This winning combination of fruits drizzled with a lemon poppy seed dressing makes the best summer fruit salad you’ll ever have!

Let me introduce you to the fruit salad that everyone will rave about. We call it the triple fruit salad with lemon poppy seed dressing, but everyone else just calls it “The Best Summer Fruit Salad” because, well, it really is. Whenever we bring this to a party or a potluck, it’s always the first thing gone. People can’t resist the winning combination of pineapple, kiwi, and strawberry.
Did anyone else grow up thinking that fruit salad just meant a bunch of different kinds of fruit mixed together in a bowl? There was never any sort of dressing, and always way too much cantaloupe! Cantaloupe in a fruit salad just makes everything else taste like cantaloupe. No thanks. This is the perfect blend of our favorite summer fruit topped with an amazing lemon poppy seed dressing. Yum!
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Do I have to add sugar to the best summer fruit salad? Why is there sugar at all?
Depending on their ripeness, fruits have various levels of natural sugars. When working with acidic fruits like pineapple and strawberries, it’s a common practice to add a sweetener to provide a more balanced flavor. It’s a good idea to taste your fruit before preparing the salad to see if it may be on the sweeter side, or if it is on the more acidic side. Adding sugar or honey to a more acidic pineapple and batch of strawberries will help balance the flavor. -
How do I cut a pineapple?
Aren’t sure how to cut a pineapple? I don’t blame you. Those pokey fruits can be a beast. Pineapple cutters seem like a great idea, but pineapples come in all sorts of sizes and their cores are of varying thickness so it doesn’t always work in practice.
Lay the pineapple on its side on a large cutting board. Cut about 1/2 inch off the top and bottom (removing the large green stalk on top).
Stand the pineapple upright. Use a sharp knife to slice that unruly, pokey skin off the sides in slices. Try to leave as much of the flesh intact as possible, but remove all that nasty skin.
The core of the pineapple is usually hard and inedible. Feel around one end of the pineapple to see where that hardness begins. I usually use a dull butter knife to make a little indentation to outline the core. If you are cubing your pineapple simply cut large chunks off, leaving the hard core behind, then slice and dice into cubes. If you are creating rings, you’ll cut slices and remove the core out of each individually. -
Storage Instructions:
Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days. Make sure you are not using overripe fruit at the time of making, as the will determine just how long this will last.
Looking for other fantastic summer side dishes? You may enjoy these delicious recipes:

Watch the video below where Rachel will walk you through every step of this recipe. Sometimes it helps to have a visual, and we’ve always got you covered with our cooking show. You can find the complete collection of recipes on YouTube, Facebook Watch, or our Facebook Page, or right here on our website with their corresponding recipes.
Absolutely, hands down my favorite fruit salad! My fridge is never without it all summer long. Babies, grandbabies, hubby, friends, & me, especially me, LOVE IT! Thank you for sharing?
Love this Salad
I am only 10 and i made this salad for my family and they (me too) totally loved it
I tried this recipe today and i have to say that the fruits looked so colorful in the bowl. The poppy seeds added a beautiful look and taste to the recipe. I will give this recipe 10/10 without a doubt. Healthy and refreshing.
This is the best fruit salad ever!
SIMPLE, QUICK, BEAUTIFUL PRESENTATION & DELICOUS .
MORE COLORFUL IF YOU USE ‘GREEN’ KIWI VS GOLD.
My lady loves this salad recipe she said it one of the best she ever had.
Made it last week. Loved it more the next day but either way , awesome
This is my favorite Summer dish. I made this fruit dish for my Women group they loved it.
My friend is allergic to strawberries…what could I use instead?
I don’t recommend substitutions for the fruit in the recipe as these 3 are the best combination.
It’s just fruit! You could substitute blueberries or grapes. I’ve done it before and it is delicious!
This is great! I made it this morning and ate some at lunch. The perfect cool, light and refreshing snack on a hot August day.
I have been making this recipe for many years and I agree it is the best fruit salad around – – simple and delicious. However, I make my own simple dressing of lemon juice, honey and olive oil and poppy seed.
I am trying to stay away from sugar what would be the substute
Honey is always a great substitute for sugar.
For a safe no calorie sweetener, I would recommend monk fruit powder or erythritol (Swerve). You can find them in many of not most groceries near the sugar and other sweeteners on the baking aisle.
This is what i was looking for, I just need to decorate it little and this is perfect for tonight 🙂
For more color and appeal, I would add some mint leaves.
make a salad recipe that is worth trying. thank you for sharing tips
I also made this for my book club meeting, but used mangos instead of kiwis. Thanks for the recipes!