Summer Fruit Salad Recipes

May 04, 2010
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

Photo: 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

Photo: 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

Photo: 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

Photo: 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

Photo: 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

Photo: 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

Photo: 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

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

Photo: 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

Photo: 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

Photo: 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

Photo: 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

Photo: 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

Photo: 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

Photo: 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

Photo: © 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

Photo: 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

Photo: 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

Photo: 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

Photo: 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

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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Mango-Strawberry Salad

Photo: Mark Thomas; Styling: Stephana Bottom
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

Photo: 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

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

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

Photo: Kana Okada
Grilled Watermelon Salad with Feta and Mint Recipe

Your search for the perfect summer side is over. 

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Farro Salad With Cherries, Corn, and Basil

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

Photo: 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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