Christmas Fruit Salad with Honey Lime Drizzle

This Christmas fruit salad with honey lime drizzle is the perfect recipe for when you’re short on time but want something festive that everyone will enjoy! Sweet, tart, juicy fruit and a tangy honey-lime dressing come together to create a delicious combination that’ll have your guests asking for second helpings. The best part? This simple dish takes minutes to prepare, so you don’t need to spend hours slaving away in the kitchen this holiday season!

Christmastime is full of special meals and festive gatherings, and if you’re looking for something delicious and memorable, you should check out this Christmas fruit salad! Fruit salad is never a wrong choice as a side dish. I can testify that since my family loved the fruit salad I prepared for Thanksgiving. It’s even better to prepare it for Christmas.

This fruit salad is full of red and green fruits, and we include a honey lime drizzle that ups the wow factor while also keeping the fruit fresh a little longer.

These days, a fruit salad is a common appearance on the dinner table, but in years past, fruit on demand all year round was not possible. So, having a vibrant, fresh salad was tasty and marked just how special the occasion was.

This post will guide you as you plan your unique salad, give some important planning and prep tips to avoid common mistakes, and give you a dressing that will make your salad tastier and fresher!

You cannot go wrong with a fruit salad at Christmas dinner. This weekend, I made this for a potluck; it was the first thing gone!

Ingredients

For a salad to serve eight people, use the following as a guide:

Christmas Fruit Salad Ingredients

• 2 cups green grapes
• 2 cups red grapes
• 1 green apple, chopped into small bites
• 2 kiwi fruit, peeled and sliced
• 6 ounces raspberries
• 1/2 cup pomegranate seeds, rinsed

Honey Lime Drizzle Ingredients

• Juice of one lime (about 1 tablespoon)
• 2 tablespoons honey

You may also like our fruit salad dressing recipe.

Instructions

Fruit Salad Instructions

1. Combine the apples and grapes, and toss with honey lime drizzle.
2. Then gently mix in kiwi, raspberries, and pomegranates.
3. Serve immediately.

Honey Lime Drizzle Instructions

1. Juice the lime and strain it, and add two tablespoons honey.
2. Add to the salad and stir gently to combine.
3. Combine the apples and grapes, and toss with honey lime drizzle. Then gently mix in kiwi, raspberries, and pomegranates. Serve immediately.

A rule of thumb for my taste preference is one part lime juice and two parts honey. I find anything closer to equal ends up being bitter. I’ve seen many recipes also include lime zest but I avoid that. I don’t like the texture it adds to the salad, which looks unattractive on the fruit. It can also make the fruit taste unripe or bitter.

How many people does this salad serve?

This recipe will cover a salad for about eight people.

Juice the lime and strain it, and add two tablespoons honey. Add to the salad and stir gently to combine.

A rule of thumb for my taste preference is one part lime juice and two parts honey. I find anything closer to equal ends up being bitter. I’ve seen a lot of recipes also include the lime zest but I avoid that. I don’t like the texture it adds to the salad, and it looks unattractive on the fruit. It can also make the fruit taste unripe or bitter.

This recipe will cover a salad for about eight peo

What to Include in a Christmas Salad

A Christmas salad should include lots of red, green, and even white, fruit to be festive for a holiday. It’s also fun to splurge on special fruits like raspberries and pomegranates. Pomegranate is actually a traditional holiday food, as its red color and endless seeds represent Christ and everlasting life! Holidays can be very hectic, that’s why you can prepare your fruit salad in advance.

It’s okay to make the bulk of the salad from lower-cost fruits like grapes and apples, and add the more exciting pieces in smaller quantities. Especially if you reserve a few extra pieces of raspberry or pomegranate as a garnish, it will look lovely and festive!

People will eat a lot of this salad, as they want something healthy during a big meal. Kids will go crazy for it, with familiar and fun fruits to eat. Plan on a scant cup for each person you think will attend.

Here’s a list of red and green fruits that you can draw from to plan your salad.

Red

• Raspberries
• Red grapes
• Pomegranates
• Red apples
• Strawberries

Green

• Kiwi
• Green grapes
• Green apples
• Honeydew melon

When you plan your salad, try to include an equal number of red and green fruits, and include some crunchy and some soft.

What Not to Include in the Salad

While bananas are often a go-to for salad (everyone loves them and they’re inexpensive), I encourage you to avoid them this time around. They turn brown very quickly, which is especially unappealing if the salad will sit out during a long and enjoyable dinner, and they are mushy and coat the other fruits in the salad. So this time, pick something else and make it a fun and special dish!

Also, avoid fruits that stain other fruits, like cherries or blackberries. Fruits that aren’t in season can be very expensive and not as flavorful. So if you see something you normally add in the salad, but it’s double the cost, steer clear!

How to Assemble the Salad

A fruit salad can be prepared in advance but should be assembled pretty close to the time you want to serve it. Grapes can be rinsed and prepared a day in advance, but apples, kiwi, and raspberries should be handled closer to serving time.

I prefer to prepare the fruit in separate containers or on a tray and only combine it right before serving and in a particular order.

Add all but a handful of the green and red grapes, green and red apples, and other big or sturdy fruit like honeydew or strawberries. If you’re adding the honey lime drizzle, do it now when you can toss it with the sturdy fruit, and gently mix to combine the fruit and dressing. Then carefully add the fragile fruit like kiwi, raspberries, and pomegranates and gently mix in. They will absorb the coating of dressing by contacting the other fruit, you don’t need to add it directly to them. A watermelon can be a great addition to the salad. Choosing a good watermelon is the key.

I like to keep out a few of the prettiest fruit, like raspberries and pomegranates, to sprinkle on top to ensure a festive, vibrant color.

ple or eight cups of fruit. If you’re serving a crowd, it’s easy to double the recipe!

How to Peel a Pomegranate

One of the most enticing parts of the salad is the pomegranate. But how do you get the seeds out without ruining your clothes and wasting the precious fruit?

Before you begin, get out a cutting board, a bowl, sharp knife, and prepare the workspace near the sink with slow-running cool water.

First, slice off the top of the fruit. Inside, you’ll see the ribs of the fruit, the white membrane that holds the seeds together. Using a sharp knife, score the skin along the lines of the membrane all the way down. Then, using your fingers, pry open each section.

If you’re nervous or new, open the fruit in the belly of the sink so it doesn’t splatter you.

The seeds come out easily, by rubbing or gently grabbing them in groups. Make sure to pick off the white membrane that sticks to some of them. Rinse the seeds and set them to air dry.

One fruit will produce enough seeds for a generous salad, or even two!

If this doesn’t appeal to you, most stores sell already prepared seeds in a nice cup. Pound for pound, it’s not any more expensive than doing the work yourself, if you want to take a shortcut. Just make sure they haven’t spoiled before dumping them into your salad!

Storage and Clean Up

This salad will be safe on the counter for a few hours, but it will turn brown and go sour after a few hours. The acid in the lime and the sugar in the honey that coats the fruit will slow spoilage a little. Store in an airtight container in the fridge. It will be good for two to three days. It will not freeze well. If you have leftovers, you need to use in a hurry, throw them in the blender with some yogurt and ice, and make a smoothie!

More Recipes You May Enjoy:

• Easy Patriotic Fruit Salad with Red, White, and Blue Fruits
• Tropical Fruit Salad with Whipped Cream
• 3-Ingredient Cream Cheese Dip for Fruit

This Christmas fruit salad is the perfect dish to bring to any holiday potluck or gathering. It’s healthy, so you can feel good about indulging a little bit and delicious and festive. And be sure to let us know how yours turned out!