Red White and Blue Fruit Salad is perfect for a patriotic holiday, but it's also simple enough for using up Summer's bounty everyday! The delicious honey lime and mint dressing is a perfect complement to summer berries and white peaches.
Benefits of Fruit Salad
You probably know fruit is an important part of a heart healthy diet, so it's no surprise that fruit salad is, too! In fact, fruit salad can be even more nutritious than simply eating a piece of fruit. That's because in a fruit salad there are usually multiple different kinds of fruit, meaning you get the nutrition from all of them. Remember that different colors of produce mean different vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants, so the more kinds (and colors) in the fruit salad, the more nutritional variety you get!
Be careful with fruit salad, though! While the fruit itself is super healthy, you'll often find a lot of not so healthy add-ins. The biggest concern here is added sugar in whatever sauce or syrup is on it. A little is no big deal, especially if it's your dessert! But if it's a side dish, you might not want that extra sugar.
I'm using honey in the sauce on this Fourth of July fruit salad. Which is an added sugar. Even more natural sweeteners like honey and pure maple syrup are sugars that affect your body in very similar ways. The honey is optional, though, so if you want less added sugar in your day, simply leave it out. The fruit will release some of its juices anyway, creating some of its own sauce.
Red, White, & Blue Fruits to Substitute
I'm recommending strawberries, blueberries, and white peaches for this Red White and Blue Fruit Salad, but there are other fruits you can use! Here are some substitutions (or additions!) you may wish to make. You want to make sure you have about 2 cups or so of each color.
List of Red Fruit
- Strawberries
- Raspberries
- Cherries
- Pomegranate
- Red Grapes
- Watermelon
List of Blue Fruit
- Blueberries
- Blackberries
- Elderberries
- Mulberries
- Purple Grapes (like Concords)
List of White Fruit
- White Peaches
- Bananas
- White Dragon Fruit
- White Strawberries
- Lychee
- Coconut (use sparingly)
- Pears
- Apples (peel them)
FAQs
Yes, but only use half the lemon, zested and juiced. Lemons are larger than limes on average.
Yes and no. First know that the texture of the fruit will be very different when it thaws. To freeze fruit salad, you want to do it before there is any sauce or syrup on it. Put it on a lined sheet tray, and try to separate the fruit pieces as much as possible. Once it's all frozen, you can store it in a zipper bag or other container. If you want a sauce, freeze it separately.
Blanching a peach for peeling is easy, and it allows you to remove the skin cleanly in four simple steps (see pictures below)!
1. Boil a large pot of water, deep enough to be able to completely submerge the peach. Meanwhile, use a knife to score the bottom of each peach in an X pattern, taking care not to cut too deeply past the skin.
2. Submerge the peach in the boiling water for 20 seconds, or until the skin starts to separate and peel away.
3. Remove the peach and place in a bowl of ice water for a minute.
4. When the peach is cool enough to handle, peel the skin away and slice as you wish!
Try this Fourth of July fruit salad with Quinoa Mushroom Burgers, Healthy Baked Beans, and Red Cabbage Vinegar Slaw for a perfect, healthy picnic!
Whether you make it an American Flag Fruit Salad, or simply a Red White and Blue Fruit Salad, tell me about it in the comments!
📖 Recipe
Red White and Blue Fruit Salad
Red White and Blue Fruit Salad is perfect for a patriotic holiday, but it's also simple enough for using up Summer's bounty everyday! The delicious honey lime and mint dressing is a perfect complement to summer berries and white peaches.
Ingredients
For the Salad
- 4 large White Peaches
- 2 cups sliced or chopped Strawberries
- 2 cups Blueberries
For the Dressing
- 1 Lime, zested and juiced
- 2 tablespoon Honey (optional)
- 2 teaspoon minced Fresh Mint
Instructions
-
Make the dressing by combining and whisking all the dressing ingredients together. Set aside.
-
Blanch and peel the peaches (see above for pictures of process):
- Boil a large pot of water.
- Score the skin bottom of each peach, in an X pattern.
- Slowly lower each peach into the boiling water, and allow to boil until the skin starts to curl where it was scored - about 20-30 seconds.
- Remove from the boiling water, and immerse immediately in a bowl of ice water for about a minute.
- Remove from the ice water, and allow to cool to the touch before peeling off the skin, and slicing.
- Remove the pit from the peaches, and chop them.
-
Slice or chop the strawberries if you haven’t already.
-
Toss all the fruit in a bowl, together with the dressing. Chill until ready to serve.
To make an American Flag Fruit Salad:
-
Instead of tossing in a bowl, arrange the fruit on a platter, alternating strawberries for red stripes and white peaches for white stripes.
-
Pile the blueberries in a square in the upper left corner of the platter.
-
To make stars, you will need a small star-shaped cookie cutter or vegetable cutter. Slice a banana, and then use the star cutter to cut out the stars. Toss the bananas with a bit of the dressing to prevent browning, and place them on the blueberry pile.
-
Pour the remaining dressing evenly over the white peach stripe. This is because white peaches will also oxidize (turn brown), like bananas.
-
I recommend tossing the entire fruit salad together before serving.
Leave a Reply