Easy Fruit Salad with Vanilla Pudding

This easy fruit salad recipe comes together in just minutes, and is packed with fresh flavor! Pick your favorite in-season fruit — from strawberries, blueberries, and peaches to bananas, apples, or grapes — and toss everything in a bright, tangy dressing made with lime juice and vanilla pudding mix. The sweet, tart, refreshing side dish works well with waffles or egg casserole for brunch, with grilled chicken or burgers at a picnic, or even with ice cream for a light dessert.

Every home cook should have a go-to easy fruit salad recipe that always garners rave reviews. It’s one of those versatile sides that goes well with almost anything else on the menu, and only requires a few minutes of effort. A fresh fruit salad is a cool, refreshing option on warm summer days, but it’s also a nice way to balance rich, hearty meats or casseroles at other times of year. Add a vanilla pudding glaze and some fresh lime zest and you’ve got a restaurant-quality dish that’s fancy enough for entertaining…and simple enough for busy weeknights.

Fruit Salad Dressing

Sweet, juicy, ripe, fresh produce is hard to improve upon in its natural state, but this recipe includes a secret ingredient that truly sets it apart. You wouldn’t know from the first bite, but the base of the dressing starts with a vanilla instant pudding mix! Simply whisk together lime juice and the dry pudding mix for a sweet, tart, flavorful dressing that perfectly coats every piece of fruit. The pudding mix thickens the dressing to a glaze-like consistency, which mixes with the juices from the fruit. There’s nothing quite like it!

What to Serve with Fruit Salad with Vanilla Pudding

The simple fruit salad recipe is delicious at any time of day! For breakfast or brunch, pair the dish with egg casserole, quiche, pancakes, or waffles. Later in the day, serve the salad at picnics, potlucks, cookouts, or holiday tables. It’s a nice, light contrast to heavier entrees like pulled pork, grilled chicken, fried chicken, roasted turkey, holiday ham, or grilled steak. Finally, you can’t go wrong with fresh fruit and a dollop of whipped cream or a scoop of vanilla ice cream for dessert!

Does lemon juice or lime juice keep fruit salad fresh?

If you’re worried about some of the fruit browning before you’re ready to serve the salad, you can toss that particular fruit with some additional lime juice or lemon juice. The acid in the citrus juice will fend off some oxidation, which causes the unappetizing brown color.

How much fruit salad per person?

If serving a crowd, it’s safe to assume about 1 cup of fruit salad per person. This recipe yields approximately 8 cups of salad, so you’ll need to double or triple the ingredients for a big group. For instance, to serve 20, I would prepare 2½ times the recipe.

What fruits should not be mixed in fruit salad?

This fresh fruit salad recipe is made with primarily acidic fruits. Mixing more acidic fruits (like strawberries, and peaches) with sweet fruits like bananas or raisins could cause nausea and indigestion. It’s also best to avoid mixing melons (like honeydew or cantaloupe) with other fruits, even though that’s a common mixture! Melons have a higher water content and digest differently than other fruits, which might cause digestive issues.

Recipe Variations

• For a slightly sweeter, less-tart dressing, replace the lime juice with orange juice.
• Lemon juice and lemon zest are also good substitutes for the lime juice and lime zest.
• Almost any combination of fresh (or even canned) fruit will work here, so pick your favorites or use whatever is in season. Just make sure that the total amount comes to about 8 cups.
• For a smaller family, cut all of the ingredients in half and only prepare 4 cups of salad.
• Summer: focus on fresh berries (like strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, and blackberries), as well as nectarines or peaches.
• Winter: look for more easily-accessible year-round fruits, such as grapes, apples, pears, and bananas. Kiwi, oranges, pineapple, and pomegranate seeds are also nice additions.

Tips for the Best Homemade Fruit Salad Recipe

• If using bananas in your salad, wait to add them just before serving. The bananas tend to brown faster than other fruit.
• The acid and sugar in the dressing will macerate or break down the fruit as it sits, so do not add the dressing more than about 1-2 hours before serving.
• If using peaches, pears, or apples, it’s not necessary to peel them before adding them to the dish.
• When zesting the lime, be careful that you do not include any of the bitter white pith. Just scrape off the thin outer layer of the peel, which contains all of the essential oils (and flavor!).
• Garnish the salad with fresh lime, additional lime zest, fresh mint, or other fresh herbs like basil or thyme.

More Fruit Salad Recipes to Try

Honey Lemon Fruit Salad Recipe

Ambrosia Salad Recipe

Fluff Fruit Salad

“Angel Fluff” Cool Whip Fruit Salad

Easy Fruit Salad with Vanilla Pudding

Prep: 15 minutes minutes

Total: 15 minutes minutes

Servings 8 people

Calories 100 kcal

This easy fruit salad comes together in just minutes and is perfect for any occasion! The secret is fresh fruit and a sweet vanilla pudding dressing. Make this fruit salad as a breakfast, lunch, or dinner side, potluck dish, or for a sweet summer dessert.

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Ingredients

  

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• 8 cups chopped fresh fruit or berries (such as a combination of blueberries, raspberries, strawberries, blackberries, and peaches)
• Zest from 1 lime
• 2 tablespoons instant vanilla pudding mix
• ¼ cup lime juice

Instructions

• In a large bowl, stir together fruit and lime zest.
• In a small bowl, whisk together the pudding mix and lime juice until smooth and thick (the dressing will have a soft pudding-like consistency, but will thin as it sits in the bowl and mixes with the juices from the fruit). Pour over the fruit and toss to coat.
• Serve immediately, or cover and refrigerate for up to 2 hours.

Notes

• For a slightly sweeter, less-tart dressing, replace the lime juice with orange juice.
• Lemon juice and lemon zest are also good substitutes for the lime juice and lime zest.
• Almost any combination of fresh (or even canned) fruit will work here, so pick your favorites or use whatever is in season. Just make sure that the total amount comes to about 8 cups.
• For a smaller family, cut all of the ingredients in half and only prepare 4 cups of salad.
• Summer: focus on fresh berries (like strawberries, raspberries, blueberries and blackberries), as well as nectarines or peaches.
• Winter: look for more easily-accessible year-round fruits, such as grapes, apples, pears and bananas. Kiwi, oranges, pineapple, and pomegranate seeds are also nice additions.
• If using bananas in your salad, wait to add them just before serving. The bananas tend to brown faster than other fruit.
• The acid and sugar in the dressing will macerate or break-down the fruit as it sits, so do not add the dressing more than about 1-2 hours before serving.
• If using peaches, pears or apples, it’s not necessary to peel them before adding them to the dish.
• When zesting the lime, be careful that you do not include any of the bitter white pith. Just scrape off the thin outer layer of the peel, which contains all of the essential oils (and flavor!).
• Garnish the salad with fresh lime, additional lime zest, fresh mint, or other fresh herbs like basil or thyme.

Nutrition

Serving: 1cupCalories: 100kcalCarbohydrates: 26gProtein: 1gFat: 1gSaturated Fat: 1gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 1gSodium: 25mgPotassium: 124mgFiber: 4gSugar: 18gVitamin A: 84IUVitamin C: 17mgCalcium: 10mgIron: 1mg

Keyword: easy fruit salad, fresh fruit salad, fruit salad, fruit salad with vanilla pudding

Course: Salad, Side Dish

Cuisine: American

Author: Blair Lonergan

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