Arugula Peach Salad

This lovely peach salad recipes features quick candied walnuts, tofu feta, basil and a simple maple dijon vinaigrette. Enjoy this sweet and tangy salad as a light main or a side to your favourite Summer meals. This recipe is vegan, oil-free and gluten-free.

Salad Ingredients

• Tofu feta. The tangy tofu feta is really nice against the sweet, crunchy candied walnuts and fresh peaches. If you can, make the tofu feta a day in advance so it has lots of time to marinate.
• Candied Walnuts. You’ll need just 5-minutes to make the candied nuts. This step is optional of course but it makes them extra crunchy, toasty, sweet and delicious so I’d recommend going for it! Pecans also work really well here.
• Basil. There’s nothing better than fresh, fragrant basil in a salad. Don’t skip it.
• Greens. I used arugula but spinach, mixed salad greens or any other fresh green works.
• Peaches. Peaches are the star! Look for large, white or regular peaches – I used a combo – that are just slightly firm to the touch. Here’s how to tell if a peach is ripe and ready to eat.
• Dressing. All this gets drizzled with a sweet and tangy, oil-free dijon dressing made with lemon and maple syrup.

How to Make Tofu Feta

To make the crumbled tofu feta for this recipe you’ll need some good quality, extra-firm tofu and for best results, I’d recommend pressing the tofu before use. I’ll cover how to press tofu below.

For the tofu feta “marinade” all you need it lemon, apple cider vinegar, sea salt and garlic powder. To make the feta, crumble the pressed tofu into a bowl or container and add the rest of the ingredients, mix well and let sit for a few hours. Once it’s ready, use anywhere you’d use crumbled feta.

How to Press Tofu

To press the tofu, place the solid block of tofu on a dish towel and fold the towel over it. Place the wrapped block of tofu on a plate and place something weighted on top of it. I use a few heavy cookbooks. Let it sit like that for 20-30 minutes in order to press out any excess liquid. After 30 minutes, you can proceed with the recipe. You can also purchase a tofu press on Amazon.

How to Make Quick Candied Walnuts

Quick candied nuts are very easy to make. All you need it nuts and a bit of sweetener. I used coconut sugar but any granulated sugar works.

To make them, heat a skillet over medium heat, then add the nuts, sugar and a bit of water. You can use oil or vegan butter for more decadent nuts but I just use water. Heat it all up for about 5-8 minutes, stirring often until all the nuts are ooey, gooey and coated in the sugar mixture. Let them cool and they’re ready to go.

Fresh Peach Salad Recipe

This simple and delicious, fresh peach salad features tangy tofu feta, sweet and crunchy candied walnuts, fresh basil and an easy lemon maple dijon dressing. I love this for a quick meal when I don’t feel like cooking but it also makes a lovely started salad or side dish during the Summer and early Fall when stone fruits are in season.

Recipe Substitutions and Additions

• You can use pecans or slivered almonds in place of walnuts.
• Avocado or diced cucumber are nice additions to this salad.
• You can use spinach, arugula or mixed salad greens for the base.
• You can use any stone fruit in this recipe. Try nectarines, apricots or plum instead of in addition to peach.
• Blueberries, raspberries or sliced strawberries make a nice addition to this salad, or try them instead of peaches.
• Balsamic Vinaigrette, Lime Almond Dressing, or Maple Tahini Dressing make a nice alternative to the maple dijon vinaigrette.
• For extra flavour and presentation points, try this as a grilled peach salad by grilling the peaches on the BBQ or an indoor grill.

Recipe Notes

• The candied walnuts and dressing makes enough for 4 salads.
• Adjust the amount of peaches, greens and basil needed for however many salads you want to make as the extra nuts, dressing and tofu feta can be used in other recipes if desired.
• The tofu feta makes enough for up to 8 salads. The extra can be stored in the fridge for up to a week, or feel free to just make half the package if you don’t want any leftover. You can use the extra tofu feta in my Blueberry Spinach Salad, Greek Pasta Salad, Mediterranean Quinoa Bowls or Avocado Corn Salad.

More Simple Salads

Loving this peach salad? You might like these too:

• Beet Walnut Salad
• Chickpea Blueberry Salad
• Chickpea Bell Pepper Salad
• Warm Potato Arugula Salad

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