35 Fruit Salad Recipes for Every Occasion

We can all agree that salads are great, right? Beyond the traditional leafy kinds, there are pasta salads, potato salads, egg salads…the list goes on. Fruit salads sometimes get a bad rep because their ratios are important. Those plastic cups with too much honeydew and a single grape are disappointing! Well, we’re here to fix that with recipes that are fresh, creative and most importantly, balanced. You’ll find savory ingredients like cheeses, herbs and flavored syrups to complement every dish—and elevate them for picnics, cookouts, weekend brunch and more. Get started with our Spiked Summer Fruit Salad: Sneak a bit of coconut-flavored rum into this honey-ginger fruit salad and raise your fork for a toast. Yummy, yummy!

If you need a make-ahead dish, a fruit salad is the way to go. As Ree notes after dressing this fruit salad with homemade orange-vanilla syrup, "it only gets better as it sits in the fridge."

Think pink with Katie Lee’s sangria-inspired take on fruit salad: red grapes, raspberries, strawberries and grapefruit segments are soaked in a rosé wine dressing.

Take inspiration from the tropical destination of Bali with a bevy of island fruits tossed with a refreshing coconut milk-and-lime dressing.

Great for a summer picnic or packed in a lunch, this colorful fruit salad has a tropical touch thanks to the ginger, lime and toasted coconut. Save the watermelon juice for a refreshing treat!

Wow the crowd with Ree's eye-catching citrus salad, which calls for a sweet and savory dressing with Dijon mustard, honey, orange juice, champagne vinegar and olive oil.

Inspired by a trip to Hawaii, Trisha Yearwood uses a mix of berries and tropical fruits with a ginger-lime honey dressing, for what she calls "a tropical vacation on a plate."

Giada skip syrups altogether in this recipe and uses melons to build a colorful side salad with arugula, dressed simply with olive oil, lime juice, pequin chiles and sea salt.

Ina gussies up fruit salad in a snap with a quick yogurt topping, mixed with good honey and vanilla extract (add vanilla bean seeds if you're feeling extra fancy).

For a flavorful fruit salad in the winter, look to a mix of in-season produce — like citrus, pomegranate and kiwi — and fruits available year-round, like bananas and mangoes!

Fresh peaches shine in this savory salad with a bright vinegar dressing, a sprinkle of salt and pepper and herbs.

As beautiful as it looks, the real "radiance" in this Ellie Krieger recipe comes from the healthy qualities of the fruit it contains. Cantaloupe, strawberry and kiwi serve as an excellent source of fiber, folate, manganese and potassium, as well as vitamins A, C and K.

Dress up a bowl of watermelon with a refreshing lemon-mint syrup, blueberries and a pinch of salt.

Although some fresh fruit is a must, pantry foods of the canned and dried variety are a great addition when fruits are less accessible, or to add texture. Sunny Anderson blends fresh apples and honeydew with canned pineapple and dried cherries in a creamy dressing for an easy fruit salad in just 10 minutes.

Sweet meets heat in two ways for Trisha's fruit salad recipe with spicy roasted pecans and a habanero-infused honey syrup.

Spike your fruit salad in the classiest way with Ina's limoncello-infused berry and banana salad. Don't forget a dollop of the bright lemon curd and yogurt topping.

Apples and oranges might be hard to compare but they pair up perfectly when sliced up for a fruit salad.

Giada's savory grapefruit salad features a bright balsamic dressing, briny olives and refreshing herbs, making it a bright and fresh palate-cleansing dish alongside heavier mains.

Impress your guests with a succulent twist on a traditional fruit salad. Ree flavors her honey-based syrup with star anise and thyme. “This is kinda like fruit cocktail but with a really great flavor,” she says.

Bobby mixes up tropical flavors in this colorful salad with mango, kiwi, papaya, pineapple and a ginger-lime syrup.

No guac here! Chunks of avocado (also a fruit) add creamy texture and savory flavor to this salsa-like fruit salad with pineapple and mango.

This may look like your average fruit salad, but it comes with a cowboy twist thanks to a drizzle of spicy-sweet jalapeno-lime syrup.

FYI, cucumber is actually a fruit (it has seeds!). Here, it joins its fellow fruits to add a refreshing crunch to an otherwise sweet salad with a drizzle of jalapeno, lemon and honey dressing.

Enjoy a tart fruit trifecta with grapefruit, oranges and pineapple slices — plus a dollop of creamy cottage cheese to help balance out flavors.

Seasonal fall fruits marinated in a bright citrus, herb and spice syrup make a fresh way to finish off any meal. The longer the fruits marinate, the deeper the flavors of the dish.

Classic Mexican ingredients — lime juice, jalapeno, ancho chili powder and cotija cheese — help liven sweet bites of honeydew with a flavorful blend of sour, spicy and salty accents.

Orange marmalade, almond extract and dried cherries make a deliciously perfumed and slightly sweet dressing for this dessert salad.

In this spring-centric recipe, a sweet and tart rhubarb syrup marries perfectly with the flavors of fresh strawberries, blackberries, basil and mint. Tip: Save any leftover syrup to use in a homemade soda or cocktail!

There's no need to bake for the dessert course. Instead, serve up a party-ready platter with a variety of citrus fruits, sliced into eye-catching cross sections and dressed with a lemon-vanilla syrup.

Top this sweet, berry-filled salad with chopped pistachios for an added layer of crunch.

A fruit salad by any other name tastes just as sweet. In his fruit salsa recipe, Aaron Sanchez mixes diced kiwi, mango and papaya with orange juice and mint for an easy dish that's extra scoopable.

Bobby's citrus salad is the perfect make-ahead dish for brunch. Macerate segmented grapefruits and oranges in a honey-ginger syrup for at least an hour before serving with a streusel-like topping of almonds, mint and sugar.

Ree’s zipper bag fruit salad is easy enough to make that even the kids can get involved. Simply add apple jelly and water in a resealable plastic zipper bag, spoon in your favorite fruit and seal and shake up the bag to mix everything together.

Sweet melon slips easily into a savory role once more in a side salad made with hearts of palm, serrano chile and scallions.