These delightful spinach salad with blueberries, goat cheese and grill peaches will quickly become one of your favorites. It is the perfect end of summer salad filled with ripe berries and lush peaches, and good for you, spinach, arugula and fresh basil too. It is free of added sugar and gets a nice hit of protein from some tangy goat cheese and some crunchy maple “candied” pecans.
To get started with the salad, we need to make our “candied” pecans. I was recently given a challenge from a WW friend who wanted a candied pecan using monk fruit. Everyone is trying to stay away from added sugar and monk fruit has become a great go to for me and she likes it to! I decided to add some sugar-free maple syrup, the monk fruit (I used Lakanto Monk fruit sugar substitute) and some flaky salt (Maldon is a favorite). I just added the pecans to a small bowl, drizzled on the syrup and and tossed with the monk fruit. I toasted the nuts in a non-stick skillet over medium-high heat on the stove for a couple of minutes until fragrant. Keep tossing them so they don’t burn. I then removed them to a plate, sprinkled them with flaky salt and let them cool. That’s it. I got a maple flavored nut that was slightly sweet and a little salty. The perfect bite. These are different from the traditional candied nuts that tend to get a bit of a crunchy exterior. Without regular sugar, that is missing but the flavor is there. These would be great on any salad, or on top of yogurt in the morning. I’d even swap these out for the nut clusters in my Red Apple and Chicken Salad with Nut Clusters recipe if I wanted to keep the calories and lower points for my WW friends.
I put the nuts to the side and make my salad dressing. This is such an easy dressing and gets a touch of sweetness and that maple flavor from the use of sugar-free maple syrup. I get mine at the grocery stores in the pancake syrup aisle. As always, you can always use the real thing…what’s not to love about maple syrup? I’m just trying to cut calories and limit extra sugar, so I use the sugar-free version. In a small bowl, simple whisk the apple cider vinegar, syrup, olive oil, salt and pepper. It is so easy and I’m thinking I’ll be using this all winter long on apple salads and fall salads too.
Gather the rest of your ingredients. It is now time to grill the peach. A salad with grilled peaches is fabulous in the summer and this salad takes advantage of those sweet peaches. If you love them as much as I do, be sure you check out my Grilled Peaches with Mascarpone & Balsamic Drizzle…to die for!!!
To grill the peaches I use a grill pan on the top of my stove. Of course you can do this on an outdoor grill, but today, it is my handy dandy grill pan. Simply cut the peach in half and remove the pit. It it doesn’t come right out, I use a grapefruit spoon to dig it out. It is one of my favorite kitchen tools. Then, I simply place the cut peaches, cut side down, on the grill pan and grill a couple of minutes until you get nice grill marks. Slice into wedges. A peach goat cheese salad just takes it one step further. I slice goat cheese into thin slices and just add that on top of the salad…yum!
A spinach salad with blueberries tastes as good as it sounds. When you add the goat cheese and grilled peaches, you get an amazing bite of food. To prep my berries, I just rinse them and remove any stems that might still be attached. Let’s make the salad.
You are now ready to assemble the salad. I add the spinach, arugula and basil to a large bowl and add about 3/4 of the dressing. Toss to coat. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and toss again. Divide and put into two shallow salad bowls. Top each with half the blueberries, half of the pecans, a half of the sliced peach and three slices of goat cheese. Drizzle the rest of the dressing over the top of each salad. Sprinkle with a little more flaky salt (optional). Dig in and enjoy!
Did you like this recipe? If so, please leave a rating below and your comments. I’d love to hear if you made the salad. What did you think of the dressing?
If you like this salad, be sure to try some of my other favorites:
Watermelon, Peach & Feta Salad
Creamy Cucumber and Apple Salad
Belgian Endive Salad Cups with Corn, Avocado and Feta
Blackberry Chicken Salad for Two
Compressed Watermelon, Feta & Arugula Salad with Jalapeno Dressing
Spinach Salad with Blueberries, Goat Cheese and Grilled Peaches
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Ingredients
- 3 Cups Baby spinach
- 1 Cup Baby arugula
- 1 Ripe peach, pitted and cut into wedges
- 1 Cup fresh blueberries
- 1 Tbsp. Fresh basil, chopped
- 3 Oz. Goat cheese, crumbled
- ¼ Cup maple pecans (see below)
DRESSING
- 1 Tbsp. Olive oil
- 2 Tbsp. Apple Cider vinegar
- 2 Tsp. Sugar-free Maple syrup
- 1 Small Shallot, finely minced
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
MAPLE PECANS
- ¼ Cup pecan halves
- 1 Tsp. Sugar-free Maple syrup
- 1 Tsp. Lakanto Monk fruit sugar substitute
- Flaky salt to finish (Maldon is a favorite)
Instructions
- Make your dressing. In a small bowl, whisk all the ingredients and put to the side.
- “Candy” your pecans. In a small bowl, mix the pecans with the maple syrup and sprinkle with the monk fruit. Toss everything to coat. In a small, non-stick skillet, toast the pecans over medium heat for 3-5 minutes, tossing occasionally. Watch closely as they can burn quickly. When fragrant, remove from the pan and let them cool completely.
- Grill your peaches. Spray a grill pan with cooking spray and heat over medium-high heat. Pit your peach and slice into wedges. Place on the grill pan and grill on both sides until you have grill marks. Just a couple of minutes per side. Remove to a plate.
- Assemble your salad. Mix the spinach, arugula and basil in a large bowl. Add half the dressing, and toss to coat everything. Divide between to salad bowls.
- Top each salad with half the blueberries, half the grilled peaches, half the goat cheese and half the pecans. Drizzle the remaining dressing over the top of each salt. Crack some fresh black pepper over each and sprinkle with flaky salt to finish. Enjoy!
