Easter Fruit Salad
This crowd-pleasing Easter fruit salad is topped with a vanilla glaze! It is special and beautiful for your Easter brunch, and so easy-to-make. This dish will elevate your Easter brunch, lunch, or dinner, as it also makes an excellent side dish for baby showers, bridal showers, gatherings, holidays, or family dinners any other time of year.
One thing I love about Easter is pulling out traditional recipes, like this Easter Fruit Salad. I also love setting up a buffet, and inviting a group over for brunch or dinner [tips below]. Whether we’re serving breakfast or a ham dinner, this easy Easter Fruit Salad is a unqiue side dish that is not only beautiful, it’s fresh and delightful.
We started making this Fruit Salad with mint and lime years ago, and it’s become a family favorite. Also, who would have thought that by adding a tiny bit of vanilla to the dressing (or glaze), would really add to the fruit. It completely changes up the flavor–making it so light and fresh. And note–there is NO pudding in this recipe. Plus, it’s much fresher than an Easter Fruit Fluff Salad (usually with marshmallows).
What makes a good fruit salad?
- Using fruit in season makes the best fruit salad: Look for fresh, ripe fruit that is sweet and ready to enjoy. Using unripened fruit will ruin the salad.
- Fresh fruit is the best, in my opinion. It’s optional to use canned fruit, but the salad will be more mushy and less fresh-tasting.
- My vanilla glaze is simple (optional), or you can opt to serve the fruit salad plan (no dressing) with a squeeze of lime and fresh mint.
- There is NO pudding mix in this recipe (just a simple vanilla glaze).
What fruit pairs well for Easter Fruit Salad?
Fresh fruit pairs the best for a holiday fruit salad.
- Strawberries
- Blueberries
- Blackberries
- Pineapple chunks
- Cantaloupe chunks
- Kiwis, peeled and sliced
- Lime
- Fresh mint – you can add as much as you need, in the salad or as a garnish
How do you make an Easter Fruit Salad (with Vanilla extract?)
- Mix the powdered sugar and vanilla to make the glaze. Add a tad bit of water if needed. We use a small whisk to mix it well.
- Place the sliced fruit in a bowl and pour the sweet dressing on top. Gently mix together with a large spoon (or you can use your hands). You do not want to break up the fruit.
- Add the lime – garnish with fresh mint.
- Refrigerate until ready to serve.
How do you serve Easter Fruit Salad?
Each year we do “Easter” differently–inviting new friends, changing it up with a different menu–and how we serve the food buffet-style versus a sit-down dinner. But with this salad – it’s not fancy, and it can be served for any style of entertaining.
- We love to serve it in a beautiful glass bowl or any epic salad bowl.
- Layer it on a serving platter.
- Make a Rainbow Fruit Salad for kids – by laying down the fruit on a large platter or board in the shape of a rainbow.
- This salad would be delicious in the middle of this Epic Hot Dog Board or Epic Sandwich Charcuterie Board.
- Serve it with this Spinach Dip Red Cabbage Bowl for a gorgeous presentation for Easter.
This fruit salad pairs well with lamb, chicken, ham, and Overnight Breakfast Casserole – like our French Toast Croissant Casserole or Quiche Florentine.
Sandy’s Tips and Substitutions:
- Use fruit in season. Think “holidays” when making this salad. For instance for Fourth of July, you can add watermelon and berries. It’s delicious with the extract. For easter, use melon, kiwi, berries. And for fall or winter you can add grapes, apples, oranges, bananans.
- Use raspberry or lemon extract in place of the vanilla. Give it a try!
- Don’t like mint? Use fresh basil.
- Optional to add marshmallows (not my favorite, but kids do like marshmallows on Easter!)
- Citrus: lemon is also a great substitute for lime.
- Glaze: Of course the glaze is optional.
- Salt: Use flake salt on top – just a pinch!
Serve a fruit salad on a salad board!
Our blog is full of “big board” recipes, and salad boards. This salad is great served in the middle of a board for burgers, hot dogs, sandwiches, and more. But you can also serve it on the side, as a side dish to a board, for instance, if you are serving a salad luncheon.
- Epic Cobb Salad Board
- Apple Wedge Salad Board Recipe
- Epic Shrimp Louis Salad Board (with dinner rolls)
Extra TIP: How to set up an Easter buffet
- Use your favorite dishes–mine are white. But if you have a variety of colors, mix and match the colors! Do you love Mackenzie-Childs Royal Check dishes or Mackenzie-Child Courtley Check pattern? (hand raised!)
- Depending on your counter or serving space, spread the different dishes out, or create a serving line where your guests can quickly fill their plates.
- You can stack books or turn serving bowls over to add height, but I use different sized pedestals to put serving bowls on.
- Each year, make it unique and different for the season! Make it your style, not someone else’s!
- Serve the food on a board!
A perfect spread is not what people are looking for. Good food? Hopefully. But remember, don’t worry if there’s a food goof-up. It happens to all of us (hand raised)! A good time? Love and authenticity? Yes, yes, and yes! Those are what really create a desirable atmosphere.
One thing we always serve for Easter brunch: a refreshing fruit salad!
More delicioius Easter recipes to try:
- Crock Pot Ham
- Moist Buttermilk Whole Chicken with with Parsley Herb Salsa Potatoes
- Potato-Fennel Gratin Recipe
- Roasted Lemon Thyme Balsamic Marble Potatoes
- Layered Bacon Pea Salad Recipe
- Banana Walnut Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting
- Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting
- Lemon Truffle Cake [RecipeGirl]
Get the Recipe:
Easter Fruit Salad (with lime and mint and vanilla glaze)
Ingredients
- 2 cups strawberries, halved
- 1 cup blueberries
- 1 cup fresh blackberries
- 1 cup fresh or canned pineapple chunks
- 1 cup cantaloupe chunks
- 2 kiwis, peeled and sliced
- 1 lime
- Fresh mint, add in the salad or use for garnish
Make the vanilla dressing:
- ¼ cup powdered sugar
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Instructions
Make the vanilla glaze:
- In a small bowl, add the powdered sugar and vanilla extract. Add a tad bit of water if needed. Use a small whisk to combine. Set aside.
Prepare the fruit salad:
- Prepare the fruit and place in a large serving board. Drizzle a fresh squeezed lime over the fruit and gently mix with a large spoon. At this time add fresh mint (we like it chopped), or it's optional to just use the mint for garnish on top.
- Drizzle the sweet dressing over the fruit. Gently mix together with a large spoon (to not break up the fruit).
- Refrigerate 1 hour or until ready to serve.
- Add fresh mint for garnish!
Notes
Hello and welcome to my home and table!
I’m Sandy—lover of food, family, cooking, THE BIG BOARD, travel, and bringing people together. Through great recipes and connection around the table, we become better, stronger, and more courageous people. Feasting on Life is real, and every time we do it, we grow a little more. Read more...
