Light and refreshing, this easy Summer Fruit Salad with Honey Lime Poppy Seed Dressing is always a hit for entertaining at gatherings like potlucks, BBQ’s, and cookouts! Topped with a bright, sweet and citrusy honey lime poppy seed glaze, and full of the best seasonal fruits of the summer, there are never any leftovers when this summer fruit salad is served!
When fresh fruit is plentiful, some of our other favorite things to make are Old-Fashioned Fresh Peach Ice Cream, Fresh Strawberry Pie, and Grilled Peaches with Ice Cream.
Summer Fruit Salad with Honey Lime Poppy Seed Dressing
I don’t know about you guys, but lately my fridge and countertops have been filled to bursting with all the fresh, seasonal fruit that has been available for some pretty amazing prices at our local farmer’s market. Just the other week my favorite fruit vendor was selling all his stone fruit – peaches, nectarines, plums, and apricots – for $1/pound, and it was amazingly sweet and juicy and delicious!
Hence the Southern Peach Pie I posted about the other day.
So it only made sense to throw together a quick and easy Summer Fruit Salad to go with dinner the other night. And the night after that, and the night after that….
I remember many summer potlucks at family reunions when I was growing up where there were always tables filled with tons of amazing dishes. But it was always the salads that drew me in.
Cold pasta salads (like BLT Pasta Salad and Hawaiian macaroni salad!), potato salad, fresh green salads with crunchy toppings, fluffy cottage cheese Jell-O salads, and always a fresh fruit salad, loaded with all my favorite summer fruits!
How to Make the BEST Summer Fruit Salad
This recipe is super simple (to the point of it hardly being a “recipe” at all) and adaptable to whatever fruit you have on hand and it takes me right back to my childhood and those family reunion potlucks.
I used cherries, peaches, blueberries, raspberries, strawberries, bananas and grapes in my summer fruit salad, but mango, kiwi, oranges, blackberries, apples, etc. would all be delicious as well! I tend to feel like a true fruit salad needs at least 4-7 varieties of fruit.
The only two fruits I tend to avoid when making this type of fruit salad are pineapple and watermelon.
I find that the juice from the pineapple tends to overwhelm other fruit flavors and the pineapple chunks starts looking ugly since they get stained from the other juices in the salad. And watermelon tends to break down too much compared to the other fruit.
That’s just my personal take on fruit salad, but obviously you can add them if you want to, especially if you plan to serve the salad immediately so they don’t have much time to break down.
As for the dressing, it’s just a quick mix of honey, lime juice and poppy seeds drizzled over the fresh fruit and tossed.
I know, summer fruits hardly need any dressing at all, but really this quick, easy glaze draws out the flavor of the fruit and takes fruit salad to the next level. Plus, the lime adds a bright citrus note while serving double duty keeping the bananas and other fruits fresh and preventing them from browning and looking, um, not fresh.
And I love the little bit of crunch and texture from the poppy seeds.
This easy, summer fruit salad with honey lime poppy seed dressing is perfect for entertaining or just as a weeknight side-dish (or dessert, even!). Or for breakfast with a protein packed frittata.
More Summer Side Dishes To Take to Potlucks
- Best Baked Beans Recipe
- Raspberry Pretzel Salad
- Deviled Egg Potato Salad
- Grilled Corn Salad
- Cottage Cheese Jello Salad
Did you make this recipe?
Let me know what you thought with a comment and rating below. You can also take a picture and tag me on Instagram @houseofnasheats or share it on the Pinterest pin so I can see.
Summer Fruit Salad with Honey Lime Poppy Seed Dressing
Ingredients
Salad
- 1 lb. fresh strawberries washed, hulled & quartered
- 2 fresh peaches sliced
- 12 ounces Raspberries
- 12 ounces blueberries
- 1 cup cherries pitted and halved
- 1 cup grapes halved
- 1 banana sliced
Dressing
- 3-4 Tablespoons honey
- 2 Tablespoons fresh lime juice
- 1 teaspoon poppy seeds
Instructions
- Rinse all fruit and prepare by slicing, quartering, halving, etc. Add to a large bowl.
- In a small separate bowl, combine the honey, lime juice and poppy seeds and whisk together. Drizzle over the fruit and gently toss to coat.
- Serve immediately.
The season is a little behind here in Canada, so no stone fruits yet, but I’m guessing next week, probably… I love a good fruit salad, and yours is loaded with all the delicious, juicy, naturally sweet, seasonal fruits. And the lemon poppy seed dressing is just the perfect touch!
So simple and perfect for summer, nice! 🙂
I always want fruit salad! It’s so refreshing! And the addition of poppy seeds makes it even better!
What a deliciously colourful salad! That dressing sounds absolutely incredible too, what a great combination of flavours!
I love the idea of making a special dressing for fruit salad! I always add a little vanilla and sugar and that’s it. The poppy seeds-lime-honey combo sounds incredible ♥
This fruit salad looks to luscious and bright! I want some right now.
Gorgeous photos! This looks absolutely delicious I love the sound of the honey lime dressing, perfect for Summer!