My sweet and spicy cherry peach salsa offers more sweetness than heat. This tantalizing combo of cherries and peaches goes great with a variety of dishes; you don’t have to save it for dessert! Use it to top chicken, fish, pork, or as a traditional snack dip. Is there anything that this fresh fruit salsa can’t do? No, I didn’t think so.
I have a fantastic recipe for you today. Simple, versatile, and spectacular.
If you haven’t been including fresh fruit salsas in your meal plan, now is an excellent time to start. They are the perfect way to perk up your protein dishes and cram an extra serving of fruit in too. Ketchup and barbecue sauce tend to be packed with added sugar. Try an added sugar-free salsa instead!
Jars of peach and pineapple salsas are readily available in grocery stores for those in a crunch. If you have a few extra minutes, this sweet and spicy cherry peach salsa will be worth the time.
We thought it was fabulous, truly. I’m considering entering it in a local salsa contest if I can still find perfectly ripe cherries and peaches at the time of entry. It is that good.
Cooking with cherries doesn’t have to be the pits
The one downside to creating recipes with fresh cherries is that you have to pit them all. I found this personified cherry pitter to help me do the job, but I’ve heard a paperclip works just as well. Either way, only one measly cherry is getting pitted at a time by these methods.
If you have children, making them the designated cherry pitters might be one way to save time here. My cherry pitter is simple enough for a small child to use, and the design is fairly amusing. (Who doesn’t want to use a pitter that chomps the cherries and poos out the pits? Haha)
Sharing in the cooking fun frees you up to finely chop the prepared fruits. Plus, supposedly children are more likely to eat the food if they help to prepare it. Speaking from personal parenting experience, I’d say that there are definitely no guarantees there.
This salsa is great for so much more than chips and dip
You could serve this salsa as a snack with a pile of corn chips or apple chips. If you are trying to lose weight however, that is probably not going to be your best option. Even though the sweet and spicy cherry peach salsa is low-calorie, the chips are definitely not.
A more health-promoting thing to do would be to use this salsa as a condiment to add pizazz to your meal. In the photo, I used the salsa as a topping on white fish, with sides of wild rice and roasted Brussels sprouts. Four food groups have been covered!
If you are not a fan of fish, I’m sure this would work just as well as a topper on pork or chicken. Vegetarian? Try it on top of some cooked whole grains. Yum!
And now for the disclaimer…
All recipes on this website may or may not be appropriate for you, depending on your medical needs and personal preferences. Consult with a registered dietitian or your physician if you need help determining the dietary pattern that may be best for you.
The calorie information is an estimate provided as a courtesy. It will differ depending on the specific brands and ingredients that you use. Calorie information on food labels may be wildly inaccurate, so please don’t sweat the numbers too much.
For more information on how the three recipe levels may help with a weight management goal, refer to this post. Let’s get cooking!
Sweet and Spicy Cherry Peach Salsa
Ingredients
- 2 cup sweet cherries, pitted, cut into ⅛s
- 1 cup peach, finely chopped (about 1 medium peach)
- 1 jalapeno, seeded, finely chopped
- 2 tablespoons cilantro, finely chopped
- 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
Instructions
- Stir all ingredients together and let macerate in the fridge until serving time.
- The time commitment with this one comes from prepping the ingredients. Have a good knife handy!
Notes
This is a level 1 recipe (may help support fat loss). Using this salsa as a condiment on protein is the way to go if weight loss is your goal. I recommend serving the salsa on top of cod with (reasonably portioned) Brussels sprouts and wild rice on the side. This makes for a low-calorie but delicious and filling meal.
If you are trying to gain weight, you can push the calories through the roof by using this as a chip dip. Feel free to increase the heat by leaving the seeds in the jalapeno if you prefer a spicier salsa.Nutrition
What are some of your favorite fruit salsa combinations? Let me know your top picks, and tell me if you try this recipe. I think you’ll be glad that you gave it a go!
Summer Yule says
I get an email that my recipe needs a rating if I submit it without a rating. Good thing I do not post recipes unless I like them! 😀