Thanksgiving Fruit Salad Recipe
This Thanksgiving Fruit Salad is a vibrant and refreshing side dish featuring a medley of fresh apples, oranges, grapes, dried cranberries, and toasted pecans, all tossed in a zesty citrus-spiced dressing. Perfectly balanced with sweet and tart flavors, this salad adds a colorful and healthy touch to your holiday feast.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Total Time: 20 minutes
- Yield: 8 servings 1x
- Category: Salad
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
Scale
Fruit
- 2 medium green apples
- 2 medium red apples
- 1 cup grapes
- 3 medium navel oranges
Dried Fruit and Nuts
- ¾ cup dried cranberries
- 1 cup pecans
Dressing
- ½ cup orange juice
- ¼ cup white sugar
- ¼ tsp apple pie spice
- Zest of 1 lemon
- Zest of 1 orange
- 1 medium lemon (juiced)
Instructions
- Toast pecans: Preheat oven to 350°F. Spread pecans on a baking sheet and place in the oven while it heats. Remove pecans as soon as you can smell them, approximately when the oven reaches temperature. Let pecans cool completely.
- Prepare dressing: In a small saucepan, combine orange juice, white sugar, apple pie spice, lemon zest, and orange zest.
- Simmer dressing: Place saucepan over medium heat and whisk to combine ingredients. Bring to a low boil, then simmer gently for 3-4 minutes to meld flavors.
- Strain and cool dressing: Pour the mixture through a fine mesh strainer to remove zest and spices. Allow the dressing to cool completely.
- Prepare apples: Core and slice both green and red apples into bite-sized pieces. Toss them with juice from half a lemon to prevent browning.
- Prepare oranges: Peel the navel oranges, removing all white pith, and cut into bite-sized pieces.
- Combine fruits and nuts: In a large bowl, mix the prepared apples, dried cranberries, toasted pecans, grapes, and orange pieces.
- Toss with dressing and serve: Drizzle the cooled citrus dressing over the fruit mixture and toss gently to coat. Serve immediately for a fresh, vibrant salad.
Notes
- To prevent apple slices from browning, toss them in fresh lemon juice immediately after cutting.
- Toast pecans carefully, as nuts can burn quickly once you start to smell them.
- This salad is best served fresh but can be chilled for up to 2 hours before serving.
- Feel free to substitute pecans with walnuts or almonds if preferred.
- The apple pie spice in the dressing adds a warm holiday flavor but can be omitted if unavailable.
Keywords: Thanksgiving fruit salad, holiday salad, citrus dressing, toasted pecans, apple cranberry salad
Find it online: https://foodiecara.com/thanksgiving-fruit-salad-recipe/