This 30-minute salad makes a bright, sweet side on any summer table. Juicy peaches, creamy mozzarella & herbs will please vegetarians & meat eaters alike!
This one has moved to the top of my list for favorite summertime dishes. Sweet grilled peaches, spicy arugula, creamy fresh mozzarella, crunchy pine nuts, and herb-y pesto… It’s simple enough to put together for a light weeknight meal, but fancy enough to serve as a starter at your next dinner party.
Grilled Peach Salad & Mint Pesto
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
Author: Jeanine Donofrio
Serves: 4 as a side
Ingredients
For the salad:
- 2 firm, yet ripe, peaches
- 2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
- 2 cups baby arugula
- Fresh mozzarella, sliced
- A few dollops pesto
- Toasted pine nuts, for sprinkling
- Sea salt and fresh black pepper
For the mint & basil pesto:
- 1 packed cup mixed mint & basil
- ¼ cup pine nuts, toasted (you could also use walnuts instead)
- ½ garlic clove, roughly chopped
- Juice and zest from ½ a lemon
- ¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil, more to taste
- A few pinches red pepper flakes
- Sea salt and fresh black pepper
Instructions
- Slice the peaches into 6 segments per peach. In a small bowl, toss them with the olive oil, balsamic, and just a small pinch of salt.
- Heat your grill (or grill pan) to medium high heat and brush it with some oil. Place the peach slices on the hot grill and cook each side for 2-3 minutes without moving them (near the end you can gently peek to see how your grill marks are coming along). When your peaches are grilled, set aside and allow them to cool to room temperature.
- Meanwhile, make the pesto: Combine the mint and basil, pine nuts, garlic, lemon juice and zest, olive oil, and pinches of red pepper flakes, salt, and pepper in a small food processor and pulse to combine. Add more oil for a smoother pesto, or leave it chunky - whichever consistency you prefer.
- Toss the arugula with a little bit of olive oil and a few pinches of salt. Assemble on a platter and top with the mozzarella slices, peaches, dollops of the pesto, a sprinkle of pine nuts, and a few pinches of red pepper flakes. Squeeze a bit of lemon on top and serve.
Notes
A note about grilling peaches: They will pick up the flavors of what you previously grilled on your grill. Depending on what that was, you may want to clean your grill well before beginning.
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THIS PLATE! Silver-lined (literally)?
I’m sure it’s not real silver, it was from West Elm and not all that expensive 🙂
I’ve just discovered your blog through Pinterest and am already hooked. Everything looks so appetising!
Wow, that looks AMAZING. I’ve never tried grilling peaches before, but they look so delicious. I love arugula and I imagine that the flavours, along with the mozzarella and the mint pesto, would be incredible. Thanks for sharing!
I am in love with this salad! Gorgeous colours and photos!
i have been thinking of this salad nightly, waiting for the perfect main dish to accompany. Now I have waited so long I am down to one tiny peach but I am making it anyway and I am thrilled. It’s gorgeous and you are so so fabulous!
This was a first too for me, grilling peaches- amazing! We enjoyed them with a scoop of vegan ice cream – I love the combination of arugula, pesto and pinenuts – this is simply an amazing creation!
This is one gorgeous salad! Wow! Love that you’ve paired the grilled peaches with salty mozzarella, spicy arugula and a mint pesto. I love everything about this dish! Hope you are having a lovely summer.
First of all, absolutely LOVE your blog, I love seeing emails coming in to notify me of new posts!!
Sob a question for you, I am away to my best friend in Australia for my holidays in September and I am planning on preparing a a special meal for her and her friends while there, this salad seems special enough to have as one of my salads (to be honest it’s going to be a very Love and Lemons heavy menu, I’m testing your Goats Cheese Brownies this week) now the way the menu is shaping up and the area she lives in I think it will have to be a barbecue, anyways long winded way of asking if barbecued peaches would be a good idea? Too smoky perhaps? Won’t get a chance to test on a barbecue before I go as Ireland is not really getting barbecue weather!!!
Hi Tara,
You’re so sweet, I’m so glad you’ve enjoyed following 🙂
I grilled my peaches on a grill pan on my kitchen stove but they would work on an outdoor grill as well. You’ll need to oil your grill more because they’ll stick more. The smoky flavor would completely depend on what was cooked on that grill previously… that could impart a really good flavor into the peaches, or a not so great one depending on your personal preference. I would test out just a couple of peach slices to see if you really like the way they taste. If not, (and if they’re nice ripe peaches), you could just cut them up and put them on the salad non-grilled as a plan B.
Your mint and basil pesto looks really good! I just got turned onto pesto and I have a mint plant, so it sounds great to try. I actually don’t like peaches (or atleast I’m reluctant) but I’d love to try the pesto with Arugula. What else do you recommend it with?
Oh, and I love your pictures. Beautiful presentation!
Hi Justina,
I love pesto on so many things – pasta, salads (with any veggies you like). You can dollop it on eggs, put it over grilled veggies, scoop it on toasted bread… it’s endless really.
What a beautiful blog! Lovely post and recipe – this summer I will definitely have to try out this fragrant combination of flavours. Thanks for sharing!
This salad looks gorgeous! I can’t get enough of eating peaches so will definitely have to try your beautiful recipe 🙂
p.s. Showed this to my boyfriend and he immediately said we should make this for dinner! 🙂
Such a beautiful salad! What’s that wine you drank with it?
Oh, I want to say it was a really refined pairing, but really, I keep a box of white wine (either Black Box sauvignon blanc or Bota Box pinot grigio) in my fridge that I call “weeknight wine.” Fancy, I know…
Now THIS sounds like one of the greatest summer salads ever. Grilled peach and pesto–love it!
This sounds just lovely, as does everything you make!
this looks fabulous!
Wow, Jeanine. You really hit it out of the park with this one. Almost every day, as I’m peeling my daily peach ration, I try to come up with some amazing recipe that would enhance their deliciousness, and not take away. Looks like you’ve done it!
as usual, these photos are incredible. The colors are so amazing together. I would kill for a plate of this salad for lunch, right about now 🙂
Beautiful colors!
Day=Made
I just found you blog from a pin and I almost high five’d my computer screen. Such beautiful photography and wonderful recipes. I could eat this entire blog, or just look at it all day, either way, its great!!
thanks Tiffany! glad I could make your day 🙂