This stone fruit salad is refreshing and packed with colorful, nutritious fruit and some surprising ingredients that add even more fiber, vitamins and minerals! Juicy but firm plums and apricots, bright peppers, hydrating cucumbers, and peppery radishes make this a unique dish for a backyard BBQ or easy side dish. A light Summer salad to accompany any dinner, you can feel free to indulge in this delicious, customizable dish!
One of the pillars of nutrition I teach my coaching clients is the value of filling up on fruits and vegetables. In fact it’s the very first thing I teach! Gram for gram, they are low in calories, packed with water so they’re hydrating, which is great for hot Summer months, and all that water also helps make them more satiating. Plus, they offer a lot of great fiber, which is beneficial for gut health and for helping you feel fuller longer!
Jump to:
- Why you’ll love this easy summer salad
- Summer stone fruit salad ingredients:
- What is a stone fruit?
- How to make this stone fruit salad recipe in minutes!
- Expert tips and simple recipe modifications
- Important tip for storing stone fruit!
- Serving – what goes with fruit salad for dinner?
- Stone Fruit Salad with Fresh Veggies
Why you’ll love this easy summer salad
Did you know that you feel full in part off the weight and volume of the food you eat, as well as the food’s fiber content, not just the number of calories you eat? It’s true! So this salad with a diverse mix of 5 fruits and veggies along with a delicious blend of herbs, will provide you with 2 grams of fiber and is under 100 calories per serving!
You’ll fall in love with this stone fruit salad not only because it’s so delicious, but it will also help you feel refreshed and satiated! Feel free to use any combination of stone fruits you have on hand, and also mix in any of your other summer fave veggies for what will surely become one of your new favorite summer salad recipes!
Serve it alongside any salmon dish, BBQ chicken thighs or grilled pork tenderloin and keep it healthy and refreshing by washing it down with this yummy low-sugar fruit tea.
Summer stone fruit salad ingredients:
Stone fruit of choice – use about 1.5-2 pounds any combination of summer stone fruits, making sure they are ripe but firm. I prefer a combination of plums and fresh apricots, as nectarines and peaches can turn overly ripe and soft pretty quickly. But if nice and firm, any stone fruit will work!
Make sure they are pitted halved and chopped into small 1″ pieces. In this salad I used purple plums for their deep rich color, and mini red apricots because they are a bit sweeter than regular apricots, but are still a bit tart.
Persian cucumbers – use about 3 of these extra crunchy and firm cucumbers, and chop them into 1″ pieces. Opt for Persian cucumbers over regular cucumbers because they are firm and have less seeds, as well as less water. Their flavor is still distinctly cucumber, but more mild than the common American cucumber.
Red (or orange) bell pepper – Stem, seed and chop up 1 bell pepper into 1″ pieces to add a bit of color, crunch and distinct flavor.
Radishes – about 4-5 trimmed and chopped into 1″ chunks. Again, this adds more color to the beautiful salad, as well as an unexpected peppery bite.
Fresh herbs – I used a mix of mint and parsley to keep it very fresh and simple, and it’s what I had growing in my yard! But fresh basil or a bit of thyme would be lovely.
Shallots, extra-virgin olive oil, fresh lemon juice and honey, along with kosher salt and black pepper to make a simple vinaigrette. Finish the dish off with the optional seasoning sumac.
What is a stone fruit?
Stone fruit is a type of fruit where the outer flesh surrounds a hard shell or stone at the center, within which the kernel or seed is situated. Common stone fruits include peaches, plums, apricots and nectarines and are in season in North America between May and October. They are made up of over 80% water and their outer skin also contains a lot of insoluble fiber.
How to make this stone fruit salad recipe in minutes!
Gosh I love any dish I don’t have to cook or heat the oven for in the middle of Summer. This is of course why salads are always so popular when the weather heats up, and this juicy stone fruit salad is truly perfect because of how simple steps to prep and assemble.
Make the simple vinaigrette
Add the olive oil, lemon juice, honey and salt and pepper to a large bowl, and whisk together till well combined.
Toss in prepared fruits and veggies
Add all chopped fruit and veggies, including the shallots, to the large bowl.
Finish it off
Toss the stone fruit and chopped vegetables in the vinaigrette till well combined and thoroughly coated. Sprinkle with additional salt, pepper and if desired, sumac. Plate and serve immediately!
Expert tips and simple recipe modifications
The beauty of this salad is how light and refreshing it is, yet it feels a lot heartier than a typical salad filled with greens. It is open to a few easy modifications and a few of my favorites include:
- Adding your favorite cheese including tangy goat cheese, feta cheese or a creamy fresh mozzarella.
- You can include additional summer fruits or vegetables like pitted cherries, heirloom tomatoes, steamed beets or fresh diced celery.
- Sprinkle the top of the fruit salad with raw pumpkin seed, fresh mint leaves, lemon zest, sumac or a drizzle of honey.
A little expert tip to help reduce the fruits and veggies “sweating” and getting the salad too watery is to toss the stone fruit mixture with about a half teaspoon of sugar and salt. Allow the fruit to sit in a bowl for about 15 minutes, then transfer to a strainer or colander and let the extra liquid drain out.
Important tip for storing stone fruit!
Most stone fruits are picked unripe, so that they last longer. Because refrigerating unripe fruit can delay or even completely halt the ripening process, do not refrigerate your stone fruit! Instead, keep them on the counter. If they aren’t ripe when you get them home, give them a day or two on at room temperature, out of direct sunlight and away from heat sources like your stove.
Serving – what goes with fruit salad for dinner?
This salad is fantastic for the summer heat because of how cooling and refreshing the combination of flavors is. My personal favorite way to serve it is alongside a grilled animal protein or a light seafood. Here are some of my favorite suggestions:
- Easy Garlic Butter Salmon
- Santa Maria style Tri-Tip
- Grilled Boneless Chicken Thighs
- Air Fryer Pork Tenderloin
Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for 1-2 days, but for best results do serve the salad right away.
Stone Fruit Salad with Fresh Veggies
Ingredients
- 2 pounds Plums or any combination of stone fruit; pitted and chopped into 1" pieces
- 3 Persian cucumbers cut into 1" pieces
- 1 Bell pepper red, yellow or orange; seeded and cut into 1" pieces
- 4 Radishes trimmed and chopped into 1" pieces
- ¼ cup Parsley finely chopped
- ¼ cup Mint finely chopped
- 1 small Shallot minced
- 2 tablespoon Fresh squeezed lemon juice
- 2 tablespoon Extra virgin olive oil
- 1 teaspoon Honey adjust to taste; adding more if a sweeter flavor is desired
- Salt & pepper to taste
Instructions
- Prepare all fruits and vegetables, herbs and shallot and set aside.2 pounds Plums, 3 Persian cucumbers, 1 Bell pepper, 4 Radishes, ¼ cup Parsley, ¼ cup Mint, 1 small Shallot
- In a large serving bowl, whisk the olive oil, lemon juice, honey and salt and pepper to create a citrus honey vinaigrette.2 tablespoon Fresh squeezed lemon juice, 2 tablespoon Extra virgin olive oil, 1 teaspoon Honey, Salt & pepper
- Add all fruits and veggies as well as the shallots to the bowl and mix till well combined and coated with the vinaigrette. Adjust taste with salt and additional honey drizzle.
- Plate and serve immediately.
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