5 Easy Fruit Salad Dressing Recipes

Dress your fruit salad up with different kinds of fruit salad dressings. They can be creamy or clear and sweet or zesty. Try them all and find a new favorite!

Fruit Salad Dressings

From A to Z and apples to zesty oranges, fruit salad can be made so many different ways. 

While changing up the fruit you use is definitely a great way to mix up the flavor, so is adding a fruit salad dressing recipe into the mix. 

If you haven't been dressing your fruit salads, you are missing out on a big way to add moisture and complexity to this simple, sweet side dish. 

Let's delve into some of the best fruit salad dressings to try. Any of these would be a big hit, so you might find a new favorite! 

Why You'll Love These Recipes

Fruit salad is so much better with a dressing! Here's why you'll love them: 

• Fruit salad dressings will make your fruit salads memorable. Everyone will want the recipe!
• Dressings add moisture, complexity and layers of flavor to any easy fruit salad recipe.
• Most fruit salad dressings are easy to make, instantly elevating any seasonal fruit salad.

1. Yogurt

Yogurt fruit salad is one of my favorites. Plain Greek yogurt is my go-to for fruit salad. Just as I love a yogurt bowl with granola for breakfast, the thick, creamy dressing of yogurt makes for a delicious addition to fruit salad.

You can also use regular yogurt for this yogurt fruit salad, as it's a bit thinner. Flavored yogurt, like vanilla yogurt, is also tasty, as it adds a layer of sweetness. Non-dairy yogurt could also work for a vegan option. Feel free to flavor plain yogurt with vanilla extract or sweeten it with brown sugar or honey for a delicious fruit salad dressing with more flavor.

2. Whipped Cream

Similarly, whipped cream is a delicious addition to fruit salad. Whipped cream fruit salad is light, fluffy and oh-so-sweet. 

It's a great way to elevate fruit salad for a special meal like brunch or a holiday. (We love it in this Christmas fruit salad, a creamy fruit salad recipe — my husband likes to add Snickers bars too!)

Homemade whipped cream is easy to make and makes the salad taste fresher. That said, frozen whipped topping like Cool Whip and Truwhip also work well. 

If you need a non-dairy option, coconut whipped cream is a great vegan choice. It tastes especially good with tropical fruits like mango, kiwi and fresh pineapple. 

3. Orange Juice

Fresh citrus juice helps to brighten the flavor of other types of fruit. It also helps certain fruits, like apples and pears, from turning brown. 

Lemon juice, grapefruit juice and lime juice are great for this, but they're not great fruit salad dressings on their own. Lemon and lime are too sour, and grapefruit too bitter. 

Orange juice, however, is a delicious balance of sweet and tart, perfect for pairing with most fruits. I love this simple dressing in a basic fruit salad. Fresh OJ is best, though, so if you have the time, juice your own. You can also try substituting pineapple juice for a summer fruit salad. 

4. Honey Lime Dressing

Lime juice is too tart on its own to make a good dressing for many a combination of fruits, but when mixed with honey it's so tasty. It's the best way to bring out the tanginess of your favorite fruits in your salad.

For a plant-based option, use agave nectar, simple syrup or maple syrup. In fact, maple syrup is the base of the dressing in my Thanksgiving fruit salad. It brings its lovely seasonal flavor into the mix. 

You can also use this dressing to add in lemon zest, ground cinnamon or fresh herbs for more flavor. Fresh mint is delicious in this Mexican fruit salad, adding a bright flavor into the mix. 

Or switch out some of all of the lime juice for lemon or orange juice. This winter fruit salad is so good too, with its mix of lime juice, orange juice and honey. 

5. Poppy Seed Dressing

If you want to add some more texture to your fruit salad, you can always add some chopped nuts or seeds. Pomegranate arils, too. 

But poppy seed dressing is another way to do it. While you can buy this dressing at the grocery store, this sweet fruit salad dressing is easy to make with lemon juice, honey, mayonnaise and poppy seeds. It adds a lot of the creaminess and zestiness of other dressings but with a tangy flavor and a slight crunch from the poppy seeds. 

Which one is your favorite? Leave a comment below and let us know.