This Peach and Avocado Salad with Zucchini recipe is the essence of summer. Its fresh, sweet flavors from seasonal produce are a super delicious and pretty combination. This is one of my all time favorite summer salad recipes!
Are you still pulling zucchini from their vines in your summer garden?
Are any peaches still falling from your tree? (Don’t let the squirrels get them!)
Can you get enough avocados!? I can’t!
I especially love adding sweet, vibrant and colorful fruits to green salads — it’s delicious and so much fun combining summer’s seasonal treasures into one beautiful bowl!
Since avocados are brought in from Mexico, they’re available practically year round in California. That said, they always taste better to me in the summer. And very likely because they’re California grown and don’t have to travel very far to get to my Farmers Market and/or grocery store.
How can you tell if an avocado is ripe?
- Feel! An avocado should only be super soft if you’re using it for guacamole — and even then, too soft isn’t always a good thing. For salads, and just about every other use, avocados should be only slightly soft all over — it should yield to firm gentle pressure.
How can you tell if a peach is ripe?
- Color. You shouldn’t see any green in the skin, depending on the variety, the skin of a ripe peach is generally golden yellow and red.
- Aroma. When ripe, peaches are aromatic with a subtle floral scent.
- Feel. Much like a ripe avocado, a ripe peach should be soft to the touch, but not mushy. The inside will still be juicy, I promise.
A few more of my favorite summer salad recipes:
- Compressed Watermelon Salad with Creamy Lemon Lime Avocado
- Balsamic Glazed Watermelon Avocado Chopped Salad
- Meyer Lemon Black Quinoa-Plum and Avocado Salad
- Summer Tomato Sweet Onion Salad with Blue Cheese
- Summer Tomato Salad (And How to Peel Tomatoes)
When to Serve Peach and Avocado Salad with Zucchini
- While this is a terrific, light summer dinner salad, it would also be really lovely to serve it for an outdoor summer brunch or lunch.
- Picnics! This delightful salad would be fantastic to bring to a summer picnic. It can be fully prepared except for the dressing, which you can add just before serving it at the picnic.
Whenever you decide to serve it, enjoy every last bite of this lovely summery Peach and Avocado Salad!
This salad recipe is the essence of summer. Its fresh, sweet flavors from seasonal produce are a super delicious and pretty combination.
- 4 cups loosely packed baby spinach leaves, washed and dried
- 2 cups zucchini (about 3/4 pound), washed and dried, finely grated
- 1 cup white cheddar cheese, cut into small bite-sized pieces
- 1/2 cup yellow onion, thinly sliced
- 3 medium-large peaches, each cut into about 10 even wedges
- 1 medium avocado (click here for How to Peel & Cut an Avocado), cut into bite-sized pieces
- about 2 tablespoons of each: a couple splashes of white balsamic vinegar and extra virgin olive oil
- salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
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Combine everything except the vinegar, oil, salt and pepper into a large serving bowl!
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Drizzle with the vinegar and oil -- enough to lightly coat the entire salad. Season to taste with the salt and freshly ground black pepper.
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Voilà!
Barbara says
Sounds delish! Totally a combo I never thought of but I’m now anxious to try it. Hopefully I will get my garden going soon. Looks like it will be more of a fall garden by now, though 🙂
Colette says
Peaches & avocadoes, great combo!
Alaine @ My GF & DF Living says
I love how simple this salad is! I will definitely try but skip out on the cheese. Thanks for posting!
Christina | Christina's Cucina says
Such a lovely salad, Valentina! My avocado tree may die from the extreme heat the other day and I’m so very sad! I hope it will make it, but right now it looks very bad. I also had tomato plants, but those are also done from the heat. 🙁 I did buy a box of organic peaches at Costco though, so there’s some good news! 🙂
valentina says
Oh Christina, such a bummer about your tomatoes. Fingers crossed the avocado tree survives! Even my small herb garden is suffering. 🙁 And yes, peaches are indeed good news. I’m loving all of the summer stone fruits.:-)
Hope says
This looks so fresh and tasty! Avocados and peaches are two of my favourite things so whats not to love! It is winter for me at the moment but have pinned to make for summer.
valentina says
Hi Hope. Thank you for your comment! While I’m enjoying summer and all of the seasonal fruits that come with it, I would love to be in New Zealand! I hope to visit there one day!
Molly Kumar says
This is such an amazing flavor combination. I love both zucchini and peach but never tried them in a salad. I’m so doing this tonight – Yumm!!!
valentina says
Oh yay! I hope you love it! Thank you. 🙂
Caroline says
This looks so wonderfully summery. I do love putting peaches in salads, they add such a nice burst of sweetness. And avocado always good.
valentina says
Thanks, Caroline! Hope you try it. 🙂
valentina says
Thank you, Caroline! Hope you try it! 🙂
Danielle says
Such a great combo, and a great way to use up zucchini!
valentina says
Yes, everyone seems to have an abundance of zucchini. Thanks! 🙂
Nancy Hunter | Flavorpalooza.com says
Love zucchini. Love peaches. Love avocado. A simple and simply delicious looking summer salad!
valentina says
Thank you so much!
Tisha says
Loving this flavor combo!! YUM
valentina says
Thanks!
David @ Spiced says
Hey Valentina! It’s a pleasure e-meeting you. 🙂 So we have several fruit trees in the backyard along with the garden of course. We planted the fruit trees when we moved in (7 years ago now…time flies), and they’re finally big enough to produce legit fruit. 2 apple, 1 cherry, 1 nectarine. Problem with the nectarine is the squirrels get the fruit when it’s still way too small to actually pick. Then they leave behind the seeds so I get to mow over them. Have you ever mowed over a nectarine/peach pit? It’s loud. Haha! So I’ll have to resort to store-bought peaches to make this salad…but that’s ok. It sounds delicious, and perfect for summer lunches!
valentina says
Hi David! Thanks for checking out my recipe.
We had a nectarine tree too and the squirrels loved it. We even briefly put mesh nets over the fruit, but they figured that out. Finally we just decided to share. 🙂 And how fantastic that you have a cherry tree — I bet it’s absolutely gorgeous when it begins to flower in the spring. (Same with the nectarine, I bet!) Enjoy!
John / Kitchen Riffs says
I love using fruit in salads! This looks terrific — and we’re getting local peaches, so your timing is perfect. Thanks!
valentina says
Local fruit is the best! Hope you try it and enjoy. 🙂
David says
You are so creative – you come up with the most amazing combinations of flavors. The peaches are so sweet this year – can’t wait to try this! xo
valentina says
Thank you so much, David! Our peaches have been super sweet too. I’m loving ALL of the stone fruit this summer. Our Farmers Market has been so packed with so many varieties. I come home with bags I almost can’t carry they’re so heavy. 🙂
sippitysup says
I’ve been craving this exact salad but didn’t know it til I saw it here… GREG
valentina says
I love that, Greg! 🙂
Deb|EastofEdenCooking says
I would have never thought to pair zucchini with peaches! What an inviting combination, so much summer in every scrumptious bite.
valentina says
Yes, summer in every bite. I love that! Thank you. 🙂