Quick and easy Thanksgiving Fruit Salad made with the perfect blend of seasonal fresh fruit. Perfect addition to any holiday table, especially your next Thanksgiving feast!
It's that time of year where we try to find the perfect balance of enjoying traditional flavors while introducing new ones. And while a fresh fruit salad isn't necessarily 'new,' serving it as an easy side dish with Thanksgiving dinner probably is.
What makes this my favorite Fall fruit salad recipe specifically is that it's made with a variety of fresh fall fruits that are easy to eat, served with an optional light citrus honey dressing. I can't wait for you to try it!
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Why You'll Love This Recipe
- Easy Recipe This is an easy fruit salad recipe made with a mix of seasonal fruit that makes a tasty addition to any Thanksgiving menu. In fact, the easiest thing about this recipe is that you don't need to peel any of the fruit, unless you really want to (not even kiwi!).
- Simple Ingredients This could be considered a Fall or Winter fruit salad because it's made with seasonal fruit like crisp apples, red grapes, fresh pear, pomegranate arils, and kiwi. Unlike most other fall fruit salad recipes, this is made without mandarin oranges in juice. 😅
- Kid-Approved In my experience, the key to making a fruit salad with a mx of seasonal fruit that kids will enjoy is to cut everything into bite-sized pieces, especially apples. As for mandarin oranges, my kids like them, just not in fruit salads.
Dietitian Tip
Fruit salads are a perfect side dish that help expose kids and adults to new foods and new ways of eating foods. A new food can be less intimidating to try when it's served with several familiar foods.
As for kiwi, most people do not eat it with the skin on. For this reason, consider leaving the skin on some of the kiwi and peeling the rest. Cutting the slices with the skin on into small pieces will also help make it less noticeable.
Ingredient Notes
- Apples Use any kind of apple. I prefer to use a sweet apple, like gala or Honeycrisp. Granny smith apples combined with pomegranate will make this a tart tasting fruit salad. Red apples will add the most color.
- Bartlett Pears High in fiber and vitamin C. Bartlett pears are considered the sweetest, juiciest, and most flavorful pear.
- Kiwi Both green and gold kiwi are exceptionally high in vitamins C, E, K, folate, carotenoids, potassium, fiber, and phytochemicals.
- Grapes Packed with a variety of nutrients, especially high in phytochemicals. I like to use red grapes for more color, but green grapes can be used instead.
- Pomegranate Arils The color of pomegranate seeds alone should tell you that it's nutrient dense:) Pomegranates are especially high in a variety of nutrients that you won't find on a nutrition facts label like polyphenols, tannins, and anthocyanins.
- Orange Juice (optional but highly recommended) Will help keep the apple and pear pieces from turning brown and add flavor. Used to make a light citrus dressing.
- Honey (optional but highly recommended) Used to make a light citrus dressing. Honey may help keep fruit from browning.
How to Make This Thanksgiving Fruit Salad
Here's a summary of how to make this delicious holiday fruit salad. For a complete list of ingredients and full instructions, scroll down the recipe card at the bottom of this post.
- Chop up apple and pear. Slice the grapes and kiwi.
- Whisk together the orange juice and honey in a small bowl.
- Add the bite-sized apple and pear pieces to a large bowl. *Optional: sprinkle cinnamon on the apple pieces.
- Add the rest of the prepared ingredients to the large bowl. Drizzle on the orange juice and honey dressing (if using) and stir to combine.
Helpful Tips
- Use a red apple and red grapes to make this colorful fruit salad. Green grapes taste good, but their color blends right in with the pear and kiwi.
- In my opinion, the ratio of apples to pear should be 1 to 1. If you really like apples in fruit salad, use a 2 to one ratio (use more apples than pear).
- There is no need to peel the apples, pear, or kiwi. Keeping the skin on adds fiber, phytonutrients, and it saves time. 🙌
- Be sure to wash the fruit well before cutting.
- Cut the fruit, especially apples into bite-sized pieces. If you choose to leave the skin on the kiwi, cut it into bite-sized pieces, too. Doing this makes it more enjoyable to eat.
- The vibrant colors from grapes and pomegranate seeds help balance all of the white and green from kiwi and the flesh of the apples.
- Fresh lemon and lime juice can be used in place of orange juice if you prefer your fruit salad to be tart.
- If you love cinnamon, sprinkle some on the apple pieces before stirring in the rest of the fruit, or serve cinnamon on the side.
Questions You May Have
The easiest way to keep fruit from browning is to add something acidic like lemon, lime, orange juice, or pineapple.
The optional light citrus dressing can be tossed in with the fresh fruit to help keep it from browning.
I do not recommend cutting up the apples or pear the night before. You can slice the kiwi and grapes the night before but store them in an airtight container.
For best results, cut everything up within 30 minutes of serving it.
In my opinion, blackberries are the best substitute for pomegranate arils in this fruit salad recipe because they are less sweet than other berries and have a slight tartness to them.
I do not recommend using fresh cranberries in place of pomegranate arils because they are so tart.
More Easy Side Dishes
- Apple Cider Vinaigrette Dressing
- Easy Deviled Eggs Without Mustard
- Basil Balsamic Dressing
- Quick and Easy Christmas Salad
Did you serve this Thanksgiving Fruit Salad as part of a holiday meal? Please let me know by leaving a comment and ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ rating below. A 5-star rating is the best compliment!
Don't forget to follow me on Instagram and Pinterest for more easy recipes and nutrition tips!
📖 Recipe
Thanksgiving Fruit Salad
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 apple one large apple. I like to use one large Honeycrisp apple or two small gala apples.
- Bartlette pear
- 3 kiwi slice, then quarter the slices. peeling kiwi is optional.
- 1½ cup red grapes sliced in half
- 3 tablespoons pomegranate arils
Light Citrus Honey Dressing
- 2 tablespoons orange juice can use fresh lemon and lime juice instead, if you prefer a tart fruit salad.
- 1 teaspoon honey up to two teaspoons for even more sweetness
Instructions
- Cut washed apple and pear into small, bite sized pieces (about one-half inch pieces).1 apple, Bartlette pear
- Slice washed and drained grapes in half.1½ cup red grapes
- Cut washed kiwi into one-half inch thick slices. Then, quarter each slice. You do not have to peel the kiwi if you don't want to.3 kiwi
- Add all prepared fruit to a large bowl, starting with apple pieces. If you love cinnamon, sprinkle about ⅛ teaspoon onto the apple pieces before adding the rest of the fruit.3 tablespoons pomegranate arils
- Whisk together the orange juice and honey in a separate small bowl (if using).2 tablespoons orange juice, 1 teaspoon honey
- Pour the light citrus honey dressing over the fruit and carefully stir to combine.
Notes
- Be sure to wash all of the fresh fruit well before cutting or slicing it.
- Use a red apple, red grapes, and green kiwi (instead of golden kiwi) to make a colorful fruit salad. Green grapes and golden kiwi taste good, but their color blends right in with the pear and kiwi.
- In my opinion, the ratio of apples to pear should be 1 to 1. If you really like apples in fruit salad, use a 2 to one ratio (use more apples than pear).
- There is no need to peel the apples, pear, or kiwi unless you don't like the texture. Keeping the skin on adds fiber, phytonutrients, and it saves time. 🙌
- Cut the fruit, especially apples into bite-sized pieces. If you choose to leave the skin on the kiwi, cut it into bite-sized pieces, too. Doing this makes it more enjoyable to eat.
- The vibrant colors from grapes and pomegranate seeds help balance all of the white and green from kiwi and the flesh of the apples.
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