Peach, Avocado & Feta Cheese Salad With Thyme Vinaigrette

This Peach, Feta & Avocado Salad with Thyme Vinaigrette is a real head turner. It is an unforgettable and essential summer salad. Bursting with the luscious sweetness of peaches against the rich backdrop of avocado and tangy feta cheese, it is as delicious as it is good for you. Mix it with a fresh, herbal, and tart thyme vinaigrette with lime and it becomes a complex mix of fresh summer flavors.

This is one of my favorite summer peach salads, great for a quick weeknight dinner, but so tasty and unique that it’s a standout for guests. It’s loaded with vitamins and nutrients and is low carb and high in fat, making it a great low carb or keto lunch or dinner. I can’t recommend it enough! And if you can make it during the height of peach season, it will be heaven.

The Inspiration…

This is another salad that takes its inspiration from my parents. Years ago they started making a peach salad like this and were instantly hooked. I remember having it and being blown away by the flavors. The peaches really make this unlike anything else, as peaches do. That ripe peach flavor is unlike anything and hard to replace. Ever since then, in the heart of peach season (which they reminded me is right now,) they eat this salad almost every night (it seems.)

My Peach, Avocado & Feta Cheese salad takes some liberties with the original. I can’t quite remember their recipe, but have definitely added some things and omitted others. Chicken for one. Grilled chicken plays a central role in that salad, but being a pescatarian I don’t eat chicken. I will sometimes serve this with grilled salmon or shrimp on the side.

Since being on the Keto diet I have also played with the recipe to make it lower in carbs and higher in fat. I added feta cheese – the sweetness of the peaches against the feta is so so good. Peaches are usually steared away from on the Keto diet as they are higher in carbs. But I think that there are certain foods that should be celebrated in their season because they are so good, and so good for you. Peaches are one of these, because you just can’t mimic that fresh peach flavor. This recipe is still low in carbs even though it includes peaches. When you toss the salad the peach juice mixes with the lime vinaigrette and you get the flavor of peaches in every bite. Yet you’re not eating the peach in every bite. If you’re not concerned with carbs then I would perhaps (definitely) even add more peaches. If you are, take fewer slices – you will still get that great peach flavor from a handful of slices.

If you love peaches as much as me, here’s another peach salad to try: Peach, Tomato & Burrata Salad

Peach Salads & The Keto Diet…

Since the beginning of the year I have been practicing cyclical Keto, where two weekends a month I cheat and eat some higher carb meals. I have done this because for me, Keto has become a long term lifestyle which I intend to continue. I found that my body and muscles benefit from supplementing them with some glucose and additional nutrients here and there. After a year, I got to the point where I was lacking strength and stamina in my workouts. It has also been suggested that cyclical Keto it is a healthier way to be on the Keto diet long term. (More on that in another post.)

My friends laugh because what I choose to eat when I cheat tends to be those things that you can’t imitate… bananas, peas, sweet potatoes, passion fruit, melon. Not what you would think for a cheat meal. You can make delicious cake and bread and pizza and cookies on the Keto diet – but it’s these amazing fresh fruits and vegetables that I miss.

The Ingredients…

For the body of the salad I usually use a fresh lettuce mix, one that won’t overpower the other ingredients, like a mesclun mix or Boston or Butter lettuce. Anything in that family. Like with my Avocado, Egg & Arugula Salad, I think kale and spinach would be too much, I like how light and fresh the lettuce is. I add some cucumber and scallions keeping the vegetable elements pretty simple, fresh, and green. You can add even more of these if you wish, they don’t really affect the carbs.

Next come the head turners, the peaches, avocado, and feta cheese. These bring the flavor and are the reason why this is such a nutritious meal filled with high levels of Vitamin A, Vitamin K, and the B Vitamins. It is also full of good fats and complete proteins. Mix it all together with a bright, limey, and herbal thyme vinaigrette and the flavors really start to come together. I sometimes top with more fresh thyme and pistachios.

The Steps…

This is a very quick and easy salad to prepare. Perfect for those warm summer nights.

First, let me start by saying that there are two ways that you can serve this, plated with the vinaigrette drizzled on top, or all tossed together. Plated is prettier, but tossed is where the magic happens – all those flavors meld and it really makes the salad come together.

So for the tossed method, wash and prep your veggies. Add the lettuce, sliced cucumber, and scallions to a large salad bowl. Slice the avocado. I like to keep it in larger chunks so that some bites are mostly avocado. The same goes with the peaches, I usually slice the peach in half and then into about six slices. A medium size peach has about 13 grams of net carbs, so if you cut it like above, each slice is about 1 gram. Add the feta cheese, I cut this into fairly large chunks as well so that it also has it’s moment to shine.

Now it’s time to make the Thyme Vinaigrette. This is also quick and simple. Mix the extra virgin olive oil, fresh lime juice, dijon mustard, fresh thyme, and fresh minced garlic until well mixed. It should be a little thin and quite limey and tart. The original recipe had some honey it to take the edge off of the tartness of the lime – I add a splash of balsamic vinegar instead. Just a splash, because when the acid of the lime mixes with the peaches some of that sweet peach nectar will mix in. Heaven.

Pour the vinaigrette over the salad ingredients in the bowl and toss to coat everything well with the dressing. Add salt and pepper to taste and keep tossing well to combine. It’s okay to toss firmly, you want the peaches to release some of their juices. I would give this a final taste here to make sure the sweet to tart ratio is what you prefer – you might need to squeeze a little more lime juice on top or drizzle a little balsamic. Then it’s ready to serve – I sometimes top with sprinkled thyme and pistachios.

The Results…

This Peach, Avocado, and Feta Cheese salad with my Thyme Vinaigrette is a bright, sweet, and tasty summer salad. The peaches, avocado, and cheese all mix together into a tangy and filling meal. I love every bite.

The best part, it’s also really nutritious! This salad is brimming with Vitamin K, Vitamin A, the B Vitamins, Folic Acid, and Calcium. It makes an excellent easy and delicious meal which is low in carbs and high in healthy fats and summer flavors – perfect for anyone – especially those on a Keto or low carb diet.

If you make this Peach, Feta & Avocado Salad be sure to leave a comment below. I’d love to hear from you. And if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram, I’d love to see!

How To Make: Peach, Feta & Avocado Salad