Best Fruit Salad with Honey-Lime Dressing (2024)

Fruit Salad Ingredients

I love using this combination of fruits and berries because it gives you a delicious mix of flavors and colors. Below, you’ll find suggestions for other fruits you can use. This recipe is easy to customize and make your own!

• Grapes: Grapes hold up really well in a fruit salad. I left the grapes whole, but you can halve them if serving the salad to very young children.
• Pineapple: You can purchase a fresh pineapple and chop it yourself, or buy pre-cut pineapple from the grocery store. Fresh is best, as the texture of canned pineapple is not as good.
• Strawberries: Stem and slice them.
• Blueberries: A sweet favorite! They’re easy to wash and require no other prep.
• Blackberries: A beautiful addition to a fruit salad.
• Kiwi: To prep, slice off the two ends and then peel with a small paring knife. Then cut the kiwi in half lengthwise and slice.
• Lime Zest & Lime Juice: For a touch of tartness, which balances out the sweet fruit and honey. Zest the lime whole, then cut it in half and juice it.
• Honey: Makes the fruit salad irresistibly sweet. You can substitute pure maple syrup for a vegan fruit salad.

Fruit Salad Dressing

What makes this fruit salad really special is the honey-lime dressing. It’s the perfect pairing of sweet and tart. As I was recipe testing, I found that you don’t need too much dressing on the salad, just enough to enhance the natural sweetness of the fresh fruit.

If you don’t have limes on hand, you can substitute fresh lemon juice and lemon zest. You may want to scale down the amount of lemon juice, since lemons are more tart than limes.

How to Make Fruit Salad

Here’s a quick overview of how to make this recipe. See the printable recipe card below for the full recipe with measurements.

1. Prep the fruit. Wash and dry the fruits well. Peel, core and chop the pineapple, slice the strawberries and peel and chop the kiwi. Put the fruit in a large serving bowl.
2. Make the dressing. In a small bowl, whisk together the lime zest, lime juice and honey.
3. Combine. Pour the dressing over the fruit and toss gently to mix.

What Other Fruits Can I Use?

Fruit salad tastes best when it’s made with ripe, in season fruit. You can adapt this recipe based on your preferences and what is in season where you live. Try:

• Spring/Summer: Peaches, nectarines, raspberries, cherries, watermelon, cantaloupe, honeydew, mangos.
• Fall/Winter: Pears, mandarin oranges, pomegranate.
• Year Round: Bananas, apples.

I think you’ll also love my Berry Fruit Salad. Or, for a fun way to serve fruit salad, try these Rainbow Fruit Kabobs.

Make Ahead and Storage Tips

You can do some of the prep work ahead of time for this recipe. This is convenient if you plan to serve the fruit salad at a holiday meal or other get-together.

• Wash, dry and chop the fruit a few hours ahead of time.
• Whisk together the dressing ingredients.
• Store the dressing and fruit in the refrigerator, separately.
• Add the dressing to the salad no more than an hour before serving.

If you have leftover fruit salad, you can store it in the refrigerator for a day or two. The fruit will soften and release some of its juices, but it will still taste delicious.

More Favorite Salad Recipes

Colorful salads are one of my very favorite dishes to make (and eat!). Here are a few more that I think you’ll love:

• Corn Salad
• Macaroni Salad
• Broccoli Salad
• Coleslaw
• Cucumber Tomato Salad
• Potato Salad