I can finally say I think I’ve mastered the fruit salad. What may be a seemingly simple dish to throw together for your spring or summer gathering, there are some little tweaks that take it from basic to phenomenal. First off, tiny fruit pieces is the way to go. I’m not talking so small you can’t even pick it up with your fork – but nickle-sized is ideal. Why? Because the textures and flavors in each bite are perfect. Versus if you have large pieces of fruit (some recipes call for even bigger than bite-sized!) – it’s more like just eating pieces of fruit rather than fruit salad – which is supposed to be the perfect blend of flavors, colors, and textures all in one. You may or may not be making your basic fruit salad with a dressing – but let me tell you, this brings the flavor to a whole other level! A simple honey lime dressing is drizzled on top, tossed, and served. I swear the fruit tastes even juicier.
So the next time you have a summer BBQ, festive brunch, or holiday gathering – this is the fruit salad to make, and I can almost guarantee you’ll be leaving with an empty serving bowl.
Fruit Salad Ingredients
- Strawberries – You need about 1.5-2 cups finely diced. For me, this was a little less than 1 lb (one container) – but feel free to just use the full 1 lb container if you’d like.
- Blueberries – Make sure to pick out those mushy ones!
- Pineapple – In this recipe we use about 2 cups of finely diced pineapple. This was about 3/4 of a medium pineapple.
- Grapes – Choose green or red- whatever you like more!
- Kiwi – You just need one kiwi. You could also use a golden kiwi (they taste even better!)
- Mango – You need one ripe mango. I use the Tommy Atkins mango (most commonly found) but you could use the honey mango too (they are smaller – so use two).
The Best Fruit Salad Dressing
It’s so incredibly easy to make a fruit salad dressing. Just combine honey (or honey alternative or agave) + lime zest + lime juice. The combo is the perfect balance of sweet and tangy and really brings the whole fruit salad together. You can always adjust these ingredients to your flavor preference
Other add-ins: fresh orange juice, lemon juice, grated ginger
How to Make a Fruit Salad
1. Combine Cut Fruit in a Large Bowl
I like to cut my fruit into small pieces for a fruit salad. You can alternatively leave your pieces larger, if you prefer!
I cut my grapes into quarters. I leave the blueberries as is!
2. Whisk your honey lime dressing
In a small bowl combine your honey (or honey alternative), lime zest, and lime juice. Whisk until combined.
Pour over your fruit salad and toss until well-combined. Serve right away for chill for 30 minutes-1 hour (tossing right before serving).
Make Ahead Tips for Fruit Salad
This fruit salad will be most delicious when served nearly right after mixing it together.
If you want to make this ahead of time (for a party for example), I recommend cutting up all the fruit and making your dressing – keeping them separate until right before the gathering.
You want to toss the salad before serving (and anytime it has sat for an extended period of time).
How to Store Fruit Salad to Maximize Freshness
Fruit salad is best stored in a large glass container. I would not store fruit salad in plastic to avoid plastic leaching (and it can actually absorb some of the fruit juices as well).
I love big glass containers like these large 8-cup containers on Amazon. These large pyrex ones are also great.
It will stay good for about 3 days. After that, I found mine was a bit mushy/soggy.
As I said above, if you are making this for a party, definitely store the honey lime dressing separate to help prevent sogginess. Pour and toss right before enjoying.
What to serve with fruit salad
The beauty of fruit salad is that it pairs with so many other dishes! Fruit salad is great for a breakfast or brunch (especially at a holiday party) or as a summery side dish at a BBQ for lunch or dinner.
If I was serving this for breakfast or brunch, I would pair it with some banana bread, oat bars, tofu scramble, banana oatmeal muffins.
For a summery party, this is a gorgeous side dish paired with black bean burgers or chickpea salad as a main dish, or a beautiful strawberry spinach salad or dill pickle pasta salad.
Common Questions
It’s really up to your personal preference, but I try to choose a balance of different colors and textures. Generally, a fruit salad will have strawberries, blueberries, grapes, kiwi, pineapple, and sometimes mango (I added this to mine because it’s one of the best fruits – in my opinion)
Fruit salad is very healthy. It’s packed with tons of vitamins and antioxidants.
Fruit salad will always be best right after you make it, but will still be tasty up to 3 days later.
Make sure to use ripe (but not overripe fruits). Use a citrusy dressing (like my honey lime dressing) that will help prevent discoloration. Keep it store in an airtight glass container for maximal freshness.
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The Best Fruit Salad Recipe
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Ingredients
- 2 cups finely diced pineapple
- 2 cups finely diced grapes green or red
- 1.5-2 cups finely diced strawberries
- 1 cup blueberries
- 1 finely diced kiwi
- 1 finely diced mango
- ¼ cup honey
- 1 tsp lime zest
- Juice of 1 lime
Instructions
- In a large bowl, combine all your diced fruit.
- Make your honey lime dressing by whisking together the honey with lime zest and juice.
- Pour the dressing over the top and toss until combined. Serve right away, or cover and chill until ready to eat.
- Fruit salad is best the day it is made, but you can still enjoy it up to 3 days later.
Notes
- Cut up oranges would be delicious! You could also try mandarin or blood oranges (now that would be a great pop of color!)
- Pomegranate seeds give a nice texture and microburst of flavor.
- Although they would be a bit of work to pit, cherries are so flavorful and would be a great addition or swap.
