations
This summery peach salad is ripe for riffing on. (Yep, I said it!) My mom recently made it with a more fruit-forward vinaigrette and loved it. Here are a few ideas for components you can switch out:
- Cheese: Use feta crumbles, Parmesan shavings, sliced manchego, or smoked Gouda chunks.
- Nuts: Use chopped pecans, walnuts, pistachios, or hazelnuts.
- Corn: Omit, use fresh corn cut off the cob, or top with grilled corn.
- Onion: Omit or use shallots for a gentler flavor.
- Dressing: Try another tangy-sweet dressing like Poppy Seed Dressing, a Raspberry Vinaigrette, or a Strawberry Vinaigrette.
More summer salads
Salads are king in the summer! Here are a few more tasty summer salads to try:
- Strawberry Summer Salad
- Watermelon Feta Salad
- Grilled Corn Salad
- Pesto Pasta Salad
- Classic Three-Bean Salad
Dietary notes
This peach salad recipe is vegetarian and gluten-free.
Frequently asked questions
Ripe, but firm peaches are ideal for this salad. Look for peaches that yield slightly to gentle pressure but are not mushy. You can use either yellow or white peaches, or a combination of both.
No, peeling peaches is not necessary for a salad.
A light vinaigrette complements the sweetness of the peaches and the peppery arugula. A simple balsamic vinaigrette or a honey mustard dressing would both be delicious options. You can also try a poppyseed dressing for a classic flavor combination.
Absolutely! This salad is versatile and can be customized to your liking. Try adding grilled chicken or grilled shrimp for a heartier meal, or different toasted nuts or seeds for added crunch.
Fresh Peach Salad
This peach salad recipe is irresistibly fresh! Pair the juicy fruit with cheese crumbles, toasted nuts, and a balsamic vinaigrette.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 0 minutes
- Total Time: 15 minutes
- Yield: 4 1x
- Category: Salad
- Method: No Cook
- Cuisine: Salad
- Diet: Vegetarian
Ingredients
For the salad
- ¼ cup sliced almonds
- 6 to 8 cups mixed greens (I like a mix of butter lettuce and other greens.)
- 3 small (or 2 large) ripe peaches
- 1 handful of red onion slices
- ½ cup canned corn, drained (or fresh corn or grilled corn)
- 2 ounces soft goat cheese, crumbled (or feta cheese)
For the dressing
- 1 ½ tablespoons balsamic vinegar
- 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
- 1 tablespoon maple syrup
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- Fresh ground black pepper
- ¼ cup olive oil
Instructions
- Toast the almonds: Place the nuts in a dry skillet (no oil) over medium heat. Heat, shaking the pan and stirring often with a wooden spoon, until the nuts are fragrant and golden brown, about 4 to 5 minutes. Remove immediately from the heat and transfer to a plate to stop the cooking.
- Prep the fresh ingredients: Slice the peaches. Thinly slice the onion.
- Make the dressing: In a small bowl, whisk together the balsamic vinegar, maple syrup, olive oil, kosher salt, and several grinds of fresh ground black pepper until thick and emulsified.
- Serve: To serve, top the greens with the peaches, almonds, red onion, goat cheese, and corn, then drizzle with the dressing. Serve immediately.
Salad was big hit at our movie club dinner. Topped with candied pecans, no corn, added some dried cranberries and only used half the maple syrup. A++
I made this using nectarines – it’s fabulous! We don’t love fresh onion, but I had some left over fennel so pickled it and used instead.
I have fresh peaches and I’m doing Romain spinach cherry goat cheese and pecans. Going to add grilled chicken breast and I used a pecan praline balsamic and pecan oil in the dressing. It tastes amazing but I’m taking this to work with me for my dinner. I’m sure it’s going to be awesome based on the dressing and fresh sweet peach. Thank you for the recipes.
Making this today for a group dinner. Should I wait to cut peaches ( May use nectarines) right before so they won’t turn brown?
You can, or you can toss them with a little lemon juice to prevent browning!
nice summer salad, nice with peaches, have never used them before, closest for me are pears in a salad like this, thank you