Tropical Fruit Salad
Combine all your favorite summer fruits, like melons and berries, for a refreshing Tropical Fruit Salad that makes hot days taste so sweet!
Why We Love This Simple Fruit Salad Recipe
- The best fruit salad recipe is one that has all of your favorite summer fruits in one bowl, so dice up that melon, wash those berries, grab some oranges, and make a treat that everyone loves!
- Tailor this easy fruit salad so you enjoy every ingredient- if there’s a fruit you’d like to skip, just add a different fruit that you like!
- Whether you make this ahead of time or for a spontaneous get-together, this summer fruit salad recipe is crowd-pleasing and simple to make.
- If you can’t locate all of the fresh fruit you would like to use in this salad, don’t fret. You can use canned fruit as a replacement. Sometimes it’s even easier to find the canned options so you can make this yummy side all year long.
What are the Ingredients of Fruit Salad?
MELON: To make this fruit salad, you can include watermelon, honeydew, and /or cantaloupe. All are so delicious in this salad, but you can choose some or all to include. Be sure to chop all of the melon into bite-sized pieces.
CANNED FRUIT: Grab a can of mandarin oranges for this fruit salad and either fresh or canned pineapple and mango. Save the juice from the canned mandarin oranges for later, and cut the pineapple and mango into pieces.
FRESH FRUIT: Purchase raspberries and blueberries for this salad, along with a couple of sliced kiwis.
FRUIT SALAD DRESSING: To make this bright, sweet dressing, you will need honey, the reserved mandarin orange liquid, lime juice, and lime zest.
How to Make Fruit Salad
Jump to RecipeSTEP 1 Add the chopped watermelon, cantaloupe, honeydew, pineapple, mango, mandarin oranges, and sliced kiwi to a large bowl.
STEP 2 In a small mixing bowl, whisk together the honey, mandarin orange syrup from the can, and the juice and zest from 1 lime. Pour the dressing over the fruit and stir to mix.
STEP 3 If you’ll be serving the fruit salad immediately, gently fold in the berries. If you are making it ahead of time, cover the bowl with plastic wrap, pop it in the fridge, and wait to stir in the berries until you’re ready to eat.
Tips & Tricks
- Fruit salads are extremely versatile, so keep the fruits you like and substitute those you don’t!
- If you prefer not to include mandarin oranges in your tropical fruit salad, you can use the same amount of orange juice, pineapple juice, or any other fruit juice you like instead of canned orange syrup in the dressing.
- Be sure to cut the fruit into bite-sized pieces to make eating the fruit salad easy!
- For this recipe, the berries are added at the end to prevent them from breaking apart and staining the other fruit, but if you’re not concerned about it, then you can toss all the fruit together in step one.
- Keep this fruit salad covered in the fridge for up to 3 days. Be sure to give it a good stir to redistribute the dressing before serving.
Fruit Salad Recipe FAQ
What makes a good fruit salad?
The perfect fruit salad is a wonderful combination of flavors and textures, with the right amount of sweetness! Start with all of the fruits you enjoy and combine the ones you think go together the best, such as citrus and berries, or tropical fruits.
Adding other fresh elements, like orange, lemon, or lime zest, will give your fruit an extra pop of flavor. Don’t forget to bring out the natural sweetness of the fruit with a little honey or brown sugar in the dressing.
Don’t be afraid to use canned fruit in juice! While you want to avoid the fruit in heavy syrup (light syrup is okay), canned fruit in water or juice can be a great way to include out-of-season or hard-to-get fruit in your amazing fruit salad!
What fruits should not be mixed into fruit salad?
There are a few fruits that need a little extra consideration when adding them to a fruit salad, such as bananas and apples. These two fruits will turn brown quite quickly, and the bananas will get mushy after a little bit, so it’s best to wait until right before serving a fruit salad to add these two fruits, if you add them at all.
It’s also good to know that pineapple and kiwi have enzymes that can break down gelatin, which means that they shouldn’t be used in jello salads.
For the best presentation, avoid mixing fruits that are all the same color. Instead, combine lots of different colors for a vibrantly delicious salad! Yes, similar colors are fine to use, like pineapple and mango, but be sure to add some other pops of color, like blueberries, grapes, and strawberries
Other Recipes You May Like
- Banana Pudding Fluff Salad
- 7 Layer Salad
- Tex-Mex Corn Salad
- Classic Lime Jello Salad
- Broccoli Bacon Salad
- Creamy Coleslaw Recipe
- Best Potato Salad Recipe
Tropical Fruit Salad
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups cantaloupe
- 1 ½ cups honeydew
- 1 ½ cups watermelon
- 1 cup pineapple
- 2 mangoes
- 5 kiwis
- 15 ounces canned mandarin oranges in light syrup
- 1 cup blueberries
- 1 cup raspberries
Instructions
- Remove the rinds/skins from the cantaloupe, honeydew, watermelon, pineapple, mangoes, and kiwis. Slice the kiwis and then cut the rest of the fruit into bite-size pieces (medium dice). Place the cut fruit into a large mixing bowl. Drain the oranges, reserve the syrup for the dressing, and add the oranges to the bowl as well.
- In a small mixing bowl, whisk together the honey and orange syrup from the canned mandarins. Zest and juice the lime and add both to the bowl. Whisk again.
- Pour the dressing over the fruit in the bowl and gently toss to combine.
- If serving the fruit salad later, cover the bowl with plastic wrap and chill until you're ready to eat.
- Before serving, stir the salad one more time. Add the blueberries and raspberries and gently toss, being careful not to break up the berries. Serve immediately.
Nutrition
All nutritional information is based on third party calculations and is only an estimate. Each recipe and nutritional value will vary depending on the brands you use, measuring methods and portion sizes per household.