Grilled Peach Salad with Feta
Time to turn on your grill and intensify your summer peach season with our grilled peach salad recipe. Juicy tender grilled peaches combined with creamy, salty marinated feta and a crispy arugula endive salad, this summer side dish is stunning to serve and absolutely delicious to share.
Why You’ll Love Our Grilled Peach Salad
There is something alluringly delicious when savoury fruit salads are thrown together. And in summer, I love making the most of the seasonal fruit in our salad recipes.
Sweet, lightly smoky flavours of juicy grilled peaches combined with punchy arugula endive salad and creamy feta, this grilled peach salad recipe makes the most of this glorious summer fruit.
I adore this simple recipe because there is minimal work to prepare, plus the perfectly balanced sweet, savoury flavours really tingle the taste buds.
You can serve this peach arugula salad as a side salad or an individual starter at your next BBQ or dinner party. It is an easy summer salad recipe to share with family and friends.
How To Use Stone Fruit In Salads?
We know high summer has arrived when we see mountains of glorious stone fruit at the greengrocer.
Peaches, nectarines, plums, cherries and apricots are all delicious on their own but we also love adding them to our salad recipes for natural sweetness.
Instinctively sweet dessert salads like our cherry and plum fruit salad with chocolate soil or mixed stone fruit salad recipe are great for stone fruits but we also love them in savoury salads like our yellow nectarine and halloumi salad. The contrasting sweet, tangy flavour of nectarines works a treat against the salty halloumi cheese.
Why Do You Grill Peaches?
Grilling stone fruits intensify their natural sweetness and make them extra juicy. It is a great way to utilise fruit that is not fully ripe.
Just like grilling apricots, the heat enhances the natural sugars in peaches as well as creating a softer flesh with a smoky caramelised flavour.
The charred marks of grilled peaches look awesome in a salad too!
How To Serve Grilled Peaches
Other than adding grilled peaches to salads, some other proteins such as pan-fried pork chops, grilled salmon or roast chicken also go well with peaches. You’ll find that grilled peaches pair really with prosciutto too.
I also love to mix grilled peaches with a creamy cheese like feta, goat cheese, fresh mozzarella or even burrata like our tomato and burrata salad.
Recipe Overview
Flavour/Texture: The perfect juxtaposition of sweet peaches, peppery arugula with endive and creamy, salty feta together is amazing. Nothing beats contrasting sweet, savoury flavours.
This peach salad recipe has a lot of different textures – crunchy vegetables against the tender, juicy flesh of peaches make this summer salad recipe so captivating.
Ease: A few steps are needed to grill the peaches, but the rest of the salad just needs to be chopped and tossed together with the creamy marinated Persian feta. I would consider this an easy salad recipe for sure.
Time: Make this peach feta salad within 25 minutes.
Ingredients
These are the main ingredients you need for Grilled Peach Salad:
Peaches: One of the most popular stone fruits, peaches can come in white or yellow varieties. White peaches are sweet with a little tartness, whilst yellow peaches have a bit more acidity.
Either variety would work in this recipe but I prefer grilling yellow peaches to get the lovely char marks on against the bright hues.
Endive: You may have seen this vegetable at the greengrocers but have no idea how to use it. I adore endive, again, because I like slightly bittersweet flavours in vegetables like radicchio.
You can use it raw or cooked. In this salad, I love the crisp texture and the contrasting bitterness it adds to the grilled peach.
Arugula: Similar to the endive, I love the peppery flavour of arugula against the sweet grilled peaches.
Snow peas: For fresh green colour, raw snow peas are great in salads. Just like our cantaloupe salad recipe, snow peas add crunch and a pop of sweetness.
Feta: We often use feta in salads to add creamy, salty flavours, plus it can be transformed into different textures like whipped feta.
I chose marinated Persian feta for its lush, buttery flavours in this peach salad recipe. Marinated feta is basically feta pre-marinated in oil plus additional herbs, spices and aromates.
You can easily purchase them at delis or supermarkets. If you can’t find marinated feta, Greek feta is also fine.
Walnuts: You can toast or not toast the walnuts for extra crunchy flavours.
Variations and Substitutions
Alternative to peaches: Try nectarines or apricots as alternatives to peaches. Or you can try grilled pineapple or cantaloupe when peaches are not in season.
Substitute for endive: You can substitute endive with radicchio or watercress for peppery flavours, or you can try baby cos lettuce if you prefer less bitter flavours.
Vegan option: Change the marinated Persian feta for our vegan ranch dressing for a vegan salad recipe.
Nut variations: You can omit the walnuts for a nut free salad or switch to pecans or pine nuts.
Salad dressing variations: For those who are not keen on feta can switch the dressing to our creme fraiche and chives dressing, basil and mint dressing or a lighter honey vinaigrette.
Instructions
Step by step instructions for how to make grilled peach salad with feta:
How to Grill Peaches
Cut the peaches in half and remove the pit. Then slice each half into thick wedges.
Lightly spray/brush cut peaches with neutral oil.
Grill peach wedges over high heat on each side for a couple of minutes until there are nice char marks.
You will know the peaches are done when the juices are slowly released, and caramelisation starts to form.
Remove and set aside for assembly.
How to Make The Salad
Separate and pick the leaves from the endive. Give them a good wash and pat dry.
Top and tail snow peas and thinly slice into long strips on a diagonal.
Wash arugula leaves and pat dry.
Chop walnuts into smaller pieces.
How to Assemble the Salad
Place marinated feta pieces and a tablespoon of the marinated feta oil into a small bowl. Mash up the pieces in the oil so it forms like a dressing.
In a large mixing bowl, place endive leaves, arugula and snow peas in.
Squeeze half a lemon over the salad.
Add marinated feta and toss together to cover the salad with crumbed feta and oil. Add more feta and oil if it is not enough.
You can serve this grilled peach salad individually as an appetiser or on a large platter to share.
To plate, place one side of the platter with endive, arugula and snow pea salad and on the other side of plate, add grilled peaches.
Scatter chopped walnuts over salad and drizzle more of the marinated feta oil.
How to Make This Salad Perfectly (Expert Tips)
Choosing the peaches: When grilling peaches, avoid buying fruit that is too ripe. When the peaches are too soft already, they may get even softer after grilling. Choose peaches that are ripe but still firm.
Let the peaches alone: Try not to move the peaches too much on the grill. You want to leave them long enough to cook and create beautiful, defined charred marks. Check after 2 minutes.
Larger peaches: Bigger pieces of fruit work better on the grill. Do not cut the peach wedges too thin. Aim for approximately 6 wedges from each peach.
Great Mains for This Salad
What to serve with grilled peach salad? Try these delicious main dish recipes:
As mentioned, peaches and pork go so well together. This smoked baby back rib is no exception and is perfect for those lovely summer days.
While you’re busy grilling the peaches, put the air fryer to work and make these delectable air fryer chicken leg quarters. The feta would give this recipe a nice creamy finish. Meanwhile, for those pescatarian days, try this lemony brown butter salmon.
Frequently Asked Questions
I would prep the ingredients in advance but assemble with marinated feta when ready to eat. If you want to serve your grilled peaches warm, grill them closer to the time of serving.
This recipe calls for fresh peaches. Canned peaches are already too soft to grill. If peaches are not in season, switch to pineapple or cantaloupe.
No, you do not need to remove the skin before grilling peaches. Keeping the skin on keeps the peach wedges intact and gives them structure.
Yes, grilling peaches will soften the flesh and eventually break it down therefore do not use fruit that is too ripe.
Yes, you can freeze peaches to use throughout the year. They’ll last up to 6 months when frozen. When you’re ready to use the frozen peaches, simply thaw them in the refrigerator for a few hours before adding them to your fresh salad.
Frozen peaches may not have the same texture as fresh ones, but they’ll still add delicious flavour and nutrition to your salad.
Transform your peaches this season with the grill, making them taste even sweeter and better with a smoky charred flavour. With crispy arugula endive salad and marinated feta, this grilled peach salad recipe will be your go-to BBQ salad all summer long.
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Grilled Peach Salad with Feta
Ingredients
Click on the toggle below for conversion to US Cooking Units.
Instructions
Salad
- Cut the peaches in half and remove the pit. Then slice each half into thick wedges. Lightly spray/brush cut peaches with neutral oil. Grill peach wedges over high heat for a couple of minutes on each side until there are nice char marks.Remove and set aside for assembly.
- Separate and pick the leaves from the endive. Give them a good wash and pat dry.
- Top and tail snow peas and thinly slice into long strips on a diagonal.
- Wash arugula leaves and pat dry.
- Chop walnuts into smaller pieces.
Assembly
- Place marinated feta pieces and a tablespoon of the marinade oil into a small bowl. Mash up the feta in the oil so it combines like a dressing.
- In a large mixing bowl, place endive leaves, arugula and snow peas.
- Squeeze half a lemon over salad.
- Add marinated feta and toss together to cover the salad with crumbed feta and oil. Add more feta and oil if it is not enough.
- To plate, place one side of the platter with endive, arugula and snow pea salad and on the other side of the plate, add grilled peaches.
- Scatter chopped walnuts over salad and drizzle more of the marinated feta oil.
Notes
- Try nectarines or apricots as alternatives to peaches. Or, you can try grilled pineapple or cantaloupe when peaches are not in season.
- You can substitute endive with radicchio or watercress for peppery flavours, or you can try baby cos lettuce if you prefer less bitter flavours.
- Change the marinated Persian feta for our vegan ranch dressing for a vegan salad recipe.
- You can omit the walnuts for a nut free salad or switch to pecans or pine nuts.
- For those who are not keen on feta, switch the dressing to our Creme Fraiche and Chives dressing, Basil and Mint Dressing or Creamy Garlic Dressing.
- You can serve the salad on a large platter to share or divide into individual servings as an appetiser.
- When grilling peaches, avoid buying fruit that is too ripe. When the peaches are too soft already, they may get even softer after grilling. Choose peaches that are ripe but still firm.
- Try not to move the peaches too much on the grill. You want to leave them long enough to cook and create beautiful, defined charred marks. Check after 2 minutes.
- Bigger pieces of fruit work better on the grill. Do not cut the wedges too thin.
Nutrition
*Disclaimer: Nutritional information provided is an estimate only and generated by an online calculator.
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