Easy Tropical Fruit Salad

 Make the most of the summer season with this refreshing tropical fruit salad. Bursting with tropical flavors, this easy side dish is perfect for the hot summer months. This delicious fruit salad is made up of sweet fruits and a simple dressing that everyone will love!

There are a lot of things to love about summer like fun swimming pool games, backyard BBQs, and outdoor parties. The only things that make a summer activity better are good people and a serving of fresh fruit. 

By the time August rolls around, I often find myself at the pool with a bowl of fresh fruit longing for the cooler winter months. I know I am not the only one who finds myself craving fruit for every meal.

This easy tropical fruit salad recipe is a staple in my house during the warmer weather. It’s made from my favorite summer fruits like watermelon, mango, pineapple, and kiwi then topped with a simple honey lime dressing to give it the best flavor.

You can find me eating this every day in the summer as my afternoon snack or healthy dessert. 

Go ahead and save this fresh fruit salad recipe now, you’ll use it over and over again with summer right around the corner.

It’s the best fruit salad and the best way to bring a variety of tropical fruit to any gathering. Not only will your friends thank you for bringing the best side dish, but so will your taste buds. It’s corny, I know, but true. 

If you’ve made this too many times and are looking to mix up your summer food a bit try this fruit salsa, street corn pasta salsa, or pinneapple bread instead. These easy recipes are also refreshing and great to share. 

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

• Mix it up – you decide what fruits you want. If you love dragon fruit, then add it! If you can’t find a ripe mango or ripe pineapple, replace it with a banana or extra mandarin oranges or some passion fruit. Use your favorite tropical fruits to make it the best ever tropical fruit salad for you.
• ​Easy to make – once you decide on your combination of tropical fruits all that you have to do is cut them up, mix the dressing, and serve. Just three easy steps and you will have a colorful fruit salad with delicious flavors.
• Feeds any size crowd – make just the right amount for an intimate brunch table or a family reunion by buying the right amount of fruit. You can also cut costs by looking at what is on sale at your local grocery store or doubling the amount of larger items like watermelon. 

Ingredients

Ingredient Notes

• Fresh fruits – as stated before you can use any of your favorite fruits. If you have a few extra ripe mangos throw in the extras or add in fresh papaya if you prefer. I’ve made one with everyday fruits with a tropical twist that I love to eat as a starting point, but you can make it your own. 
• ​Mandarine oranges – the light syrup in this can easily be replaced with orange juice or another fruit juice. 
• Lime – the lime juice and zest gives it a bit of tartness to balance all the sweet fruits. You can use lemon juice but it may end up being on the sweeter side than if you use lime. 
• Honey – I really like to use raw honey in the fruit salad dressing because we prefer raw honey at our house, but any honey will work!

How to put together this tropical fruit salad

This easy fruit salad recipe is made up of the perfect balance of tropical fruits topped with a sweet tangy dressing. Once all the fruit is washed (I recommend using a produce cleanser to clean and keep the fruit fresh) and cut up, it’s just a matter of mixing and serving. It is that easy. but I included a few tools to help you cut up all the fruit and pictures to keep you hungry. 

1 – Prepare The Fruit

Cutting up the fruit can get tedious so here are a few of my favorite tools to speed things up. You can easily make this salad without any of these tools, but it might surprise you how handy they can be once you have them. 

• Pineapple cutter – a must-have for anyone who loves fresh pineapple. It’ll save you ten minutes every time you want to cut up a pineapple and is worth every penny.
• Melon Baller – I own this melon baller and love using it during the melon season. It makes the perfect bite sizes pieces. Plus my kids love to eat little watermelon balls! (Also how cool is the giant melon slicer?!). It’s also perfect for making this a beautiful fruit salad!
• Mango Slicer – ready-to-eat mangos in two simple steps. No more guessing where the core is and wasting precious pieces because everyone knows even smaller pieces of mango are worth eating!
• Kiwi Peeler – I will admit I didn’t know they made tools specifically for kiwis, but now that I do I feel like I need it. It’s perfect for ripe kiwis that can sometimes be a bit hard to peel even with a sharp knife.
• Zester – Another staple is a good zester, especially for anyone who loves a good lemon cupcake. 
• Citrus Juicer – ​A good citrus juicer should be a kitchen staple. It makes using fresh lemon or lime juices a breeze.

While these tools can be really helpful if you are trying to save time, a simple knife and cutting board will work just fine too. The above tools will just help you get cut pieces of fruit a little quicker!

Once the fruit has been cut and cleaned, place watermelon, cantaloupe, honeydew melon, drained mandarin oranges, pineapple, mangoes, and kiwis together in a large bowl.

Set the berries aside for later.

While these are the types of fruits I like in this summer fruit salad, you can always mix up the fruits with any of your favorites!

2 – Make The Dressing

In a separate small bowl, mix together the honey, orange syrup, lime juice, and zest from the lime.

Then after mixing the ingredients, taste the syrup and see if you need any extra lime juice or zest. Feel free to switch out the orange syrup for pineapple juice, orange juice, or any fruit juice.

After the syrup is all mixed together pour the dressing over the fruit in the bowl. Then gently mix the dressing into the fruit. I like to use a gentle circular motion as I mix the dressing in so I don’t squish any fruit as I stir.

Chill until ready to serve. 

3 – Serve

When you are ready to serve the fruit salad, gently mix in the blueberries and raspberries.

Place in your favorite summery dish with a large spoon and enjoy this refreshing salad!

Expert Tips And Storage Info

Leave berries separate until ready to serve to keep the colors from bleeding. 

​Cut fresh tropical fruits into bite-size pieces to make them easy to eat.

Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to three days. The dressing will settle at the bottom so remember to stir before eating. 

Freeze leftovers and add them to your favorite smoothie recipe or I love to make sorbet with my Yonana. 

Recipe FAQs

More Easy Summer Recipes

If you’re looking for more delicious summer recipes to enjoy with this tropical fruit salad, try one of these!

• Caprese skewers – it’s caprese salad on a stick and a hit with everyone who tries it!
• Mexican street corn pasta salad – elote turned into a pasta salad that’s perfect for the summer!
• Strawberry ice cream cake – a quick and easy ice cream cake that combines strawberries with lots of flavor!
• Pool party cookies – get ready for a perfect summer dessert with these adorable treats!
• Virgin pina colada – let’s get tropical with this mocktail version of the classic frozen drink!