Best Summer Fruit Salad Recipes to Try

Fruit is hydrating, nourishing, and delicious, and summer is the perfect time to incorporate more fresh foods. Try these summer fruit salad recipes this season!

Key Takeaways:

• Learn how to make healthy summer fruit salad recipes. 
• Find out about the health benefits of adding summer fruits to your meals and snacks. 
• Learn the best summer fruit ingredients for better health and tasty dishes. 

Follow these summer fruit salad recipes to delight your taste buds this season!

Table of Contents:

1. The Health Benefits of Summer Fruits 
2. Summer Strawberry Spinach Salad 
3. Watermelon Cucumber Feta Salad 
4. Summer Berry and Nut Salad 
5. Boost Your Health With Summer Fruit Salads

The Health Benefits of Summer Fruits 

Eating fruit in the summer goes beyond the delicious taste. Summer fruits have a variety of health benefits for you to enjoy. 

Fruits are packed with antioxidants, fiber, vitamins, minerals, and water. All of these compounds help your body function properly. 

Antioxidants combat free radical damage in your body, which can lead to rapid skin aging and other problems. Many fruits contain high levels of antioxidants. 

Berries are among the highest in antioxidants, but cherries, apples, grapes, and avocados all boast favorable levels of antioxidants, too. 

Fiber helps your food digest properly, keeping you regular and satisfied after you eat. It also slows the absorption of sugar into your bloodstream. 

It’s important to avoid sudden blood sugar spikes, as these can leave you hungrier sooner after a meal. Fiber is a great tool to combat these spikes and crashes. 

Some important vitamins and minerals found in fruit include:

• Vitamin C
• Vitamin K
• Potassium
• Magnesium 
• Vitamin A
• Zinc
• Vitamin E
• Folate
• B vitamins
• Phosphorus
• Iron
• Calcium

Your body needs all of these nutrients to carry out its proper functions and keep you healthy long-term. 

The high water content in fruit helps you stay hydrated in combination with drinking plenty of water. Fruit is well-known for replenishing fluids in your body. 

Overall, summer fruits are very healthy and part of a well-balanced diet. Here’s how you can use fruit to make tasty recipes. 

1. Summer Strawberry Spinach Salad 

Strawberry spinach salads combine two unique flavor profiles into one delicious, healthy meal. You can make this for lunch or prepare it for summer cookouts and gatherings. 

You get to customize the specific ingredients in your strawberry spinach salad. There are a few staples that most recipes include no matter what. 

The core ingredients of a strawberry spinach salad are:

• Chopped fresh strawberries
• Fresh spinach leaves
• Feta crumbles
• Red onions
• Vinaigrette (any flavor)
• Olive oil

These key ingredients combine wonderfully to produce a unique flavor that fits the bill for summer. 

If you want to add extra healthy fats to this recipe, you can throw in some walnuts, cashews, or pecans. Pecans are a popular addition to strawberry spinach salads. 

When you’re buying or making your vinaigrette, consider the flavor profile you want. 

Raspberry vinaigrette will contribute more to the fruity notes in the salad, while balsamic vinaigrette has a sharper, tangier taste. 

You can also drizzle apple cider vinegar over the salad and enjoy its various health benefits, along with a sweet-and-sour taste.

2. Watermelon Cucumber Feta Salad

Want a little bit of sweet, crunchy, and cheesy all at the same time? This watermelon cucumber feta salad will give you just that. 

You might not think to combine the flavors of these ingredients; they’re all distinct. However, this is exactly what makes this salad refreshing and healthy. 

You’ll want to dice your watermelon into reasonably-sized chunks to make them easier to eat in salad form. 

Then, dice up plenty of cucumber and sprinkle some feta cheese crumbles over the mixture, preferably in a large bowl. This will give you plenty of room to toss the salad. 

When choosing your dressing, you can simply opt for an olive oil-based dressing, go for plain oil and vinegar, or toss it in a vinaigrette. 

Try this vinaigrette if you’re unsure:

• ½ cup of red wine vinegar
• ¼ cup of olive oil
• 2 teaspoons of honey
• ¼ teaspoon of ground pepper
• Salt to taste
• Optional: 1-2 fresh mint leaves 

This vinaigrette is enough for a salad made from one medium cucumber and five cups of cubed watermelon. You can also add red onion and cubed feta cheese. 

The watermelon and cucumber in this recipe are packed with water and fiber. These both help keep you full and hydrated throughout long summer days. 

Feta cheese adds a unique, tangy taste to this salad mixture. Goat cheese is a great alternative if you don’t want to use feta, as they have similar flavors and textures. 

3. Summer Berry and Nut Salad

Berries and nuts both enrich your health in several ways. They offer micronutrients and boost certain macros to help you achieve your nutrition goals throughout the summer. 

This salad is extremely customizable. You can add almost any ingredients you want, noting the unique flavor profiles of each and incorporating your favorite foods. 

To make this salad, wash fresh berries with water and pat them dry. Chop any larger berries, like strawberries, to make them small enough for the salad mixture. 

Then, toss in chopped nuts of your choice. You can use any nuts you enjoy, but be mindful of any sensitivities you or the people eating the salad may have. 

Some good additions include:

• Strawberries
• Blueberries
• Raspberries
• Blackberries
• Walnuts
• Pecans
• Cashews
• Spanish peanuts
• Macadamia nuts 

These flavors will all blend well together, so don’t be shy — add as many as you want to your salad!

After the nuts and berries are thoroughly mixed in a bowl, add one to two cups of a yogurt of your choice. The berries will sweeten nonfat yogurt if you choose to use that. 

The combination of creamy yogurt, sweet berries, and crunchy nuts resembles a fruit and yogurt parfait. However, nuts offer more health benefits than plain granola. 

Serve this as an appetizer at a cookout or pool party, or enjoy it as a summer staple in your own fridge this year. 

Boost Your Health With Summer Fruit Salads

Take advantage of the health benefits of summer fruits this year by making delicious, flavorful salads. 

You can take them to summer events and share the delight with everyone you love. You’ll all be on the road toward better health this season!