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This Peach Salad is the ultimate summer salad, featuring an easy peach salad dressing that will make you want to lick your bowl clean. It’s the perfect way to use up a bruised peach if you find one on your counter!
Why You’ll Love It
It tastes amazing. Featuring fresh peaches, red onion, and creamy avocado, this peachy salad is a delicious way to get more veggies into your life.
It’s a great way to reduce food waste. If you have bruised peach that isn’t pretty enough to eat, simply cut off the bruises, remove the pit, and throw it in a blender to make this easy peach vinaigrette. It gives the dressing a velvety texture, while using a fraction of the oil traditional dressing recipes require.
It’s easy to customize. This recipe calls for kale leaves, but you can also use baby spinach, spicy arugula, or any other leafy greens you love. You can also get creative with the toppings! Feel free to add baked chicken or tofu for extra protein, or crumbled feta or goat cheese for some tangy creaminess.
It’s easy to make ahead of time. If you need an easy side dish to bring to a party, this peach vinaigrette can be made up to 3 days in advance. Store it in the refrigerator, and then toss it over your salad ingredients shortly before serving.
Ingredients You’ll Need
When selecting your peaches, select ones that give a little when you squeeze them to ensure they are ripe. If the peaches are too firm, they won’t be flavorful enough yet and will be difficult to cut into.
Let the peaches ripen on your counter if they aren’t soft enough to use yet.
Feel free to use any other greens or salad toppings you love in this recipe. Fresh basil would be a nice, refreshing addition, or you can add some pecans or pine nuts for extra crunch.
How to Make the Best Peach Salad
1. Prepare the dressing.
Add the peaches, apple cider vinegar, extra virgin olive oil, water, honey, salt & pepper to a high-speed blender, and blend until smooth.
Taste the dressing, and add an extra tablespoon of honey, if you’d like more sweetness. The flavor will vary each time you make this dressing, depending on how sweet the peach is that you use. You can also add a pinch of black pepper, for a touch of spice.
Set the dressing aside while you assemble the salad.
2. Prepare the leafy greens.
When using kale for this recipe, be sure to wash the leaves well and remove the tough stems, which aren’t as pleasant to bite into. Chop or rip the greens into bite sized pieces, then add them to large bowl and drizzle some of the dressing over the top.
Use your hands or tongs to toss the dressing well over the greens. Kale tends to taste best after you massage the dressing into it, so don’t be afraid to get your hands dirty!
3. Add the toppings.
Once the greens have been tossed in the dressing, add in the rest of the salad ingredients. Sprinkle on the sliced avocado, extra peaches, red onion, chickpeas, and any other toppings you love.
Drizzle on extra dressing, as you like, and then the peach salad is ready to serve right away.
Looking for more summertime salads? Try my Strawberry Spinach Salad with Lemon Poppy Seed Dressing, Arugula Salad with Raspberry Vinaigrette, or Summer Salad with Orange Basil Vinaigrette.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, you can replace the honey with maple syrup or agave for a vegan friendly sweetener.
Peaches pair well with other summer produce, like zucchini, cherry tomatoes, red onion, and fresh basil.
Of course! If you want to take the extra step of making a grilled peach salad, you can place the ripe peaches on the grill to get more of a warm, caramelized flavor.
I’ve only made this recipe with apple cider vinegar, but you can most likely use balsamic vinegar, or even just lemon juice, with delicious results.
More Salad Recipes to Try
If you love this peach salad, you’ll also love my Apple Walnut Salad, classic Holiday Salad, or Thai Salad with Peanut Dressing for more flavorful ideas.
Have more peaches to use? Be sure to also try my Peach Ice Cream, Gluten-free Peach Crisp, and Peaches & Cream Ice Pops.
Ingredients
Dressing Ingredients
- 1 ripe peach , pit removed & cut into chunks
- 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 2 tablespoons water
- 1 tablespoon honey
- ¼ teaspoon each salt & black pepper
Peach Salad Assembly
- 1 bunch kale (about 8 cups)
- 1 ripe peach
- ½ avocado
- ½ red onion
- 1 cup cooked chickpeas
Instructions
- To prepare the peach vinaigrette, combine the chopped peach, vinegar, oil, water, honey, salt, and pepper in a blender. Blend until very smooth. Taste and add extra honey, if needed, then set it aside.
- To prepare the salad, remove the tough stems from the kale leaves and rip the kale into small, bite-sized pieces. Transfer the kale to a large bowl and pour a generous amount of dressing over the top. (You won't use all of the dressing here; start with a 1/4 cup.)
- Use your hands, or tongs, to massage the dressing into the kale, until it feels tender. Then add on the rest of the toppings, including the sliced peach, avocado, red onion, and chickpeas. Toss gently, then serve right away, with extra dressing on top, if desired.
- This salad is best enjoyed right away because the toppings will get soggy the longer they sit, but you can store the dressed kale in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. Leftover dressing will keep well in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days, too.
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Notes
Nutrition
If you try this peach salad recipe, please leave a comment and star rating below letting me know how you like it.
So good!
Love this so much! I didn’t have apple cider vinegar, but I did have red wine vinegar, and it was delicious!
I’m not a kale person but loved this
So delicious! Easy and beautiful too.
The recipe was delicious and we all loved it!
Do you think this dressing can be frozen?