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Hey, hey Summer Abundance Salad. It is official, I am declaring this summer, the summer of salads!
Oddly, I am really loving it, but I think that’s only because I make my salads BIG, full, and only filled with things I love…plus a heck of a lot of cheese. I mean, obviously.
Soo you know that feeling when your fridge is basically bursting with fresh produce? You’re overwhelmed because, one, you don’t know what fruit or veggie to start with first, and two, you just do not know how you will eat it all before it goes bad? Tell me you know what I am talking about? No? Is that just me? I admit, I can get way too excited when I see the foods I love in the store and then I buy them all…it’s kind of an issue, but it’s the reason this yummy Summer Abundance Salad was born, so whatever.
Also, I have yet to throw anything out, so hey, maybe it’s not that much of an issue. I dunno, either way, I’m loving the big salads. Especially this one because it’s grain based and SUPER fruity.
YUM.
You know what is so weird though? I am currently talking about all things summer, but during the day I’m working on all things autumn and holiday. I know I mentioned this a bit yesterday, but it’s so weird to be working on holiday things in July. I don’t NOT like it…in fact, I love it…but it is weird. One minute I’m thinking about Christmas cookies, and the next I’m talking about stone fruit and berries.
My mind is a little all over the place. Plus, Asher has me in planning mode for our trip to Disney in August. Which by the way, thank you guys all so much for your awesome input on which park to go to. I think that Orlando is winning, as it sounds like all in all, it just has more to offer. Asher pretty much has her mind set that we should head to Orlando, and since it’s her birthday trip, whatever she says goes. Yes, I can already tell I am going to be spending a lot of money on that little girl. Say hello to wands, wizard hats and all the butterbeer we can get our hands on! 🙂
Okok, but salad talk!
This salad is so incredible, it’s light, but filling…and you guys…it actually gets better the longer it sits, YES! Got to love a salad that can be made in advance and genuinely tastes better the next day. Perfect for easy lunches, summer picnics or dinner parties!
Plus, it’s pretty dang healthy too. Whole grains, protein, fruits, veggies… it’s even almost vegan. Almost being the key word there. I mean, if you leave off the feta this salad is vegan, but then you know I could never do that. ?
And like most salads I’ve been making these days, this beauty is topped with toasted nuts and seeds. They’re sort of my go-to salad topping these days. They just add a really nice crunch!
OH, and if you wanted to make this a little heartier, you could definitely add a fried or poached egg, that would be delish. This salad would also be great served up as a side dish for grilled meats and seafood. Personally, I just like to go to town on this with some homemade, super salty tortilla chips or naan.
Summer Abundance Salad.
Servings: 4 Servings
Calories Per Serving: 1079 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Ingredients
- 1 ounce can chickpeas drained + rinsed, 15
- 2 tablespoons basil pesto
- 2 1/2 cups cooked quinoa wild rice and or black rice
- 1 cup pitted fresh cherries halved
- 1 cup fresh blueberries or blackberries
- 1 nectarine thinly sliced
- 2 ears grilled corn kernels removed from the cob
- 1 cup cherry tomatoes halved
- 6-9 ounces feta cheese crumbled
- 1 avocado sliced
- large handful of microgreens and or arugula
- 1/2 cup mixed toasted nuts + seeds (sunflower pumpkin, cashews, almonds, etc)
Spicy Honey Balsamic Vinaigrette
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 1 tablespoon rounded fig preserves optional
- 1-2 in chipotle chili peppers adobo chopped
- kosher salt + pepper
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, stir together the chickpeas and pesto. Let sit at least 15 minutes minutes to marinate.
- Prepare your grains as directed on the package.
- In a large salad bowl, toss together the quinoa, cherries, berries, nectarine, corn, tomatoes and feta. Stir in the pesto marinated chickpeas and toss the salad with about half the vinaigrette (see below).
- To serve, top the salad with sliced avocado, toasted nuts + seeds and fresh greens. Serve with the remaining vinaigrette and chips or bread for scooping!
Spicy Honey Balsamic Vinaigrette
- Combine all ingredients in a glass jar or bowl and whisk until smooth. Taste and adjust salt + pepper to your liking
Too flipping good.
Can you fix the first ingredient? I was going to use 1 oince of chickpeas. Someone told me it was the whole 15 ounce can. Thank you.
Hi Karen,
It is one 15 ounce can of chickpeas. I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan
Don’t forget this salad! It’s the best of everything seasonal and don’t fret you if don’t have one of the ingredients because while everything in this recipe is fabulous it can still be delicious minus one of the ingredients! It’s that good!! I paired this with the salmon recipe from July 2018 and grilled veggies it was a home run
I am so happy to hear that! Thank you so much Cathy!
I made this tonight but left out the arugula and the cherries, subbed a peach for a nectarine (Georgia folks here!) and it was amazing!! My husband was a little skeptical- would it be too sweet?- but he’s converted! So many delicious flavors and I think next time I’ll add in the arugula- I bet the peppery flavor is perfect with everything else. Also those pesto chickpeas are good enough to eat on their own!
So thrilled you all enjoyed the salad so much, thank you!
Tieghan, can you add more salad recipes? This was the BEST and I’d love to see how else you’d put together a salad.
So happy you loved the salad, Jenn!! I will continue to post salads! 🙂
This salad was everything! Took a while to make with all the cherry pitting, chopping, quinoa cooking, nut toasting etc… I’d say more like half an hour at least (and thank goodness I had homemade pesto already on hand). But it was totally worth it. So many layers. I love your recipes.
Sorry it can take a little while sometimes! Happy to hear you thought it was worth it though (:
Thank you Caren!
Trying to make this but it’s incredibly difficult with all the advertisement. I understand some is necessary to support the blog however when the advertisement is so bad I can’t view the recipe that’s a fail
Hi CJ. I am so sorry for the trouble. I have removed all the add from this post, so hoping you can make the recipe and enjoy it! We have been experimenting with different ads the last couple weeks and like you, I have not liked how many there have been. We will be removing about half of the ads (along with that annoying one at the bottom of the page) on the site tomorrow morning when my ad team returns to their office. I am so sorry for the annoyance the ads have caused, but I really do appreciate you kindly letting me know your thoughts. My number one goal with Half Baked Harvest is to give my readers a great experience, so I really do value your opinion! Please let me know if there is ever anything else that bothers you. Hoping to have the ads under control by Tuesday!
Tieghan
I’ve made this salad basically every week since you’ve posted it. I love that I can make it Sunday night, dress it, and bring it to work for lunch all week and it’s still tasty (and not soggy)! I’m digging through your other salads for more like this that will work with Fall produce! Any recos?
That is so awesome, thank you!! Apples, pomegranate, persimmons and figs would be AMAZING! Also, new fall salad is coming! 🙂
Made this last night. OMG the flavors!! My husband and I were fighting over who got to take the left overs for lunch. Can’t wait to make it again!!
Haha!! YES!! So happy you two liked it!! Thank you!!
Is it possible to make your vinaigrette without the oil? If so, what can I use as a substitute? I had gastric bypass and am on a very strict diet… I’m looking forward to making this salad. It looks delish!!
HI Anne!! Yes, just omit the oil, not a huge deal at all. Hope you love this and let me know if you have questions. Thank you! ?
You can never go wrong with summer salads! I am OBSESSED with how fresh and light they taste!
I’ve been loving your salads this summer and this one is another stunner – I’m obsessed with all that color and texture! So pretty!
Thank you, Laura! So so so happy you are loving these!
Harry Potter world!!!! My whole family went without me during uni and I seriously need to go! Enjoy Disney for me. 😉 I’ll just make a big salad instead! 🙂 haha
Haha! That is so awesome, but not that awesome they went without you! You should definitely plan a trip to go!! ? But in the meantime, enjoy this salad!
Love this!! Tried it last night but used chicken marinated in the pesto instead of chickpeas. Yum yum yum. Love the honey fig chipotle dressing !
If I were to make this one day in advance would you recommend I let it sit in half the dressing or add all the dressing the day of?
Hey Allie!! You can let it sit in half the dressing. It will just add more flavor! Let me know if you have any questions, thanks and I hope you love this! ?
I’ve made some “dump” salads before. As in, I dump whatever bits of veggies or fruit I have around into a bowl and make it a meal. BUT your strategy of using a grain base and throwing on summer fruits (and corn!) sounds delish. I am going to give this a try! That spicy honey balsamic vinaigrette sounds like the perfect topper!
Sidenote: you use honey in a lot of your recipes. I feel very strongly about using pure raw honey so I am interested to know what kind of honey you use or where you like to buy it. Thanks!
Hey Melanie!! Thank you so much!! Huge fan of pure raw honey! I buy mine on Amazon or at whole foods. They have one local to Colorado. Thanks!! ☺️☺️