Fruit Cocktail Salad is a simply mouthwatering blend of fresh fruit! No artificial ingredients, no fluffy whipped toppings, and no marshmallows here! Everything in this salad is good for you! Enjoy it as a nutritious dessert with cookies or as a salad alongside chicken or ham. It's easy to toss together for a last-minute occasion, and perfect for Easter. For a Christmas variation, try Christmas Fruit Salad.
I made dish this often while the kids were growing up. My adult daughter now tells me that when she was a kid visiting her friend, her friend's mother (also my good friend) served my daughter's portion before adding bananas to the rest. You see, my daughter is not a fan of bananas. According to her memory, I was not as considerate!
Ingredients
- Grapes - Choose seedless grapes, and slice large ones in half.
- Oranges - Use seedless mandarin oranges, such as clementines. Canned mandarins also work.
- Pineapple - Either fresh fruit or canned pineapple tidbits or chunks are good in this salad. See how to cut up a fresh pineapple in this Pineapple Spinach Smoothie recipe.
See recipe card for quantities.
Instructions
Empty a can of fruit cocktail into a large bowl. Core and cut up an apple or two. Stir the pieces into the fruit right away, so the juices can keep the apple from turning brown. Cut a couple spears of pineapple into chunks and add them to the fruit bowl.
Slice large grapes in half, and add the grapes to the salad.
Cut segments of mandarins in half; add to bowl.
Stir the fruit together. If you're not serving the salad right away, cover and refrigerate it at this point.
Add and gently stir sliced bananas into your fruit cocktail salad just before serving.
Hint: If you think the whole salad might not be eaten right away, consider dividing it up and adding the banana only to the part that will be eaten soon.
Storage
Apart from the banana, the rest of the salad keeps well, covered, in the refrigerator for two or three days. If there is banana in the leftovers, however, the salad is still quite edible. The banana might just be a little soft.
These ingredients don't stand up well to freezing.
More Fruit Salad Recipes
- Fruit Salad with Whipped Cream
- Christmas Fruit Salad
- Fresh Grapefruit Salad with Apple on Greens
- Strawberry Spinach Salad
Recipe
Fruit Cocktail Salad
Ingredients
- 30 ounce canned fruit cocktail undrained
- 2 small apples
- 2 spears fresh pineapple cut into chunks
- 2 cups seedless grapes
- 2 small fresh seedless mandarin oranges peeled and segmented
- 1 medium banana
Instructions
- Empty the contents of a can of fruit cocktail into a large bowl.30 ounce canned fruit cocktail
- Core unpeeled apples, and cut them into bite-size chunks. Immediately stir the pieces into the fruit cocktail, so the juice can keep the apples from darkening.2 small apples
- Cut up some pineapple into small chunks. Add to the bowl of fruit.2 spears fresh pineapple
- Cut large grapes in half. Add them to the other fruit.2 cups seedless grapes
- Peel and segment the oranges. Stir these pieces into your fruit salad. If you're not serving the salad right away, cover and refrigerate it at this point.2 small fresh seedless mandarin oranges
- Just before serving, peel the banana; slice it into chunks, and stir them into the salad.1 medium banana
Notes
- Don't drain the fruit cocktail. The juice helps to keep the apples from turning brown.
- You can make the salad ahead of time, but save the banana to add just before serving.
- Serve the salad with a slotted spoon.
VICKI GIBSON says
This recipe brought back memories. I used too make 2-3 gal every Christmas and give it away as gifts. Everyone loved it. Although everything else peeled and segmented by hand (time consuming I used crushed pineapple instead of fresh and relied on the grapes in the fruit cocktail. Also added chopped walnuts. The citrus juices keep the bananas from turning brown, and I add chopped walnuts. I've frozen this at times and when thawed it taste like it was just made! Even the walnuts come out seeming crisp. And best of all ... no darn marshmallows to gummy it all up! lol
Cathy Brak says
Thank you for taking the time to share your memories with us, Vicki. Isn’t fruit great! I’m with you on no marshmallows, too!
Gale Cox says
How many servings does the recipe make
Cathy Brak says
This recipe makes 12 fairly generous servings.