Fruit Salad with Honey Lime Poppyseed Dressing

Our Fruit Salad with Honey Lime Poppyseed Dressing is loaded with fresh flavor. The sweet mix of fruits is perfectly complemented by a sweet, citrus poppyseed dressing.

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Warm weather is just around the corner – and that means cookout season is almost here too! Every summer barbecue needs a great fruit salad on the menu, and we think you’ll absolutely love today’s simple Fruit Salad with Honey Lime Poppyseed Dressing.

We always make a homemade fruit salad – that way we can choose which fresh fruits to include based on which fruits are in season, and those we like the best. Plus, it’s much less expensive than buying a pre-made fruit salad, and you also know that it’s the freshest it can be.

Chef’s Tip

Always choose fruits that are in season. They will taste the sweetest!

 

Key ingredients and Substitutions

• Dressing – We whisked up a simple dressing of honey, lime juice, lime zest, pineapple juice, and poppy seeds. The sweet honey and the pineapple juice nicely sweeten and balance the citrusy bite of the lime. This is truly one of the best dressings for fruit salad we’ve had!
• Fresh cut-up fruit – Make your salad with bite-sized pieces of any seasonal fruit. In our salad today, we included watermelon, red grapes, green grapes, strawberries, pineapple, tart apples, kiwi, bananas, and mango. You can also include other fruits such as mandarin oranges, cantaloupe, honeydew melon, blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, star fruit, pears, or papaya – any fruit goes!
• Poppyseeds – We added poppyseeds to our fruit salad dressing as well, both for looks and the little crunch it adds. You can leave them out if you prefer.

Chef’s Tip

When zesting the limes for your dressing, use a fine microplane like this so you only zest the green part of the skin which has all of the oil and flavor. Avoid using a larger grater which will zest down into the white part of the lime – that white ‘pith’ will add a bitter flavor to your dressing and salad.

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How do I make Fruit Salad with Honey Lime Poppyseed Dressing?

1. Mix the dressing ingredients in a small bowl, then set aside.
2. Cut each fresh fruit up into bite-sized pieces. If you are including fruits such as apples, bananas, or any other fruit that turns brown after you’ve cut them – place them into a bowl of water and lemon or lime juice so they don’t oxidize while you prep the rest of the fruits. Then, drain from the water before adding to your salad.
3. Combine the dressing and cut fruit together in a large serving bowl, tossing carefully to avoid bruising and breaking up the fruit.
4. Chill until ready to serve.

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Frequently asked Questions

• Can I make this fruit salad ahead of time? Yes, you can cut up the fruit and mix the dressing up to 12 hours in advance, BUT wait to combine the fruits and dressing until you are ready to serve.  Because of the citrus in the fruit salad dressing, the fruit will start to soften and break down if it sits in the dressing for too long.
• How do I keep my fruit salad fresh? As suggested above, mix the fruit and dressing as close to serving as possible, so the acids in the dressing don’t start to soften the fruits as they sit. Sometimes, when we’re hosting a large party, we pre-cut the fruit and pre-mix the dressing, but only combine half the fruit and dressing together to serve. If we need more, we can always quickly combine more fruit and dressing in the bowl. But if we don’t, the cut fruit stays fresh for serving at another meal.
• How do I store leftovers? Store any leftovers in a covered container in the refrigerated. Try to eat already-mixed fruit salad as soon as possible, or add it to smoothies.
• Can I freeze the leftovers? You can, but the fruit will be mushy after it’s thawed. You can add frozen fruit salad to smoothies so it doesn’t go to waste.

Fruit Salad. Yummy, Yummy….anyone else singing that song to yourself right now? 😊

You may like these other fruit recipes:

• Fruit Salsa with Lime Tortilla Chips
• Grilled Tropical Fruit Salad with Prosciutto
• Fruit and Cucumber Salsa
• Star Spangled Fruit Salad
• Melon Balls with Poppy Seed Dressing

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