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This Fruit Salad with Honey Lime Dressing is light, refreshing, and incredibly simple to make with fresh seasonal fruit. Strawberries, blueberries, kiwi, mango, and grapes are tossed with a sweet-tangy dressing and fresh mint for a dish made for holiday brunches and summer potlucks.
My recipes for Caribbean Chicken Salad, Kale Apple Salad, Strawberry Spinach Salad, and Mandarin Orange Salad showcase fruit in a supporting role. This fresh fruit salad puts fruit front and center as the star, making it a favorite for summer gatherings when berries and mangoes are at their peak.
Fruit Salad with Honey Lime Dressing at a Glance
- Serves: 8-10, easy to scale up or down
- Time Needed: 15 minutes of prep + 30 minutes to chill
- Make-ahead: Best within 12 hours of preparation
- Best Fruit for Fruit Salad: Select ripe, yet firm seasonal fruit and avoid canned or frozen fruit
- Suited For: Summer cookouts, brunches, potlucks, 4th of July, and easy healthy desserts
- Why You'll Love It: The honey lime dressing enhances the fruit without overpowering it, while fresh mint adds a bright finishing touch.
Recipe Highlights
Kristen's Keys for the Best Fresh Fruit Salad
A good fruit salad isn't complicated, it just comes down to picking the right fruit and letting it shine. The following tips will help ensure you do just that.
- Use a variety of fresh seasonal fruit. A mix of berries, grapes, kiwi, mango, pineapple, or melon creates the best balance of sweet, tart, juicy, and firm textures.
- Avoid fruit that browns quickly, is overly delicate, or releases too much liquid. Bananas, apples, and pears don't hold up well in a salad as they quickly brown and bruise. Watermelon releases too much juice after cutting, leading to a watery fruit salad.
- Don't doubt the dressing. A combination of honey, lime juice, and lime zest adds bright citrus flavor without watering down the fruit.
- Let chill for at least 30 minutes. That lets the dressing and fruit mingle together enhancing the overall flavor.
Happy Cooking! xo Kristen
The Best Fruit for Fresh Fruit Salad
When making a fresh fruit salad dressed with honey lime dressing and fresh mint, I have found that firm, ripe fruit holds up far better than very soft or overripe fruit, especially if the salad will be made in advance.
- Berries: Fresh strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, and/or blackberries, all work well. For strawberries, remove the stems and cut into quarters before adding to the salad.
- Green Kiwi: Peeled and diced into bite-sized pieces. While I love gold kiwi, it is a bit on the softer side and can quickly break down when added to a fruit salad.
- Grapes: Green or red seedless grapes add a nice juicy burst of flavor. Be sure to cut them in half to keep the salad safe for young kids.
- Mango: Sweet, firm, and easy to dice into bite-sized pieces.
- Pineapple: Sweet, firm, and pairs well with the honey lime dressing. Peel, remove the core, and dice into bite-sized pieces.
- Melon: Ripe cantaloupe or honeydew melon hold up well in a fruit salad. Avoid watermelon as it releases too much juice after being cut.
Kristen's Favorite Combination
After testing this recipe with pineapple, melon, raspberries, and blackberries, I keep coming back to strawberries, blueberries, kiwi, grapes, and mango. Together they provide the best balance of sweet, tart, juicy, and firm textures while holding up beautifully after chilling.
How to make Fruit Salad with Honey Lime Dressing
A simple dressing brings out the natural sweetness of the fruit without overpowering it. Finishing the salad fresh mint is optional, but does make it feel a extra special.
Step One: Prepare Fruit Salad Dressing
Add the honey to a small bowl, then zest the lime directly over it. If the limes feel firm, I have found that microwaving them for 20-30 seconds before slicing open helps to get the juices flowing. Then, slice them open, squeeze the juice into the bowl, and whisk to combine.
Step Two: Prepare Fruit
Wash the fruit and then let air dry or pat dry. I have found that the best way to dry fruit without bruising it, is to spread it out on a clean towel (kitchen towel or paper towel) and let air dry or gently pat dry with additional towels. Once dried, if needed, peel, and chop into bite-sized pieces.
Step Three: Combine and Chill
Pour the dressing over the fruit and gently toss to combine. Cover and chill for at least 30 minutes to let the fruit absorb the flavors of the dressing.
Step Four: Garnish and Serve
I like to wait to add ribbons of fresh mint until right before serving so that it stays vibrant green. Adding it sooner can cause it to bruise and look less than appealing.
Serving Suggestions
This fruit salad is suited to serving for Easter brunch, summer BBQs, potlucks, and more! Check out some of my favorite menus below.
- A Brunch to Remember: Pair with hash brown breakfast casserole, classic quiche, blueberry coffee cake, and/or overnight French toast casserole.
- Summer Cookouts: Serve alongside classic burgers, crockpot pulled pork, or grilled shrimp skewers along with old-fashioned potato salad, Antipasto pasta salad, and creamy coleslaw, for a summer cookout menu that everyone will love.
- Potluck Gatherings: This fruit salad is one of my go-to dishes for potlucks. Just like Homemade Baked Beans, BLT pasta salad, and Texas Sheet Cake, it is a hit with any crowd!
Fresh Fruit Salad FAQs
Avoid canned fruit and frozen fruit, as either can water down the salad quickly. I also recommend avoiding fruit that browns, like apples, bananas, and pears and watery fruit, such as watermelon.
Yes! For best results, serve within 12 hours of assembly. After 12 hours, some fruit may release extra juices. Simply drain off any excess liquid before serving.
My favorite combination is strawberries, blueberries, grapes, kiwi, and mango. The berries add sweetness, kiwi provides tartness, grapes stay firm after chilling, and mango adds tropical flavor without making the salad watery.
Dry your fruit well after washing, avoid overly ripe fruit, and serve within 12 hours. I would also suggest avoiding watermelon due to its high water content.
More Recipes Starring Fruit
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Fruit Salad with Honey Lime Dressing
Ingredients
Honey Lime Dressing
- 3 tablespoons honey
- 1 teaspoon lime zest, ~1 lime
- 3 tablespoons lime juice, ~2 limes
Fruit Salad
- 3 cups fresh strawberries, stemmed, hulled, and halved
- 1 pint fresh blueberries
- 4 medium kiwi, peeled and cut into bite-sized pieces
- 2 cups seedless red grapes, halved
- 3 medium mango, peeled, cored, and diced (about 2 cups)
- 5 mint leaves, optional
Instructions
- Combine 1 teaspoon lime zest, 3 tablespoons lime juice, and 3 tablespoons honey together in a small mixing bowl until well incorporated. Set it aside to use on fruit salad. *Tip zest the lime BEFORE cutting open to juice.
- Wash and dry the fruit, even if you plan to peel the fruit. If needed, peel the fruit and cut into small bite-sized pieces. Aim for each piece to be about the size of a blueberry.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine the prepared fruit with the prepared dressing.
- Cover and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes, but no longer than 24 hours prior to serving.
- Right before serving, chiffonade 5 mint leaves by stacking the leaves on top of each other, rolling them into a cigar-like shape, and then slice the leaves into thin ribbons. Add the prepared fruit salad and gently toss to combine. Transfer the fruit salad into a serving bowl and serve immediately.
Equipment
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
This fruit salad was absolutely delicious! Cut the fruit the day before added the dressing 8 hours prior, and the mint 30 minutes prior to serving the salad. The fruit salad was refreshing and yummy. The salad was liked by young and old alike at our 4th July BBQ.
I adore hearing this, Laura! Thank you so much for sharing.
nice fruit salad
It feels like I am making this every week! My family loves fruit, so I love keeping a bowl of this in the fridge & they can grab some any time they want.
Wonderful! I am happy to hear your family is enjoying so much.
Delicious and easy! I was going to make a fruit salad, but my strawberries weren't quite as sweet as I'd like and was thinking it needed something to sweeten it. Just then,my brain pinged and your recent email came floating up from the foggy recesses of my memory (I've been very tired this week so I'm as surprised as you!) to save the day! I had to use agave and bottled lime juice, but it turned out so good! I used a melon medley bowl from the store, cotton candy grapes, blueberries and strawberries.
Yay! So happy this fruit salad worked out well for you.
There's nothing better than a refreshing fruit salad on a hot summer day. This tastes AMAZING and was perfect for our weekend pool party.
Thanks for sharing Erin! This is a super dish for pool parties!
This is the dish of summer to me. I love having this at every get together!
Awesome! I am so glad you enjoy it so much Katie!
Wow! it's like a treasure salad. You add all the best possible ingredients for a salad to make it super healthy.