Summer Fruit Salad Recipes

Updated May 04, 2010

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Credit: Caitlin Bensel

Brighten up your outdoor meals with summer's best fresh fruit salads.

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Warmed Berries with Honey and Fresh Cheese

Credit: Erin Kunkel Styling: Chelsea Zimmer

Warmed Berries with Honey and Fresh Cheese Recipe

You may adapt this dessert to your taste by adjusting the blend of berries, the amount of honey, or even the amount of cheese. The idea is luxury in the amount of berries. Fromage blanc is wonderfully subtle; you can sub Greek yogurt, which is tangier.

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Summer Melon and Ham Salad with Burrata and Chile

Credit: Iain Bagwell; Styling: Heather Chadduck Hillegas

Summer Melon and Ham Salad with Burrata and Chile Recipe

The musky fruit, salty-sweet ham, and creamy cheese balance one another. If you can't find burrata, substitute fresh mozzarella.

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Summer Fig and Watermelon Salad with Feta

Credit: James Ransom; Styling: Claire Spollen

Summer Fig and Watermelon Salad with Feta Recipe

Balsamic glaze is a syrup of concentrated, cooked-down, sweetened balsamic vinegar. It adds a tangy element to this refreshing salad. Look for it near the vinegar.

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Summer Melon Salad

Credit: Greg Dupree; Styling: Claire Spollen

Summer Melon Salad Recipe

Bacon in fruit salad isn't weird, trust us. It just makes it sweet-and-salty.

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Simply Red Fruit Salad

Credit: Quentin Bacon

Simply Red Fruit Salad Recipe

This juicy, crimson-colored salad uses liquid from boiled cherries, reserved orange juice, lime zest and jam to create a sweet sauce to drizzle over fresh fruit.

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Orange-and-Basil Macerated Cherries

Credit: Alison Miksch; Styling: Marian Cooper Cairns

Orange-and-Basil Macerated Cherries Recipe

This light yet satisfying fruit salad is perfectly paired with Ricotta cheese.

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Strawberry-Blueberry Relish

Credit: Hector Sanchez; Styling: Buffy Hargett Miller

Strawberry-Blueberry Relish Recipe

Sweet berries and jalapeño heat make this a flavorful accompaniment for your favorite grilled fish.

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Honeydew Relish Salad

Credit: Lara Hata

Honeydew Relish Salad Recipe

Maximize melon flavor in a salad featuring balls or cubes of honeydew, celery, cucumber and grapes tossed in a sweet and tangy vinaigrette.

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Honey Custard with Berries

Credit: Hector Sanchez; Styling: Buffy Hargett Miller

Honey Custard with Berries Recipe

If you don't have white balsamic vinegar, substitute Champagne vinegar or apple cider vinegar.

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Summer Fruit Salad

Credit: Jennifer Davick; Styling: Buffy Hargett

Summer Fruit Salad Recipe

Add some savory flavor to your sweet fruit salad with avocado, arugula, and cilantro and mix with a bottled poppy seed dressing.

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Francie's Fruit Salad

Credit: Annabelle Breakey; Styling: Randy Mon

Francie's Fruit Salad Recipe

You can make simple but delicious fruit salad using whatever's in season. The secret: candied ginger syrup.

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Citrus Salad with Balsamic Honey and Pistachios

Credit: Randy Mayor; Styling: Claire Spollen

Citrus Salad with Balsamic Honey and Pistachios Recipe

Blood oranges are a little bit tart, and navels are sweeter. Try a mix of the two for a colorful, tasty combo.

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Gin and Maple Macerated Berries

Credit: Jennifer Causey; Styling: Lindsey Lower

Gin and Maple Macerated Berries Recipe

In this fruit salad, sugar, lime, and gin soften and preserve berries while extracting their natural juices to become a syrupy sauce.

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Tropical Fruit Salad

Tropical Fruit Salad Recipe

Escape on a tropical getaway with this colorful salad bursting with grapes, bananas, pineapple and mango.

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Fruit Salad with Yogurt

Credit: Jennifer Davick; Styling: Amy Burke

Fruit Salad with Yogurt Recipe

Top fresh pineapple, strawberries, grapes and mango with a sweet and creamy Greek yogurt dressing.

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Melon Salad with Savory Granola

Credit: Neil Dacosta

Melon Salad with Savory Granola Recipe

Heirloom Charentais melons have smooth, gray-green skin and bright orange flesh that is supersweet and fragrant. For a substitute you can use a combination of honeydew melon and cantaloupe.

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Melon-and-Strawberry Salad with Spicy Lemongrass Syrup

Credit: © Hallie Burton

Melon-and-Strawberry Salad with Spicy Lemongrass Syrup Recipe

Chiles add subtle heat to this exceptional fruit salad. You can use any of the lemongrass syrup left in the bowl for cocktails: just mix a little of it into rum and pour the drink over ice.

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Watermelon Salad with Feta and Cucumber Pickles

Credit: Jennifer Causey; Styling: Lindsey Lower

Watermelon Salad with Feta and Cucumber Pickles Recipe

Sumac--available at spice stores--adds a subtle piney, tangy note, but don't worry if you can't find it: The salad will still have loads of flavor complexity without it. You could also sub 1 teaspoon of prepared horseradish for the wasabi powder.

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Watermelon Salad

Credit: Douglas Mirriam

Watermelon Salad Recipe

Instead of offering watermelon wedges at your next cookout, branch out with this sweet and savory watermelon salad featuring cubed watermelon, red onion, kalamata olives, mint, and feta cheese. Even with all the added flavorful ingredients, it still weighs in at only 46 calories per 1/2-cup serving.

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Stone Fruit Salad with Toasted Almonds

Stone Fruit Salad with Toasted Almonds Recipe

Balance the sweetness of peaches, plums, nectarines, apricots and cherries with crumbled goat cheese and a white wine vinaigrette.

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Fruit Salad with Lemon-Honey Dressing

Credit: Charles Schiller; Styling: Stephana Bottom

Fruit Salad with Lemon-Honey Dressing Recipe

Toss cantaloupe, pineapple, blueberries and nectarines in a tangy-sweet dressing for a salad that is the essence of summer.

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Summertime Fruit Salad with Cream

Summertime Fruit Salad with Cream Recipe

Whipping cream flavored with raspberry-liqueur is the crowning glory for the mixture of fresh berries, cherries, and nectarines and makes this salad special enough to serve as dessert.

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Fruit Salad with Citrus-Mint Dressing

Credit: Randy Mayor; Styling: Jan Gautro

Fruit Salad with Citrus-Mint Dressing Recipe

Serve this tropical fruit salad of papaya, melon, and kiwifruit as a salad, light breakfast, or healthy dessert. The refreshing mint dressing enhances the flavors of the colorful fruit.

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Fruit Salad with Honey-Yogurt Sauce

Credit: Oxmoor House

Fruit Salad with Honey-Yogurt Sauce Recipe

Add honey and lime juice to yogurt for a simple fruit dressing for the fruit. Pineapple, kiwi, banana, and flaked coconut give the salad a tropical flair.

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Lime-Scented Mango-Strawberry Salad

Credit: Mark Thomas; Styling: Stephana Bottom

Lime-Scented Mango-Strawberry Salad Recipe

Heighten the bright flavors of strawberries and mango by tossing the fruit in a tangy lime syrup.

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Melon, Berry, and Pear Salad with Cayenne-Lemon-Mint Syrup

Credit: Oxmoor House

Melon, Berry, and Pear Salad with Cayenne-Lemon-Mint Syrup Recipe

The ground red pepper provides an unexpected heat that balances the sweetness of the melons, pears and fresh berries.

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Layered Fruit Congealed Salad

Layered Fruit Congealed Salad Recipe

Kid-friendly congealed salads are great for summertime entertaining since you can make the recipe a day or two ahead. The sweetened cream cheese layer and the fresh fruit make this salad sweet enough for dessert.

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Peach-Fennel Salad with Pecorino

Credit: Jen Causey; Food Styling: Margaret Dickey; Prop Styling Kay Clarke

Peach-Fennel Salad with Pecorino Recipe

This salad is crunchy, sweet, salty, bright, and refreshing—in other words, it’s perfect for summer. Peak-of-freshness peaches are the way to go here: If they’re still ripe, but a little firm, that’s perfect. Bonus points if you get them at a roadside stand. If you can find fennel with intact fronds, get that rather than fennel with the tops cut off—the fronds help make the salad feel special. Serve with flaky white fish and a nice glass of white wine or rosé.

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Marinated Watermelon Tomato Salad

Credit: Antonis Achilleos; Prop Styling: Kay E. Clarke; Food Styling: Torie Cox

Marinated Watermelon Tomato Salad Recipe

If you’re tired of your usual watermelon salad, give this fantastic new recipe a try. Tomatoes and melon soak up the tangy lime-ginger-mint vinaigrette, making them extra juicy and flavorful. Goat cheese crumbles add a nice creamy note to the salad, but crumbled feta works well too. Serve this salad immediately after it is made so the fresh herbs stay bright and perky.

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Grilled Watermelon Salad with Feta and Mint

Credit: Kana Okada

Grilled Watermelon Salad with Feta and Mint Recipe

Your search for the perfect summer side is over—grilled watermelon salad topped with feta and mint balances sweetness and saltiness, making it an excellent complement to a cookout or backyard barbecue. The right amounts of balsamic vinegar and salt work with a little char to make watermelon sing in a completely new way, while olive oil and black pepper tie it all together. To switch things up, try goat cheese instead of feta or serve this atop some fresh arugula, mixed greens, or your favorite salad blend.

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Farro Salad With Cherries, Corn, and Basil

Credit: Jen Causey; Food Styling: Margaret Dickey; Prop Styling Kay Clarke

Farro Salad With Cherries, Corn, and Basil Recipe

Meal preppers, meet your new favorite salad. It’s bright and juicy thanks to the cherries, while the farro base keeps things feeling nice and hearty. The almonds bring in a crunch and nuttiness that helps bring everything together. Since it’s super versatile, you could make a batch on Sunday and serve it with arugula and baked chicken for a healthy lunch all week long.

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Clementine-and-Collard Greens Salad

Credit: Antonis Achilleos; Prop Styling: Christine Keely; Food Styling: Emily Nabors Hall

Clementine-and-Collard Greens Salad Recipe

This healthy yet hearty salad makes a great winter meal, just when you’re in need of something bright and sunny. Sweet and juicy clementines, a favorite citrus down South, liven up this mix of chicken, collard greens, pecans, and crumbled goat cheese. Massage some of the dressing into the collards to tenderize the greens and make them more flavorful.

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Watermelon Salad with Feta and Mint

Credit: Caitlin Bensel; Prop Styling: Lucy Barr; Food Styling: Liz Mervosh

Watermelon Salad with Feta and Mint Recipe

A simple, fresh watermelon salad says summer like nothing else. And with the addition of crumbled feta cheese, bright mint, and a chunky olive vinaigrette, the salty-sweet flavor balance of this watermelon salad is especially swoon-worthy. The secret to the salad's Kalamata dressing, which would be excellent with any blend of summer melons, is in the toasted walnuts. The robust nuts temper the intense brininess of the olives to just the right level, while also giving the dressing another layer of rich flavor. If you’re hesitant about salting your watermelon, just trust us on this one—sprinkling the juicy summer fruit with salt actually amps up its sweetness.

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Watermelon Salad

Credit: Hector Manuel Sanchez; Prop Styling: Buffy Hargett Miller; Food Styling: Katelyn Hardwick

Watermelon Salad Recipe

You might call this a user-friendly, quick and easy salad recipe, since you can adjust the ingredients according to what you have. Increase the tomatoes and decrease the watermelon, or visa versa, if necessary. Handle the cut melon gently and as little as possible so it doesn’t loose too much liquid. All the ingredients can be prepped in advance, but toss the salad together right before serving; the melon and tomato start watering out the minute the salt is applied. You can use navel oranges if satsumas are not available.

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Roasted Beet-and-Citrus Salad with Honey-Orange Vinaigrette

Credit: Hector Manuel Sanchez; Prop Styling: Lydia Pursell; Food Styling: Tami Hardeman

Roasted Beet-and-Citrus Salad with Honey-Orange Vinaigrette Recipe

This Roasted Beet-and-Citrus Salad is colorful, seasonal and has a beautiful presentation. Not only does it look pretty, this dish tastes light and fresh. The beetsand citrus elements also offer different textures for a more interesting experience than your everyday green salad. One of our test kitchen professionals said “the citrus segment and the orange-zest-spiked vinaigrette pair well with the earthy sweet of the beets.” (Jarred citrus ingredients are available in the refrigerated section of the fruit and vegetable department at the grocery store.) The mixture of red and yellow beets will add a pop of color to your dinner table.

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Summer Fruit Salad Recipes

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Warmed Berries with Honey and Fresh Cheese

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Summer Melon and Ham Salad with Burrata and Chile

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Summer Fig and Watermelon Salad with Feta

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Summer Melon Salad

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Simply Red Fruit Salad

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Orange-and-Basil Macerated Cherries

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Strawberry-Blueberry Relish

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Honeydew Relish Salad

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Honey Custard with Berries

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Summer Fruit Salad

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Francie's Fruit Salad

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Citrus Salad with Balsamic Honey and Pistachios

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Gin and Maple Macerated Berries

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Tropical Fruit Salad

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Fruit Salad with Yogurt

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Melon Salad with Savory Granola

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Melon-and-Strawberry Salad with Spicy Lemongrass Syrup

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Watermelon Salad with Feta and Cucumber Pickles

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Watermelon Salad

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Stone Fruit Salad with Toasted Almonds

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Fruit Salad with Lemon-Honey Dressing

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Summertime Fruit Salad with Cream

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Fruit Salad with Citrus-Mint Dressing

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Fruit Salad with Honey-Yogurt Sauce

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Lime-Scented Mango-Strawberry Salad

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Melon, Berry, and Pear Salad with Cayenne-Lemon-Mint Syrup

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