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This peach and tomato salad is summer at its finest! Ripe tomatoes and peaches are mixed with onion, peppery basil, salty feta, and a tangy vinaigrette.
It’s hard to tire of summer produce! Every time summer rolls around, it’s impossible to get of juicy Indiana tomatoes or peaches. I first invented this salad for a special visit: my mom was in town visiting from Minnesota for a Girl’s Weekend!
We had a total blast visiting our favorite Indy haunts…including Broad Ripple Farmer’s Market, where we picked up some amazing heirloom tomatoes and perfectly ripe peaches. Here’s what we made with them: this peach and tomato salad recipe.
Ingredients You’ll Need
Here are the key ingredients you’ll need for this salad:
- Ripe peaches: This is key: only use the ripest, juiciest summer peaches here
- Ripe tomatoes: Same goes for tomatoes! You want your best ripe summer tomatoes
- Red onion: This adds a hint of savory flair to the salad
- Fresh basil: Basil is key for an herbaceous, summery taste
- Sherry vinegar, olive oil, and honey: This makes a quick vinaigrette. You can also substitute maple syrup or agave.
- Feta cheese: Optional, but it adds a salty pop
The Story Behind This Peach and Tomato Salad
This tomato and peach salad was inspired by a peach panzanella my Mom and I had at Bluebeard restaurant, and this summer panzanella from Laura at The First Mess (so cute!).
We originally though we’d try our hand at a panzanella, an Italian salad made with dried-out bread cubes. However, since we didn’t have any old bread on hand, the thought of buying bread and turning on our oven to dry it out just didn’t appeal in the heat!
So, we omitted the bread turned the idea into a straight up tomato and peach salad. The salad turned out perfect, with everything perfectly balanced. Sweet peach against acidic tomato, peppery basil against salt feta, and a lightly sweet vinaigrette of sherry vinegar and honey. This peach salad was a great accompaniment to our meal!
Ways to Serve It
This peach and tomato salad is perfect for any summer meal. I love it with anything off the grill, like chicken burgers, grilled chicken thighs, grilled shrimp, or grilled salmon. It’s also great with cherry tomato pasta, or more summer salads like Mexican street corn pasta salad.
Dietary Notes
This tomato & peach salad is vegetarian and gluten-free. For vegan, plant-based and dairy-free, omit the feta cheese.
Tomato & Peach Salad with Basil
This tomato and peach salad is summer at its finest! Ripe tomatoes and peaches are mixed with onion, peppery basil, salty feta, and a tangy vinaigrette.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 0 minutes
- Total Time: 15 minutes
- Yield: 4 to 6 1x
- Category: Salad
- Method: Raw
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
- ½ red onion
- 2 large peaches
- 2 large tomatoes
- ½ cup packed fresh basil leaves
- 2 tablespoons sherry vinegar (or red or white wine vinegar)
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 tablespoon honey
- ¼ cup feta cheese crumbles
- Kosher salt
- Fresh ground pepper
Instructions
- Thinly slice the red onion; place it in a small bowl and cover in cold water. Squeeze and release the onion slices about 5 to 6 times; drain the water and repeat the squeeze and rinse cycle 2 more times. Place the slices back in the bowl and cover with cold water while assembling the salad.
- Dice the peaches and tomatoes. Slice the basil into thin strips.
- In a small bowl, whisk together sherry vinegar, olive oil, honey, 2 pinches kosher salt, and several grinds fresh ground pepper.
- Drain the onions and squeeze them dry. In a large bowl, gently mix together onions with tomatoes, peaches, basil, and dressing, and a few pinches kosher salt. Sprinkle with crumbled feta cheese and serve.
How is this dairy-free if there is feta in it?
You are correct! I’ve updated the post to indicate it is dairy free if you omit the feta.
As I write this comment, I am in the process of making your recipe for Tomato & Peach Salad with Basil. Step 15 of Instructions reads: “In a large bowl, gently mix together onions with tomatoes, peaches, beans, basil, and dressing, and a few pinches kosher salt.” There are no “beans” in the list of ingredients. I noted the recipe was published 2012 and updated 2019. Maybe I am the only one to actually read the instructions? Just asking….
I am going forward with the salad – looks very tasty.
Great question! You are correct, this is an old recipe and we subsequently felt the white beans were not necessary so removed them from the recipe: except for that one spot! We’ve updated the recipe to remove it now. Hope you enjoy!
That is such a clever idea to tone down the bite of the red onion! I definitely plan on using that technique soon.
Thanks for sharing!
Sarah xo