This super colorful tomato, peach, and spinach salad will brighten any dinner table. The color, texture, and flavor of each salad ingredient, together with a fat-free vinaigrette dressing, create a beautiful harmony that is suitable for any occasion.
This salad can be an appetizer, a second course served after an appetizer (like these Cajun honey butter salmon bites), an entrée (especially at lunch), or as a side of an entrée/main dish (like this oven-roasted whole chicken or this Cajun chicken penne pasta).
With the salad's vibrant color, it surely can be a good match with this stunning non-alcoholic, super easy cranberry spritzer. The drink takes only 15 minutes to finish.
Want to try other amazing salads? How about this seared tuna avocado salad with creamy ginger dressing and this grilled Cajun chicken salad (vinaigrette base)? You won't be disappointed.
Baby spinach
Baby spinach is the main leafy veggie in this salad. Spinach is popularly served as a salad green, tossed with hot bacon dressing.
However, in this tomato and peach salad recipe, it is tossed with a fat-free vinaigrette base dressing and still creates such a rich flavor and tender texture as it's supposed.
Because no cooking is involved in this recipe, the baby spinach must be as fresh and blemish-free as possible. Good quality spinach should be deep green, and fairly crisp. You should avoid buying wilted or yellowed spinach.
Tomato
I use cherry tomatoes in this recipe, but you can use any tomato you like. All tomatoes have a similar flavor, but the levels of sweetness and acidity vary depending on the species, growing conditions, and ripeness at harvest.
Tomatoes are used widely in salads, soups (hot & sour shrimp soup), burgers (crispy chicken pho burger), and steamed dishes (Vietnamese-style stuffed tomatoes).
Here is a fun fact about tomatoes: if you remove the stem and leave them at room temperature, the sugar level in the tomatoes will increase; hence you'll end up with sweeter and more flavorful tomatoes.
Peach
It can be called tomato, peach and spinach salad without peach, right? So here it is: peach, another main ingredient in this salad.
Did you know China is the world's largest producer of peaches and nectarines? Their peak season is through the summer, with July and August producing the best crop.
Nectarine is a variety of peaches. The main difference between peach and nectarine is their skin. Peach has a thin skin covered with fuzz, whereas nectarine has a thin, smooth skin. Although their flavors are somewhat different, they can still be substituted for each other in most recipes.
That said, if you have difficulty finding fresh peach in your area, the nectarine is an excellent substitution for this recipe.
Tips to make the best vinaigrette-base salad
As you might have imagined, this is a pretty simple recipe. All you need to do is have all ingredients ready, toss them together, and you have such a beautiful and tasty salad within a few minutes.
So here are some tips to make the best salad (any kind and not just this tomato, peach, and spinach salad):
- Use neutral-flavored oils such as canola, corn, soybean, or grapeseed (which I used for the recipe).
- Allow the finished dressing to rest a few hours (if possible) at room temperature before using so that the flavors can blend and complement each other.
- Re-whisk the dressing before adding it to the salad.
- Add the dressing to the salad at the last possible moment before serving time. Because acidic-base dressing causes most greens to wilt and become soggy in a short amount of time.
- Use a small portion of the vinaigrette dressing; only add more as needed to prevent baby spinach from wilting.
- Use a cold plate to serve the salad to keep its freshness and crispness.
Did you make this recipe? If so please leave a rating and let me know how it went in the comment section. Also, don't forget to tag me #cookmorphosis @cookmorphosis on social media.
Tomato, Peach, and Spinach Salad with Vinaigrette Dressing
Ingredients
- 4 c baby spinach about 2 oz
- 1 c cherry tomatoes or any kind of tomatoes
- 1 medium peach or nectarine
- 1 handful cilantro
- 1 small red onion thinly sliced
Dressing
- ¼ c apple cider vinegar
- 2 tbsp sugar
- 1 tbsp water
- 1 tbsp fish sauce
- ¼ tsp black pepper
- 2 tsp grapeseed oil or any neutral oil
Instructions
- Wash and dry baby spinach.
- Pick cilantro from their stems. Wash and dry, set aside.
- Slice cherry tomatoes (don't be too thin). If using other tomatoes, cut into bite-sized cubes.
- Cut peach into bit-sized cubes.
- Make the dressing: combine the vinegar, sugar, water, fish sauce, and black pepper in a small mixing bowl. Whisk in the oil gradually. Set aside (at room temperature) for later use.
- In a large mixing bowl, add all ingredients for the salad. Spoon or pour a small amount of vinaigrette over them and toss gently.
- Taste and add more vinaigrette if needed (only a tiny amount at a time to prevent baby spinach from being soggy).
- Transfer the salad to 4 cold plates. Serve immediately.
Notes
Tips to make the best vinaigrette-base salad
- Use neutral-flavored oils such as canola, corn, soybean, or grapeseed (which I used for the recipe).
- Allow the finished dressing to rest a few hours (if possible) at room temperature before using so that the flavors can blend and complement each other.
- Re-whisk the dressing before adding it to the salad.
- Add the dressing to the salad at the last possible moment before serving time. Because acidic-base dressing causes most greens to wilt and become soggy in a short amount of time.
- Use a small portion of the vinaigrette dressing; only add more as needed to prevent baby spinach from wilting.
- Use a cold plate to serve the salad to keep its freshness and crispness.
Nutrition
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