This summery peach salad recipe is made with ripe summer peaches, peppery arugula, creamy goat cheese, slivered almonds, and fresh basil tossed in a vinaigrette. (See option for grilling the peaches!)
As I write, the smell coming from the peaches fills my kitchen with goodness. It’s the scent of summer and brings me back to my childhood kitchen, with our 70s daisy wallpaper and sticky hands and cheeks. To this day, my favorite way to eat a peach is still leaning over the kitchen sink.
Here’s a delicious peach salad we have been serving at weddings all summer long! I love this peach salad; it always makes me happy when brides order it- the presentation is lovely, and the combination of flavors is downright heavenly!
It’s made with fresh summer peaches (grilling them is optional), peppery arugula, fresh basil, creamy goat cheese, slivered almonds, and punchy red onion tossed in a simple vinaigrette, letting the peaches shine!
Peach Salad Ingredients
- Peaches – ripe, delicious-smelling peaches- purchase free-stone peaches if possible! See notes below on how to find the best peaches!
- Baby arugula (or sub baby spinach, or other favorite green)
- Crumbled goat cheese – a salty cheese like feta will not as taste good here!
- Red onion adds a nice “bite.” Make sure to slice thinly.
- Almonds- use toasted slivered almonds
- Fresh basil leaves– torn or cut into basil ribbons.
- Vinegar: Red wine vinegar, white wine vinegar, champagne vinegar, or white balsamic.
- Honey: or agave or maple syrup
- Extra virgin olive oil
- Salt and black pepper
How to make Peach Salad
Step 1: Prep the peaches. The first step in making this salad is removing some of the fuzziness of the peach. Use a dry terry cloth towel and gently buff the peaches. Cut them in half and remove the pit. Slice. (Scroll down for grilling option!)
Step 3: Make the easy vinaigrette. Place everything in a bowl and whisk.
Step 4: Combine. Place the arugula, red onion, fresh basil, goat cheese crumbles and almonds in a large bowl and toss with a little of the dressing. Slice the peaches and arrange them over the top, and spoon a little dressing over them. Sprinkle with more toasted almonds, basil and goat cheese.
Grilled Peach Salad Option
Grilling the peaches gives them a delicious flavor. Place the peaches on a clean, greased, preheated grill, set to medium heat. Grill for just a few minutes until good grill marks appear.
Then continue with the recipe-layering the salad.
Storage
The dressing can be made up to 4 days ahead and stored in an airtight container in the fridge. The salad is best eaten on the day it is made, but leftovers will keep for 24 hours.
Serving Suggestions
This peach salad would be delicious paired with grilled chicken, grilled fish, or grilled tofu!
Chef’s Tips
People often ask me how to pick out good peaches. The first clue is always by their smell. You can’t judge a peach by its looks alone- smell them! A beautiful peach may be utterly tasteless. A not-so-pretty, dented, lopsided, or bruised peach may be surprisingly flavorful. Your best bet is to let your nose be your guide. Their smell will mimic their taste. A good peach will smell of sweet nectar.
Enjoy this peach salad, and let us know what you think in the comments below.
xoxo – Sylvia
More favorite peach recipes
- Peach Bruschetta
- Fresh Peach Salsa
- Tomato Peach Gazpacho
- Peach Panzanella Salad with Fennel and Arugula
- Peach Chicken
- Peach Cobbler
Peach Salad Recipe
- Prep Time: 15
- Cook Time: 10
- Total Time: 25 minutes
- Yield: 4-6
- Category: Salad, summer salad, main, Gluten-free
- Method: Tossed
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Vegetarian
Description
This summery peach salad recipe is made with ripe summer peaches, peppery arugula, creamy goat cheese, slivered almonds, and fresh basil tossed in a vinaigrette. (See option for grilling the peaches!)
Ingredients
- 3 ripe peaches, sliced.
- 5–6 oz baby arugula (or other favorite green)
- 1/4 cup crumbled goat cheese
- 1/4 cup red onion, thinly sliced
- 1/4 cup toasted slivered almonds, more for garnish
- 1/4 cup basil, torn or cut into ribbons. Purple basil is pretty here!
Vinaigrette
- 2 tablespoons champagne vinegar, red wine vinegar, white wine vinegar, or white balsamic
- 1 tablespoon honey or maple syrup
- 4 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 garlic clove, finely minced
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
Instructions
- Whisk the vinaigrette ingredients together in a small bowl or jar.
- Gently rub the fuzz off the peaches using a terry cloth towel. Halve the peaches and slice.
- Place the greens, red onions, basil leaves, slivered almonds and goat cheese in a large bowl with some of the vinaigrette, just enough to coat and toss well. Place in a serving bowl.
- Arrange the sliced peaches and spoon dressing over top, sprinkle with more toasted almonds.
- Serve immediately.
Notes
Grilling the peaches is optional. To grill, halve them, remove the pit, and grill open side down on a well-greased grill over medium heat, until good grill marks appear. Let cool and slice. Continue with the recipe. For the photos, I grilled individual slices- a little tricky, but it can be done!
Storage- this salad is best served soon after it is assembled! Leftovers can get soggy, but may be OK for 24 hours.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cup
- Calories: 192
- Sugar: 10.9 g
- Sodium: 144.6 mg
- Fat: 14.5 g
- Saturated Fat: 3 g
- Carbohydrates: 13.7 g
- Fiber: 2.2 g
- Protein: 4 g
- Cholesterol: 4.4 mg
Excellent peach salad! Subbed pecans – and have done this with pine nuts too. Dressing is nicely balanced and I tend adjust sweetness depending on the peaches.
Sounds good, appreciate you taking time to review!
It’s peach season here in Vermont. It was either make a salad or peach icream. Salad won out! Delicious.
Having leftovers for lunch today.
Haha-That’s a tough decision! Glad you enjoyed.
My guests loved this dish!
Great to hear Donna!
This salad is absolutely delicious. My first time grilling peaches. It was a show stopper
Yay! So glad you gave it a try!
Delicious! Grilling the peaches makes all the difference. We did have difficulties getting pretty grill marks but we were able to get a little char here and there which was perfect. We used white balsamic instead of regular and the dressing was perfect. This is such a beautiful and perfectly balanced summer salad.
Thanks Leslie! Glad you enjoyed this!
Wow is this good. Grilling peaches makes them so good. Worth the extra effort. We had this for two of us for lunch, so adjusted amounts ( we each had a whole peach) and also added grilled red onion that you had here, and grilled orange pepper happened to have. I am usually lazy about salad dressings so I used a good reduced balsamic vinegar and on mine a bit of lemon too. Goat cheese, and almonds perfect on this. We were very happy!
I’m so happy you like this! I am making this one today to take to a party….it has been a while!
Oh wow, we just had this salad with our dinner…so good! And so simple and easy to make. I used feta instead because my husband dislikes goats cheese and local Australian orange blossom honey.
I Will be making this again and again, thank you.
Im surprised the recipe doesn’t call for peeling the skin off the peaches after grilling. I think the skin is a distraction.. recipe great , beautiful fresh and tasty
Shepherds Cheese is a sheep’s milk cheese. Cheese made from the milk of a sheep, vs. a cow or goat. In Spokane, I sometimes find it at Huckleberries, Saunders Cheese Market or the Main Market Co-op. If you are not in Spokane, try a cheese store or a gourmet grocer. And goat cheese works just as well. 🙂
What is shepherds cheese? And where do you find it. Thanks,KJH
A stunning salad! Love the appetizer too.
This looks amazing!! What beautiful pictures too! I’m going to have to make this. Thank you for the post.
thanks and let me know how it turns out.