Fresh Fruit Salad with Poppy Seed Dressing, Vegan

Fresh Fruit Salad is made with fresh pineapple, cantaloupe, blackberries, strawberries, and kiwis, tossed together with sweet and tangy homemade vegan poppy seed dressing. This fruit salad is easy to make, easily adaptable to use your favorite fruits, and will be a delicious side dish on your brunch or special dinner table.

There is honestly nothing quite as refreshing as fruit salad made with your favorite fresh fruits of the season. This fruit salad recipe includes seasonal summer fruits and is topped with my favorite creamy fruit salad dressing – savory and sweet vegan poppy seed dressing!

Of course, nowadays you can source fresh summer fruits almost any time of the year. If you are not opposed to using fruit out of the local growing area, you can bring all the flavors of summer onto your table any time of the year.

This is one of my favorite fruit salad recipes! I used the summer favorites fruits I like best in this fresh-tasting summer fruit salad recipe but you can easily adapt it to use your favorite fruits too.

For a savory poppy seed dressing salad with more of a fall flair, you’ll want to try fall pasta salad with sweet potatoes, cranberries, and poppy seed dressing.

Reasons to love this perfect fruit salad recipe

• easy adaptable to use the fruits you can find and like best
• a lovely and delicious side dish for your breakfast or brunch buffet
• You can have summer fruit salad any time of the year
• colorful
• creamy poppy seed fruit salad dressing with a terrific blend of flavors that goes perfectly with practically any kind of fruit
• vegan dressing, dairy-free and egg-free

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Ingredients needed to make fresh fruit salad with poppy seed dressing

Remember, this recipe is easily adaptable to use almost any fruit. You will need a total of 14 cups of fruit. The following are my suggestions for fruit and the measurements I used. They really work for this fresh fruit salad and are super tasty too!

fresh fruit

• 5 cups fresh pineapple chunks
• 4 cups cantaloupe chunks
• 3 cups strawberries quartered
• 3 kiwi peeled, halved, sliced
• 1 cup blackberries

Poppy Seed fruit salad Dressing

• granulated (white) sugar, I use organic
• white wine vinegar
• sea salt
• dry mustard powder
• onion powder
• avocado oil, or use a light-flavored vegetable oil of choice
• poppy seeds

How to make this colorful flavorful summer fruit salad recipe

Making your own refreshing summer fruit salad is easy to do. Just select your fruits, wash and cut, make your poppy seed dressing, and then right before serving, gently toss

Step 1: Make the poppy seed dressing

Poppy seed dressing is definitely not a simple dressing with its complexity of flavors. It is certainly a simple dressing to make!

You can make the poppy seed dressing a few days in advance of your special event. Just whisk together before using.

Put the sugar, vinegar, sea salt, dry mustard powder, and onion powder into a blender. Blend until smooth – about 30 seconds.

Use the add-in hole in the top of your blender lid and slowly add the oil while the dressing is blending. It will get thick and creamy.

Stir in the poppy seeds. You don’t want to blend them in – especially if you are using a high-speed blender. For aesthetic reasons, it’s better for the poppy seeds to be whole.

You can put your prepared poppy seed dressing in a covered small bowl or jar with a lid and keep it in the refrigerator until ready to use. I usually prepare mine the night before because I have plenty more to do the day I’m making and serving my special meal. Just give it a good whisk before adding to the prepared fruit.

Step 2: Selecting the best fruit

It’s important that when you are choosing fruits, you select fruit at the utmost freshness and ripeness. I have given suggestions in the recipe card for my favorite fruit choices. You can substitute in fruits of your choice.

Some other fruits that might be accessable in other seasons include:

• green grapes or red grapes
• peaches or nectarines
• blueberries
• raspberries
• apples (brush with a little lemon juice or lime juice)
• oranges
• bananas (But if you do use bananas then slice in just before serving to avoid the bananas turning brown and mushy. You can also brush with a little lemon juice)
• other melons

Can I use frozen fruit?

I think this depends on the quality and texture of your frozen fruit once it’s thawed. If your thawed fruit is as plump and juice as the fresh fruit would be then there is no reason why not.

Can I use canned fruit?

I think mandarin oranges would work well in this fruit salad recipe. I also think that canned pineapple chunks would be fine as well. If you are not able to find fresh good pineapple, then I’d definitely sub in canned.

Step 3: Prepare the fruit

Wash well and pat dry. It’s important that your fruit is not wet before adding the poppy seed dressing or it will get watery. This is also the time to cut out any damaged or dark spots. You want the fruit you use to be of the best quality.

Cut the fruit into small bite-sized chunks. You don’t want the chunks to be so large that you need to take a fork and knife to a piece before putting it in your mouth.

A small cheat I use is to buy my fruit precut from the fresh produce section. Sometimes I have to cut the larger pieces down to size. But that cuts out much of the prep, wash, and cut times.

Add the cut fruit to a large bowl and get ready to toss the delicious dressing. You can prepare the fruit salad a couple of hours in advance of serving, but do wait to add the dressing (and bananas and apples if you are using them) till right before serving.

Step 4: Drizzle, Toss, and serve

Right before serving, drizzle the poppy seed mixture over the prepared fruit and toss gently to evenly coat. Don’t just dump the whole thing in. This recipe makes about two cups – which is a lot. You can always add more, but it will be challenging to take some away!

Place this beautiful fruit salad in a prominent spot on your buffet or dinner table. Serve immediately for best taste and texture. Portion any leftovers into single-serving containers and refrigerate. It *might* last a day or two in your fridge.

For more delicious vegan side dish and salad recipes, try

• Creamy Brussles Sprouts in the Instant Pot
• AIr Fryer Smoky Maple Glazed Brussels Sprouts
• Corn Casserole in the slow cooker
• Veggie Salad with Tahini Dressing
• Vegan Potato Salad
• Slow Cooker Mashed Potatoes with Garlic, Sour Cream, and Chives

The printable recipe card for Fresh Fruit Salad with Vegan Poppy Seed Dressing