Summer Fruit Salad with Honey Lemon Dressing

This summer fruit salad is unbelievably easy to make, not to mention delicious and contains no processed sugar. It’s colorful, naturally sweet, and packed with refreshing fruity flavors. Serve it for breakfast, eat it with lunch, take as a side dish to the summer cookout, or use as a topping for more complex desserts.

This recipe is simple but sure to please time and time again, consisting only fruits, honey for a touch of natural sweetness, and lemon juice for balance (and to prevent browning). An all-around winner!

Why You'll Love this Summer Fruit Salad

• Best combination of ingredients. Who doesn't love strawberries, mangos, pineapple, kiwi, blueberries and grapes all tossed together in a honey lemon dressing? The honey lemon dressing adds just the right amount of sweetness to the tropical and decadent fruit, taking it from tangy to even better.
• Naturally sweet. Some fruit salad recipes call for simple syrup, a reduction of (usually) processed sugar and water, but this recipe gets its sweetness from two all-natural sources: fruit and honey.
• Highly customizable. The base of this homemade fruit salad is, you guessed it, fruit! The good news is that any of the fruits can be swapped to suit your tastes or color preferences.
• Requires no cooking. Are there any three words that sound so good together? There is no cooking time associated with this recipe. Simply chop, add dressing, and toss together. It couldn’t be easier (or could it? Check out the tips section for a shortcut!).
• Visually compelling. If you think that aesthetics are important when it comes to food, you’re in good company. The vibrant contrasts of the colors and textures of the produce in this fruit salad create a beautiful dish that won’t last long on the serving table.

Ingredient Notes

To make this easy Summer Fruit Salad, you will need the following ingredients (full measurements in recipe card below):

• fruit - we use strawberries, pineapple, blueberries, kiwi, mango, and grapes. But there are a ton of things you can do fruit-wise to truly make this recipe your own. You can swap out virtually any of the fruits in exchange for others. As long as you have 4-6 different varieties of fruit, you’ll be golden. Experiment with different flavors and color palettes as you see fit.
• honey - you can use honey from your local apiary or the store-bought kind, just double check the ingredients as a lot of mass-produced honey brands cut the honey with syrup. You can also substitute the honey for agave nectar at a 1:1 ratio if you don’t partake in honey for various reasons like veganism. Also, adjust the amount of honey based on your level of desired sweetness. Add more honey if you prefer a sweeter salad.
• lemon juice - I recommend using freshly squeezed lemon juice for the most potent flavor. You can also substitute this with lime juice for similar results.

You will also need measuring cups and spoons, a large serving dish, and a small mixing bowl.

How to Make the Best Fruit Salad

1. Arrange all the fruit in a large serving bowl (strawberries, pineapple, blueberries, kiwi, mango, and grapes). You can throw the fruit together or create a fruit rainbow, separating the fruit into rows.
2. In a small mixing bowl, add honey and lemon juice. Stir until combined.
3. Pour dressing over the fruit and toss to combine.

How to Serve

This summer fruit salad is one of go-to's when I need to prepare something for a pot-luck, picnic or barbecue. It's easy and makes the perfect snack or dessert. But, the thing about fruit salad is that although it may hit the spot during the summer, you can really devour this stuff all year long. It's kind of also one of my favourite breakfast options or snacks throughout the day. Move over smoothie, there is a new breakfast boss in town!

Recipe Tips and Tricks

• Shake things up. If you want to add even more visual interest and you have extra time on your hands, use cookie cutters to cut some of the fruit into fun shapes like hearts, stars, or triangles for cool variations that will wow the crowd every time.
• Use pre-cut fruit. In a pinch, you can save even more time on prep by shopping for pre-cut fruits in the produce section of your local grocery store — just be sure to check the “prepared on” date to ensure you’re getting the freshest fruit possible, as well as the ingredients list to make sure there aren’t any other ingredients added, like preservatives to maintain color.

More Fruit Recipes

• Blueberry Biscuits
• Fresh Strawberry Pie
• Peach Arugula Salad
• Blackberry Milkshake
• Mango Frozen Yogurt
• Mandarin Orange Salad

Recipe

Summer Fruit Salad with Honey Lemon Dressing

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★★★★★

5 from 5 reviews

• Author: Sam | Ahead of Thyme
• Total Time: 10 minutes
• Yield: 3-4 serving
• Diet: Vegetarian

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Description

This Summer Fruit Salad is colorful, delicious, and naturally sweet (no processed sugar!). It's easy to make with fresh fruit tossed in a homemade dressing.

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Ingredients

• 1 ½ cups strawberries, halved (approximately 12 strawberries)
• 1 cup pineapple, cubed
• ½ cup blueberries
• 1 kiwi, sliced and quartered
• 1 cup mango, cubed (approximately 1 mango)
• ½ cup grapes, sliced
• 1 tablespoon honey (or more to taste)
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice, freshly squeezed

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Instructions

1. Arrange all the fruit in a large serving bowl (strawberries, pineapple, blueberries, kiwi, mango, and grapes). You can throw the fruit together or create a fruit rainbow, separating the fruit into rows.
2. In a small mixing bowl, add honey and lemon juice. Stir until combined.
3. Pour dressing over the fruit and toss to combine.

Notes

Shake things up: If you want to add even more visual interest and you have extra time on your hands, use cookie cutters to cut some of the fruit into fun shapes like hearts, stars, or triangles for cool variations that will wow the crowd every time.

Use pre-cut fruit: In a pinch, you can save even more time on prep by shopping for pre-cut fruits in the produce section of your local grocery store — just be sure to check the “prepared on” date to ensure you’re getting the freshest fruit possible, as well as the ingredients list to make sure there aren’t any other ingredients added, like preservatives to maintain color. 

How to store: Place in an airtight container and refrigerate for up to five days. Give the salad a good toss before serving.

How to freeze: Unfortunately, this fruit salad won’t come out of the freezer in the same state it went in. The texture may change slightly after thawing. However, that doesn’t mean that freezing is out of the question! Frozen fruit salad could make an excellent addition to smoothies or serve as a base for quick fruit reductions for desserts and breakfasts. Just pop into a freezer storage bag and leave frozen for up to three months.

• Prep Time: 10 minutes
• Category: Salad
• Method: Tossed
• Cuisine: American

Keywords: summer fruit salad, fruit salad, how to make fruit salad, homemade fruit salad, fruit salad recipe, dressing for fruit salad

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