This winter fruit salad recipe is a colorful variety of fresh fruit tossed in a light honey poppy seed dressing. The perfect side dish for brunch or a holiday meal!
It’s that time of the year when all the berries and melons disappear from the grocery store, and what’s left is apples, apples and more apples. Oh, and a few oranges and bananas too. This winter fruit salad takes the best of the season and turns it into a light and refreshing side dish that’s packed with color and flavor.
How to make winter fruit salad
For this recipe, you’re going to need mandarin oranges, pineapple, kiwi and pomegranates. These are all fruits that are readily available during the winter and they’re a nice change from the standard apples and bananas. The fruit is tossed in a light dressing made from citrus juice, honey and poppy seeds.
You can buy pomegranate seeds that are ready to eat, or get a whole pomegranate and remove the seeds yourself. I typically use those little mandarin oranges that come in mesh bags at the grocery store, but any tangerine variety will also work, so long as it’s seedless.
I garnish my winter fruit salad with a handful of fresh mint leaves, but that’s an optional step. If you like that burst of fresh minty flavor, add them, if not, it’s still an amazingly delicious salad without the hint of mint.
This salad can be made up to 2 hours before you plan to serve it; simply store it covered in the refrigerator until you’re ready to go.
What I love about this salad is that it’s unexpected, yet full of vibrant flavors and colors that can bring a little cheer to even the dullest of winter days!
More fruit recipes
- Tropical Fruit Salad
- Fruit Salsa with Cinnamon Chips
- Chocolate Fruit Dip
- Fruit Kabobs
- Mexican Fruit Salad
Winter Fruit Salad
Ingredients
- 3 cups of cubed pineapple
- 1 cup of peeled, quartered and sliced kiwis
- 2 cups of mandarin orange or clementine segments
- 1/2 cup pomegranate arils
- 3 tablespoons lemon or lime juice
- 3 tablespoons honey
- 1 tablespoon poppy seeds
- Optional garnish: fresh mint leaves
Instructions
- Place the pineapple, kiwi, mandarin oranges and pomegranate arils in a large bowl.
- In a small bowl whisk together the lemon juice, honey and poppy seeds.
- Pour the poppy seed dressing over the fruit and toss gently to coat.
Garnish with mint leaves if desired.
This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Bear Creek Soup Mixes. This post was originally published on January 17, 2017 and was updated on November 1, 2017 with new content.
Beatrice says
It’s cold here and this is perfect for dinner!
Sam says
I especially like soups in the winter and look forward to trying this broccoli cheese soup
Farrah says
This salad looks absolutely amazing! *-* Can’t wait to try it out! :]!
Debbie says
Love this beautiful fruit and broccoli cheese soup! Quick easy healthy foods are on my New Years resolutions!
Greg says
Great combo! A hearty soup and a light fruit salad would be great together!
cheri says
Perfect meal Sarah, lots of flavor and gorgeous color.
Stacie says
Oh wow.Just looking at this salad makes it feel like summer again. I can’t wait to make this!
Bill Sweeney says
What a healthy addition to the food table! I like kiwi and mandarin oranges. And it’s colorful too!
Liz Mays says
I could definitely do with a delicious fruit salad to go with one of our meals. These combination sounds tasty and refreshing.
Kristi says
This looks delicious and I love all the colors, a perfect salad for winter time.
Theresa says
I do love a good fruit salad. With all of the cookies and cakes shoved our way this time of the year, this is a welcome change to feast on. I love all of the colors in the bowl!
KIM says
Oh what a festive looking fruit salad that is! I love pomegranates!
Sarah Bailey says
Hands up I love fruit salad, and this sounds like the perfect one for winter – check out all those colours!
amy Desrosiers says
Ok, this recipe looks drool-worthy!! I cannot wait to make it! I just need some kiwi.
Pam says
This looks so good. I love a good fruit salad for any kind of special occasion.
Marissa zurfluh says
This looks very good and easy on the tummy. I love eating fresh fruits.
Tonya says
I love fresh fruit in the summer but have never really considered what is in season the rest of the year. This would be great when we need something a bit sweet.
Our Family World says
I love the splash of color in this salad and I am positive it tastes amazing too. Thanks for sharing your recipe idea. Love that there are a lot of citrus fruits included in the salad. We need all the Vitamin C we can get to build our immunity!
Toni | Boulder Locavore says
This looks so festive! I love those colors and flavors!
Rosey says
That is a nice flavor combo you have going on there. I love a good fruit salad and the kiwis in this one have me sold!
AnnMarie John says
As much as I love all the sweet treats that are available during this season! And those that we can make at home as well, I also want to make sure that we have something fresh and healthy! This fruit salad is perfect!
Brianne says
I’m just loving the colors of this fruit salad! It looks super delicious!
Carol Cassara says
I would love to give this a try! It’s really nice to have a salad like this during the Holidays! It balances out all the heavy dishes that we have!
Rachel Ferrucci says
Fruit salad is one of my favorites and I never think to make it in the winter. This is such a great reminder and a perfect addition to the holidays
Rebecca says
Is it really supposed to say 2 Tablespoons of poppyseeds. I did 1.5 Tablespoons and it overwhelmed the fruit. My guess is that should read 2 teaspoons.
Shannon Gurnee says
I love how colorful and yummy this salad looks! This would be a great salad for anytime of the year!
Judy Fischer says
I substituted 1 cup of strawberries, diced for the pomegranate arils which I thought were a little hard to eat. I loved the color of the arils but not the texture. Also cut the poppy seed to 1/2 tablespoon. Very good!! I will definitely make again. I received lots of compliments.
Albert Bevia says
Such a beautiful looking winter fruit salad you have created, I am specially fond of the honey poppy seed dressing you made…amazing stuff
sonia says
Delightful combo of tropical fruits! Looks delish and thanks for sharing
Girlnextdoor223 says
I recently made this and added dragon fruit and the juice from the cut-up pineapple along with the lime juice. This side dish became the showstopper!
This impressive and delicious fruit salad will be my go-to forevermore!
Christine says
I made this recipe exactly as written for a ladies luncheon. It was sensational. The honey/fresh lime dressing was light and flavorful. It was beautiful to look at with the small mint leaves. This recipe is a keeper. Thanks for sharing!
Victor says
OMG! Looks so good!
Jackie Allum says
I’m adding this to my recipe book online! Looks absolutely delicious. Perfect for the summer sun.