Who doesn’t love a good fruit salad in the summer time? Lounging by the pool, or to complement a delicious summer BBQ dinner, a platter of fruit is seriously the best. I love a big platter or bowl of fruit for dessert. It’s light, delicious and so much healthier! Whether you make this fruit salad for a crowd, or just to have at home to snack on throughout the week, it’s a summer must-have. Depending on your fruit preference, you can switch this up however you like. And if you’re fruit is looking a little sub-par and not super sweet, I have a secret you can drizzle on top to make it really sing!
The Best Fruit Salad For Feeding A Crowd
The thing that’s great about a summer fruit salad is that they’re perfect for a party too. If you have to attend a summer pot-luck or BBQ, this is great to bring along! And such a crowd-pleaser. You can mix up the fruit to whatever your heart desires and what’s on sale if you ask me. I personally like to take the time to cut up my own fruit instead of doing the pre-cut at the store. It not only saves you money, but you have more control over the sizes of the pieces which I think is key to making a good fruit salad. Sometimes those pre-cut fruit bowls have such big pieces and it makes it difficult to serve a crowd.
Summer Fruit Salad For A Crowd Recipe
This is such a versatile recipe, but below is just an idea of a mix of fruits that I like to use for this. I feel like everyone has their opinions for having certain fruits in their fruit salad recipes. For me, grapes and bananas do NOT have a place in this, ever. They’re like the sad accouterments of a bad cheese board. A bowl of fresh grapes are great, but I don’t want them messing with my melons and berries! Anyone else have a strong opinion on this one?
But feel free to add in whatever you prefer when it comes to summer fruits. You can make this more tropical by using pineapple, mango, passion fruit, and starfruit. Or go a more rustic way and try stone fruits like peaches, nectarines and plums with blackberries and pomegranate seeds sprinkled throughout. Whatever looks good in the product section will work! Below are the ingredients I always like in a simple summer fruit salad that always work well together and are colorful! It’s a good mix of sweet, tart and varying textures.
INGREDIENTS
- Pineapple
- Cantaloupe or honeydew
- 1 pint of strawberries
- 1 pint of blueberries
- 3-5 Kiwis
- Fresh mint
DIRECTIONS
Cut up your fruit into bite-size pieces and be sure to remove any stems, eyes or skin. Just arrange the fruit on a large platter one fruit at a time so you can get a good mix of layering. You can also add this to a large bowl if you like. Then chiffonade your mint and sprinkle over the top. This is simply done by rolling up a bunch of mint leaves into a little bundle and then running your knife through it to get long thing pieces.
Honey Lime Dressing
If your fruit isn’t super sweet or you want to sweeten things up just because, you can make a really quick dressing. There’s some options for what to use but start with a base with something sweet. This can be honey, maple syrup, an infused mint simple syrup or even the juice from a can of mandarin oranges. Then something with some zip like lime juice, lemon juice or even orange juice plus the zest of whichever you choose.
In a bowl, whisk your syrup, zest and juice and then pour over the top and gently toss. This is a great fruit salad dressing you can use that isn’t full of dairy or whipping cream. I personally think fruit is just perfect the way it is, especially in the summer. So there’s no need to add heavy dairy ingredients in my opinion.
Creamy Dip
So if you DO want to add something more decadent to this, I highly recommend my Mom’s super 1980s fruit dip. It’s seriously THE BEST and I could eat the whole thing with a spoon. But it is so good paired with fresh fruit. All it is is one package of cream cheese, softened to room temp, and one jar of marshmallow fluff. Whip until creamy using a hand held mixer or just a wooden spoon by hand. Dipping your fruit in this dip is the highlight of all our family gatherings. It’s at every holiday meal or any big get-together. And my little secret, I actually DO love a good banana dipped into this, but again, don’t you dare mix a banana into my fruit salad!
