This Blackberry Peach Salad is a contemporary summer time salad made with grilled peaches, blackberries, blueberries, creamy avocado, spinach, cucumber, Gorgonzola cheese, fast pickled onions, maple glazed pecans, and a home made lemon basil mint dressing.

Summer time Peach Salad

I am a giant believer in fruit-forward salads, particularly in peak summer time when peaches and berries are at their finest. This peach salad is sweet-meets-savory accomplished proper: the grilled peaches caramelize simply sufficient to convey out their sweetness, the Gorgonzola provides a salty punch, maple-glazed pecans add the crunch, and the pickled onions minimize by all of it.

Add greens like spinach and arugula, together with avocado, cucumber, and summer time berries, and you’ve got a winner! Each chunk has distinction – candy, tangy, creamy, and crisp.

Make it as soon as, and I promise it will be on repeat till the final peach of the season disappears. For extra peach recipes, try my Summer time Fruit Salad, tremendous common Strawberry Peach Cake, and my favourite Crisp with Peaches and Blueberries.

Components & Substitutions

• Child spinach and arugula create a balanced base for this summer time peach salad. The spinach provides tenderness whereas the arugula contributes a peppery taste that pairs particularly effectively with the candy fruit and creamy cheese.
• Peaches: Select ripe however nonetheless barely agency peaches so that they maintain their form when sliced and grilled. Overripe peaches can develop into delicate and launch an excessive amount of juice into the salad.
• Grilling the peaches is elective, however it provides a caramelized taste and delightful visible distinction. If utilizing grilled peaches, permit them to chill earlier than including them to the greens so they don’t wilt the salad.
• Gorgonzola gives a richer, creamier taste than feta and works significantly effectively with blackberries, peaches, and maple-glazed pecans. Feta, goat cheese, or delicate blue cheese work too.
• Avocado: Slice it simply earlier than assembling so it stays contemporary and inexperienced.
• English cucumber provides a cool, refreshing crunch.
• The fast pickled onions add brightness and acidity that balances the sweeter substances. Even a brief pickling time helps mellow the sharpness of the uncooked onion.
• Maple-glazed pecans: These take 5 minutes in a skillet and are dangerously snackable. Make further. When making the glazed pecans, hold the warmth reasonable and stir regularly. Maple syrup can darken rapidly if the warmth is just too excessive. The pecans could seem sticky when first faraway from the skillet, however they are going to develop into much less cheesy as they cool. Walnuts or almonds glaze up simply as properly as pecans.
• Contemporary basil and mint are used each within the dressing and as garnish for the grilled peach salad.
• Lemon basil mint dressing: Olive oil, contemporary lemon juice, honey, and Dijon whisked with chopped herbs to tie all of it collectively.

The way to Make Blackberry Peach Salad

This recipe has 5 easy parts (fast pickled onions, maple-glazed pecans, grilled peaches, salad dressing, and salad meeting), however none of them are fussy. I’ll stroll you thru every step with step-by-step images.

Please observe that that is the recipe overview. For full recipe directions and the ingredient listing, scroll all the way down to the complete printable recipe card under.

1) Begin With the Fast Pickled Onions

Stir the vinegar, sugar, and salt collectively in a jar or bowl till dissolved. Then – here is my favourite trick – pour boiling water over the sliced onions in a colander earlier than including them to the vinegar combination. That fast blanch takes away the tough raw-onion chunk and helps them pickle quicker. Set them apart; they’re going to get higher and higher as they sit.

2)The way to Make Maple-Glazed Pecans

Add the pecans and maple syrup to a skillet over medium-low warmth and stir regularly till the syrup thickens and coats each pecan. Off the warmth, sprinkle them with flaky sea salt and a pinch of cinnamon, then unfold them out to chill. As they cool, the coating units right into a shiny, caramelized shell. 

Cool the pecans utterly earlier than topping the salad. Heat pecans will wilt the greens and lose their crunch. Unfold them in a single layer so they do not clump. And take a look at to not eat all of them earlier than the salad is assembled – they’re addictive! I particularly like having this maple-glazed pecan recipe in my again pocket as a result of it really works simply as effectively on different salads!

3) A Few Suggestions About Peaches

Select peaches which are ripe however agency. They need to give simply barely when pressed and scent aromatic on the stem. Overly delicate peaches will flip mushy on the grill – save these for smoothies! Barely underripe peaches truly grill fantastically, for the reason that warmth coaxes out their sweetness.

Lower the peaches into thick wedges. Intention for slices about ¾ inch thick – thinner slices soften too rapidly and might crumble on the grill.

When grilling, do not transfer the peaches too quickly. For these picture-perfect grill marks, place the slices on the recent pan and go away them undisturbed for 1 to 2 minutes earlier than flipping. In the event that they resist while you attempt to raise them, they want one other 30 seconds.

4) Whisk Up the Dressing

Mix dressing substances (olive oil, contemporary lemon juice, honey, Dijon, and loads of chopped basil and mint) in a bowl and whisk till easy. The dressing is vibrant, herby, and simply candy sufficient to enrich the grilled peaches in a salad!

5) Last Meeting

Toss the spinach and arugula with a little bit dressing first so each leaf will get evenly coated. Then prepare the cucumber, pickled onions, avocado, peaches, and berries on high.

End your grilled peach salad with the toppings: Gorgonzola, maple pecans, contemporary herbs, and yet another drizzle of dressing.

Serving Concepts

• Add your favourite protein to show blackberry peach salad into a whole meal. It pairs completely with something off the grill. Rooster, salmon, or grilled shrimp are all excellent companions. Serve this grilled peach salad with considered one of my 15 Finest Grilling Recipes.
• It additionally makes a stunning starter for a summer time feast, together with my watermelon salad and my favourite appetizers, akin to Cheese Ball and Mexican Corn Dip.
• Serve it with Mediterranean dishes like my hen spaghetti with burrata cheese, Mediterranean salmon, or Greek hen.

Extra Peach Salads

• Grilled Rooster Salad with Peaches
• Blueberry Peach Salad with Prosciutto (or Bacon) and Balsamic Dressing
• Stone Fruit Pasta Salad with Cherries, Peaches, Feta, and Arugula
• Peach Mozzarella Salad with Basil and Prosciutto
• Summer time Peach Salad with Peaches, Blackberries, Feta, and Balsamic Dressing
• Summer time Fruit Salad with Honey-Lemon Dressing
• Grilled peach salad with arugula, avocado, berries, toasted nuts, and a honey mustard lemon dressing