This nectarine salad is so simple, but totally packed with flavour! Perfect for the season and combined with tasty crispy pitta chips, roasted pistachios and a zingy jalapeño lime dressing. It is THE salad you’ve all been waiting for this summer, perfect side to any BBQ or to eat on its own for a lovely light lunch. It’s so quick and easy to put together too!
One of my favourite things to eat in the summer is fresh and vibrant food and this nectarine salad really fits the bill! Are you looking for the perfect accompaniment to some grilled or BBQ food or a light refreshing lunch? This salad with nectarines has tomatoes, cucumbers and other tasty flavour bombs inside and is definitely going to impress friends and family when you whip it together in no time! Try it with these smoky pineapple chicken kebabs or grilled chicken or meat of choice with this pineapple jalapeño marinade.
I LOVE contrasting textures and different elements that add such interest to simple recipes, don't you? Here we use warming crushed coriander seeds and the grassy spicy heat from a jalapeño but add cooling elements like the nectarines, cucumber, tomato, olive oil and acidity from the lime. It has the perfect balance of sweet, salty, acid and heat, with the addition of crunch from the crispy pitta, cucumber and pistachios. Every mouthful is a celebration of flavour and you feel like Remy from Ratatouille enjoying combining flavours, too cute!
So whether you're looking for a light summer meal to enjoy in the evenings or something tasty to whip together for a lunch or as a side salad to the main event, this is for you. If you love flavour like we do, you won't be disappointed! If you want quick and easy and beautifully balanced, you need this in your life. So what are you waiting for?
Make sure to leave a comment for us below when you give the recipe a go and leave a rating!
What Ingredients do I need?
For such a speedy salad to throw together you don’t need a huge amount, a few store cupboard staples and some fresh ingredients and you’ll be set. Here is what you need:
Pitta - You’ll need a few white pitta. We tried this recipe with wholemeal ones too and it worked just fine so just use what you have or prefer.
Extra virgin olive oil - this will be used for the dressing and to coat the pitta to bake them off.
Spices and seasoning - everything tasty starts with seasoning properly; I used flaked maldon sea salt and freshly ground black pepper. You'll also need some garlic powder and coriander seeds. I like to toast the seeds to release the flavour more when they are cracked in the pestle and mortar.
Nectarines - the pinnacle and feature ingredient in this salad. Make sure you get some nice plump and ripe ones - if you fancy you can switch them out with peaches or plums. I have not tried this but if you do let me know in the comments!
Pistachios - adding the perfect little nuttiness to this salad, pistachios work amazingly well with the fruit and dressing.
Mini cucumbers - I love using these cute little beauties, but if you can’t get them feel free to use a full sized cucumber.
Tomatoes - I used some beautiful tomatoes from Isle of Wight tomatoes, but whatever you can get is just fine, cherry tomatoes or plum tomatoes. The tastier, the better!
Cilantro (coriander) - fresh leaves tossed throughout the salad adds a pop of citrus flavour which works perfectly with the fruit and dressing. If you don't like cilantro (coriander), just omit it or add in a small handful of basil or rocket (arugula) instead.
For the dressing - Flavour town is one dressing away! You’ll need some fresh garlic, a jalapeño, a lime, maple syrup to bring it all into balance, extra virgin olive oil, crushed toasted coriander seeds and a bit of salt.
How do I put this nectarine salad together?
This healthy nectarine salad is so quick and simple to put together, you'll be in flavour town heaven in no time! Now you have all your ingredients, follow these easy steps to make it:
Firstly get your pitta chips made up:
- Using a knife, split the pitta in half along its edge to create four flat halves. Tear the four halves in to bite size pieces, place on a tray and pour over 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Sprinkle over the salt, pepper, cracked toasted coriander seeds and garlic powder and toss together until coated nicely.
- Bake in a preheated oven at 190C/375F for 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and toss the pitta chips, then place the pistachio nuts to one side of the tray and bake for another 2-4 minutes until the chips are golden brown. Remove from the oven and cool. Roughly chop the pistachio nuts.
Next put your nectarine salad together:
3. Put all the dressing ingredients into a large bowl: extra virgin olive oil, lime juice, lime zest, maple syrup, garlic, coriander seeds, jalapeño and salt. Whisk together, taste and adjust for seasoning then set aside.
4. Place your nectarines, tomatoes, chopped pistachio nuts, pitta chips, cucumbers and coriander leaf on top of the dressing in the large bowl.
5. Gently toss the nectarine salad together with some spoons until coated in the dressing. Serve immediately.
It really is that simple!
Fancy changing it up?
Of course nectarines are a winner for this, but you can easily substitute out with peaches, plums or cherries. All would work very nicely so use whatever you can get hold of, but I would still recommend nectarines first.
This salad would lend well to the addition of sliced grilled chicken, chargrilled prawns or some grilled halloumi. I’d recommend making up this nectarine salad as a side for your barbecue. If you want to keep this completely plant-based, try it with some grilled tofu or toss a can of chickpeas or cannellini beans into the salad.
Some salad FAQs
If this is something you would like to do I would recommend doing some mise en place (having all your ingredients prepared before you start cooking) and then putting the salad together just before serving when you are ready to eat. I’d say you’d be good for a day or two in advance preparing this way. Follow these steps to do so:
1. Make the dressing ahead and store in a jar.
2. Bake off your pitta chips and roasted pistachios and leave in a dish to cool (store in air tight container).
3. Prepare your nectarine, tomato chunks and cucumber place them in a bowl ready for later (if refrigerating I'd recommend removing these from the fridge to come to room temperature an hour or so before you eat for the best flavour).
Don’t forget to prepare the coriander last minute too otherwise it will wilt. Then just toss everything together gently just before you are about to eat; the fresher the better!
However, this recipe is so quick to make, you can have it all prepared in the time it takes to bake the pitta chips in 12-14 minutes. So I would always recommend prepping and eating immediately as the flavours will be at their best.
Like prepping ahead, prepare all the ingredients individually and store in separate containers until needed. I would not recommend storing this once made as the dressing will make the pitta chips go soggy.
Check out these salads too!
- Beetroot Avocado Feta Salad
- Superfood Chicken Quinoa Salad with Turmeric Tahini Sauce
- Quinoa Salad with Pesto and Peas
- Wholesome Fall Grain Salad with Harissa Dressing
- Sweet Potato Kale Salad with Maple Mustard Dressing
As Julia Childs would exclaim: Bon Appétit!
I hope you love this Nectarine Salad with Lime Jalapeño Dressing as much as we do. If you make it, be sure to leave a comment, rate the recipe and tag me on Instagram! Use #eatloveeats to show us what you've done. I love to see your creations!
Nectarine Salad with Jalapeño Lime Dressing
Ingredients
For the pitta chips
- 2 pitta, white
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon coriander seeds , toasted and smashed in a pestle and mortar
- ½ teaspoon maldon sea salt flakes
- pepper, to taste
For the dressing
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 2 tablespoons lime juice
- ½ lime zest
- ½ teaspoon maple syrup
- 1 small garlic clove, finely minced
- ½ teaspoon coriander seeds , toasted and smashed in a pestle and mortar
- 1 jalapeño, finely chopped
- ½ teaspoon maldon salt flakes
For the salad
- 2 nectarines, cut into 1” chunks
- ¼ cup pistachios, shelled
- 4 mini cucumbers, cut diagonally ¼ inch thick, 150g
- 2 large tomatoes , chopped into chunks
- ¼ cup cilantro leaf , small handful
Instructions
For the pitta chips:
- Preheat oven to 190C/375F, split open the pitta and tear into bite size pieces and spread out on a sheet pan. Toss with the oil, garlic powder, crushed toasted coriander seeds, salt and pepper.2 pitta, 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil, ½ teaspoon garlic powder, 1 teaspoon coriander seeds
- Bake the pitta chips for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, give them a toss and add the pistachio nuts to the tray and bake for another few minutes. Remove from the oven and set aside to cool; they should be nice and golden brown. Remove the pistachios to a chopping board to cool.¼ cup pistachios
For the dressing:
- Place all the ingredients into a large mixing bowl and stir together to dissolve the salt, taste and adjust for seasoning if needed. The dressing needs to be well seasoned as the flavour will be dampened when it is tossed with the salad.1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil, 2 tablespoons lime juice, ½ lime zest, ½ teaspoon maple syrup, 1 small garlic clove, ½ teaspoon coriander seeds, 1 jalapeño, ½ teaspoon maldon salt flakes
To prepare the salad:
- Roughly chop the roasted pistachio nuts and place them in the bowl with the dressing along with the baked pitta chips, cucumber, nectarine, tomatoes and cilantro.2 nectarines, 4 mini cucumbers, cut diagonally ¼ inch thick, 2 large tomatoes, ¼ cup cilantro leaf
- Gently toss together to coat the salad. Serve immediately either as a main or side.
Notes
- If you have very ripe nectarines that are maybe a little softer, just be careful when tossing the salad. If you are looking to store it for later use or next day, I wouldn’t recommend an extremely ripe nectarine for that. I would suggest eating on the day of making.
- For the toasted coriander seeds, place 1 ½ teaspoons of seeds in a small skillet set over a medium heat and toast until fragrant (1-2 minutes). Remove to cool slightly in a pestle and mortar and bash them to fairly ground, but not too fine. If you don't have a pestle and mortar just bash the seeds with the bottom of a small saucepan.
- The serving size is for a main course for an adult. If using as a side, you can get away with splitting it between four.
- Test your jalapeño for heat, if its very hot, you can remove the membrane and seeds before finely dicing it, but if you like a bit of heat and more zing, just use the whole thing seeds and all.
Martin says
The colours look so bright and cheerful! Looks like a good combination of textures and intriguing flavours. Must go on the 'to do' list!