Winter Fruit Salad

This Winter Fruit Salad combines seasonal favorites like mandarin, apple, pomegranate and kiwi with a honey orange poppyseed dressing. It only takes a few minutes to make and it's great for serving at Christmas brunch, or spooned over yogurt and granola.

This fruit salad combines all sorts of textures and flavors for a super fresh, satisfying fruit salad that makes the best of winter produce!

We love to serve it at Christmas brunch (it's especially festive garnished with star fruit slices), or just enjoy all winter long.

This recipe is very quick and easy to throw together, and you can easily change it up with your favorite fruits.

Jump to:

• Winter Fruit Salad Ingredients
• How to Make this Winter Fruit Salad Recipe
• Substitutions and Variations
• What to Serve with Winter Fruit Salad
• Storage
• Tips and FAQ
• More fruit salad recipes
• Reviews

Winter Fruit Salad Ingredients

For the salad

• Mandarins or tangerines: You can also use another citrus of choice, like oranges, blood oranges or grapefruit.
• Kiwi: You can leave the skin on or off (it's perfectly edible!).
• Apple: We prefer honeycrisp apple for its tart, sweet flavor and perfect crunch. Toss the diced apple in a little bit of lemon juice to keep it from browning.
• Mango: Technically mango isn't really a winter fruit, but since they are available year round in the U.S. Ripe mango adds a nice creaminess to this fruit salad. You can also use pineapple.
• Pomegranate: Yes, the seed inside a pomegranate aril is perfectly edible! We get asked this all the time. We absolutely love the crunch and tartness they bring to this recipe. If you're not a fan, substitute with strawberries or raspberries.
• Grapes: We used red grapes here, but green grapes would also work perfectly fine.
• Mint: Optional, but adds a nice pop of freshness to this winter fruit salad.

For the dressing

• Orange juice: We use freshly squeezed here, since you will also need orange zest. If you don't want to buy another type of fruit, you can also just use more tangerine or mandarin here.
• Lemon juice: Again, freshly squeezed is always best! Lemon juice adds a hint of sharpness that brightens up all of the flavors.
• Honey: A small amount of good quality honey adds a pleasant floral flavor to this winter fruit salad. Feel free to substitute with maple syrup or agave to make this vegan.
• Poppyseeds: These are optional, but they add a surprisingly great flavor and texture to this fruit salad!

How to Make this Winter Fruit Salad Recipe

STEP 1: In a small bowl, whisk together the dressing ingredients.

STEP 2: Add all salad ingredients to a large mixing bowl. Pour dressing over the top and toss until well combined. Enjoy right away or refrigerate and enjoy within 5 days.

Substitutions and Variations

• Vegan - Substitute honey with maple syrup, agave or another sweetener of choice.
• Fruit - There are so many types of fruit that would be delicious in this fruit salad! If you don't care about seasonality, feel free to add in some berries (strawberries, raspberries, blueberries), or you can add other fruits like pineapple, banana, cherries, dragon fruit, passion fruit, etc.
• Mint - If you don't like fresh mint, just leave it out!

What to Serve with Winter Fruit Salad

We like to serve this Winter Fruit Salad on Christmas morning as part of a big brunch spread with a few other breakfast favorites like:

• Sheet Pan Frittata
• Grapefruit Mimosas or Cranberry Mimosas
• Waffles or pancakes
• Bacon
• Cinnamon rolls or another breakfast pastry
• ...etc!

Storage

Keep this winter fruit salad stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.

We do not suggest freezing this fruit salad.

Tips and FAQ

• If you want to switch up the types of fruit, or simply don't want to use the exact fruits we show here, just use 9 cups of your preferred fruit of choice.
• Serve this fruit salad over yogurt with homemade granola for a quick, delicious breakfast! It's also great over pancakes or waffles, or served with fresh whipped cream or ice cream for a light dessert.
• Star fruit is a cute, festive garnish if you're serving this for Christmas.

More fruit salad recipes

Looking for other recipes like this? Try these:

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