Fruit Salad Recipe with Orange Poppy Seed Syrup
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This fruit salad is perfect for parties. It’s easy to make and everyone will appreciate a healthy option at the dessert table. The orange-lemon syrup is sweetened with honey and glazes the fruit to keep it looking and tasting fresh longer.
Your fruit won’t brown even after a few hours at room temp. Niiiice! I made this for my niece’s birthday this past weekend and kept going back for refills. This recipe is party-sized and can easily be cut in half for a smaller crowd. If you have leftovers, just pop them in the fridge and you’ll be set for the tastiest smoothie the next morning.
Ingredients for Fruit Salad:
2 lbs fresh strawberries, hulled and halved or quartered if large
1 lb fresh grapes (any color), halved
6 clementines, peeled and separated into sections
1 cup fresh blueberries
1 to 2 apples, cored, cut into sixths and sliced into 1/4″ thick pieces
1 banana, sliced
Other fruit ideas: pineapple, kiwi, raspberries, blackberries
Orange Lemon Syrup:
4 Tbsp liquid honey
Juice of 1 large lemon (about ¼ cup)
Juice of 1 medium orange (about ¼ cup)
Heaping 1/2 tsp poppy seeds
Optional Garnish:
Mint leaves
How To Make Fruit Salad Recipe with Orange Poppy Seed Syrup:
1. Squeeze juice of 1 lemon and 1 orange. Stir together syrup ingredients, mixing until honey is completely dissolved into the syrup.
2. Rinse and slice fruit in the order that it is listed. Don’t slice your apples or bananas until you’re ready to add the syrup since the lemon in the syrup will keep them from browning.
3. Drizzle syrup over the fruit and toss to evenly coat the fruit with syrup. Toss fruit again just before serving.
Fruit Salad with Orange Poppy Seed Syrup
Ingredients
Fruit Salad Ingredients:
- 2 lbs fresh strawberries, hulled and halved or quartered if large
- 1 lb fresh grapes, any color, halved
- 6 clementines, peeled well and separated into sections
- 1 cup fresh blueberries
- 1 to 2 apples, cored, cut into sixths and sliced into 1/4" thick pieces
- 1 banana, sliced
Orange Lemon Syrup:
- 4 Tbsp liquid honey
- Juice of 1 large lemon, about 1/4 cup
- Juice of 1 medium orange, about ¼ cup
- Heaping 1/2 tsp poppy seeds
Optional Garnish:
- Mint leaves
Instructions
- Squeeze juice of 1 lemon and 1 orange. Stir together syrup ingredients, mixing until honey is completely dissolved into the syrup.
- Rinse and slice fruit in the order that it is listed. Don't slice your apples or bananas until you're ready to add the syrup since the lemon in the syrup will keep them from browning.
- Drizzle syrup over the fruit and toss to evenly coat the fruit with syrup.
Notes
♥ FAVORITE THINGS ♥
Shown in this post: (nope, no one paid us to write this; just stuff we love):
* The OXO mini strainer/sifter is multi-purpose. I have these in all sizes.
* It’s so handy to have multiple sizes of liquid measuring cups.
Natasha Kravchuk
Hi! I'm Natasha Kravchuk. Here you'll find delicious, trusted recipes with easy step-by-step photos and videos. 
This is a lovely and impressive fruit salad, esp with mint garnish. Made it for my husband’s 75 years young birthday party and it was a hit! I will use lime juice next time instead of orange as I think the dressing needed a little more kick.
Hi Elizabeth! Thank you for trying the recipe. So glad it was enjoyed. The lime juice in the dressing sounds great!
Delicious. I substituted the blueberries (not a fan) for blackberries/raspberries and added watermelon. Also eliminated the poppy seeds (not a fan) and added sunflower/pumpkin seeds.
Hello Patti, great to hear that it worked so well too! Thanks a lot for sharing that with us and for the good review.
With the fruit salad which looks wonderful, I know bananas and apples get brown pretty quickly.
Will the acid from the dressing help with that problem?
Hi Carol, this recipe is best for 2 hours. After about 3 hours, it’s not as vibrant but still isn’t really browning because of the lemon juice. Keep in mind that you don’t want to make it too early if it isn’t eaten right away. If you want it to keep a little longer, try substituting the orange juice for lime juice which will work better to preserve the fruit. Check out this version HERE.
I prep the cut apples and bananas (any fruit that browns) with Fruit Fresh and the salad stays vibrant and fresh much longer. If you aren’t familiar with Fruit Fresh you can usually find it in the store near the canning supplies near the Sure Jell.
Thanks for sharing!
Success with all your recipes! When can we expect you okn Food Network? I watch a lot of the chefs, and your par ‘excellence above!!
Aww, thank you, Donna! That is so very kind. I’m happy to hear you enjoy my recipes. 🙂
Aww, Thank you for that wonderful compliment, Donna!
The best fruit salad I’ve had! Everything will keep really well for several days except the bananas. However, I was surpised that the bananas looked great for a day or two after I made it.
Safely, you can make this the night before and add the banana before serving. My gala apples did not brown for many days after it was made. The citrus juices do such a great job at preserving without making this taste too much like citrus. Really great flavor!
Can you make the fruit salad over night? The fruit poppy seed, orange and honey salad?
Hi Grenda, it’s best for 2 hours. After about 3 hours, it’s not as vibrant but still isn’t really browning because of the lemon juice. Keep in mind and you don’t want to make it too early if it isn’t eaten right away. If you want it to keep a little longer, try substituting the orange juice for lime juice which will work better to preserve the fruit. check out this version HERE.
I love all your recipes 5stars,i’m always watching your blog.God bless u always.
You’re so nice! Thank you Gina!
Hi Natalie, you’re adorable.
Thanks for all the inspiring recipes. This one looks amazing. When you make a cookbook, please make it binder style.
I’m so glad you’re enjoying my recipes, Betty! Thank you so much for sharing that with me.
Hello Natasha! I love your recipes! 🙂 I have tried the Mango Avocado Chicken Salad and it was a hit! I really love it!
Can I replace poppy seeds with Chia seeds?
Thank you 🙂
Thank you and great to hear that, Avery! Someone shared that they used chia seeds and it was a great addition to the recipe.
I LOVE your recipes!
Love all your recipes ! This fruit salad is fab ! You should have your own TV show ! You are THAT good ! I watch your videos almost every day !!
You’re so nice! Thank you for that wonderful compliment, Judy!
Hi Natasha I want to make this tonight, can I add lime juice to the dressing? Like in your winter fruit salad recipe you have lime. Will it go well with these fruits? I don’t have clementines, can I replace them with pineapple? Cant wait to try it, thanks!
Hi Alina, lime juice should work fine. I haven’t tried using pineapples but I imagine that will work well too!
Love you and your recipes. Do you have a cook book.
Hi Donna, not at the moment but I am already working on it.
What’s up everyone, it’s my first pay a visit at this website, and
post is actually fruitful in support of me, keep up posting these content.
Thank you for visiting our site, Shanon! I hope you love our recipes!
This salad looks awesome! When fruit is in season I’ll have to try this. In Wisconsin the fruit during the winter isn’t nearly as good as summertime. Can I add chia seeds instead, I would most likely have them on hand? Do you have a cookbook of your recipes? I’ve used some of them and they are awesome.
Hi Michaela, someone shared that they used chia seeds and it was a great addition to the recipe. I am currently working on a cookbook so watch out for it.
Will I miss the poppy seeds if I omit them?
Hi Mary, this salad will still be excellent without the poppyseeds. They are more for effect 😉 I hope you love this fruit salad!
Hi Natasha- which of your fruit salads would you recommend the most?
Hi Mary, the dressing on the Winter Fruit Salad is my all-time favorite. You can change up the fruit if you like to be more seasonally appropriate 🙂
This was a lovely, light, and eye appealing dish to take to a Christmas brunch. It went fast! Will make it often, but later in the year as the berries we’re VERY pricy this time of the year, here in Pennsylvania. I added more bananas and clementines to “stretch” the dish.
Hi Alicia! Those sound like perfect additions to that! Thank you for sharing your great review!
It would be great if you would add the nutritional values, such as calories etc. To your recipes!
Hi, we are slowly working through all of our recipes to add nutrition info but it is a time consuming process as they have to be added one at a time. Thank you for being patient! :)”
This was fabulous, received many compliments and they wanted copy of the recipe.
That’s great, I’m glad to hear the recipe is a hit! Thanks for sharing your fantastic review Jeanne!
Made the salad for Men’s Breakfast and it was thoroughly enjoyed by everyone. I processed and mixed all the fruits except bananas and apples the previous night. Early in the morning made the dressing and sliced and added the bananas and apples.
I’m so happy to hear that Jay 😁. Thank you for the wonderful review!
Can’t wait to make this today for my son’s birthday party – quick question – mandarins are out of season here…would orange slices work or would they look bulky compared to everything else? If i slice them in half, will the juices just run rampant? can I really leave them out and still have it be delicious?
Orange slices would work and if you sliced them in half they would be juicier but that should be fine as long as you toss them into the salad last so you don’t squish them too much 🙂 You can leave them out or replace them with a different fruit.
I made this for a Party on Christmas Eve and everyone LOVED IT!!! I had to make an at home 2 days later because my husband would not leave me alone until I made it. am taking it to a New Years Eve Party tonight!
Thank you for such a nice review Christy, it’s a great choice for the party tonight! Have a happy New Year’s eve!
I made this salad last night and it was awesome. I only used half of the amount of honey specified, and it was plenty sweet. I also cut up fresh pineapple and added it. Thanks for posting this.
Christina, thank you for the great review and you are welcome :).
Made this salad tonight for a football party get together. All Gator fans loved it. It’s a winner for sure. Thanks.
Thank you for the great review Mary Ann and you are welcome :).
Hi Natasha, “liquid honey”? Do I put the honey in the microwave or you buy liquid honey? Thank you.
Either of those two options you mentioned should work.
Hi Natasha,
I plan on making this beautiful fruit salad for my daughters 1st Birthday. Her party is at 4PM and I would like to make this salad as early in the day as I can but obviously trying to avoid the fruits from turning brown. What would you suggest the earliest I try and make the salad so that the colors stay and don’t turn?
P.S.-Thanks for the recipe!
It will look it’s best for 2 hours. After about 3 hours, it’s not as vibrant but still isn’t really browning because of the lemon juice. Keep in mind, you don’t want to make it too early if it won’t be eaten right away. If you want it to keep a little longer, try substituting the orange juice for lime juice which will work better to preserve the fruit (check out this version: https://natashaskitchen.com/2012/04/19/fruit-salad-with-citrus-and-honey/
Wow…this looks delicious! Thank you so much for sharing!
You’re so welcome 🙂
Hi Natasha 🙂 just wondering if I can use juice from mandarins instead of orange because I have a lot of them?
Yes! That would work just fine 🙂
This is the most aesthetic fruit sald I have seen lol!!
Thank you! 🙂
Wow Natasha! This looks so beautiful! This is the definition of deliciously healthy! It looks so fresh! Yummy!
Thank you so much Maureen 🙂 It sure is a healthy and guilt-free treat 🙂
Oh what a colorful bowl! Love the dressing!
Thank you so much Marina. I picked up the bowl in Home Goods in California 🙂
This fruit salad looks absolutely gorgeous! I love how pretty all of the different fruit is on there. Plus it’s so simple! I would love to have a family member like you to bring this to my celebrations!
Are you that family member in your family, being the foodie and all? 😉
Fruits are my favorite dessert, we need more healthier options at all of these upcoming summer/spring parties! I love the colors in this photo 🙂 You guys are an amazing food team!
So true! Spring and summer are definitely the party seasons :). Thanks so much Katy 🙂 We love working together.
do you have any good cheese paska recipe? i always wondered how did it taste….love your site btw 😀
We might be calling different things paska. Can you describe what you’re talking about? I call this paska: https://natashaskitchen.com/2013/03/23/paska-easter-bread-recipe-kulich/
i was talking about something like this:
Hi Joe, the closest thing I have is this farmers cheese cake: https://natashaskitchen.com/2013/10/26/farmers-cheese-chocolate-cake/
So pretty! Nature’s candies are the prettiest! I love adding chia seeds to my fruit salads – health benefits with a crunch.;)
Chia seeds are a great idea! Thanks for sharing! 🙂
So AMAZING is what I have left to say. I love how this recipe is all fruits and very healthy. I know this is a definite must-try. Thanks for all these truly amazing recipes you share with us Natasha:) I truly love you blog and get inspired to cook more and more. I’m only 16 and still in the learning process. To be honest,I don’t like to cook/bake but you inspire me so much, so thank you is what I’m trying to say:)
I’m so happy to hear you say that. Thank you for your super sweet comment. I am inspired by what you wrote! 🙂
My aunt makes a similar fruit salad except she adds a can of lychees and the syrup they’re in! So delicious! But I plan on trying your salad for sure. Poppy seeds are a brilliant idea!
I’ve never heard of lychees. I had to look it up. What do they taste like? They look really interesting. Also, where do you find them?
I’m not sure how to describe the taste, lol. They are very sweet and juicy, though, with a nice creamy texture. You can usually find them in any international foods store or asian supermarket. If you can find some near you they’re worth getting and just trying on their own!
I’ll have to try them if I find them. They sound so exotic! thanks Rosa 🙂
Plate of rainbow! So beautiful and 100% my kind of food 🙂 Love the simple syrup you included. Our farmers market opened last week and can not wait to get my hands on some fresh produce. Hope you’re enjoying your time with your little one and she’s letting you sleep a little 🙂
I should check to see when our farmers market opens also. However I am most looking forward to my Moms garden and all the yummy berries and fruit and veggies that it produces. Hopefully I’ll be able to help her with the planting this year. Thanks Katya! She sleeps pretty well and I feel like I have a whole lot more patience this time around 😉
Beautiful! Do you know about how many servings this would be?
At a party, it’s enough for about 20 people if there is a good variety of sweets and fruit. Normally, it would serve 8-10.
Great colors, awesome idea. Thank you.
Thank you Vera 🙂
Yum! That fruit salad looks delicious! Nothing wrong to go for a seconds with such a healthy desert. Right? 🙂
Absolutely! It’s totally guilt free. I refilled at least 3 times 🙂