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This easy Fruit Salad Dressing recipe is a delicious way to elevate your next bowl of fruit or summer salad. Itโs a simple blend of orange juice, lemon zest, and honey, and it really makes the flavors of fresh fruit pop.
Just to state the obvious, fruit salad does not NEED a dressing; itโs fine on its own. Fruit is naturally sweet and full of flavor, and you donโt ever need to add a dressing.
However, I like to add fruit salad dressing when I serve fruit salad at parties. People have fruit at home all the time, and even fruit salad. But a simple, citrus-honey dressing like this one is a simple way to put my special twist on a predictable, albeit naturally delicious, bowl of fruit.
Itโs surprising and unexpected and really pulls the dish together. It transforms your โbowl of fruitโ into a true โfruit salad.โ
Table of Contents
Recipe ingredients
At a Glance: Here is a quick snapshot of what ingredients are in this recipe.
Please see the recipe card below for specific quantities.
Ingredient notes
- Honey:ย Maple syrup (not pancake syrup) and agave nectar also work.
- Lemon zest:ย Youโre aiming to zest just the colored portion, not the more-bitter white pith.ย Here are four different ways to zest a lemon.
Step-by-step instructions
- In a small bowl whisk together honey, orange juice, and lemon zest.
- Drizzle over fruit and refrigerate for 1 hour before serving to meld flavors.
Recipe tips and variations
- Yield: This recipe makes ยฝ cup dressing, enough to dress 1 fruit salad or make 4 servings, 2 tablespoons each.
- Storage: Store leftover dressing covered in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
- Make ahead: The dressing can be made up to 3 days in advance. Stir or shake to recombine before using.
- Make it your own: Customize your salad dressing as you see fit. Swap in lime zest for the lemon juice, use sugar instead of honey, or add a teaspoon of poppy seeds.
Recipe FAQs
There are several ways to zest a lemon, but the easiest way is with a microplane grater: Hold the grater in one hand and the lemon in the other over a cutting board or clean work surface. Going in one direction, push the lemon away from you across the rough side of the grater, removing the colorful part of the fruit, exposing the pith. Gently rotate the lemon as you go, to get all of the zest you can from each fruit. The zest might stick to the underside of the grater; just give it a tap and it will fall off.
Store leftover fruit salad dressing covered in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
More DIY salad dressings
Salad Dressing Recipes
Red Wine Vinaigrette
Salad Dressing Recipes
Poppyseed Dressing
Salad Dressing Recipes
Balsamic Vinaigrette
Salad Dressing Recipes
Homemade Italian Dressing
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Fruit Salad Dressing
Ingredientsย
- 1/4 cup honey (see note 1)
- 1/4 cup orange juice
- 1 tablespoon lemon zest (see note 2)
Instructionsย
- In a small bowl whisk together honey, orange juice, and lemon zest. Drizzle over fruit and refrigerate for 1 hour before serving to meld flavors.
Recipe Video
Notes
- Honey:ย Maple syrup (not pancake syrup) and agave nectar also work.
- Lemon zest:ย Youโre aiming to zest just the colored portion, not the more-bitter white pith.ย Here are four different ways to zest a lemon.
- Yield: This recipe makes ยฝ c. dressing, enough to dress 1 fruit salad or make 4 servings, 2 Tbsp. each.
- Storage: Store leftover dressing covered in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
- Make ahead: The dressing can be made up to 3 days in advance. Stir or shake to recombine before using.
Oof, the 1/4 cup of honey was way too sweet, to the point of being cloying. Maybe over just winter apples this would work, but that was rough. No shade, but a 1/4 cup of honey to 1/4 cup orange juice seems like I am making a glaze, not a dressing. Did the amounts get posted correctly?
Hi Avie, thanks for your feedback. They are correct, maybe you were fortunate to have very sweet orange juice. You can always start with less honey, and add more to your preference, or add a little lemon juice to add some tartness. Thanks again for writing and take care! โ Meggan
I served the fruit salad along with tea sandwiches (and tea of course). Soo good. My friends asked for the recipe. Iโve made it several times since to accompany dinners: fish, pork chops and baked chicken. I must learn how to zest a lemon though!
Hi Janice, thank you so much for writing! Iโm so happy you love this salad! I wrote a tutorial on how to zest a lemon, I hope you find it helpful! https://cash-surge.live/how-to-zest-a-lemon/%3C/a%3E โ Meggan
Great easy recipe Megan! Healthy and allows for so many alternatives. I used Knudsen mega antioxidant juice for more benefits. Thanks
Youโre welcome, Cindy! Thank you! โ Meggan
Thanks Meggan for this fabulous fruit salad dressing itโs so easy to make & it gives such a beautiful flavour to the fruit everyone loved it !! ๐
Youโre welcome, Cris! Iโm so glad you loved it! โ Meggan
Best dressing ever. My husband just loves it.
Iโm so glad you both enjoy it, Deb! Take care! โ Meggan
So easy and delicious. It really elevates supermarket fruit which is often too tart.
Thank you for sharing, Meghan! Glad you enjoyed them ๐ โ Meggan
This recipe deserves 5 stars if only for the combination of being supremely quick, easy, and tasty as a dressing for a lot of fruit in the middle of the summer. In addition, itโs light, doesnโt seem too caloric, and doesnโt mask, but rather enhances, the flavors of the fruit. If youโre lucky, like me, and have a lemon tree in the yard, all the ingredients are already in the fridge and pantry.
Thank you so much for the lovely comment, Marty! Iโm so glad you loved it and found it versatile and easy to make! Take care! โ Meggan
Excellent fruit salad dressing!
Iโm so glad you loved it! Take care! โ Meggan