Here in Georgia, peaches and pecans are two wonderful ingredients that are both plentiful and sure to be found in the kitchen of many home cooks. In there rural area where I live there are many farms and pecan orchards. During the spring and summer months, I love nothing more than a colorful salad loaded up with crisp fresh fruit, and topped with crunchy pecans and a homemade citrus vinaigrette. Today’s recipe for Peach, Pecan and Goat Cheese Salad with Citrus Vinaigrette is sponsored by Sahale Snacks of The J.M. Smucker Company.
I really enjoy adding a bit of crunch to my salads with ingredients like crisp apple slices and nuts. The Nut Mixes from Sahale Snacks are perfect for sprinkling over your spring and summer salads, and this Georgia girl is a huge fan of the Valdosta Pecans Glazed Mix.
It’s a classic taste of the south with delicious black-peppered pecans, sweet cranberries, and a just a pinch of orange zest. I also like adding dried cranberries to my salads, and love how this nut blend has both the pecans and cranberries. So much goodness.
Spring is definitely near. I was so excited to find so many beautiful strawberries, peaches and oranges in the grocery store last week, and at a reasonable price. So often what I find in the produce department inspires my menu for the week.
This simple salad is made with a spring mix of greens, and is tossed with some thinly sliced red onion and apples. Some sliced sweet peaches, crumbled goat cheese and a fresh citrus vinaigrette finish it off.
If I have a few extra minutes to spare, I do like to make my own dressing. This zesty house dressing is one of my favorite creamy dressings to make, but a light vinaigrette seemed perfect for this early season salad.
When making this dressing I realized that I needed to add a little more citrus to it, so it ended up almost filling the jar. There’s nothing wrong with having a little left over for tomorrow’s salad. It should keep in the fridge for a few days, so no worries if you end up with a bit extra.
Peach, Pecan and Goat Cheese Salad with Citrus Vinaigrette
Ingredients:
5 to 7 ounces of spring mix or arugula
1 medium red onion, thinly sliced
2 apples thinly sliced, one sweet and one tart
2 peaches, sliced
6 ounces goat cheese, crumbled
1 (4 ounce bag) Sahale Snacks Valdosta Pecans Glaze Mix
Citrus Vinaigrette:
1 small shallot, minced
3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup champagne vinegar. (you can substitute white vinegar)
juice of 1 lemon
juice of 2 medium-size oranges
2 tablespoons sugar
salt and pepper to taste
Directions:
To prepare the salad dressing, place all ingredients into a jar with a tight fitting lid and shake until well combined. You may need more or less of the citrus juice. Just taste as you go along until you have the right balance of sweetness. If your oranges are very sweet, you may only need one teaspoon of sugar.
For the salad, mix all ingredients in a large bowl and toss with some of the citrus vinaigrette.
The Valdosta Pecans from Sahale had some influence over my other salad ingredients. I couldn’t resist that combo of pecans and peaches. My local Walmart has a display of Sahale Snacks conveniently located right in the produce department.
Sahale Snacks aren’t just for recipes. They have a wonderful variety or products that are great for snacking. If you’re not sure where to find Sahale Snacks, use this handy store locator. You can also connect with Sahale on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
What are some of your favorite salad ingredients?
Peach, Pecan and Goat Cheese Salad with Citrus Vinaigrette
About a MomIngredients
- 5 to 7 ounces of spring mix or arugula
- 1 medium red onion thinly sliced
- 2 apples thinly sliced one sweet and one tart
- 2 peaches sliced
- 6 ounces goat cheese crumbled 1 (4 ounce bag) Sahale Snacks Valdosta Pecans Glaze Mix
Citrus Vinaigrette:
- 1 small shallot minced
- 3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1/4 cup champagne vinegar. you can substitute white vinegar
- juice of 1 lemon juice of 2 medium-size oranges
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- To prepare the salad dressing, place all ingredients into a jar with a tight fitting lid and shake until well combined. You may need more or less of the citrus juice. Just taste as you go along until you have the right balance of sweetness. If your oranges are very sweet, you may only need one teaspoon of sugar.
- For the salad, mix all ingredients in a large bowl and toss with some of the citrus vinaigrette.
This sounds like an amazing combination. Easy to make too! Yum
That is a nice sounding salad. I wouldn’t mind trying that here with my familiy!
This salad looks fantastic. I am so wanting this right now – yum!
This salad looks delicious. I love all of the yummy ingredients and I think this would really fill me up.
Ooo, that looks delish! The dressing alone I can almost taste through the screen!
This looks incredibly delicious!! I’m making it this weekend.
Thanks for sharing!
That looks so amazing! I would love to try this for one of my lunches!
I tried goat cheese for the first time recently. Wasn’t sure how I would like it, but ended up loving it!
The salad looks and sounds so delicious. I also like that citrus dressing you made and would like to add it to a few other dishes.
I love salads and nuts really give them an extra crunch. I sometimes make glazed nuts but these are the perfect short cut.