Classic Fruit Salad
69 Comments
Updated Apr 24, 2024
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You can’t beat this easy fruit salad recipe! This summertime classic is a simple combination of juicy seasonal fruit drizzled with a bright honey lime dressing. It’s deliciously sweet, refreshing on hot days, and a must-have for picnics, potlocks, and beach days!
The best fruit salads are homemade fruit salads. Sure, you can buy a fruit salad pre-made at the supermarket already chopped and ready-to-go. But I promise you this – if you take just a few minutes to make this recipe at home you’ll be rewarded with a fruit salad tastier than anything you’ve ever bought. The flavor is so much brighter, fresher, juicier, and all around more delicious!
The beauty of fruit salads is that they’re endlessly customizable. I’ve previously shown you how to make a stone fruit salad (with peaches, nectarines, and plums), but this classic fruit salad is a beautiful rainbow of colors from the strawberries, pineapple, grapes, blueberries, kiwis, mandarin oranges, and mangoes. It’s enough to brighten up any table and cool you off on a hot day!
Fruit Salad Ingredients
Wondering what to put in your fruit salad? Think color! Choose fruits with hues of reds, blues, oranges, yellows, and greens.
- Strawberries: Juicy, fresh strawberries should be easy to find in the summer. Look for ones that are vibrant and ripe, without blemishes.
- Pineapple: Don’t be intimidated to buy a whole pineapple and slice it yourself – it’s easy! And I walk you through it on the video below.
- Grapes: You can use red or green grapes. The key is to snag the seedless variety.
- Blueberries: I love plump blueberries in my fruit salad, but you could also swap these with blackberries. Or do a 50/50 mix of both!
- Kiwis: Bright green kiwi is loaded with vitamin C and complements the other colors so well. Make sure you grab kiwis that are ever-so-slightly soft, to ensure they’re ripe and sweet.
- Mandarin Oranges: I always opt for mandarin oranges (those bags of Cuties!) as they’re easy to peel and segment. You can slice oranges as well. If you opt for the latter I recommend you supreme the orange, which means you’ll slice between the white membrane to remove the individual orange segments.
- Mangoes: You know I’m a mango lover! This creamy, sweet fruit is a personal favorite of mine in fruit salads. If you don’t have mango, you can swap in banana for a similar creamy texture, but make sure to read my tips below.
And for the dressing… it’s a syrupy sweet blend of lime zest, lime juice, and honey. The bright, zingy flavor of lime complements the fresh fruit perfectly!
How to Make Fruit Salad
- Prepare the fruit: wash (and dry) the strawberries, grapes, and blueberries, and peel the pineapple, oranges, and mangoes. Then slice everything up into bite-sized pieces and place in a large mixing bowl.
- Make the dressing: whisk the lime zest, lime juice, and honey together in a small bowl.
- Toss the salad: drizzle the honey lime dressing on the fruit salad and gently toss it all together. Voila – fruit salad!
Tips for the Best Fruit Salad
- While some people love banana in their fruit salad, it can quickly brown and become mushy. I only recommend adding banana if you plan on serving the fruit salad immediately after making it! The same applies to apples (they’ll brown) and raspberries (they’ll go mushy).
- Don’t use frozen fruit! Frozen fruit will become soft, mushy, and watery as soon as it thaws. Definitely stick to fresh fruit here.
- Speaking of water… make sure to thoroughly dry any fruit you wash. You don’t want to introduce extra water into the salad (it’ll just pool at the bottom of the bowl).
- Make sure ALL fruit is ripe. This can be difficult as pineapple and mangoes are often green when you buy them from the supermarket. So plan ahead and grab those two a couple of days before you plan on making the fruit salad, then let them ripen at home. You can also place them in a brown paper bag to expedite ripening!
How To PREP Ahead and Store
Fruit salad is really best when it’s made up to 4 hours before serving. But you can also slice and dice all of the fruit and place it in a covered bowl up to 24 hours ahead of time in the fridge, then toss it with the dressing right before serving.
If you have leftovers after a party, just store it in the fridge for 3 to 4 days in a sealed container. If you notice the fruit really starting to soften after that point I have a tasty solution – turn leftovers into a fruit smoothie!
More Summer Salad Recipes
For the many summer outings ahead, fresh and easy salads are a must-have. These recipes are some of my favorites because they’re so darn easy and tasty. But you can get tons more inspiration in my list of easy and healthy salads.
- Caprese Salad: An Italian classic filled with layers of mozzarella, tomatoes, basil, and a drizzle of balsamic vinegar.
- Greek Salad: Made easy with my homemade greek salad dressing!
- Watermelon Salad: The ultimate summer refreshment in salad form.
- Easy Cucumber Salad: The easiest side salad to add to your dinner table!
If you make this classic fruit salad, let me know how it turned out! I’d love to hear what you think in the comments below.
Classic Fruit Salad
Description
Video
Ingredients
Fruit Salad
- 1 pound fresh strawberries, hulled and sliced
- ½ fresh pineapple, peeled, cored and cubed (approx 2 ½ cups cubed)
- 2 cups grapes
- 2 cups blueberries
- 4 kiwis, peeled and sliced
- 3 mandarin oranges, peeled and segmented
- 2 mangoes, peeled and diced
Honey Lime Dressing
- 1 teaspoon lime zest (from one lime)
- 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice (from one lime)
- 2 tablespoons honey
Instructions
- Wash and dry all the strawberries, grapes, blueberries. Then peel the pineapple, oranges, and mangoes. Slice all the fruit into bite-sized pieces and place in a large mixing bowl.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the lime zest, lime juice, and honey.
- Drizzle the honey lime dressing on top of the fruit salad, gently toss everything together, and enjoy!
Lisa’s Tips
- This white serving bowl is my go-to for serving up large salads!
Nutrition
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I always cut my kiwi in half and then scoop it out with a spoon. I find it faster than peeling the whole fruit, and I’m able to get most of the kiwi this way.
The best fruit salad ever!
Hi Sophie – Happy to hear you love this fruit salad!
Did you know you can eat all of the kit fruit skin and all. What I do is top and tail them then quarter then half then eat. P.S. don’t forget to wash them first.
It looks delicious! Now all I need is a big enough crowd to bring to a potluck! Would you suggest keeping a cold ice mat under it for a potluck?
Hi Sharon – Yes, I think that’s a great idea. Hope you and your friends enjoy it!
I made this for a family gathering and everyone loved it! We are getting together again this weekend, and I was asked to “bring the fantastic fruit salad I brought last time”. I did add bananas to it just before serving. It is so good.
Hi Julia – Happy to hear everyone enjoyed this fruit salad!
Just prepared Lisa’s fruit salad recipe for my 12 year old granddaughter and she absolutely loved it. The twist ingredients of honey and lime juice mix was the icing on the cake as we say here in the UK. I hasten to add I used a couple of different fruits from the recipe but that made no difference. It was great . Thank You, I’ve just discovered your page Lisa and will certainly try more of your recipes.
Hi Rosemary – Happy to hear your granddaughter loved this fruit salad!
Just prepared Lisa’s fruit salad recipe for my 12 year old granddaughter and she Looking absolutely loved it. The twist ingredients of honey and lime juice mix was the icing on the cake as we say here in the UK. I hasten to add I used a couple of different fruits from the recipe but that made no difference. It was great . Thank You, I’ve just discovered your page Lisa and will certainly try more of your recipes.
Hi Rosemary – Happy to hear your granddaughter loved this fruit salad!
A great recipe for a fruit salad. The lime sauce makes it. It ties all the different fruit together while enhancing the flavors. I didn’t use pineapple or mangos and it was delecious. This is a keeper!!! I’ll be making this again…
Yes, the dressing really does make this recipe. So happy you loved it!
Fabulous dressing flavor and so customizable to any season! I made this for Christmas brunch and everyone loved it! Due to the season- I stayed with a green and red theme (grapes), and also added pineapple, tangerine segments (we have little kids that ate it as well), kiwi and a few raspberries (just on the top so they wouldn’t mush as Lisa said!) My family loved it! We were still eating it for Christmas dinner and we have left overs (yes!) so easy to prep the fruit the night before and put together and added the dressing just before we left. I will definitely be making this again! Thank you again Lisa for another fabulous recipe!!!
I love how you tweaked this recipe for Christmas! And yes, leftovers are the best, especially in that syrupy sauce. Enjoy!
Can u make it the night before?
Love the recipe. Subbed lemon for the lime (didn’t have it on hand). Still came out great!
Please clarify the amount of pineapple needed for the fruit salad. Re: X1 1/2 pineapple, approximately 2 1/2 cups, X2 1 pineapple, approx 2 1/2 cups , X3 1& 1/2 pineapple, approx 2 1/2 cups. Thanks.
What is the serving size for this recipe, 1 cup or 1/2 cup?
Made this 5 times and it turned out perfectly every time. The mangos do add that creaminess. I recently made it for my daughter’s 4th birthday party and it was favored by adults and children alike.
That’s great to hear this fruit salad has been the perfect dish to make for all your parties!
I made this for a school party! So Good everyone was asking for recipe! I am definitely making again!
Oh yay! I’m happy to hear this fruit salad was a hit.
Californian here! Summer fruit is going off and I was thinking of fruit salad. Thanks Lisa, this came together beautifully, light and sweet.
I’m glad you enjoyed it, Claudia!
I thought I had a fresh lime but only bottled juice. Will it be terrible without the zest?
That’s fine!
I made this fruit salad for my niece’s bridal shower for 20 people. It was delicious & so colorful. I can’t wait to make it again in a smaller amount.
I’m so thrilled you loved it, Teresa!
I made this for Easter and it was a huge hit! Everyone especially loved the mango.
Glad this salad was a hit for Easter!
Beautiful salad and delicious! My only comment is that’s a lot of salad. I’m going to share with friends.
This salad is definitely meant for a crowd :)
An additional comment – we had a small amount left over that we brought home and plopped into our blender the next morning to make an absolutely lovely smoothie. It didn’t need any additions at all. So thanks again for a fruit delight that has more than one use!
Fantastic. Took to a New Year’s Day party and it was a hit with everyone asking for the recipe. Am bringing a smaller bowl to the Australian Open finals this weekend. Thanks so much for the wonderful recipe!
You’re welcome, Patti! So glad you loved it. :)
I’m gonna try it with other fruits next time :)
I really love it!
Love it! I’m definitely making it again :D
Love it! I’m definitely making it again !:D
This Because a fam favorite for the holidays! Thank you
Big hit! The lime and honey really bring out the flavor
What could I swap for the strawberries? I’m allergic :/
You can honestly add in any other of your favorite fruits :)
I made it ! It is so delicious! Thanks for sharing it
Fantastic combination of fruit, and looked so beautiful.. The lime drizzle was an extra bonus,! (BTW the slicing of grapes trick was genius)
Can’t forget the lime drizzle to tie all the flavors together :)
Wow! Looks so delicious, I and my daughters loved fruit salad, I will definitely try it your way, looks seem easy to make :D. Thanks so much for this guide. Looking forward to seeing more.
Hope you enjoy this classic fruit salad!
Love this fruit salad recipe. My husband and I enjoyed it while we were traveling to ashville, NC to spend our weekend.
Glad you and your husband enjoyed this fruit salad on your latest travels :)
Great recipes keep them coming
Thanks so much Fannie! Hope you loved this fruit salad :)
I had to make a couple moderations considering one of the two mangos I purchased was bad on the inside, and the store was out of mandarin oranges, but it turned out absolutely delicious with extra blueberries and blackberries, and was a huge hit at the post-baptism brunch I made it for! The dressing made it so, so bright and flavorful. I did have some leftovers, which I diced up into even smaller pieces and used to flavor a batch of kombucha! Another perfect recipe from your blog. Thank you!!
Happy to hear you were able to make the most of the fruit salad! Love the idea of adding leftovers to kombucha as well :)
Absolutely delicious! My second time making this. We have been using it throughout the week for our lunches!
Glad you enjoyed this fruit salad!
Your blog post is stunning. Thanks!!
Thanks so much! Hope you enjoy all the recipes :)
Beautifully done video! I’ll have to give the lime dressing a try. I’ve never used one on a fruit salad before. BTW, you probably already know this, but I never toss the pineapple core. It has more bromelain than the whole rest of the pineapple. I always chop it in a few pieces and then throw them into my vitamix for smoothies.
Thanks for the heads up on the pineapple core, almost forgot!
First of all – the beautiful colors of this fruit assortment is so lovely. I was surprised at how scrumptious and refreshing this was. Brought to a Memorial Day celebration and left with an empty bowl.
I usually like my fruit plain, but this added a fresh pop to it- not overwhelming at all.
Will definitely make again.
Wonderful! Glad this was a long weekend winner :)
I agree with you, the best fruit salads are homemade fruit salads. Given the pandemic, one cannot afford to eat out more often than before.
Yes, and it’s so easy to make at home! I hope you enjoy the recipe.
Loved this recipe! 👍
Glad you enjoyed this fruit salad Cathie!
Delicious fruit salad. Made for Memorial day and was a family favorite! My nieces & nephews love it! Can’t wait to make it again for the 4th of July. Thank you!