Thanksgiving Fruit Salad

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When fall comes around, so do thoughts of warm pies and cozy drinks. Our Thanksgiving fruit salad gives you the flavors you crave in a healthy option that often eludes us this time of year. Freshly diced pears and apples mixed with berries, citrus and pomegranate arils make for a colorful and antioxidant rich addition to your holiday dessert menu. 

Along with the advent of fall comes the arrival of fall traditions. Whether you celebrate Thanksgiving or Friendsgiving, this fruit salad recipe is here for you! Full of juicy fruits and sweet flavors, it’s a fruit salad parents and kids are sure to love. 

It is sweet enough that you can skip dessert and not feel deprived, and you’re getting healthy fibers and vitamins. Plus it’s a kid-friendly option because, let’s face it, Friendsgiving can mean a lot of little mouths to feed and we don’t want them hyped up on cookies, Nutella Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls, and Cherry Pie all day! They don’t have to know it’s not dessert, right? 

The holidays often bring lots of rich and heavy foods, and I don’t know about you, but my willpower does not compete with the bag of sugar cookies on the counter. And neither does my kids’! So this recipe is a welcome treat for me! 

Why Make This Recipe

• It’s sweet – Each fruit is yummy by itself, but this combination makes a sweet dish! 
• It’s juicy – Lush fruits combine their goodness to make a refreshingly juicy fruit salad. 
• It’s kid–friendly – I don’t know many kids who will pass up a fruit salad—it’s tasty and fun to eat! 

Ingredient Notes

• Pears — Sweet and juicy with a buttery flavor when ripe, pears provide a tender and firm base for the fruit salad. Choose red, yellow or green. 
• Apples — Use both red and green crunchy apples. They have different flavor profiles with green being more tart and red being more sweet. 
• Seedless grapes — Red grapes or purple seedless grapes will work the best here. Granny smith apples and honey crisp or fuji apples are great options.  
• Kiwis — These fuzzy brown skinned sweet fruits are adorable and tasty. Sweet and sometimes a little tart, they play well with the other fruits in the salad. 
• Mandarins — Mandarin oranges are known at the store as “Cuties” or Clementine oranges. They are sweet, juicy and easy to separate with each wedge contained in its own skin.
• Pomegranate Seeds — These are the edible seeds inside the pomegranate fruit. They are tart, small, jewel-like, and are surrounded by a juicy pulp. 
• Dried cranberries — Small and dark red, these dehydrated snacks are sweet and tart. Fresh cranberries aren’t recommended because they are too tart.
• Apple pie spice — Featuring warm spices like cinnamon, nutmeg and allspice, apple pie spice tastes like fall.  You can also use Pumpkin Pie Spice.
• Mandarin juice — Juice some mandarins like you would lemons for lemonade, or simply use orange juice.  
• Maple syrup — This little bit of maple syrup will help pull the sugars out of the fruit creating a sauce.
• Mint (optional) – This can be used for decoration.

How to Make Thanksgiving Fruit Salad

Get complete ingredients list and instructions from the recipe card further below.

Pro Tips

• Use your favorite seasonal fresh fruit.
• Add a splash of lemon juice to the maple-orange dressing to keep the fruits from turning brown. 
• Sprinkle the salad with pecans, walnuts, or pumpkin seeds before serving to add a crunchy and nutty flavor.
• Similarly, consider adding unique ingredients like fresh herbs (mint, basil), coconut flakes, or a sprinkle of sea salt to elevate the flavor profile and add complexity to the salad.
• Play around with different dressings or sauces. Try something like balsamic glaze.
• Top with whipped cream, cool whip, or Ninja Creami Vanilla Ice Cream Recipe for a beautiful holiday fruit salad.

Delicious Variations 

• Greek Yogurt Fruit Salad – Combine Greek yogurt with diced apples, grapes, bananas, and walnuts for a creamy and protein-packed fruit salad. Sweeten with a drizzle of honey or maple syrup if desired.
• Berry Medley – Mix together strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, and blackberries for a vibrant and antioxidant-rich salad. Drizzle with a honey-lime dressing for added sweetness.
• Mediterranean Fruit Salad – Combine diced watermelon, cucumber, feta cheese, and mint leaves for a refreshing and savory twist. Drizzle with a balsamic glaze for added depth of flavor.

Prep And Storage

• Prep Ahead – Prepare the dressing and diced fruits, but don’t mix them until about 45 minutes before serving. Toss the fruits in a little lemon or lime juice to keep them from browning. By keeping the dressing separate, you will keep the fruits from becoming soggy. 
• Store – Keep in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. 
• Freeze – It’s not recommended to freeze fruit salad. 

FAQs 

Similar Recipes

Looking for more EASY, delicious, and flavorful recipes? I’ve got you covered. Check out my full collection of salad recipes, or start a few of my most popular recipes:

• Summer Fruit Salad
• Christmas Fruit Salad
• Red,White and Blue Fruit Salad

Serve With:

• This salad paired with these delicious waffles is a great Thanksgiving dessert or breakfast.
• Pancakes with this fresh fruit salad makes the best dessert.
• Add some homemade vanilla ice cream.

Recommended Tools

• A large mixing bowl to make combining ingredientswith the dressing.
• Sharp knives make slicing and dicing the fruit easy.
• A large airtight storage container for keeping the salad fresh.
• For the best tools to help make your recipe even easier and more successful, check out my collection of the Best Kitchen Tools on Amazon.

Weight Watchers Points

There is just 1 Blue Plan SmartPoint in one serving of this.

Thank you for reading my Fruit Salad for Thanksgiving recipe post. And please come visit again as I continue to slice, dice and dream up affordable Air Fryer recipes, Instant Pot recipes, Southern Recipes, and more. Thanks for supporting Recipes from a Pantry, food blog.

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