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Fruit salad with ripe seasonal fruit and naturally sweetened coconut whipped cream makes for a fresh and frisky side dish. The perfect fruit salad to bring to a picnic or barbecue!
For me, Memorial Day marks the beginning of summer even though there are still three weeks until the summer solstice.
It’s the first huge barbecuing weekend of the year, where we break out our sundresses, sangria, and steak. To me, all the aforementioned = summer.
Never look back. Never surrender.
You’re looking at one of my go-to summer side dishes: fruit salad!
This fruit salad (or as I like to call it, The Only Fruit Salad Recipe You’ll Ever Need) is PERFECT for whipping up and bringing to any picnic or barbecue.
It’s all things…
- Fresh and seasonal
- Dairy-free and vegan
- Naturally sweetened
- Super flavorful
- Ripe and zesty
What do I do to “dress” a fruit salad? Homemade coconut whipped cream, my friends.
I simply refrigerate a can of full-fat coconut milk for a few hours (overnight works, too), scoop out the hardened flesh, and stick it in a stand mixer along with honey, vanilla extract, AND lemon extract.
Whip those ingredients together with a pinch of sea salt, and you’re looking at the best healthy fruit salad since sliced bread. 😉
Recipe Tips:
- Be sure to refrigerate your can of coconut milk prior to preparing this recipe – the longer the better. If your coconut flesh isn’t super solid when you go to whip it, you’ll end up with a watery fruit salad (which is fine if that’s your jam).
- If you don’t have a stand mixer with the whisk attachment, no big deal! You can use a mixing bowl and a hand mixer.
Recipe Adaptations:
- Replace the honey with pure maple syrup or agave to make this recipe vegan.
- Incorporate any of your favorite in-season fruit. Did you buy a ton of blueberries and raspberries from the Farmer’s Market? Toss them in? Obsessed with all things melon? Melon to your heart’s delight. Love Banana or apple in fruit salad? In they go, amigo!
- If you don’t have fresh mint on hand, you can omit it from the recipe OR use fresh basil instead.
If you love fruit salad recipes, also try my Apple Walnut Fruit Salad and my Zesty Fruit Salad with Coconut Milk and Basil!
My cookbook, Paleo Power Bowls, is now available! CLICK HERE to check it out. Thank you for your support!
If you make this recipe, please feel free to share a photo and tag @The.Roasted.Root on Instagram!
Fruit Salad with Lemon Coconut Whipped Cream
Ingredients
Coconut Whipped Cream:
- 1 14-ounce can full-fat coconut milk, see note
- 3 tablespoons honey, to taste (or liquid sweetener of choice)
- ½ teaspoon pure Vanilla Extract
- Pinch sea salt
Fruit Salad
- 3 cups strawberries, halved
- 3 cups green grapes
- 2 cups ripe peaches, pitted and chopped (2 peaches)
- 1 cup large ripe mango, peeled and chopped (1 mango)
- Zest of 1 lemon or lime
- 3 leaves large fresh mint, finely chopped
Instructions
- Add all of the ingredients for the coconut whipped cream to a stand mixer fitted with a whisk. Start mixer on low, then gradually work up to the highest speed. Whip until very thick and fluffy.
- Add all of the fruit to a large serving bowl, along with the zest and mint.
- Stir in the coconut whipped cream and toss until everything is well-coated. Taste the fruit salad and add more honey if desired. Refrigerate until ready to serve. Store in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Like this recipe? Rate and comment below!
Approximately how many servings does this yield?
Hi Ainee! I would say 8 to 10 😀
Hey! The first ingredient of the dressing says a one ounce can and then says “14” after. Could someone clarify that for me? Thanks very much! It sounds delish!! (I’m making this for Easter, tomorrow.)
Hi Suzanne,
My apologies for the confusion! I switched recipe plugins a couple months ago, and some of my recipes translated over incorrectly (this being one of them). It should be 1 (14-ounce) can of full-fat coconut milk – I went ahead and changed the recipe so it reads correctly now 😉 Thanks so much for bringing the error to my attention, and I hope you enjoy the fruit salad! Have a happy Easter! xo
Making this again for the second time in a month! I took it to a Memorial Day cookout and it was a hit! My dad requested me to make it again for his Father’s Day cookout today. Thanks for a refreshing twist on fruit 🙂
That coconut cream sounds delicious and really adds something to this delicious fruit salad! I just want to dip all the fruit in it!
Tahitian vanilla and coconut cream —> I die. Like of drooling on myself. haha. Love this combo girl!
This sounds like a “try me out”. Will do.
Glad I am reminded of the twist mayo brings to fruit just as vanilla yogurt brings to fruit. Using both sparingly or to taste.
Oh I remember that fruit salad you posted last year with coconut cream. Such a brilliant idea. And now this one with lemon extract? Ugh, you’re killing me!
It sounds so refreshing and perfect for this warm Florida weather I’m currently enjoying.
I hope you have an awesome weekend eating all the fruits and playing in the mountains! <3
I love the color in your photos, and the salad is fresh and yummy too! This is a dressing that I can enjoy and feel good about too.
Wait…people used to put mayo in fruit salad?!?! That is horrible! Almost as bad as all the things people used to put in jello. This salad looks just right for the weekend!