When I transitioned to healthier eating, kicking the sugar/sweet flavors was the hardest. Anything that I was used to being heavily sweetened tasted odd and it took me quite some time find comfort in the new flavors. However, using fruit in savory ways came out of my struggle to find the balance of sweet without added sugars. The pop of sweet followed by the slow heat of this peach salad has become a favorite of mine, plus it satisfies my desire for the occasional sweet flavor. The key for this salad is finding peaches that are ripe but still a bit firm. This helps them hold up to the heat but soak in all the good flavors of the chipotle marinade.
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A well-balanced summer salad featuring a sweet and spicy grilled peached paired with sweet corn and arugula.
Tips & Tricks: The firmness of the peaches is key- overly ripe peaches fall apart of the grill.
Stock up: get the pantry ingredients you will need: peaches, pepitas, sweet corn
Nutrition: see the information.
Hands down, the peaches are the star of this salad. I could easily eat just these peaches with a drizzle of the dressing but the greens, corn, and pepitas add a nice balance to the sweet spice of the peaches. A few ways you could vary this peach salad:
Greens: I love the bite of arugula but I know it's not for everyone. This salad would also be nice with spinach or kale. The kale would hold up to the heat of the peaches nicely as well if you were to serve this salad right from the grill.
Beans: I like adding small white beans to the salad for extra protein and help boost it into the complete meal category. Black beans would also work.
Vegan: While I really enjoy the goat cheese on this salad, it can easily be left out and for the dressing, ditch the honey for another sweetener (or just leave it out as well).
Of all the summer fruit, peaches are one of my favorite to play with from a savory aspect. They balance spice well and can be the perfect start of a dinner or lunch, like this peach salad. Look for peaches that aren't quite ripe yet, a day or two before using.
Savory Peach Rye Crepes
Peach BBQ Chickpea Sandwiches
Stone Fruit Salsa
What an amazing looking salad ... I can't wait to make and taste it for myself!
Oh my, I just finished this for supper on this hot, muggy night, and it was absolutely wonderful! I didn't want to start the whole charcoal grill for this recipe, so I cranked up the indoor George Foreman, and it worked perfectly. I also didn't have goat cheese or feta (though both are mentioned in the recipe) so I used some shredded mozzarella, which I had on hand. What an inspired recipe - thank you! Your food is a staple in my household!!
Soooooo delicious! Replaced the goat cheese with halloumi, sooo good!
This was incredible!! I used the cheese & greens I had on hand (queso fresco and a mix of arugula and kale) and added white beans. This is now one of my favorite salads ever. I "grilled" the peaches in pan on the stove, and they were still wonderful.
★★★★★
This was phenomenal - made this when we had family over, and everyone at the table was wishing I'd made more. A lot of variations you could do with this too, this is going to become one of my go-to's!
★★★★★