This blackberry salad is full of fresh berries, apricots, corn, feta cheese and almonds, all drizzled with a creamy apricot dressing. A great way to showcase summer produce!
In my opinion, this is the ultimate summer salad. You’ve got sweetness from the fruit, the crunch of the nuts, the creamy cheese and that dressing is just off the charts delicious!
Raise your hand if you love the farmer’s market! While I love to shop at the farmer’s market, I don’t go as often as I’d like. Our town’s market is on a Saturday morning and we tend to not want to rush out of the house first thing on the weekend. So when I do go, I buy up everything in sight that looks good and try and come up with fun ways to showcase the produce. This blackberry salad is the product of my last trip to the farmer’s market. It’s full of great summer fruit and vegetables but let’s be real, the creamy apricot poppy seed dressing is really the star of the show here.
Most of the time I follow whatever meal plan I’ve come up with for the week but sometimes I like to cook on the fly. This time, I randomly picked up a bunch of produce without an exact plan in place.
After some consideration (and internet research!) I decided to make a salad. But not just any old salad. A blackberry-corn-apricot-beet salad with fresh herbs, feta and almonds.
How do you make blackberry salad?
So let’s talk about the salad base first. I used little gem lettuce, other great options would be spring mix, romaine or butter lettuce. I also added a handful of fresh herbs to the mix – I love putting herbs in my salad, it adds something a little unexpected. My favorite additions are mint, basil, parsley, cilantro and/or dill.
Once you’ve got your lettuce squared away it’s time for the add-ins. I went with sliced apricots, grilled corn, roasted yellow beets. blackberries, feta and sliced almonds. There is such a great interplay of flavors and textures here – the fruit adds sweetness which is counter balanced by the salty feta and the grilled corn adds a smoky note.
I made an apricot poppy seed dressing to go with this salad. Fresh ripe apricots, olive oil, vinegar and honey are whizzed together in the food processor to make a thick and creamy dressing that doesn’t actually contain any cream or mayonnaise.
This blackberry apricot salad is perfect for a picnic or potluck and you could easily add some grilled chicken to make it a hearty main course.
We’re going to be eating this salad all summer long. What is your favorite thing to buy at the farmer’s market?
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More salads you’ll love
- Black Bean and Corn Salad
- Cherry Tomato Salad
- Watermelon Feta Salad
- Cucumber Tomato Salad
- Chickpea Salad
Blackberry Salad
Ingredients
- 4 cups mixed salad greens
- 1/2 cup mixed soft herbs parsley, mint, dill, cilantro, basil
- 1 cup blackberries
- 2 apricots pitted and sliced
- 2 ears of cooked corn kernels sliced off the cobs
- 3 small or 2 large roasted yellow beets roasting directions here
- 1/4 cup crumbled feta cheese
- 1/4 cup toasted sliced almonds
- For the dressing:
- 1 large or 2 small ripe apricots pitted
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
- 1 tablespoons honey
- kosher salt and pepper to taste
- 2 teaspoons poppy seeds
Instructions
- Combine the lettuces and herbs in a large bowl. Add the blackberries, apricots, corn, beets, feta and almonds to the bowl.
- To make the salad dressing, put the apricots, olive oil, vinegar and honey in the bowl of a food processor. Puree the ingredients to a smooth dressing. Season to taste with kosher salt and pepper. Stir in poppy seeds.
- Pour the dressing over the salad and toss gently to coat. Serve immediately.
Your food photography keeps getting better and better each time I pop on over here. I am so in love with all those vibrant colors!
So many great flavors in this! Can’t wait to try it 🙂 Beautiful photos, too!
Thanks Chrisy, it’s a good one 🙂
What a different salad that looks amazing! I like that the dressing isn’t a creamy one.
The apricots make it creamy without any actual dairy!
Another amazing salad!! I love corn in salad and this one looks great! Thank you for sharing!
Thanks Ashleigh!
Absolutely gorgeous! It looks more like art than dinner. Can’t wait to try it!
Thanks, let me know if you end up making it!
This is almost too pretty to eat! Seriously gorgeous!
Thanks Stephanie, I appreciate the compliment!
This is really so beautiful, Sara!
Thanks Justine, I loved this color combination!
This salad looks beautiful, perfect for summer days! Thanks for sharing!
Thanks Florian, I’m going to make it again soon!
I just discovered your blog, and I can’t take my eyes off this salad ! Pinning and sharing <3
Thanks Sue, I love your blog!
This salad is perfect for the summer- loving the flavor combo with blackberries and apricots!
Thanks Kelley, it’s pretty much the perfect summer salad if I do say so myself 😉
I love new salad ideas and this one really stands out! What a great idea to throw corn in there. I have to share this with my sister.
I just figured what is more summery than corn :)?
That salad looks awesome! I’ve never had feta with fruit in a salad before, but your pictures are pretty convincing! Thanks!
Thanks Deanna, it’s a great salty-sweet flavor combo!
What a gorgeous salad! Love the use of poppy seeds. Eat your rainbow 😉
I’m just missing the red color 🙂
Wow! This looks amazing! Pinning this for sure!
Rosemond Cates
http://www.bighairandbooks.com
Thanks for pinning!
This salad looks amazing!
You are such a great photographer Sara! Your delicious dishes truly come to life with your amazing skills! This looks totally scrumptious!
Thanks for the compliments, I really appreciate it!
That gorgeous photo makes me want to lick the screen! I can’t wait to make this!!
You can lick the screen, I won’t tell anyone! 🙂
Sara…what a pretty salad. It literally jumps off the page. These are the perfect flavors of summer and I love that it is a unique combo of ingredients. Delish!
Thanks Ali, it’s definitely unique (but in a good way!)
I don’t know what I love more! The herbs, apricots, blackberries, or the fresh corn!
Thanks Rebecca, it’s a great flavor combination for sure!
Hey Sara! This blackberry apricot salad looks AH-MAYYYY-ZING!!! Thanks for the wonderful recipe and the foodgawkish photos. Another hit at the zoo!!!
What’s up Levan? I’m sure you could easily veganize this one. Thanks for stopping by! 🙂