Ready in 30 minutes, this combination of juicy peaches, peppery arugula, and sweet corn The freshest summer salad. It’s made with simple ingredients like fresh corn, chopped peaches, arugula, cashews, lime juice, maple syrup, and hot sauce. The corn is quickly roasted in the oven, but everything else goes into the bowl as is. Packed with fresh flavors, nutritious fruits and vegetables, plus a kick from the spicy and creamy cashew dressing, this crisp salad is ideal for warm days.
The first mess cookbook
My cookbook has tons of summer salad inspiration, as well as refreshing drinks, vegan grilled mains, warm weather breakfasts, and more!
If you’re looking for summer salad ideas, this is it! The combination of flavors and textures in this is so desirable. To make my salad interesting, I use them almost like a vegetable sundi. In making the recipe, I go for a solid base and then add something creamy, something crunchy, a few seasonal vegetables/fruits and always a homemade dressing that tastes great on its own. Some great examples are: my Shaved Zucchini Salad with Plums and Almonds and my Creamy Chopped Dill Pickle Salad.
Summer salad dressings you’ll make all year long
- Our salad dressing here has a cashew base, but I suggest alternatives in the recipe notes.
- We balance the creaminess of the cashews with fresh lime juice, apple cider vinegar, maple syrup, a smidge of raw garlic, coconut aminos for depth and hot sauce for spice.
- I love this homemade salad dressing in a grain bowl, massaged into a kale salad, as a veggie dip, or as a final drizzle for soup.
- You can prepare this simple blender dressing ahead of time and refrigerate it for up to a week.
Rich dressing, vegan feta (Trader Joe’s makes one of my favorites), roasted corn, and toasted pumpkin seeds make this plant-based salad hearty. If you want to make your salad more filling – sliding into dinner salad territory – I recommend topping it with my Crispy Baked Tofu Bits or my Marinated and Grilled Tempeh recipe.
I hope you try this healthy and delicious salad soon! It’s a new favorite here. I really want to lean into salads and produce-heavy recipes this summer. It feels so good to start with this one!
Fresh summer salad with arugula, corn and spicy cashew dressing
My fresh summer salad with arugula, corn, sweet peaches and a spicy-tangy cashew dressing is colorful, crisp, juicy and ready in 30 minutes! Topped with salty vegan feta and toasted pumpkin seeds for crunch.
serving 4 -6
material
Spicy Cashew Dressing (a little extra)
- ½ the cup Soak raw cashews for at least 2 hours
- 1 cloves Peeling the garlic
- ¼ the cup the water
- 2 table spoon olive oil
- 1 table spoon Lemon juice
- 1 table spoon Apple cider vinegar
- 1 table spoon Maple syrup
- 1 teaspoon Tamari or coconut aminos
- 1-2 teaspoon Jhal Sauce (I used Cholula)
- Sea salt and black pepper, to taste
Summer salad
- 2 table spoon Olive oil, split
- 3 cobs Maize, kernel removed (about 2 ½ cups kernels total)
- Sea salt and black pepper, to taste
- 5 the cup Baby arugula, packaged (About ½ standard 142 gram package of arugula)
- 2 big Peaches, pitted and sliced
- 1 small Red onion, thinly sliced
- 1 table spoon Lemon juice
- â…“ the cup Vegan feta, optional
- ¼ the cup Toasted Pumpkin Seeds
Comment
- Any pitted and chopped stone fruit would be great in this salad. Nectarines, plums, even cherries!
- You can substitute soaked chopped almonds or sunflower seeds for cashews.
- My favorite is vegan feta Trader Joe’s branded one. Biolife is one Decent version Like!
- You can certainly substitute frozen or canned corn for fresh.
instructions
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Make the dressing. Drain the cashews and transfer to an upright blender. In blender, add garlic cloves, water, olive oil, lime juice, apple cider vinegar, maple syrup, tamari, hot sauce, salt, and pepper. Blend the mixture on high until completely smooth and pourable. Check the dressing for seasoning and adjust if necessary. Set aside.
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Cook the corn. Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Pour 1 tablespoon of olive oil and swirl it around. Add corn and sauté until tender, about 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper, stir and then transfer to a plate.
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Assemble the salad. In a large bowl, combine the arugula, peaches, red onion, cooked corn, remaining tablespoon olive oil, lime juice, and some salt and pepper. Toss the coat. At this point, I like to transfer the salad to a wide bowl or serving platter, trying to top off some of the corn and peaches.
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Drizzle the salad top evenly with the spicy cashew dressing. Finish off the summer salad with vegan feta, toasted pumpkin seeds and an extra grind of black pepper. Serve immediately!
