Fruit Cocktail Recipe

Fruit cocktail in a bowl topped with whipped cream and fresh basil.

5 from 11 votes

Fruit Cocktail Recipe

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.

Prep Time20

Cook Time5

Course: Side Dish

Cuisine: American

Servings: Servings

Calories: 119kcal

Author: Aimee Mars

Equipment

Small Saucepan

Ingredients

Syrup

1/2 cup Water
1/4 cup Sugar
1/2 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.

Nutrition