Peach arugula salad with raspberry dressing

This arugula peach salad is perfect for summer because it only needs a few ingredients to be cohesive and very flavorful.

• Peaches: super sweet
• Arugula: bold & peppery
• Feta: creamy & salty
• Pecans: nutty & crunchy
• Raspberry vinaigrette: tart & ties it all together

How the bold flavor allows for simpler salads

Arugula's defining peppery bite creates a flavorful salad with very few ingredients.

Think of your favorite arugula salads - they are usually pretty simple, right? Now think of your favorite iceberg or romaine salads, which are often loaded with ingredients or a thick dressing to carry the flavor.

The peppery arugula flavor comes from the same compounds that give mustard and radishes their bite.

Why the texture of arugula matters

Arugula is tender, but structured, with a lightly textured surface. These all contribute to making a standout arugula peach salad, whether you're using baby or regular arugula.

The tender leaves work well with the soft peach slices, where something like kale would be too tough and fibrous in comparison.

Arugula is also structured enough to hold up to heavy ingredients, like the peaches, without wilting. The same concept applies when making a steak arugula salad.

Dressing easily clings to the lightly textured surface of arugula leaves. The raspberry vinaigrette for this salad sticks to the leaves, even though it's on the thinner side.

Whereas when using lettuces like romaine, iceberg, or butter lettuce, a thinner dressing slides right off.

Arugula holds up to heavy ingredients

Arugula salads still feel light because their irregular shape keeps the leaves separated. The salad still feels springy and not weighed down.

Compare arugula to spinach in this recipe. The spinach would stick together as their uniform flat shape plasters together.

This is why peach arugula salads are common and peach spinach salads are not. Spinach is best paired with drier fruit, like in a spinach strawberry salad.

How much arugula you need for a side salad

Arugula is commonly sold in 5 ounce plastic containers, if you can't find it fresh. A 5-ounce container of arugula makes four generous side salads.

This arugula peach salad recipe is specifically designed to use up one of those containers, so each serving is 1.25 ounces of arugula (about 2 cups loosely packed).

If you're making this salad for a dinner party with other sides, you can expect people to take a much smaller serving, usually half the size. That means a 5-ounce container of arugula would serve 8 people.

All peaches work in this salad

Any peach will work in this arugula salad because their flavors and textures are all similar enough. Pick up your favorite variety or the best ones in season at the farmers market.

Here's a few generalized characteristics to help you choose the best peach for this salad:

• Yellow peaches: sweet, low acid, very soft
• White peaches: even more sweet and less acid, and very soft
• Nectarines: sweet, medium-low acid, soft but firmer than peaches

The trick to finding the best tasting peaches is to pick ones that smell delicious. Their aroma is the best indicator of flavor. It's not foolproof, but it's the best test at the market.

For an even deeper dive into the specific characteristics, head over to my seasonal peach guide.

How to work with a juicy peach

Peaches just might be the juiciest summer fruit. When you cut a ripe peach, juice will get all over and it will continue to release juice as it sits.

You have a few options to handle the extra moisture:

• Cut the peaches right before adding them to the salad
• Cut them and place in a colander to drain for 15 to 30 minutes
• Grill or roast them ahead of time, releasing some of the water content

You can also use slightly firmer peaches, before they've fully softened. If they smell good, they should taste good.

Raspberry vinaigrette

Salads that feature fruit typically benefit from a sweet dressing to tie all of the ingredients together.

Otherwise, the fruit sometimes feels like a stand alone ingredient.

Raspberries have a tart flavor that works to balance (and liven up) the super sweet peaches. It takes just 5 minutes to make with a blender or food processor.

Alternatively, this blackberry vinaigrette is another great option, adding a hint of bitterness and tannic flavors. If you have extremely sweet peaches, this could be a good swap.

Recipe

More recipes & resources

When peaches are in season, salads are a great way to enjoy them, other than fresh eating of course.

I found a few other peach salad recipes that might interest you, so you can enjoy them on different salads all summer long.

• Grilled peach salad with arugula and mint pesto from Love & Lemons
• Tomato, peach, and burrata salad from Half Baked Harvest
• Peach & tomato caprese salad from What's Gaby Cooking