This simple, fresh Fruit Salad is made with summer-ripened stone fruit and fresh berries. Luscious cherries, peaches, apricots, blueberries, and fresh basil are drizzled with a delicious vanilla balsamic dressing.
This beautiful summer fruit salad comes together fast and easy, and the tender, ripe fruit is at its best, served immediately. Stone fruits are in season during the summer months and we can’t get enough! The sweet juiciness of peaches pairs well with tart cherries, floral apricots, and fresh blueberries. Make a simple dressing with vanilla extract, balsamic vinegar, and black pepper, just enough to coat the fruit and make the flavors pop. No need to add any sweeteners when summer fruit is ripe and at its peak. Check out these delicious Summer recipes for more- 75+ Light & Healthy Summer Recipes!
Why You’ll Love This Fruit Salad Recipe
- Everyone Loves Fruit Salad! It’s refreshing, beautiful, and healthy, making it the perfect potluck addition, brunch side dish, or light dessert- a lovely side for any meal!
- The Fruit Salad Dressing! Just a touch of vanilla, pepper, and balsamic vinegar elevate fresh fruit into a dreamy flavor combination.
- Highlights Summer Fruit- You can’t go wrong with ripe summer fruit. Summer fruit is amazing on its own, but this salad just kicks it up a few notches, creating an elegant yet easy side dish.
- No added sweetener! When using fresh ripe summer fruit- no sugar, brown sugar, maple syrup, or honey is needed! It’s perfectly and naturally sweet, just as it is.
- It’s healthy! Full of vitamin c, potassium and polyphenols, this fruit salad is a healthy addition to any diet and a great way to eat more fruit.
Table of Contents
Ingredients In Easy Fruit Salad
Fruit Salad Ingredient Notes
- Cherries- add just the right amount of sweet and tart. Plums will work too if cherries are not available.
- Blueberries- or use any berry available. Blackberries, raspberries, strawberries, marionberries, and boysenberries are great choices.
- Peaches- they are just the quintessential summer fruit! Nectarines are good here too.
- Basil- peppery and fresh, so good with fruit! or sub fresh mint.
- Balsamic– gives such a lovely depth and tang to the fruit. It is hard to substitute this one.
- Vanilla extract- bourbon vanilla is nice, but any will do. It pairs so well will balsamic and pepper.
- Black Pepper- just a little spicy hit really compliments the sweetness.
See the recipe card below for a full list of ingredients and measurements.
How To Make the Best Fruit Salad!
Step One- Prep the fruit. Pit cherries and cut in half. Rinse blueberries. Slice apricots in half and remove the pit and cut in 4 slices per half. Peel peaches and slice in 1/2 inch slices.
Step Two- Make the dressing. Toss together the balsamic vinegar, olive oil, vanilla, pepper and pinch of salt.
Step Three- Combine. Arrange 1/2 of the fruit in a bowl, gently layering the fruit. Peaches and ripe apricots break down easily; layering, rather than tossing, helps keep the fruit looking fresh. Drizzle about 1/3 of the dressing over the fruit. Distribute 1/2 of the basil. Continue to layer the remaining fruit and drizzle the remaining dressing. Sprinkle on the rest of the basil.
Garnish with a few small basil leaves.
Ways to Serve Fruit Salad
- Serve fruit salad in a large serving bowl.
- Spoon into tall, elegant shot glasses with a mini fork– like we often would in our catering business. Drizzle with dressing right before serving.
- Serve in individually portioned mini bowls.
- Serve in Weck jam jars or mini mason jars.
Fruit Salad FAQS
The sweet flavor of balsamic vinegar goes nicely with cherries, plums, strawberries, peaches, blueberries, and figs.
Yes! The fresh green aromatics of fresh herbs can really enhance the flavors of fruit.
Basil is great with strawberries, peaches, plums, apricots, cherries, and nectarines.
Rosemary is nice with strawberries, apples, and oranges.
Mint is great with just about any fruit.
Use fresh organic fruit that is in season.
Rather than adding every kind of fruit, select 4-5 fruits that complement each other.
Combine sweet fruits with tart berries or cherries.
Cut-up citrus fruits are best with melons or avocado whereas citrus zest and juice is more versatile and can be used on most fruit.
Balsamic vinegar adds depth to strawberries, plums, cherries, and peaches.
For best results, fruit salad should be made and served immediately. Hardier fruit like melons and blueberries can be mixed ahead of time. If your fruit is ripe it can discolor quickly as well as some fruit color will bleed onto the other fruit. You can dress the fruit with citrus to keep it from browning but that will also start to break down the fibers and make it mushy.
Kiwi fruit, fresh pineapple, bananas, mangos, mandarin oranges, red grapes, green grapes, strawberries, oranges, dragon fruit, lemon zest, lime zest and orange zest.
What to serve with Easy Fruit Salad
More Fruit Salads You'll Love!
Have fun making this fruit salad!
Love this recipe? Please let us know in the comments and leave a 5-star ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ rating below the recipe card.
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Fruit Salad Recipe
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Total Time: 20 minutes
- Yield: 5 cups 1x
- Category: salad, fruit recipes, side dish
- Method: mixed
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Vegan
Description
This luscious Fruit Salad is made with summer ripe stone fruit and berries. Cherries, peaches, and apricots along with blueberries and fresh basil- tossed in a delicious vanilla balsamic dressing.
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
- 2 teaspoons olive oil
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/8–1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- pinch of salt
- 1 cup cherries (or plums)
- 1 cup blueberries (or blackberries)
- 6 apricots ( or sub 2 more peaches or nectarines)
- 2 peaches (or nectarines)
- 1/4 cup basil, tear or cut in ribbons. Reserve a few smaller leaves for garnish.
Instructions
- Whisk together balsamic, vinegar, olive oil, vanilla, pepper, and a pinch of salt.
- Pit cherries and cut them in half. Rinse blueberries. Slice apricots in half and remove the pit and cut in about 4 slices per half. Peel peaches and slice in 1/2 inch slices.
- Arrange 1/2 of the fruit in a bowl, gently layering the fruit. Peaches and apricots break down easily, layering rather than tossing, keeps the fruit looking fresh. Drizzle about 1/3 of the dressing over the fruit. Distribute 1/2 of the basil. Continue to layer the remaining fruit and drizzle the remaining dressing. Sprinkle on the rest of the basil.
- Garnish with a few small basil leaves.
Notes
For best results, fruit salad should be made and served immediately. If your fruit is ripe it can discolor quickly as well as some fruit color will bleed onto the other fruit.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cup
- Calories: 168
- Sugar: 29.4 g
- Sodium: 3 mg
- Fat: 2.9 g
- Saturated Fat: 0.3 g
- Carbohydrates: 36 g
- Fiber: 6 g
- Protein: 3.7 g
- Cholesterol: 0 mg
This is a really nice salad capturing the fresh sweetness of summer. The basil is a perfect compliment. I used a little less oil and added some smoked black pepper.
Sounds great Rachel! Yum smoked pepper!!
Question-Do you see this as a side dish with chicken or fish? If so, what else would you add to the plate?
When I saw this it seemed like a refreshing hot summer side dish. I, not usually a big fruit consumer I I tend more towards the savory side but this definitely caught my attention.
I think it would be great. Some herby risotto or saffron rice. Quinoa salad or creamy white beans would be yummy too.
I served this with grilled chicken. The chicken was simply dressed with smoked salt and a squeeze of fresh organge juice before grilling.
Perfect!
Damn delicious.
Yay, happy to hear this!