Fruit Salad with Honey Lime Dressing

Fruit salad?  Whoop-di-doo, right?  Nothing to see here.  Yawn.  UNLESS you give a little thought to the components and make this silly easy dressing to drizzle all over it.  In that case, fruit salad can be awesome!

I think the biggest mistakes people make with fruit salad are:  1. putting every fruit in the produce section in it, and 2. not considering how it’s going to hold up if you need to make it more than about 20 minutes ahead of time.  But don’t worry, you’re not going to do any of that.

I make this particular fruit salad all spring and summer long.  It’s easy, refreshing, and widely popular.  It holds up well in the refrigerator, so you can enjoy it all week.  Fruit Salad with Honey Lime Dressing is welcome nearly anywhere:  in lunchboxes, at bridal or baby showers, at christening parties, at brunch, at the beach, as a snack, and as a side to many entrées, notably, with Poppy Seed Chicken.

Here are a few fruits I love, but never put in any fruit salad:  

• Bananas (They’re too mushy and they turn brown.), 
• Apples and pears (They turn brown, often even if you toss them with citrus juice.)
• Fresh cherries (If you don’t cut them, somebody will break a tooth on the pit.  If you remove the pit, they will stain everything they touch and your salad will look like a crime scene)

When I’m making fruit salad ahead, I also favor two canned products: mandarin oranges, and pineapple chunks.  These hold up better than their fresh counterparts.  All the other fruits I use are fresh.

And you’re going to love the honey lime dressing!

Print Recipe

Fruit Salad with Honey Lime Dressing

Ingredients

• 4 cups fresh fruit--grapes, melon, peaches, nectarines, or a combo, in bite-sized pieces
• 2 cups whole blueberries and/or sliced strawberries
• 1 8 oz. can pineapple chunks, drained, 2 T. of the juice reserved
• 1 8 oz. can mandarin oranges, drained
• 2 small limes, zest and juice
• ¼ cup honey

Instructions

• Combine everything except limes and honey in a large bowl. Add the lime zest to the fruit. Toss gently.
• Stir together reserved pineapple juice, lime juice and honey. Drizzle over the fruit and toss gently again.
• Refrigerate for an hour to allow the flavors to meld.