Summer Fruit Salad

This Summer Fruit Salad is cold, refreshing and possibly the best fruit salad you will ever make and its SO easy!  

This Summer Fruit Salad Salad is the perfect side dish for potlucks, pool parties, barbecues, the back porch or at home on a warm day!  It is made with watermelon, pineapple, blueberries and the option of cantaloupe, strawberries, kiwis, grapes, oranges and mangos!  The fruit salad is enveloped in sweet and tangy Honey Lime Mint Dressing that makes already tantalizing fruit 10X better!  What I especially love about this Summer Fruit Salad, is that it is make ahead friendly!  Your new go-to summer salad potluck recipe awaits!

 

Happy Official Summer!  With June 1st come and gone, its time to gorge ourselves on Summer Fruit Salad while we can – and that means LOTS of watermelon and pineapple!

I think pineapple makes everything better.  And grilled pineapple even better still.   So I’ve included grilling instructions for the pineapple and watermelon (brings out their natural sweetness – yummers)  if you want to really celebrate summer.  And when I say instructions- I mean preheat and grease grill, grill for such and such minutes, the end – so easy and enhances the flavor so much!

But if you don’t want to grill, that is totally fine, this summer fruit salad is still divine without grilling because just think how refreshingly delectable pineapple and watermelon are on their own?!

What FRUITS ARE GOOD FOR SUMMER FRUIT SALAD?

In addition to watermelon and pineapple, I also tossed in fresh blueberries but you could add whatever fruit combo suits your mood:

• cantaloupe

• strawberries

• kiwis

• grapes
• oranges
• mangos

They would all taste AH- mazing with pineapple and watermelon and the chilled Honey Lime Mint Dressing.

Essentially, you can add/mix in whatever fruit you have on hand because the dressing is out of this world!  And pineapple and watermelon make everything better.

How to Cut Pineapple for Summer Fruit Salad

1. Place pineapple on its side and cut off the top inch from the top and bottom.
2. Stand the pineapple upright and cut lengthwise to remove and discard the tough, outer peel in strips.
3. Go back around the pineapple and cut off any remaining hard bits to ensure the pineapple is smooth.
4. If you are grilling your pineapple, you will slice it into rings, otherwise: cut the pineapple in quarters lengthwise through the core.
5. Remove the core from each quarter be slicing lengthwise.
6. Place each section of pineapple flat on the cutting board and chop into the desired size chunks.

How to Cut Watermelon for Summer Fruit Salad

1. Before you do any cutting, be sure to wash the outside of your watermelon and/or cantaloupe.  Even though we are not eating the outside of the melon, the knife passes through the outside into the inside and can contaminate the entire melon with E. coli or other contaminates.
2. Place the washed and dried melon on a cutting board.  Cut the melon in half.  If you are slicing cantaloupe or honeydew melons, you will want to scoop out the seeds.
3. If you are grilling the watermelon, you will want to slice it into rounds, otherwise you can follow the directions tot chop into chunks:
4. Next, cut each half into wedges about an inch wide – however wide you want the chunks in your Summer Fruit Salad.
5. With your knife, make vertical cuts from the fleshy part of the wedge (top) down to the rind, (without cutting through it), about 1-inch wide.
6. Run your knife along the bottom of the wedge where the rind is and follow the crescent moon shape until the vertically cut pieces of fruit are separated from the rind. Be careful to avoid the bitter, lighter colored flesh of the melon that meets up with the rind.
7. Continue in this fashion until the entire melon is cubed.

Fruit Salad Dressing

Ah, Honey Lime Mint Dressing; a fruit salad dressing so delicious, you will be loving, craving, crushing on a dressing.  To make the fruit salad dressing, simply whisk together:

• 1/4 cup honey

• 1/4 cup lime juice

• 1 tablespoon Lime zest

• 1/4 cup olive oil

• 3 tablespoons chopped fresh mint

• 1 garlic clove, minced

• 1 tablespoon finely chopped shallots

• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon chili powder

We all know honey, lime and mint taste incredible together, but I’ve also added just one tablespoon chopped shallots for a slight punch, salt which actually enhances the fruit sweetness and chili powder.

If you’ve never tried fruit with chili powder – it will blow your mind.  In fact, pineapple with chili powder and lime is one of the most popular street snacks in Mexico – and soon you will taste why!  But don’t worry, it is intoxicatingly subtle in this application.

After whisking together the Honey Lime Mint Dressing ingredients, you chill the dressing for at least 20 minutes so the honey-lime mixture gets infused with the mint.

You can also make this dressing a day in advance so when it comes time for serving, simply pour it over your grilled or not grilled pineapple, watermelon and other fruit and dig into spoonfuls of juicy fruit smothered in sweet and tangy, light and refreshing Honey Lime Mint Dressing.

Can I Make Summer Fruit Salad the Day Before?

If you are not grilling the fruit, then yes, you can definitely make this Summer Fruit Salad the day before servings but you will want to store the fruit and dressing separately (see my notes below).

I don’t recommend making this Summer Fruit Salad the day before if you are grilling the watermelon and the pineapple.  This softens the fruit just enough that it is best served within a few hours.

HOW TO PREPARE SUMMER FRUIT SALAD AHEAD OF TIME

• This Summer Fruit Salad can be made a day or two in advance but the fruit and the dressing should be kept separate.
• Chop all of your fruit and store them in an airtight container or a large bowl covered in plastic wrap.
• Prepare the Fruit Salad Dressing and store it in an airtight container in the refrigerator separate from the fruit.
• Watermelon and pineapple can release a lot of juice after they are cut (this is why we don’t store them with dressing), so don’t be alarmed!
• Right before serving, drain off any excess fruit juices and pour the fruit dressing over the fruit and gently combine.

HOW DO YOU KEEP FRUIT SALAD FRESH?

Fruit Salad is at its peak freshness the day it is assembled, so it is best to serve it the same day it was prepared.  You can prolong the freshness by storing in the refrigerator.  This Summer Fruit Salad keeps for about 3 days in the refrigerator.  Keep in mind, the longer it sits, the more juices will be released from the fruit, you will need to drain off excess juice or serve with a slotted spoon.

And that, my friends, is the satisfyingly sweet, fresh, tangy, juicy taste of summer.  Welcome back my friend.

Looking for more Side Salad Recipes?

• Grilled Corn Salad with Cilantro Lime Dressing
• Perfect Fruit Salad with Honey Citrus Dressing
• Cucumber Tomato Avocado Salad wit Italian Dressing
• Strawberry Salad with Strawberry Balsamic Vinaigrette
• Outback Copycat Wedge Salad with Blue Cheese Ranch
• Southwest Salad with Creamy Salsa Dressing
• Strawberry Broccoli Salad with Creamy Poppy Seed Dressing

Want to try this Summer FRUIT Salad?

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Summer Fruit Salad with Honey Lime Mint Dressing

This Summer Fruit Salad is cold, refreshing and possibly the best fruit salad you will ever make and its SO easy!  This Summer Fruit Salad Salad is the perfect side dish for potlucks, pool parties, barbecues, the back porch or at home on a warm day!  It is made with watermelon, pineapple, blueberries and the option of cantaloupe, strawberries, kiwis, grapes, oranges and mangos!  The fruit salad is enveloped in sweet and tangy Honey Lime Mint Dressing that makes already tantalizing fruit 10X better!  What I especially love about this Summer Fruit Salad, is that it is make ahead friendly!  Your new go-to summer salad potluck recipe awaits!

Servings: 8 -12 servings

Total Time: 20 minutes mins

Prep Time: 20 minutes mins

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Ingredients

• 1/2 medium watermelon sliced into 1“ slices
• 1 pineapple sliced into 1” slices, outside trimmed
• 1 pint blueberries

Other Fruit Options/Add Ins (optional):

• cantaloupe
• strawberries
• Kiwi
• grapes
• mangoes

Honey Lime Mint Dressing

• 1/4 cup honey
• 1/4 cup lime juice
• 1 tablespoon Lime zest
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 3 tablespoons chopped fresh mint
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1 tablespoon finely chopped shallots
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon chili powder

Instructions

• Whisk together all of the Honey Lime Mint Dressing ingredients and chill for at least 20 minutes.
• Optional Grilling Directions: Grease and preheat grill to medium high heat. Grill pineapple for 8-10 minutes or until caramelized, turning once. Grill watermelon 4 minutes, or just until grill marks appear, turning once – don’t overcook watermelon!
• At this point you can either refrigerate pineapple and watermelon separately or serve fresh off the grill.
• When ready to serve, chop watermelon and pineapple and add to a large bowl with blueberries/other fruit. Pour desired amount of dressing over fruit and toss to combine. Serve immediately.

Notes

STORAGE

Fruit Salad is at its peak freshness the day it is assembled, so it is best to serve it the same day it was prepared.  You can prolong the freshness by storing in the refrigerator.  This Summer Fruit Salad keeps for about 3 days in the refrigerator.  Keep in mind, the longer it sits, the more juices will be released from the fruit, you will need to drain off excess juice or serve with a slotted spoon.

HOW TO PREP AHEAD

• This Summer Fruit Salad can be made a day or two in advance but the fruit and the dressing should be kept separate.
• Chop all of your fruit and store them in an airtight container or a large bowl covered in plastic wrap.
• Prepare the Fruit Salad Dressing and store it in an airtight container in the refrigerator separate from the fruit.
• Watermelon and pineapple can release a lot of juice after they are cut (this is why we don’t store them with dressing), so don’t be alarmed!
• Right before serving, drain off any excess fruit juices and pour the fruit dressing over the fruit and gently combine.

 

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