4 Summer Fruit Salad Ideas

Posted by Gwen Watson on Jul 17, 2015

Now that summer’s in full swing, it’s time to start enjoying some of that garden fresh fruit! One of the easiest ways to use fresh fruit is to turn it into a beautiful fruit salad. Sure, you can just toss any fruit you have on hand in a bowl and serve it in pretty serving dishes. But sometimes, it’s fun to go the extra mile. Here are some fruit salad ideas that will transform your simple fruit salads into something extra special.

Lemon Berry Fruit Salad

Most berries are at their peak in July and August. While strawberries typically peak earlier than that, it’s still possible to find fresh strawberries, since some strawberry varieties produce ripened fruit for most of the growing season. To make this salad, simply toss any berries you have on hand into a serving bowl. If you’re using strawberries, you’ll want to slice them first. Squeeze the juice of half a lemon over the fruit and sprinkle with about ¼ cup of granulated sugar. Toss gently and transfer to serving dishes immediately. Top with whipped cream, if desired. Instead of lemon juice and sugar, you can use Limoncello, which is a sweetened lemon-flavored liqueur.

Honey Mint Fruit Salad

In this fruit salad, fresh mint from the garden brightens up the fruit, while honey adds some additional sweetness. This salad tastes the best with all varieties of melon, grapes, and fresh strawberries. However, you can use any fruit you have on hand. Add cut, fresh fruit to our serving bowl. Drizzle with 2-3 tablespoons of pure honey. Sprinkle with 3 tablespoons of chopped fresh mint and gently toss with a rubber spatula. Garnish with a sprig of mint.

Fruit Salad with Pudding

If you normally use whipped cream to top your fruit salads, try pudding instead! Pudding tastes especially good as a topping for fruits that are higher in sugar content such as strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, and melon. After you’re done making the fruit salad, juice half an orange and pour over the fruit. Toss gently with a rubber spatula. When transferring the fruit salad to your serving dishes, make sure you put a little bit of the orange juice in each portion. Top the serving dish with vanilla pudding.

Tropical Fruit Salad

Tropical fruits such as pineapple, papaya, mango, and fresh coconut all taste great in fruit salad! If you don’t want to cut the pineapple yourself, grocery stores often precut it – you can find it in the produce section. Fresh coconut is also difficult to cut. To get around that, you can use packaged coconut from the baking aisle or omit it completely. Toss the fruit gently in a serving dish. In a separate dish, whisk together ½ cup pineapple juice and the juice of half an orange and pour over the fruit. If using coconut flakes from the baking aisle, sprinkle them over the salad after you add the juice. Once you spoon the salad into serving dishes, you can top it with whipped cream or pudding, if desired.