Recipe Overview
Why you’ll love it: Everyone needs a back pocket fruit salad recipe, and this is mine! A bright, honey-sweetened lime dressing makes the flavor of all the fresh fruit pop.
How long it takes: 30 minutes
Equipment you’ll need: whisk, large bowl
Servings: 8
Not Your Average Fruit Salad
Fruit salad is the workhorse kind of recipe that doesn’t grab the spotlight, but it plays an important role on your plate, adding nutritional balance and sweetness. It shows up anytime there’s potluck, family gathering, picnic, backyard barbecue, or brunch – so, in my humble opinion, it’s worth putting a little intentionality in it.
What makes this one special:
- It has a light dressing: This fruit salad recipe fancies up the usual rainbow of fruit by adding a honey-lime dressing. It’s an easy addition that takes things to the next level. Lime juice adds a gentle acidity, honey enhances natural sweetness.
- Customizable and seasonal: Make it all berries, make a summery mix of stone fruit, toss in melon, whatever!
- Party-ready: Easy to make ahead, stores well, and travels beautifully. Juicy, brightly colored fruit salad provides a good contrast to the richness of other creamy party salads like potato salad and macaroni salad.
Ingredient Tips
- Honey: I like to use honey because I love the taste of it, but agave nectar will work well if you need to make this fruit salad vegan.
- Lime: You’ll need both the juice and the zest. Zest the lime first, then juice it.
- Pineapple: Use fresh pineapple if you possibly can. Either cut it yourself or buy pre-cut pineapple from the produce section. Canned or frozen pineapple just doesn’t have the right texture or flavor. If fresh pineapple isn’t available, consider substituting another fruit.
- Strawberries: To prep the strawberries, take a paring knife and cut out the hull. Small strawberries can be halved, and larger ones quartered so they’re bite-sized.
- Red grapes: Choose any color of grapes that you like but make sure you buy seedless.
- Blueberries: When you rinse the blueberries, look at them closely to make sure they don’t have a tiny little stem attached which is pretty common with blueberries.
- Blackberries: I like using blackberries because they’re firmer and don’t break apart like raspberries often do.
- Kiwis: If you’re not a fan of kiwis, choose green grapes for a nice pop of green if you’d like.
How to Make Fruit Salad
Make the dressing. Whisk together the honey, lime juice, and lime zest in a bowl large enough to fit all the fruit.
Toss. Add the fruit to the bowl with the dressing, and gently fold everything together until the fruit is evenly coated.
Chill or serve. You can serve the fruit salad right away, or you can chill it for up to an hour to let the fruit absorb some of the dressing.
Make Ahead Tip
The salad mixed with the dressing will keep for up to an hour in the refrigerator. If you are making it ahead, store the dressing separately from the prepared fruit and gently mix it in right before serving.
Easy Recipe Variations
- Try different fruit. As long as you use 8 to 12 cups total, you can swap in any fruit you like. Choose fruits that are fairly firm. I do recommend avoiding fruits that turn brown, but if you really want to add those bananas or apples, stir them in just before serving.
- Add poppy seeds. The little black seeds add visual interest and a tiny (literally) bit of crunch.
- Make it minty. Fold fresh mint leaves into the salad, whole if the leaves are small, or cut into thin ribbons if they’re large. The lime and mint combo will give the salad mojito vibes!
What to Serve With Fruit Salad
Backyard BBQ faves. A chilled bowl of fruit salad is always welcome on a warm summer evening! Serve it with grilled chicken drumsticks and grilled chicken thighs. Lately, we’ve been enjoying these grilled steak kabobs.
Other picnic and party salads. There are so many salads to choose from! This classic 7 layer salad is always a hit; traditional pea salad can be made ahead; and tortellini pasta salad is a substantial salad that can be served as a main course. And a picnic wouldn’t be complete without crockpot baked beans!
Sandwiches and burgers. Skip the fries and serve your turkey burgers with fruit salad.
Brunch foods. A juicy fruit salad balances rich breakfast casseroles, like overnight French toast casserole or this hash brown breakfast casserole.
Prep ahead: Assemble the salad, and prep the dressing up to a day head of time. Store them separately in the refrigerator. Add the dressing to the fruit right before serving.
Storing leftovers: Fruit salad is best eaten within an hour after adding the dressing. However, leftovers will last up to 3 days in the refrigerator. The fruit will get a bit softer, especially the berries, and release juice into the bottom of the bowl. Give the fruit salad a good stir before serving and when you get to the bottom, use a slotted spoon to drain off the liquid as you scoop out the fruit.
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Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons honey (or agave nectar if you prefer)
- 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice (from 1 lime, zest first!)
- 1 teaspoon lime zest (from 1 lime)
- 2 cups diced fresh pineapple
- 2 cups hulled and quartered strawberries
- 1 cup seedless red grapes, halved
- 1 cup blueberries
- 1 cup blackberries
- 2 kiwis, peeled and diced
Instructions
- In a large bowl, whisk the honey, lime juice, and lime zest until the honey dissolves (see make ahead tips below).3 tablespoons honey, 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice, 1 teaspoon lime zest
- Add the fruit; toss gently to coat the fruit in dressing.2 cups diced fresh pineapple, 2 cups hulled and quartered strawberries, 1 cup seedless red grapes, halved, 1 cup blueberries, 1 cup blackberries, 2 kiwis, peeled and diced
- Serve immediately, or refrigerate up to 1 hour, stirring lightly before serving.
Notes
- Choose your fruit: Any combination of fruit will work. Aim for roughly 8 to 12 cups of fruit. If you use a fruit that browns (apples, bananas), you’ll want to add it right before serving. There is enough dressing for up to 12 cups of fruit. Nutrition information will change if you use more or different fruit.
- Make ahead tips: If you want to prep the salad more than 1 hour in advance, store the dressing separately from the fruit, and add it immediately before serving. You can prepare and mix the fruit up to a day in advance, but it will soften slightly (especially the berries) and won’t be quite as fresh. The pineapple can be prepped a few days in advance and refrigerated.
- Optional add-ins: If desired, stir in 1 teaspoon poppy seeds or 2 tablespoons chopped fresh mint leaves.
Video
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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