Refreshing and Delicious Fruit Salad Recipes

The majority of our fruit salad recipes are tropical versions with a coconut crunch or a melon-cucumber combination, suitable for any occasion. Follow what’s in season, and you won’t go wrong.

From innovative desserts to tantalizing breakfast and brunch options, these dishes demonstrate how interesting and distinctive fruit salad can be. They provide surprising levels of flavor and texture, and each of these salads is visually appealing in its own way, whether they are a riot of colors or fashionably monochromatic. In fact, it’s difficult to find a more beautiful array of foods that require such little effort to prepare.

The great majority of the recipes we’ve compiled have incredibly minimal ingredient lists, relying on staples like citrus juice, honey, and herbs to enhance the fruit. Even the more irreverent items are still easily accessible from a practical sense.

For example, mix tahini and applesauce to get a smooth, savory-sweet dressing that goes well with citrus, grapes, mango, and plums, or simmer balsamic vinegar until syrupy and then drizzle it over cherries, grapes, plums, raspberries, and strawberries for a stronger flavor.

There’s fruit salad for every occasion. If you’re having a dinner party and want an exquisite dessert, try a fruit tray with poached peaches, fresh figs, kiwi, and whipped ricotta. Another excellent choice for an adults-only gathering is grapes, melon, nectarines, plums, and berries mixed with Solerno liqueur (made from blood oranges) or brandy.

Green fruit salad with lime and honey.

Crisp cucumber, fresh mint, and basil provide a delightful savory flavor to this lush fruit salad.

Ingredients

• 1 thinly sliced Granny Smith apple
• ½ English cucumber
• ¼ honeydew melon
• ¾ cup green grapes (halved)
• 2 sliced star fruits
• 2 tablespoons of honey
• 2 tbsp fresh lime juice

Serve with mint and basil leaves

Directions

• Place apples, cucumber, and melon on a dish.
• Fill up the gaps with grapes and star fruits.
• In a small dish, combine the honey and lime juice and mix until smooth.
• Drizzle over fruit (particularly apples to avoid browning).

Serve it right away or cover it with plastic and chill for up to 4 hours. Garnish with mint and basil leaves before serving.

Red fruit salad with white balsamic vinegar and black pepper.

In this jewel-like salad, juicy summer berries and stone fruit are perfectly complemented by the subtle sweetness of white balsamic vinegar and the sharpness of black pepper.

Ingredients

• 2 red plums cut
• 1 pint of fresh raspberries
• 1 cup sliced fresh strawberries
• 1/2 cup of fresh, delicious cherries, pitted and halved
• ¾ cup red grapes, halved or sliced (if large)
• 1/4 cup white balsamic vinegar
• Freshly ground black pepper

Directions

• Arrange the plums on a plate.
• Place raspberries, strawberries, cherries, and grapes around them.
• In a small pot, bring vinegar to a boil and reduce by half, about 5 minutes.
• Stir in 1 tsp water.
• Drizzle over the fruit and season with pepper.

Serve it right away or cover with plastic and chill for up to 4 hours.

Fruit Platter with Whipped Ricotta

For this spectacular brunch spread, any combination of farmers’ market and tropical fruits would suffice. Bonus: you can prepare all of the accompaniments ahead of time, including delicious poached peaches, creamy ricotta scented with vanilla and maple syrup, and gently sweet digestive biscuits.

Ingredients

• Poached peaches
• 4 ripe, firm peaches or nectarines (approximately 1 pound), quartered and peeled
• 3 teaspoons of sugar
• 2 teaspoons of fresh lemon juice

Whipped Ricotta

• 1 pint of part-skim ricotta
• 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 tablespoon of pure maple syrup

Fruit platter

• 1/2 honeydew melon, halves and thickly sliced
• ½ pineapple, halved, cored, and thickly sliced
• ½ baby watermelon, thickly sliced
• 1 bunch of green or muscat grapes
• 3 kiwis, peeled and sliced
• 8 fresh figs halved
• 2 cups of mixed berries, including blackberries, raspberries, and blueberries

Directions

• Poached Peaches: In a small saucepan, combine the peaches, sugar, lemon juice, and 2 tablespoons of water over medium heat.
• Bring to a simmer, then bring the heat to low, cover, and cook, gently stirring periodically, until the fruit is barely soft, about 5 to 10 minutes, depending on ripeness.
• Using a slotted spoon, transfer the peaches to a heat proof container and strain the syrup over top. Allow to cool completely.
• Peaches in syrup can be refrigerated and covered for up to a week. (Makes approximately 2 cups.)

Whipped Ricotta:

• Use a blender or food processor, combine ricotta, vanilla, and maple syrup until smooth. Mixtures can be refrigerated and covered for up to five days. (Makes two cups.)

Fruit dish:

• Place all fresh fruits on a dish. Serve alongside poached peaches, whipped ricotta, and digestive biscuits.

Green Fruit Salad with Frozen Grapes.

A fruit-based version of “green” salad includes icy grapes, apples, kiwis, and melons. A lemon thyme dressing combines the tastes.

Ingredients

• 12 ounces of green grapes
• 2 glasses of water
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 cup lemon or ordinary thyme sprigs, finely chopped
• 1 green apple
• 3 kiwis, peeled and sliced
• 4 to 5 cups of honeydew melon balls (from two melons)

Directions

On a rimmed baking sheet, freeze the grapes for 1 hour.

Meanwhile, prepare the syrup:

• In a medium saucepan, bring the water and sugar to a simmer, stirring until the sugar has dissolved.
• Remove from the heat and add the lemon thyme.
• Allow to stand, covered, until totally cool. Strain syrup through a fine strainer, discarding solids.

Thinly slice the apples. Divide the apples, kiwifruit, melon, and grapes among eight bowls. Pour syrup over the tops right before serving.

Orange Fruit Salad with Five Spice Powder

Chinese five-spice powder, which contains cinnamon, cloves, fennel seeds, Sichuan peppercorns, and star anise, adds a sweet-and-spicy dimension to this sunny salad with tropical fruit, peaches, oranges, and golden raspberries.

Ingredients

• One pineapple, peeled, cored, and halved
• 1 sliced yellow peach or nectarine
• 1/2 peeled and sliced mango
• 1/2 peeled, seeded, and sliced papaya
• 1 peeled and sliced navel orange, plus 1 peeled and halved.
• 1/2 cup golden raspberries
• 1/4 cup passion fruit seeds (optional)

For serving, combine five-spice powder and flaky sea salt.

Directions

• Slice one-half of a pineapple. Arrange the cut fruits on a dish.
• Chop the remaining pineapple and orange in half; scatter raspberries about the plate. Top with passion fruit seeds.
• Squeeze the juice from the remaining orange half over the fruit, then sprinkle with five-spice powder and salt.

Serve immediately or cover with plastic and chill for up to 4 hours.

Pineapple, Mango, and Meyer Lemon Salad

The classic combination of pineapple and coconut gets even more tropical with luscious mango. Meyer lemons, with their sweet-tart flavor, are so delicate that they can be used skin-on.

Ingredients

• 1 pineapple with skin removed, cored and cut into ½-inch chunks.
• 1 mango, peeled and pitted, cut into ½-inch pieces
• 1 Meyer lemon, half lengthwise and thinly sliced with seeds removed
• 1 tablespoon fresh juice
• 1/2 cup toasted, unsweetened coconut flakes

Directions

• In a bowl, combine the fruit and the lemon juice. Top with coconut flakes.

Boozy Summer Fruit

Soaking fruit in blood orange liqueur makes it much more juicy and flavorful.

Ingredients

• 6 cups sliced ripe fruit, such as melon, grapes, plums, nectarines, and strawberries
• 1/2 cup Solerno liqueur or brandy

Directions

• Arrange the fruit in a shallow, nonreactive dish.
• Drizzle with the Solerno liqueur. Allow to stand for one hour, tossing occasionally.

Tropical Fruit Salad With Coconut Crunch.

Ripe berries and exquisite tropical fruits that taste like nature’s dessert are among the nicest aspects of summer. The make-ahead crunchy coconut-poppy seed topping provides a distinct flavor to this healthful meal, which does not require refrigeration once it arrives at the party.

Ingredients

• One huge egg white.
• 2 teaspoons clover or orange blossom honey
• 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla paste or extract
• 1 teaspoon grated Meyer lemon zest
• 2 tablespoons of fresh juice.
• 1 tablespoon of poppy seeds.
• A pinch of kosher salt.
• ⅔ cup unsweetened shredded coconut
• 1-quart strawberries, halved lengthwise (if large)
• 2 mangoes, peeled and pitted, cut lengthwise into 1-inch-thick fingers.
• 1 small papaya, peeled, halved, seeded, and sliced into 1-inch-thick fingers.
• 1 small pineapple, peeled, cored, and sliced into 1-inch-thick fingers

Directions

• Preheat your oven to 325 degrees. Whisk together egg white, honey, vanilla, lemon zest and juice, poppy seeds, and salt until frothy and well mixed.
• Stir in the coconut to coat evenly, then spread thinly on a rimmed baking sheet.
• Bake, tossing occasionally, until brown in spots, 22 to 25 minutes.
• Let cool entirely (the mixture will crisp as it cools). Rub it between your fingers, breaking up any clumps, until crushed.
• Arrange the fruits on a plate and sprinkle with coconut crunch before serving.
• Fruits can be chilled for up to 8 hours if they are loosely wrapped in plastic and do not have any coconut crunch.

Coconut crunch can be stored in an airtight jar at room temperature for up to a week.

Fruit Salad with Cinnamon and Honey Yogurt

This fruit salad gets a protein boost from creamy yogurt, which has been sweetened with honey and cinnamon. Prebiotics from the fruit and probiotics from the yogurt work together to promote healthy gut bacteria (and make for a satisfying snack).

Ingredients: 

• ¼ cup plain yogurt
• 1 teaspoon honey
• ¼ teaspoon of ground cinnamon
• A pinch of kosher salt
• 1 cup of halved strawberries
• ½ cup blueberries
• One banana, peeled and sliced

Directions

• In a bowl, combine the yogurt, honey, cinnamon, and salt.
• Toss in strawberries, blueberries, and bananas. Serve with more cinnamon.

Mango, Papaya, and Melon Salad

It may appear paradoxical, but a pinch of salt is one of the nicest things you can sprinkle on fruit before eating since it enhances the flavor, emphasizing sweetness and hiding any trace of bitterness. A specialized salt blend created with turmeric and chile accomplishes precisely that, bringing out the finest in these tropical beauties.

Ingredients

• 1 small papaya, peeled, seeded, and sliced into ¼-inch pieces
• 1 mango, peeled, seeded, and cut into ¼ inch pieces
• 1/2 honeydew melon, peeled, seeded, and cut into ¼-inch pieces
• English cucumber peeled and finely sliced
• 1-2 tbsp honey
• 1 lime halved

Directions

• Arrange the fruits and cucumbers on a dish.
• Drizzle with honey and squeeze the lime halves.
• Sprinkle it with salt and serve.

Fresh Fruit and Applesauce-Sweetened Tahini

Tahini and coconut give traditional fruit salad an unusual touch. Mango, grapes, and citrus fruit are ideal for this recipe, but any fruit in season will suffice.

Ingredients

• ¼ cup tahini
• 1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 2 tablespoons of water
• 4 cups of sliced fruit, like mango, black grapes, plums, and citrus
• 1/4 cup toasted, unsweetened coconut flakes

Directions

• Blend tahini, applesauce, honey, and water in a food processor.
• Pulse until smooth. Arrange the fruit in serving bowls.
• Drizzle with tahini sauce, then top with toasted coconut.

To conclude

Try any of the recipes we’ve featured above, and let us know what you think!