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Home » Ingredient » Fruit

Published: Feb 19, 2023 by Genevieve · This post may contain affiliate links.

Thanksgiving Fruit Salad Recipe

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Closeup of fruit salad with the words Thanksgiving Fruit Salad and the URL www.twocloveskitchen.com.
Closeup of fruit salad with the words Thanksgiving Fruit Salad and the URL www.twocloveskitchen.com.
Closeup of fruit salad with the words Thanksgiving Fruit Salad and the URL www.twocloveskitchen.com.
Closeup of fruit salad with the words Thanksgiving Fruit Salad and the URL www.twocloveskitchen.com.
Closeup of fruit salad with the words Thanksgiving Fruit Salad and the URL www.twocloveskitchen.com.
Closeup of fruit salad with the words Thanksgiving Fruit Salad and the URL www.twocloveskitchen.com.
Closeup of fruit salad with the words Thanksgiving Fruit Salad and the URL www.twocloveskitchen.com.

This delicious Thanksgiving Fruit Salad features apples, pears, grapes, oranges, and pecans tossed in a light honey and holiday spice dressing. This sweet and refreshing fall fruit salad is a wonderful side dish for the traditionally heavy Thanksgiving dinner.

Jump to Recipe - Print Recipe
A bowl of Thanksgiving fruit salad with apples, pears, grapes, oranges and pecans is shown next to gold serving utensils and a red linen.
Jump to:
  • Why You'll Love This Dish
  • What You'll Need
  • How to Make Easy Thanksgiving Fruit Salad
  • Variations
  • How to Store
  • FAQ
  • How to Serve
  • Expert Tips
  • Other Recipes You'll Love
  • 📖 Recipe
  • 💬 Comments

Why You'll Love This Dish

Most Thanksgiving recipes are fairly rich. While I love turkey and potatoes and rolls, why not add some colorful fruit to your table, too?

Made with fresh seasonal fall fruits, this Thanksgiving fruit salad recipe with an apple pie spice and honey dressing is a light and healthy addition to your holiday table. 

You can make this salad in about 10 minutes and it's ready to serve! It can also be made ahead of time so when you're short of time on Thanksgiving day, you won't have to worry about this one. Plus, kids love fruit. Make this one for the kiddos. 

This dish works as a side dish or dessert. It's my favorite way to add a mix of seasonal fruit to your holiday meal.

The labeled ingredients for Thanksgiving fruit salad sit on a white marble counter.
Labeled pecan halves in a measuring cup.

What You'll Need

Two Cloves Kitchen, as an Amazon Affiliate, makes a small percentage from qualified sales made through affiliate links at no cost to you.

  • Apples Honeycrisp apples are a personal favorite, but other varieties like Gala, Fuji, Pink Lady, and others great options.
  • Pears I've made this with Bosc and D'Anjou pears, both of which were lovely.
  • Grapes Red and green grapes are both nice.
  • Oranges I used Navel oranges both segmented and as the juice for the dressing.
  • Honey
  • Pecans I like to use pecan halves here.
  • Apple Pie Spice This is also nice with pumpkin pie spice, but my overall preference is apple pie spice.
  • Finishing Salt This is optional but so good. Maldon is my favorite variety of finishing sea salt. 

How to Make Easy Thanksgiving Fruit Salad

Sliced pears on a white cutting board.

Step One Slice the pears.

Sliced pears are chopped into bite-sized pieces.

Step Two Cut into bite-sized pieces.

Sliced apples on a white cutting board.

Step Three Slice the apples.

Sliced apples are chopped into bite-sized pieces.

Step Four: Cut into bite-sized pieces.

The peel is cut away from an orange.

Step Five Slice the peel away from the orange.

Orange segments on a white cutting board.

Step Six Cut the orange into segments. Cut into smaller bite-sized pieces if needed.

Honey, orange juice, and apple pie spice are mixed in a measuring cup.

Step Seven Mix together the dressing.

A Thanksgiving fruit salad it dressed with honey, apple pie spice, and orange juice.

Step Eight Add the fruit and pecans to a large bowl, drizzle with dressing, mix, sprinkle with salt, and serve.

Variations

  • You can try walnuts in place of the pecans here.
  • Try mandarin oranges in place of navel oranges.
  • Add some dried cranberries, pomegranate seeds, or cherry for a pop of flavor and color.
  • Add a squeeze of lemon juice for a more tart citrus dressing.
  • Swap the honey for brown sugar for a sweeter dressing, or top with whipped cream.

How to Store

Fridge Fruit salads typically taste best when eaten within 3 days, but will be OK to eat up to 5 days later. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

Freezer I do not recommend freezing this dish.

A closeup of Thanksgiving Fruit Salad with grapes, pears, apples, oranges, and pecans.

FAQ

What fruit is served at Thanksgiving?

Fall fruits are wonderful with Thanksgiving dinner - apples, grapes, and pears are great choices. While oranges are more of a winter crop, the citrus note they add to the salad is a welcome addition. 

How do you keep fruit salad from turning brown?

Adding citrus juice to fruits will prevent them from browning, Just a bit of lemon juice on the cut portions of apples and pears will keep them from turning brown.

Can you make this fruit salad for a crowd?

Of course! Just double (or triple, or more!) your fruit and dressing ingredients to make this recipe for more guests. Likewise, you can make a smaller batch by only using half of the fruit and dressing recommended.

How to Serve

This fruit salad is great with traditional Thanksgiving dishes. 

Try a roast turkey or Christmas Roast Chicken, with delicious mashed potatoes, a helping of Garlicky Sautéed Cruciferous Crunch, and some sage and bacon stuffing with a side of fluffy biscuits!

Expert Tips

  • You can make this salad a few hours ahead of time. To prevent the apples and pears from browning, you can brush them with a bit of lemon juice. 
  • If you're not sure your oranges have enough juice to produce a ½ cup, have extra oranges or a carton of orange juice on hand.
  • This salad is best kept refrigerated prior to serving. 

Other Recipes You'll Love

In the mood for more fruit? Try these!

Breakfast Fruit Salad

Air Fryer Baked Apples

Air Fryer Pears

Peach Cobbler Nachos

📖 Recipe

A closeup of Thanksgiving Fruit Salad with grapes, pears, apples, oranges, and pecans.

Thanksgiving Fruit Salad Recipe

This delicious Thanksgiving Fruit Salad features apples, pears, grapes, oranges, and pecans tossed in a light honey and holiday spice dressing. This sweet and refreshing fall fruit salad is a perfect side dish for the traditionally heavy Thanksgiving dinner.
5 from 46 votes
Print Pin Rate
Course: Dessert, Fruit, Side Dish
Cuisine: American
Keyword: Easy, Easy Recipe, Easy Side, Quick, Quick Dessert
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 10 minutes
Servings: 8 servings
Calories: 166kcal
Prevent your screen from going dark

Equipment

  • Large Bowl
  • Kitchen Knife

Ingredients

Fruit Salad

  • 2 medium apples Honeycrisp, Pink Lady, or other sweet and tart variety
  • 2 medium pears Bosc or D'Anjou
  • 1 navel orange
  • ½ bunch grapes
  • 1 cup pecan halves
  • finishing salt like Maldon sea salt flakes, to taste

Dressing

  • ½ cup orange juice from 1 navel orange
  • 1 tablespoon apple pie spice
  • 1 tablespoon honey

Instructions

  • Chop the fruit into bite-sized pieces. Add the fresh fruit to a large bowl. Grapes can be left whole or sliced in half.
  • Create the dressing, Add the orange juice, apple pie seasoning, and honey to a container and thoroughly combine.
  • Drizzle the dressing over the fruit salad, mix well, sprinkle with finishing salt, and serve.

Notes

General
  1. You can make this salad a few hours ahead of time. To prevent the apples and pears from browning, you can brush them with a bit of lemon juice. 
  2. If you're not sure your oranges have enough juice to produce a ½ cup, have extra oranges or a carton of orange juice on hand.
  3. This salad is best kept refrigerated prior to serving. 
Storage
  1. Fridge This salad is best when eaten within 3 days, but will be OK to eat up to 5 days later. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
  2. Freezer I do not recommend freezing this dish.

Nutrition

Calories: 166kcal | Carbohydrates: 23g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 9g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 3g | Monounsaturated Fat: 5g | Sodium: 2mg | Potassium: 232mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 16g | Vitamin A: 124IU | Vitamin C: 23mg | Calcium: 31mg | Iron: 1mg

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Sue says

    February 22, 2023 at 11:24 am

    5 stars
    This fruit salad really is the perfect way to lighten up the Thanksgiving menu. Delicious!

    Reply
    • Genevieve says

      March 05, 2023 at 5:15 pm

      Thanks Sue!

      Reply
  2. Shilpa says

    February 22, 2023 at 10:20 pm

    5 stars
    This is a lovely fruit salad and is so good.

    Reply
    • Genevieve says

      March 05, 2023 at 5:15 pm

      I'm glad you enjoyed it! Thank you.

      Reply
  3. Ksenia says

    February 23, 2023 at 10:54 am

    5 stars
    The bursts of flavor from the grapes were lovely, and I appreciated how they went with the pecans. A very unique and delicious salad.

    Reply
    • Genevieve says

      March 05, 2023 at 5:15 pm

      Thanks so much, Ksenia!

      Reply
  4. Kris says

    February 23, 2023 at 4:40 pm

    5 stars
    This was truly the best fruit salad we've ever had! The spices and honey really made it for us. Already can't wait to make it again!

    Reply
    • Genevieve says

      March 05, 2023 at 5:14 pm

      That's so good to hear! Thank you, Kris!

      Reply
  5. Jenn says

    March 01, 2023 at 5:11 am

    5 stars
    Loved this! Forget Thanksgiving, I want this salad all year long! I loved the toasted pecans in it. Yum!

    Reply
    • Genevieve says

      March 05, 2023 at 5:11 pm

      Haha, me too! Thanks so much, Jenn!

      Reply

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Hi, I'm Gen! Welcome to Two Cloves Kitchen. I am a certified professional cook, lifelong recipe creator, writer, editor, and food lover. I use my culinary knowledge to teach you how to utilize your ingredients and equipment to their fullest potential, turning ordinary meals into something exciting with bold, fresh, innovative ideas and flavors.

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