Made with fresh seasonal summer fruit, and a sweet and tangy honey lime dressing, this is the Fruit Salad Recipe to beat all others! This Honey Lime Fruit Salad is light, refreshing, and incredibly simple to make--a guaranteed winner!
The Dressing Makes This the Best Fruit Salad Ever
When it comes to bringing side dishes to potlucks, I have two go-to recipes that I count on. Homemade Baked Beans and fruit salad. But NOT any fruit salad, but this Honey Lime Fruit Salad.
When a fruit salad is prepared with seasonal fruit, you know it will be delicious. But lightly dress fresh fruit with honey, lime, and mint and you have a fruit salad recipe that stands out above all other fruit salads!
How to Make The Best Fruit Salad
The following tips are provided to help you achieve perfect results. You will find the detailed instructions in the recipe card at the bottom of this post.
Prepare Honey Lime Dressing
The dressing adds a sweet and tangy flavor to the fruit salad that makes this simple fruit salad feel fancy! To prepare the dressing, simply combine the honey with lime zest and lime zest together in a small bowl.
Select Seasonal Fruit
When making fruit salad, it is best to select seasonal produce that is ripe, yet firm, and to stay away from fruit that easily browns, like apples, pears, and bananas. Melon, stone-fruit, berries, kiwi, mango, fresh pineapple, and grapes are all great options when it comes to making a beautiful and flavorful fruit salad. I also recommend selecting at least 4-5 different varieties of fruit for the optimum flavor and texture in your fruit salad.
Prepare Fruit
Before assembling a fruit salad of any kind be sure to wash your fruit well under running water and then gently pat dry or allow the fruit to air dry. Letting the fruit fully dry after washing it will keep the fruit salad from becoming watered down and soggy. Once the fruit has been dried, remove the peels if needed--think melons, pineapple, kiwi, peaches, mangoes, etc. Then chop your fruit into small bite-sized pieces, so that each piece of fruit is about the size of a blueberry.
Combine and Chill
Combine the fruit together in a large mixing or serving bowl, drizzle with the honey lime fruit dressing and gently toss the fruit with the dressing. Cover the fruit salad and refrigerate for 30 minutes to allow the flavors to meld together.
Serve with Mint
Right before serving this fruit salad, slice fresh mint into ribbons and add to the fruit salad. Gently toss and serve immediately.
∗ tips for the best fruit salad ∗
- Microwave your limes. This sounds crazy, but heating the limes for 15-20 seconds in the microwave will help to get the juice flowing. The warm lime juice also loosens up the honey, making the dressing easier to incorporate together.
- Zest the limes before juicing. Zest the limes, before slicing them open and juicing. It is next to impossible to zest citrus after cutting it open.
- Serve within 12 hours of Preparation. While fruit salad can be made up to 24 hours in advance, I find the flavor and texture are best when prepared the day you intend to serve it.
- Use fresh fruit. For best results only use fresh fruit, not frozen in this fruit salad. Frozen fruit will become mushy and water down your fruit salad as it defrosts.
- Be sure your fruit is ripe, yet firm. For the best flavor, make sure your fruit is sweet and ripe, yet not so ripe that the fruit is mushy. You don't want to include underripe melon, mango, berries, or pineapple, which will leave a bitter taste in your fruit salad.
How to Serve Fruit Salad
This Fruit Salad is the perfect addition to just about any meal, gathering, or party.
- Breakfast/Brunch: Pair this fruit salad with Hash Brown Breakfast Casserole, Ham and Cheese Quiche, Blueberry Coffee Cake, or French Toast Casserole.
- Summer Gatherings: Serve this fruit salad alongside Burgers, Crockpot Pulled Pork, or Grilled Shrimp along with Instant Pot Potato Salad, Old-Fashioned Potato Salad, Italian Pasta Salad, Creamy Coleslaw, and Grilled Burgers for a summer meal that everyone will love.
- Pot Luck: Be the hit of your next gathering by bringing this fruit salad. Of course, no one will complain if you also bring a dessert like Texas Sheet Cake or Homemade Brownies.
More Delicious Recipes Showcasing Fresh Fruit
- Fruit-Infused Waters
- Homemade Fruit Roll-Ups
- Raspberry Vinaigrette Dressing
- Mandarin Orange Salad
- Kale Apple Salad
- Easy Orange Chicken
- Pineapple Mango Salsa
If you tried out this recipe for Fruit Salad, I would love for you to leave a comment and review below.
Honey Lime Fruit Salad
Ingredients
Honey Lime Dressing
- 3 tablespoons honey
- 3 tablespoons fresh lime juice about 2 limes
- 1 teaspoon lime zest
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
- Prepare Honey Lime Dressing. Heat the limes in the microwave for 15-20 seconds. Once heated, zest one of the limes using a Microplane, before slicing it open and juicing. Once zested, cut open the limes and juice them. Combine lime zest, 3 tablespoons of lime juice, and honey together in a small mixing bowl until well incorporated. Set it aside to use on fruit salad.
- Wash, Dry, and Chop. Wash and dry all fruit, even if you plan to peel the fruit. If needed, peel the fruit and cut into small bite-sized pieces, each about the size of a blueberry.
- Combine. In a large mixing bowl, combine the fruit with the dressing and gently stir to combine.
- Chill. Cover and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes, but no longer than 24 hours prior to serving.
- Serve. Right before serving, chiffonade the mint 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.
Dalip Bajaj
nice fruit salad
Kristyn
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.
Kristen Chidsey
Wonderful! I am happy to hear your family is enjoying so much.
Erika
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.
Kristen Chidsey
Yay! So happy this fruit salad worked out well for you.
Erin
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.
Kristen Chidsey
Thanks for sharing Erin! This is a super dish for pool parties!
Katie
This is the dish of summer to me. I love having this at every get together!
Kristen Chidsey
Awesome! I am so glad you enjoy it so much Katie!
Mate Mate US
Wow! it's like a treasure salad. You add all the best possible ingredients for a salad to make it super healthy.