Nostalgic and sweet, Fruit Cocktail is bursting with a rainbow mixture of fruits combined in a sweet and tangy syrup. Make it easily using fresh or canned fruits for a delicious side dish.
Canned fruit cocktail will also remind me of elementary school lunch, but in adulthood I still love it, but now prefer to make it homemade. It makes the perfect summer side but works well at any gathering whether it’s a picnic, potluck, or holiday.
When someone asks me to bring something for a party I often lean towards easy appetizers such as a Fruit Tray that are beautiful and everyone loves them. This Fruit cocktail salad is similar and can also be served as a dessert. Just top it off with some homemade whipped cream.
Traditionally fruit cocktail is cut into small chunks, but you can also cut it into slices or however you would like. Commercial companies that made canned fruit cocktail used to use bruised or blemished fruits in the mixture, which is a good practice for home too.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Easy to make. Whether you’re serving this to guests, for a party, or just making a large batch for yourself this fruit cocktail recipe is easy to make. You can make it using fresh or canned fruits. Both are equally delicious, especially if topped with whipped cream.
- It’s very versatile. The fruits listed in this recipe can be changed up to your favorite fruits or even mixed together in a tropical or holiday combination.
- Can be made in minutes. You can toss this salad together in minutes, especially if you use canned fruits. I do recommend letting the fruits soak in the syrup for at least an hour. It will add so much flavor but is an optional step.
Ingredients Needed
Ingredient Notes
- Oranges – I like to use peeled mandarin oranges or even nectarines for this recipe, but if you’d like to save time then use canned mandarin oranges, just drain them really well.
- Pineapple Chunks – Fresh or canned pineapple works well, but fresh tends to have less juice, water, or syrup soaked into it. For this reason, it’s usually a better choice for the fruit cocktail.
- Cherries – These are best used in season, but I have found the canned sweet cherries work well too. Just make sure to rinse and drain them so they don’t stain the other fruit in the mixture.
- Basil – Use fresh basil or even mint to make the syrup, but then also use it for a garnish.
Recipe Variations
Fruit cocktail salad is a mixture of several kinds of fruits, but there is no right or wrong mix. You can use your favorite fruits or create a theme. Swap out the fruits below, but keep the syrup mixture the same.
- Tropical Fruit Cocktail – If you plan on serving this recipe during the summer try a tropical version by combining oranges, pineapple, mangos, strawberries, and kiwi. I love to top this one ff with some star fruit for a beautiful presentation.
- Mexican Fruit Cocktail – This version is great year-round and especially served with Mexican dishes. To make it mix mango, papaya, green grapes, cherries, pineapple, and honeydew melon.
- Christmas Fruit Cocktail – The holidays are a great time to serve fruit. To make a red and green-themed cocktail use cherries, strawberries, green grapes, honeydew melon, and kiwi.
How to Make Fruit Cocktail Salad
It really only takes minutes to prepare this easy fruit cocktail salad recipe and so you’ll have plenty of time to make some Sangria Iced Tea to go with it.
- Prepare the syrup. In a small saucepan heat the water, sugar, lime juice, and basil over medium heat, stirring occasionally until the sugar is dissolved. Remove the mixture from the heat and toss the basil.
- Mix the fruit. Place the mandarin oranges, cherries, pineapple, pears, and peaches into a large bowl and gently toss to mix the fruit together.
- Marinate the fruit. Pour the syrup into the bowl and again, carefully toss to combine with the fruit. Place the bowl in the fridge to chill for 20 minutes or up to 2 hours.
Additional Fruits to Add
There are many other fruit options to try and the combinations are endless. If you choose to use ones such as apples or bananas I recommend soaking them for 10 minutes in lemon juice to keep them from browning.
- Apples
- Strawberries
- Grapes
- Bananas
- Star Fruit
- Dragon Fruit
Recipe Notes and Tips
- If you use canned fruits to prepare this fruit cocktail salad recipe, then make sure you allow the fruit to drain. I recommend placing all the canned fruits into a colander or mesh sieve and letting it drain in the sink for about 20 minutes.
- When serving this salad use a slotted spoon to scoop up the fruit so you end up leaving the sweetened syrup in the bottom of the bowl. This makes for a cleaner salad.
- Allow the fruit time to marinate in the sweetened syrup. By chilling the fruit and letting it soak up the lime and basil-flavored syrup you get an even sweeter tangy flavor.
- Serving suggestions – serve this over some flavored yogurt such as vanilla or lemon yogurt, or add some fresh whipped cream on top.
- To store – place the fruit cocktail into an air-tight container and store it in the fridge for up to 3 days.
FAQS
Yes, you can cup up the fruit for a fruit salad before you plan on arranging it or serving it. If using fruits that brown easily such as apples soak them in some lemon juice before tossing them into the salad.
The main difference is in how the fruit is prepared. In a fruit salad, you’ll often have whole slices or fruits, whereas in a fruit cocktail the fruit is diced. They’re both extremely similar though.
Related Recipes
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Fruit Cocktail Recipe
Equipment
- Small Saucepan
Ingredients
Syrup
- ½ cup Water
- ¼ cup Sugar
- ½ Juice from a Lime
Fruit
- 4 to 6 Mandarin Oranges peeled or 1 can, drained
- 4 Peaches peeled and sliced, or 1 can, drained
- 1 cup Dark Sweet Cherries or 1 can, drained
- 1 cup Pineapple Chunks or 1 can drained
- 1 cup Pears peeled and sliced, or 1 can, drained
- Whipped Cream optional
Instructions
- In a small saucepan heat the water, sugar, lime juice, and basil over medium heat, stirring occasionally until the sugar is dissolved. Remove the mixture from the heat and toss the basil.
- Place the mandarin oranges, cherries, pineapple, pears, and peaches into a large bowl and gently toss to mix the fruit together.
- Pour the syrup into the bowl and again, carefully toss to combine with the fruit. Place the bowl in the fridge to chill for 20 minutes or up to 2 hours.
Notes
- If you use canned fruits to prepare this fruit cocktail salad recipe, then make sure you allow the fruit to drain. I recommend placing all the canned fruits into a colander or mesh sieve and letting it drain in the sink for about 20 minutes.
- When serving this salad use a slotted spoon to scoop up the fruit so you end up leaving the sweetened syrup in the bottom of the bowl. This makes for a cleaner salad.
- Allow the fruit time to marinate in the sweetened syrup. By chilling the fruit and letting it soak up the lime and basil-flavored syrup you get an even sweeter tangy flavor.
- Serving suggestions – serve this over some flavored yogurt such as vanilla or lemon yogurt, or add some fresh whipped cream on top.
