Chicken and Peach Salad

As soon as I spot fresh peaches at the market, I'm all over this list of fresh peach recipes.

I love to prepare them countless ways and keep them in the fridge for adding to our meals all summer long.

This chicken and peach salad combines all my favorite flavors: fresh and fruity, seasoned and savory, and cool and creamy.

I keep the ingredients all prepped in meal prep containers for making easy lunches for myself or for a quick dinner during summer break.

Why This is the Best Recipe

• Sweet and Savory: Juicy peaches with savory chicken, creamy cheese and salty sunflower seeds, this is the perfectly balanced salad you'll love.
• Easy Prep: You can have all the ingredients prepped and ready to go for easy assembly.
• Stunning but Simple: This salad looks so impressive on the plate but is so easy to make, it's the perfect summer dinner party entree.

Ingredient Notes

This simple salad starts with a short list of fresh ingredients:

• Cooked Chicken: I bought boneless, skinless chicken breasts and cooked them in my air fryer. You could use any cooked chicken method you prefer or grab a rotisserie chicken from the store.
• Romaine Lettuce: I highly recommend buying romaine hearts and chopping and washing them yourself. Bagged salad is just generally not as fresh and crisp.
• Blueberry Vinaigrette: I used my homemade blueberry vinaigrette recipe for this dish. It can be prepared in advance for quick assembly. You could also use a store bought prepared bottle to save even more time.
• Fresh Peaches: This summery salad really should be made when peaches are in season. Frozen peaches will be too watery when they thaw to blister properly.
• Goat Cheese Crumbles: You can buy pre-crumbled goat cheese in the fancy cheese section of the store. If you can't find it, feta would make a great substitute.
• Sunflower Seeds
• Canola Oil

Prepare the Chicken and Peaches

Cook and slice your chicken or shred a rotisserie chicken.

I chose to season a batch of air fryer chicken breasts and then sliced them once they had cooled.

If you don't have an air fryer, I'd recommend using my dry poached chicken breasts technique instead.

For the peaches, preheat your oven or air fryer to 425°F.

Peel and slice the peaches into wedges. Toss them with canola oil and arrange them on a baking sheet.

Roast them for 6 minutes or until they soften. To get the caramelized color, you may want to put them under the broiler for 30 seconds to 1 minute.

Set them aside to cool.

Meal Prep Tips

The cooked chicken, blistered peaches, and my homemade blueberry vinaigrette dressing can all be made in advance.

Store them each in a separate air-tight container in the fridge for up to 2 days.

This makes an easy DIY Meal Kit for quick-assembly salads on a busy night.

Assemble the Salad

When you're ready to serve the chicken and peach salad, assembly takes just a few minutes.

Place the fresh romaine lettuce on your serving plate.

Top with a portion of the cooked chicken and add a few wedges of the peaches.

Sprinkle the goat cheese crumbles and sunflower seeds over the top.

Drizzle some blueberry vinaigrette over the top.

I prefer to present the salads assembled this way vs. adding everything to a mixing bowl and tossing to coat in dressing because I think this makes for a much prettier plate.

If you toss it all together, the peaches may break up as you stir and the salad would just look . . . "mushy."

Variations

• Shrimp: You could swap roasted shrimp for the cooked chicken.
• Nuts: Try pecans, almonds, or walnuts in place of the sunflower seeds.
• Greens: If you prefer spring greens, baby spinach, or fresh arugula, they could be used in place of the romaine or mixed in for even more flavor.
• Dressing: I love the blueberry flavor here but my strawberry vinaigrette or this red onion vinaigrette would be fun variations to try, too.

Serving Suggestions

I always like to serve a fresh salad with a warm, homemade piece of bread on the side.

When I serve this for dinner, I might bake a batch of my easy bread machine potato rolls or a pan of herb butter biscuits.

For a high-protein bread on a busy night, I like to pop a batch of my cottage cheese bread into the bread maker.

But if I was serving this salad for a dinner party or weekend brunch, I would take the time to bake a batch of these sourdough popovers in a muffin tin. They are so elegant and utterly delicious.

Cottage Cheese Bread {Bread Machine}

Bread Machine Potato Rolls

Sourdough Popovers in a Muffin Tin

Herb Butter Biscuits

More Fresh Salad Recipes

Looking for more fresh salads to add to your weekly rotations? Here are a few more of my favorite recipes:

Grinder Salad

Strawberry Feta Salad

Taco Salad Bowl

Thai Chicken Salad