Fall Fruit Salad

This Fall Fruit Salad is everything I love about the season—crisp, juicy, and full of fall fruits. Perfect for Thanksgiving or any time you want a fresh, easy side dish, appetizer, or dessert.

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

I like to call this my Thanksgiving Fruit Salad because it’s the perfect light side dish to balance out the big meal. And those colors – WOW – excellent for fall.

It’s packed with fresh fall fruits like apples, pears, red grapes, oranges, and pomegranate seeds. I love serving it as is (no need for a dressing!), but you can drizzle a little maple syrup and add a dash of cinnamon for a cozy but fresh flavor.

This fall fruit salad recipe comes together in 15 minutes, the amount of time it takes you to chop the fruits. It’s super customizable and can be made a couple of hours ahead of time.

Serve it on your holiday table with the main meal, as an appetizer, with dessert, breakfast, or brunch! Want to serve it for Thanksgiving? I have plenty of other favorite Thanksgiving Recipes to make with it. 

Ingredients

• Apple: You’ll need just one large Honeycrisp apple chopped into bite-sized chunks. You can use your favorite apple variety. I recommend one that’s sweet-tart and crispy. Other great options are Fuji, Gala, and Cortland.
• Pear: One large or two small Bartlett pears, chopped into bite-sized chunks. Choose perfectly ripe ones. You could also use Anjou pears. Read more about how to tell when pears are ripe.
• Orange: A large Navel orange, peeled and segmented. You can substitute for your favorite type of orange like a few mandarins, blood orange, or even a Cara Cara orange.
• Grapes: Ripe, red grapes, halved. I love Holiday Grapes but use your favorite variety. You can even substitute for green grapes, but you won’t have that extra sweet flavor and pop of color.
• Pomegranate Seeds: You need half of a cup of pomegranate arils.
• Maple Syrup and Cinnamon: A drizzle of pure maple syrup (or honey) and a dash of cinnamon are completely optional.

*The full ingredient list with amounts is in the recipe card below.

How to Make Fall Fruit Salad

1. In a large bowl, gently toss the chopped apple, pear, orange slices, grapes, and pomegranate seeds until combined. If desired, drizzle with pure maple syrup and sprinkle with ground cinnamon. Toss again until fully coated.
2. Serve immediately for the best texture, or cover and refrigerate for a few hours until ready to serve.

Expert Tip: If you’re not serving it right away, squeeze some fresh lemon juice over the chopped apples and pears to prevent them from turning brown.

Variations

• Swap out the fruit. You can swap out some of these fruits for your favorites or add more! Pineapple, mandarin oranges, kiwi, blueberries, and blackberries would all work here.
• Add some nuts, seeds, or dried fruit. Add a handful of pecans, walnuts, dried cranberries, dried apricots, or pepitas (pumpkin seeds). These will add some texture and flavor.
• Use an orange dressing. Make a quick dressing with orange juice, honey or maple syrup, and a dash of pumpkin pie spice, cinnamon, or ground ginger.
• Top with mint or orange zest. For some added freshness, top with fresh mint leaves or orange zest just before serving.

Serving Suggestions

Serve this as a fruit salad for Thanksgiving, Friendsgiving, or anytime throughout the fall. It’s the perfect side dish to lighten up your Thanksgiving dinner with turkey, stuffing, and mashed potatoes.

Besides a holiday fruit salad, it’s also excellent for breakfast or brunch. Pair it with Greek yogurt and granola, or serve it as a side for bacon and eggs.

I love how versatile this salad is. It’s also great on your appetizer table with a cheese board or on your dessert table as a lighter dessert option.

Make Ahead and Storage

Make Ahead: Though it’s best served immediately, this fruit salad can be made a few hours (or up to 24 hours) in advance. Squeeze some fresh lemon juice over the chopped apples and pears to prevent them from turning brown. Store in the fridge in an airtight container until you’re ready to serve. If you’re adding maple syrup and cinnamon, add that just before serving to prevent the fruit from becoming soggy.

To Store: Refrigerate in an airtight container for up to 24 hours.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ’s)

More Holiday Fruit Recipes

• Cinnamon Applesauce
• Apple Cranberry Chicken Salad
• Cara Cara Orange and Prosciutto Salad
• Chocolate Covered Oranges

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