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This sweet and salty grilled peach salad celebrates summer with grilled peaches and creamy blue cheese drizzled with tangy honey vinaigrette.
This grilled peach salad with honey vinaigrette is that perfect balance of flavors and textures…sweet, salty, creamy, and crispy. Grilled peaches are the highlight and our farmers markets and grocery stores are gloriously teeming with them right now.
I try to buy locally whenever I can. I make an effort to shop local merchants and mom and pop’s for gifts and housewares. And I especially try to buy local, farm-raised food and produce whenever I can.
I found the most glorious New Jersey peaches at a farm stand this weekend and filled my bag. We used the bulk of them for snacking and breakfast, but the rest found their way into this grilled peach salad.
Let’s make grilled peach salad
- First, lay the pancetta in a single layer on a lined baking sheet and bake until crispy. Reserve.
- Next, halve and pit the peaches, coat them in a little olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Grill the peaches cut-side down until softened and you have visible grill marks.
- Turn the peaches over and top with brown sugar mixed with a splash of white wine vinegar and grill a few minutes more. Remove from the grill and top with blue cheese and a drizzle of honey.
- Whip up the honey vinaigrette and toss the greens with the dressing.
- Top the greens with the peach halves, the crispy pancetta, and a sprinkle of chives to serve.
These grilled peaches are complimented by the crispy, salty pancetta. The greens are dressed by a simple honey vinaigrette and those gorgeous peaches are plucked off the grill and the blue cheese crumbles melts just enough on their warm surface to create the most perfectly creamy, salty, sweet bite.
This salad is summer. It celebrates New Jersey’s finest produce and my warm weather prized possession, my grill. It’s a delicious starter or can hold it’s own as a light summer meal. Nothing tastes better than seasonal, local ingredients and this salad is proof!
Tips for success
- Always use ripe peaches for the best flavor.
- The honey vinaigrette can be made in advance and stored in the refrigerator for up to a week. Bring to to room temperature to serve.
- Not a fan of blue cheese? Try goat cheese or feta instead.
- If you can’t find pancetta, regular bacon or prosciutto can be substituted.
More tasty salads
- Plum Caprese Salad
- Pear Frisée Salad with Candied Walnuts and Goat Cheese
- Chopped BLT Breakfast Salad
- Roasted Goldnen Beets and Grape Salad
- Raspberry and Feta Cheese Salad
This sweet and salty grilled peach salad celebrates summer with grilled peaches and creamy blue cheese drizzled with tangy honey vinaigrette.
- 2 oz pancetta, sliced thin (bacon or prosciutto can be substituted)
- 2 peaches, halved and pitted
- 1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt
- 1/4 tsp pepper
- 1 Tbsp light brown sugar, packed
- 1 tsp white wine vinegar
- 1/3 cup blue cheese, crumbled
- 2 tsp honey
- 5 oz mesclun salad greens
- 2 Tbsp chives, minced
- 1 Tbsp honey
- 2 tsp dijon mustard
- 2 Tbsp white wine vinegar
- 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
- kosher salt and pepper
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Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Lay the pancetta slices on a baking sheet lined with a sheet of parchment paper and cook (flipping once) for about 10 minutes or until browned and crispy. Remove to a paper towel-lined plate and drain.
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Preheat a grill to medium/high heat and rub the peach halves with the olive oil and season with salt and pepper.
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Grill the peaches, cut side down for 3-4 minutes or until you have nice grill marks and then carefully turn them over.
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Mix together the brown sugar and vinegar and place a small spoonful on top of each peach halve as it grills. Cover and continue to grill an additional 4 minutes.
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Remove from heat, top with blue cheese and drizzle with honey.
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Toss the greens with vinaigrette to taste and arrange peaches and pancetta slices over the top.
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Sprinkle with chives and additional vinaigrette if desired to serve.
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Whisk the honey, mustard, and vinegar together. Whisk in the olive oil in a slow, steady stream until emulsified. Season with salt and pepper.
- Always use ripe peaches for the best flavor.
- The honey vinaigrette can be made in advance and stored in the refrigerator for up to a week. Bring to to room temperature to serve.
- Not a fan of blue cheese? Try goat cheese or feta instead.
- If you can’t find pancetta, regular bacon or prosciutto can be substituted.
Update Notes: This post was originally published in August 2016 but was republished with tips in July 2020.
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Alida | Simply Delicious says
Goodness gracious, those peaches look amazing! I can just imagine how utterly delectable they must be with the gorgonzola and salty panchetta. Seriously drool worthy stuff!
Cathy says
thank so much Alida. definitely a satisfying combination!
Mary Ann | The Beach House Kitchen says
Sounds like you had a wonderful weekend Cathy! When copious amount of pork roll are involved, it can’t be bad! And this salad! Oh my goodness, am I drooling!! This is the perfect salad for me. Those peaches with that blue cheese and drizzled honey vinaigrette. That pancetta! I would have a hard time sharing that platter! Love this one!
Cathy says
true Mary Ann. a pork roll fueled weekend is hard to beat!
Jennifer @ Seasons and Suppers says
I can’t get enough peaches … still 🙂 Lovely salad and love the salty pancetta with the sweet peaches (not to mention the blue cheese!)
Cathy says
i’m with you! peach season should last forever!
Karen @ Seasonal Cravings says
I absolutely love grilled peaches! Can you believe I’ve never had a pork roll? My husband grew up going to the Jersey shore too. Not sure how I missed them. Salad looks delicious!
Cathy says
Karen! You have to tell your husband that he needs to right this wrong stat!
Annemarie @ justalittlebitofbacon says
I just started grilling peaches this year and now I’m wondering where they’ve been all my life. This salad looks pretty darn amazing. Smokey peaches with blue cheese and salty, crisp pancetta. I’m getting hungry!
Cathy says
the sweet and salty combo is always a winner. and as much as i love these peaches with goat cheese, i think blue is my fave.
Cheyanne @ No Spoon Necessary says
I’m so thrilled to hear you had a nice time with you friends over the weekend, Cathy! And thank you for the 411 history lesson on New Jersey! I had no clue you guys had such a claim to fame… or a pork roll. 😉 <– I'm looking up what a pork roll is as soon as I'm done commenting here! Anyways, this salad is GORGEOUS! Seriously, this is salad perfection to me and such a great use of those grilled peaches!! The blue cheese with crispy pancetta and that honey vinaigrette just sounds divine! I MUST make this over the holiday weekend!! Pinned! Cheers, friend!
anna @ annamayeveryday says
Grilled peaches and blue cheese are a perfect combination but with the addition of a honey dressing, that sounds amazing!
Cathy says
Thanks! Blue cheese with sweet peaches is definitely my fave!
Vincent Frederick says
Made this recipe today paired it with some grilled ny strip steak. It was delicious, salty, sweet, tart, creamy, peppery. Subbed out some ingredients with things I already had (bacon in place of pancetta, feta in place of blue cheese, fresh citrus in place of white wine vinegar in the vinaigrette). Definitely a great side at summer bbqs
Cathy Roma says
Love all those swaps and perfect paired with grilled steak! Yum!
Lily says
Loosely followed the recipe. Made the vinaigrette added red chili pepper (for color) and basil (bc they are going bad lol) and ended up fabulously refreshing. Loved the grilled peach also 🙂 thank you for sharing.