Take advantage of all the fruits summer has to offer and make The Best Fruit Salad, a bright, delicious mix of sweet fruit with pops of mint!
Cooling and lightly sweet, The Best Fruit Salad is simple to make and really showcases all the best fruit of summer. Cube, peel and dice up all of your summer fruit faves and dress them in a sweetened mint and citrus dressing for a side dish the family will love all summer long.
Fruit Explosion
I can’t be the only one who hears the words fruit salad and automatically thinks of the Wiggles, right? Their song, Fruit Salad, Yummy Yummy? Anyone? Well, even if you don’t know it, we all know that yes, fruit salad is indeed very yummy! Refreshing and sweet, it’s the perfect side or dessert throughout the long summer days and a great way to get more fruit into our meals.
I was a little hesitant about the mint when I first made it because mint can be a little overpowering at times, but I found this addition to be amazing and made this fruit salad extra cooling. The whole family loves how we can make this super basic, with just a few fruits, or go full-on kitchen sink, where we throw in everything we absolutely love. Simple or extravagant, the choice is yours with this beautiful fruit salad.
Other Recipes to Serve with The Best Fruit Salad
- Keep the fresh summer flavors going with a tall pitcher of Summer Punch! This punch has sweet fruit and your favorite white wine and champagne, so it’s perfect for sipping all day long.
- Whip up an appetizer with some creamy and savory flavors, while still enjoying all that fruit, with Fruit Goat Cheese Bruschetta. You’re heading for a sweet day on the patio with all these ideas!
Ingredients
Fruit: While you can choose any fruits you like, think about the combinations you most enjoy and build from there. Some ideas are strawberries, blueberries, kiwi, oranges, and grapefruit.
Herbs: Fresh mint really brings a lot to this fruit fest so buy enough for the dressing and to sprinkle on the salad.
Sugar: A little bit of brown sugar, added to the dressing, brings out a lot of sweetness from the fruits and mint.
Juice: Orange juice is needed for the dressing, which can be freshly squeezed or from pre-made juice.
How to Make The Best Fruit Salad
STEP ONE: Prepare all of the fruit by peeling, cubing, or slicing as directed.
STEP TWO: Add the fruit to a large bowl as well as most of the chopped mint, but save a few tablespoons for the dressing.
STEP TWO: To make the dressing, add the orange juice, brown sugar, and the remaining mint to a blender or food processor. Blend the dressing until it is smooth. You’ll want to refrigerate the dressing if you’re not serving the salad immediately.
STEP THREE: When you are ready to serve up the salad, pour enough dressing to cover the fruit to your liking and then toss gently until everything is well coated. Then sprinkle some chopped mint and a little bit of brown sugar over the top of the salad for garnish.
Tips for Success
- Use all of the fruits you love in this salad but think about what fruits you love together and which ones you don’t. Banana can be kind of picky when it comes to pairing and doesn’t always taste great with grapefruit, for example, but is so delicious with oranges. On the other hand, tossing in a handful of pomegranate seeds would taste amazing with all those berries! Go with what you like!
- Due to the texture of defrosted fruit, it’s not a good idea to use frozen fruit in this recipe so save the frozen stuff to make mouthwatering smoothies instead.
- We all know how wilted fruit can get after a while so this is not a “make ahead” dish. The dressing would be fine to make the day before and then you can just focus on making The Best Fruit Salad the day you need it. Of course, leftovers will still be super good but the presentation will not be as vibrant as it was the day you made it.
What does fruit salad contain?
A typical fruit salad is usually a mix of berries, melons, grapes, and kiwi. The versatility of a fruit salad is one of the reasons it is not only popular, you do see some versions on most restaurant menus, but also a wonderful way to appreciate seasonal offerings. Berries, such as strawberries, blueberries, and blackberries, are in season before melons like watermelon and honeydew are. Your fruit salad can show off beautiful berries at the start of summer and you can send summer off with a bowl full of melon bliss.
Is fruit salad healthy?
The key to everything is moderation but yes, fruit salad is healthy! The various fruits provide many vitamins and minerals that keep us healthy and this salad is a wonderful alternative to a sugar-laden dessert. The water in a lot of these fruits also helps us to stay hydrated, which is super important in the summer, and paired with the decent amount of fiber in a lot of fruits, keeps our systems running well.
Keep the summer fruit train rolling with these can’t miss ideas!
- Fruit Pizza
- Boozy Tropical Fruit Salad
- Watermelon Stars with Fruit Dip
- Grilled Fruit Kabobs with Brown Sugar Dip
- Berry Salad Fruit Lettuce Wraps
*This post was originally posted on 07/02/2018.
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 pint strawberries hulled and sliced
- 5 kiwis peeled and sliced
- 5 oranges peeled and chopped
- 2 grapefruits peeled and chopped
- 12 ounces blueberries
- 1 cup mint chopped and divided
- ½ cup orange juice (or juice from 1 large orange)
- 2 tablespoons light brown sugar packed
Instructions
- Add all fruit into a large serving bowl and gently mix to combine. Reserve 2 tablespoons of chopped mint and then add the rest to the bowl.
- To a blender or food processor, add the orange juice, reserved mint, and brown sugar. Blend until smooth. (If not serving the fruit salad immediately, refrigerate the dressing for later.)
- Pour some dressing over the fruit a little and then gently tossing the salad. Add more dressing to your taste. Garnish with a little brown sugar and some more chopped mint before serving.
P. Bayer says
Made this as instructed minus the grapefruit and it was very refreshing. However I think the “prep time” is wrong. I was unable to slice a pint of strawberries, slice 5 kiwis, peel and dice 5 oranges, chop a cup of mint leaves, and blend the dressing ingredients in 10 minutes – more like an hour! Ha….
manish says
nice fruit salad ….
Aubrey Cota says
Thank you.
Kate Blue says
I tried making this – it tasted extremely flat. I added just the barest sprinkling of salt to it and it made all the difference. Then WOW! really good!
Aubrey Cota says
Thanks for the tip!