It’s Aldi Week, which means I’m bringing you a new recipe every day featuring an Aldi favorite. I’m also making them all 21 Day Fix and Weight Watcher’s friendly…so wouldn’t it figure that the one recipe that does not fit into those lifestyles would be the salad recipe?! I got carried away with the salad dressing and the Aldi brand honey goat cheese (yum) when I made this Nectarine and Goat Cheese Salad with toasted nuts and Raspberry Dressing. But don’t worry, I’ve got some quick fixes for you to turn yours into a healthier version if you’d like!
What is Aldi Week?
Every now and then I pick a popular grocery store and make an entire week of meals from that store, using some of their most popular items. The last one I did was Trader Joe’s Week. This time, the focus is on Aldi. At the end of the week, you’ll be able to download a weekly meal plan and shopping list with all of these recipes. One bonus to Aldi Week is that the dinners are also Very Budget Friendly. But if you don’t have an Aldi, you can still make all of these yummy recipes…you’ll just need to find the equivalent ingredients at your local grocery store.
Now let’s talk about this Nectarine and Goat Cheese Salad, because YUM.
How to make this salad WW and 21 Day Fix approved
Like I mentioned, this recipe, as you see it here, is not 21 Day Fix or Weight Watcher’s-friendly. That’s because there is a lot of oil, sugar, cheese, and nuts in this salad. Ok, technically this is fine for WW because you can eat anything on WW…but this recipe comes in at 10 points per serving, which is high. If you want to make this recipe lower in points, though, it’s super easy (same goes for 21 Day Fix, read on).
The dressing is the bulk of the points for WW, and also the only unapproved item for 21 Day Fix. Sub out the dressing with an approved dressing of your choice. The salad, without dressing, is only 4 points (on all plans). And for the 21 Day Fix, the salad, without dressing, will give you 1 green, 1 blue, 1 orange, 1/2 purple. So there ya go!
I can’t find nectarines! What can I sub for them?
Peaches! This was supposed to be a peach salad, but Aldi was out of peaches so I went with nectarines. Either one is great. I would also try apricots. And pears would be a fantastic sub (you can check out our Fall Harvest Pear Salad here).
Do I have to roast the nuts?
You can buy nuts pre-roasted, of course. Or you can skip it and throw them in raw. Both are fine. But Y’ALL. If you are new to the world of oven-toasted nuts, come closer so I can tell you a little secret.
You are going to love these.
It only takes about 10 minutes or so to toast them, and it’s worth every second. This is especially true if you can find the Simple Nature Raw Cashews, Walnuts, and Macadamia Nuts at Aldi. They are so good. Gimmmmmmeeeeeee.
I recommend walnuts, pecans, almonds, or macadamia nuts for this salad.
The total cost of this recipe was right around $12, and that includes an entire bag of nectarines (I only used two), and the nuts (I used half). That price assumes you have salt, pepper, olive oil, and vegetable oil already.
Nectarine Goat Cheese Salad with Toasted Nuts and Raspberry Dressing
Ingredients
- 1 tsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1/2 c cashew, macadamia nut, walnut mix toasted
- 6 c baby spinach (one bag of pre-washed spinach)
- 4 oz honey goat cheese or regular goat cheese
- 1/4 red onion thinly sliced
- 2 nectarines pitted and thinly sliced
Raspberry Salad Dressing
- 1/2 c raspberry jam
- 2 tbsps vegetable oil
- 2 tbsps apple cider vinegar
Instructions
Raspberry Dressing
- In a non-reactive bowl, whisk together the jam, vegetable oil, and apple cider vinegar. Set aside.
Toasted Nuts
- Toasting the nuts is super quick and simple, but you've got to keep an eye on them.
- Turn your oven on to 350F.
- On a rimmed baking sheet, toss the nuts and olive oil until they are all lightly coated. Season with salt.
- The nuts will take around 10 minutes to toast. Check them every few minutes and use a wooden spoon to move them around (it's really easy for them to burn, especially if you have any hot spots in your oven). They can go from not-quite-done to burnt very quickly, so take them out as soon as they are starting to brown. Let cool.
Salad
- There are two ways to make this salad. One way is to toss all ingredients together, including the dressing, in a large bowl until everything has a light coating of dressing. Or, as I've done for these photos, you can toss the dressing, lettuce, half of the goat cheese, half of the nuts, one nectarine, and half of the onions. Then separate into individual serving bowls and divvy up the remaining toppings on each salad.
Notes
Nutrition
Here are the other Aldi Week recipes:
- Instant Pot Bolgonese Soup with Pasta
- Whole Wheat Summer Veggie Pizza
- Zucchini Parmesan Egg Muffins
- Turkey Fried Rice
- Veggie Hummus Sandwich
- Aldi Charcuterie Board
- Aldi Meal Plan
