Creamy Glazed Fruit Salad
Need a go-to fruit salad recipe? This fruit salad with creamy glazed dressing is sure to be a family favorite!
Let’s be honest, side dishes can be brutal.
I don’t know how many times I’ve been asked to bring a fruit salad to a potluck or get together and I spend an inordinate amount of time agonizing over what I can do to make an ordinary fruit salad more spectacular than a bowl of cut up fruit.
(And I can’t bring this honey lime fruit salad to every single get together I ever go to – if I know one thing, it’s that a girl needs fruit salad options.)
I’ve been hoarding this creamy fruit salad dressing for a while.
I apologize for not sharing it sooner. It’s divine. So easy to make and the delicious, lightly sweet glaze layered over the juicy, fresh fruit is amazing.
It will revolutionize your fruit salad repertoire, that I’m sure of.
Read the notes of the recipe to get ideas on which types of fruit/fruit juice to use. I make this quite often for our family dinner nights (mostly Sundays when time isn’t so crazy, if we’re being completely honest) but I’ve brought it to several potlucks and it has been a hit each time.
And if side dishes generally give you a headache, don’t forget to consult this fabulous Side Dish Menu Planner. It may just solve all your side dish woes.
I know that I’ll be adding this new fruit salad recipe to it ASAP. It’s simple and delicious – the two most important characteristics of a good side dish. Am I right or am I right?
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Fruit Salad with Glazed Dressing
Ingredients
- 1 (15-ounce) can mandarin oranges or pineapple chunks or tidbits, drained (reserve the fruit and fruit juice)
- 2 teaspoons cornstarch
- 2 tablespoons honey or agave nectar
- ¼ cup plain or vanilla Greek yogurt
- 4 cups fresh fruit + the canned fruit (see note)
Instructions
- Pour the drained fruit juice (from the canned fruit) into a liquid measuring cup. You need about 3/4 cup fruit juice. If you have more than that, pour a little off. If you don’t have quite that much, add another type of fruit juice (white grape juice, orange juice, etc.) or supplement with water as long as it isn’t more than a couple tablespoons that you need.
- In a small saucepan, whisk together the fruit juice, cornstarch, and honey (or other sweetener of choice). Bring the mixture to a simmer over medium heat, whisking constantly. Cook for 2-3 minutes until thickened.
- Pour the mixture into a bowl to cool (you can let it cool in the pan but it will take longer). Stir every so often so it doesn’t form a skin over the top while cooling. Once cooled to room temperature, stir in the yogurt until smooth. Refrigerate until cool. It will thicken a bit more while cooling.
- In a large bowl, toss together the fresh and canned fruit. Pour the dressing over the top and stir to combine. Serve immediately.
Notes
Recommended Products
Recipe Source: from Mel’s Kitchen Cafe
32 Comments on “Creamy Glazed Fruit Salad”
I just saw this and happen to be making fruit salad for a baby shower this weekend. I have apples, strawberries, blueberries, watermelon and cantaloupe. Do you think the dressing would work with those fruits?
Yes, I think it would be delicious!
I don’t have plain or vanilla yogurt on hand. Would peach, strawberry or blueberry work? I’ll be using fresh strawberries, pineapple, and grapes along with canned mandarin oranges. Also have bananas and apples I could use.
Can’t wait to try it for family dinner tomorrow.
Thank you!
Sure, I think you could play with the flavors like that!
I Will try this one. BUT it would be nice when you make it printable to include the picture for printing also. Thanks.
Where is the recipe?
I’ve been making your honey lime fruit salad for as long as I can remember. I was also thinking I can’t bring that every time we go to dinner somewhere…. I am even more in love with this recipe. It is so beautiful and the flavors are exquisite. Make this if you haven’t yet! It is so versatile. I used a pint of raspberries, a pint of blueberries, 1 cup red grapes, 2 kiwi, 2 fresh peaches (skin on) 2 pears (skin on). I still used the juice of mandarin oranges for the syrup. (I saved to use later, but you could add to salad. I wanted to use all fresh fruit). I used plain Greek yogurt with a splash of pure vanilla. The colors were beautiful and that is glaze is heavenly! Thanks, Mel, for elevating and adding to my fruit salad repertoire.
Delicious! I have never bought the fruit dips in the store, and having made your recipe I am delighted I never have to! It was scrumptious! Thank you!!
Best fruit salad, ever! This was a huge hit for Easter lunch today (along with your always-raved-about-always-perfect cheesy potatoes au gratin). My “dressing” seemed a bit runnier than expected, I think I did not allow it to cook/thicken long enough. Regardless, it was delightful and will definitely be a staple throughout the summer for get togethers. I ended up adding a drop of vanilla to the dressing when adding the plain greek yogurt which was the perfect touch. Finally, your unbelievable carrot cake was exactly that – unbelievably good! I tweaked it with 3/4 cup oil and 3/4 cup buttermilk, and it was divine. Thanks for all of your wonderful, truly tried and true recipes! My whole family thanks you as well 🙂
Thanks Jenny – so happy the recipes worked out for you!
Great recipe. I didn’t have any vanilla yogurt but had coconut but it went well with the fruit that I used (bananas, strawberries, pineapple, grapes, and raspberries.) Everyone gobbled it up and asked that I make it again. Thanks! Happy Easter!
Tried to print this recipe and couldn’t due to a blank page. Is everything OK on your end? Thanks Mel.
Unfortunately if you are using Internet Explorer, the print function isn’t working right now. You could try switching to a different browser like Chrome, Safari or Firefox. Internet Explorer has issues with many website functions and one of those other browsers will be much better (not just for the print function). I’m sorry for any inconvenience!
Do you think apples would work well in this fruit salad?
Yes!
This looks great! If I make this the night before, will the peaches turn color? Or will the j
Juice from mandarin oranges be enough for them to keep color?
I wouldn’t assemble this fruit salad until just before serving (or an hour before).
Made this tonight. I did add vanilla to my plain yogurt just to up the sweetness (couldn’t find any vanilla at our market). It’s a really yummy dressing. I had to keep “testing” it. Thanks!
I want to make and eat this right now.
Ever try a fruit salad tossed in some orange juice/sugar/&hint of mint extract? I HIGHLY encourage you to try it! And a dollop of whip cream never REALLY hurt anybody…
I made this for lunch today, it was totally amazing! Everyone loved it, thanks!
I’ve made something similar for a long time too. Mine doesn’t have the yogurt, though, just fruit juices cooked with cornstarch. (IIRC, mine has pineapple and lemon juice)
The recipe I have includes fresh mint, which is a wonderful addition when you have it, and roasted pecans, which are delicious, but tend to make the salad taste a bit too grown-uppy for the kids, so I sometimes leave it out.
Deeelish and perfect for a party!
Vanilla and plain greek yogurt are totally opposite things in my world- sweet vs. sour. Which do you prefer most in this salad and is it really interchangeable without adjusting the honey? Looks yummy
When I use vanilla, it’s the vanilla Greek yogurt that is just lightly sweet so I agree, plain yogurt and vanilla yogurt can be very different but quite honestly, they both work here. I use both depending on the fruit. If the fruit is really, really naturally sweet, plain yogurt works great. Vanilla yogurt helps sweeten things up a bit. For a foolproof method, I’d probably say go with the vanilla as long as it isn’t loaded with sugar.
Wow, Mel, this looks wonderful and the dressing can be used on any combination of fruit. I bet it would be good on tossed salads with fruit, too. Thanks so much for sharing.
This looks awesome and it looks great for me since the dressing is made with fruit juice, honey/agave, and Greek yogurt! All pretty healthy. I’m adding it to my side dish list IMMEDIATELY!
Actually I have no problem bringing your honey lime fruit salad to every potluck. I love it! This looks delicious too though, I’ll have to give it a try.
Yum! This is perfect because I’ve been on a fruit binge lately….the hot weather in SoCal last week made me want nothing else. (Finally cooling down to 70s this week….where is my fall weather?!!
Love this, Mel! Thanks for deciding not to hoard this recipe anymore. 🙂 It looks delicious!
I love this dressing. It’s the same as what my mother made many years ago. She always used plain yogurt. Thank you for bringing back a great memory. Now I need to make this again.
Yum that looks delicious! And it looks so easy to make. I am definitely pinning this one! 🙂