This glorious grilled peach and chicken salad is packed with arugula, fresh herbs, and feta cheese. It's topped with crunchy pistachios and drizzled with a light honey mustard dressing. Easy to make, it's the perfect light summer dinner.
This delicious grilled peach and chicken salad is one of my favorite summer salads - perfect for peach season! It's an amazing combination of ingredients, all bursting with flavor, healthy, light, and ready in no time.
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If you've never had grilled peaches before, now is the perfect time to try them. You'll love them so much that you'll start coming up with new recipes featuring grilled peaches - not just in salads, but in desserts, breakfasts, and more.
Grilling peaches is so easy that once you try it, you'll wonder why you didn't do it sooner. Sure, grilling fruit might not be the first thing that comes to mind, but it's definitely worth it!
Try more summer salads, including fruit: Summer Quinoa Salad with strawberries and nectarines, Tiger Prawn Salad with Red Currants, or Watermelon Feta Balsamic Salad.
Recipe ingredients and substitutions
Peaches: Look for fresh, ripe peaches that are still firm. Substitute peaches with nectarines.
Boneless, skinless chicken breasts: I used one smaller piece of about 125 g/ 4.5 oz. You can marinate the chicken breast before grilling; it will improve the flavor. However, if you don't have the time for it, it's fine; the grilled peach and chicken salad will still be scrumptious.
Lots of fresh basil and mint, and arugula (rocket); I love its peppery taste and freshness. Sub arugula with lamb's lettuce or baby spinach.
Pistachios: I prefer to use roasted, salted pistachios in their shells, even if it takes a few minutes to shell them all. They are much better than any already-shelled pistachios I have ever bought. Substitute them with other nuts or seeds like almonds, crunchy pecans or walnuts, sunflower seeds, or pine nuts. All of these nuts and seeds should be roasted in the pan.
Feta: When it comes to feta, I always buy blocks of feta, preferably in brine. Substitute feta with goat cheese, mozzarella, or burrata (which is the most amazing creamy mozzarella).
Lime: You can use lemon juice instead. But I love the lime flavor in this peach salad recipe.
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.
How to choose peaches for grilling?
The best peaches to grill are those that are still rather firm. If the peaches are too ripe, they contain too much sugar, which will burn quickly. If they are too soft, they will become mushy when grilled.
Really underripe peaches are not ideal either, as they will take too long to cook and will probably remain too firm even after grilling.
How to grill peaches?
- Heat a grill pan on medium heat.
- Halve and pit the peaches: run a knife around the circumference of the peach and twist it open. Remove the pit.
- Spray or brush them very lightly with oil.
- Grill: Place the peaches in the pan, cut side down, and cook them for about 5 minutes until they have beautiful grill marks on the underside.
- Flip them using tongs and grill on the other side for another 5 minutes or so until their skins are also charred and the peaches are soft.
- Check: If they are not quite soft after this time, transfer them to the sides of the pan, where the temperature is somewhat lower, and continue grilling for a couple more minutes until they are done to your liking.
How to make grilled peach chicken salad?
You can grill the peaches and the chicken on a grill pan or on an outdoor grill.
Step #1: Dry the chicken breast with a paper towel and rub it with the Dijon mustard marinade. If you have the time, leave it to marinate for 15 minutes to 1 hour.
Step #2: Place the chicken and the peaches in the preheated grill pan, cut side down. Grill them for about 5 minutes until nicely charred on the underside.
Step #3: Flip the meat and the fruit and grill for another 5 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through and the peach halves are nicely charred and soft.
Step #4: Mix arugula and herbs with half of the dressing in a large salad bowl. Arrange the juicy peaches and the sliced chicken on top. Add crumbled feta and chopped pistachios, and drizzle the remaining dressing on top of the salad.
How to use grilled peaches?
Use them in salads like today's grilled peach salad with peaches, but in combination with other salad leaves or mixed greens, nuts, and cheeses. Leave out the chicken or replace it with shrimp, turkey, or pan-fried tofu cubes.
Breakfast: Top your granola, porridge, and müsli for breakfast. Serve them on top of this delicious Buckwheat Porridge, or mix them with our Homemade Sugar-Free Müsli.
Use them in desserts topped with whipped cream, ice cream, or strained yogurt. Serve them with German Vanilla Sauce or over Rice Pudding with Condensed Milk. Make a fruit salad.
Serve them as a side dish for Cast-Iron Chicken Breast, Air Fryer Frozen Chicken Breast, Air Fryer Bone-In Pork Chops, or Apricot Glazed Pork Tenderloin.
Good to know!
This recipe serves one, but you can easily make more. If your grill pan isn't large enough for multiple portions, grill the tender chicken and peaches in batches. It's best to assemble each serving in individual bowls for each person.
Storage
- The grilled peach and chicken salad is best enjoyed immediately. The dressed salad should be consumed on the day it's made.
- However, the grilled peaches and the cooked chicken breasts can be refrigerated in separate airtight containers for 2-3 days.
Grilled Peach and Chicken Salad
Equipment
- Grill pan
- Small bowl
Ingredients
Salad (Note 1):
- 1 small chicken breast about 4.5 oz/ 125 g
- ½ teaspoon Dijon mustard
- 1 teaspoon olive oil
- 1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
- 1 medium peach or nectarine
- large handful arugula or baby spinach, lamb's lettuce
- small handful basil
- a few sprigs mint
- 1 oz pistachios 30 g, Note 2
- 1 oz feta ⅛ cup when crumbled/ 30 g or goat cheese
Dressing:
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 teaspoon runny honey
- ½ teaspoon Dijon mustard
- juice of ½ lime about 2-3 teaspoons (to taste)
- fine sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
Grilled peaches and chicken:
- Chicken marinade: Mix mustard, olive oil, and balsamic vinegar. Add salt and pepper. Rub the chicken breast with this mixture. Leave to marinate for 15 minutes to 1 hour, if you have the time, or grill the chicken breast immediately.1 small chicken breast + ½ teaspoon Dijon mustard + 1 teaspoon olive oil + 1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
- Grill peaches and chicken: Halve and pit the peach. Lightly spray or brush the peach halves with olive oil. Heat a grill pan on medium heat. Add the chicken and the peach halves, cut-side down. Grill for 5 minutes. 1 medium peach
- Flip the chicken and peaches: Continue grilling for another 5 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through and the peach halves are nicely charred and soft.
- Check doneness: If the peach is not as soft as you would like it to be, move it towards the side of the grill pan and continue grilling it at a lower temperature until done to your liking. Check the chicken by piercing it with a skewer, the juices should run clear.
- Let rest shortly: Remove both from the pan and let cool for a couple of minutes. Slice the chicken.
Grilled peach salad:
- Prepare salad ingredients: While the chicken and the peaches are cooking, wash and dry the arugula and the herbs. Place them in a large bowl. Shell and chop the pistachios.large handful arugula + small handful basil + a few sprigs mint + 1 oz pistachios/ 30 g
- Make the dressing: Whisk olive oil, honey, mustard, lime juice, salt, and pepper in a small bowl. Adjust the taste. 1 tablespoon olive oil + 1 teaspoon runny honey + ½ teaspoon Dijon mustard + juice of ½ lime + fine sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
- Assemble the salad: Add half of the dressing to the arugula and herbs and mix to coat the herbs with the dressing. Arrange the sliced chicken and the peaches on top. Add the crumbled feta and the chopped pistachios. Pour the remaining dressing on top. Serve immediately.1 oz feta/ 30 g
Notes
- Servings: This recipe serves one, but you can easily make more. If the grill pan is not large enough for several portions, grill the tender chicken and the peaches in batches. It's preferable to assemble each serving for each person in an individual bowl.
- The pistachios are slightly salted and roasted in their shells. I weighed the pistachios after removing the shell. You will need a very small handful of shelled pistachios, exact weighing is not necessary unless you are counting the calories.
- Substitute pistachios for other roasted nuts or seeds, such as almonds, pecans, walnuts, sunflower seeds, or pine nuts.
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