Fresh and colorful, this Autumn fruit salad is not only gorgeous to look at but delicious to eat. The combination of flavors, textures, and colors make this salad one of my all-time favorites.
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Oh boy I love this salad.
My aunt Jeanie brought it to a family party one time and we all went crazy. It is so good.
This salad is called autumn fruit salad (probably because of the colors), but you have my permission to eat this anytime of the year. And believe me you will want to. I think my Aunt brought it to a family activity in the middle of the summer, and as I mentioned it disappeared in a matter of seconds.
First let’s talk about how beautiful it is.
Honestly, those colors are just gorgeous. Eating pretty food certainly makes it more enjoyable.
Next, the flavors are amazing.
Honestly that lime zest gets me every time. I want to cry it’s so good. Paired with all the fruit it just stands out like it’s saying, “Hello there! I am here. Look at me.”
Lime zest is just one of my favorite flavors. It is a bright and happy flavor and so lovely in a fruit salad.
And the nuts…this one might be a little bit controversial.
Do you like nuts in stuff?
I know a lot of people don’t so I’m curious about you.
I actually like the nuts in this salad, but they need to be the right kind of nuts to work well. My favorites are listed in the notes of the recipe. But if you don’t like them, you have my complete approval to leave them off.
Finally, it’s easy to adapt.
And speaking of changes, I’ve made this recipe many times since I first had it. It’s easily adaptable if you need to change up an ingredient. You could try using green grapes instead of red for example. Or I’ve used honey Greek yogurt in place of the vanilla yogurt and that was really good. I bet you could even use plain yogurt and just add a touch of honey to taste.
BUT I must tell you that in all my adaptations my only fail was when I substituted pineapple for the mandarin oranges. Something about pineapple and lime zest do NOT go together. So beware of that if you are thinking of subbing it in.
Hope you enjoy. And happy fall!
Autumn Fruit Salad
The combination of flavors, textures, and colors make this salad one of my all-time favorites.
Ingredients
- 2 medium apples cored and diced, see note
- 1 11-ounce can mandarin oranges drained
- 1 cup seedless red grapes halved
- 1 ½ cups miniature marshmallows
- 1 cup (8-ounces) vanilla low-fat yogurt
- 2 tablespoons chopped nuts optional, see note
- zest of 1 lime
Instructions
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In a large serving bowl add all of the ingredients at once and gently stir to combine.
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Serve immediately or refrigerate until ready to serve (see note).
Recipe Notes
1. For this recipe, tart apples work best. Granny smith or golden delicious both work well.
2. My choices for the chopped nuts would be chopped walnuts, pecans, or roasted almonds. These can easily be omitted if you are not a fan of nuts.
3. This salad is best served the same day as it is prepared. But I have successfully made it a few hours in advance. If serving the next day, be aware that some liquid will pool at the bottom of the serving bowl.
Recipe Source: Slightly adapted from a recipe shared with me by my Aunt Jeanie
All images and text ©The Cook’s Treat
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