Italian Fruit Salad

Name: Italian Fruit Salad Recipe
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 35 min
Ingredients: 1 lb strawberries (trimmed and quartered.); 11 oz blueberries; 6 oz raspberries; 2 bananas (peeled and diced into cubes); 2 tbsp. fresh lemon juice; 2 tbsp. cane sugar or to taste; Optional: I used whipped cream as a garnish

This Italian fruit salad, also known as Macedonia di frutta, is a perfect light fresh fruit dessert for any time of the year. Once you try it, you are going to love it!

Italian fruit salad is served in two glass cups and garnished with whipped cream.

Looking for a light delicious nutritious dessert that is simple, easy, and quick to make? Then my family’s favorite Italian fruit salad is just what you need! Simply mix a variety of chopped seasonal fruits and marinate them in a simple dressing made with fresh lemon juice and sugar and serve it any time of the year!

And the best part is this colorful homemade sweet treat made with a variety of seasonal fruits is full of vitamins and minerals and not only bulk of calories in the usual heavy desserts. It is so refreshing and satisfying.

This fruit salad has elements of freshness, sweetness, crunch, and juiciness! Thanks to the lemon juice and sugar dressing that makes ordinary store-bought fruits to an extraordinarily delicious treat.

Table of Contents

What is it?

It is a common Italian fruit salad made with seasonal fruits dressed in lemon and sugar sorbet.

How to prevent it from going brown?

The best way to prevent the fruit salad from going brown is to use citric acid in lemon juice. Simply coat the chopped fruits with lemon juice to slow down the oxidation process and preserve the fruit colors.

lemon juice is especially necessary when you use bananas in your fruit salad. Or simply add freshly chopped banana while serving fruit salad.

I recommend making the fruit salad a couple of hours in advance and not for too long ahead in order to preserve the quality, freshness, and taste of chopped fruits.

Ingredients

Fruits. I used berries (strawberries, raspberries, and blueberries) to make the spring-summer version of this fruit salad. Use any other seasonal fruits of your choice. Fall and winter fruits make a perfect salad too.
Banana. Add a perfectly sweet taste and creamy texture to the fruit salad.
Lemon. Use fresh lemon juice. Lemon juice keeps the fruit salad fresh and prevents it from oxidizing/ browning. Also, lemon juice enhances the flavor of the fruit salad.
Sugar. Sugar softens the fruits, draws out their juices, and makes the salad juicy. Use any type of sugar or sweeteners you like. Honey works too. If fruits are already sweet enough, you can skip the sugar.
Toppings. Optional. I garnish the fruit salad with whipped cream. Ice cream and nuts and seeds are other great options.

How to Make Italian Fruit Salad

Follow along with my easy instructions to see how to make my delicious Italian fruit salad in your own kitchen!

Step 1. Prepare the fruits. Wash and pat the fruits dry. Cut them into small bit size pieces. Place them into a large bowl.

Berries and banana are chopped for the salad and added in a bowl.

Step 2. Coat the fruits with sugar. Sprinkle the sugar over the fruits and toss or mix the fruits gently.

Sugar is added and tossed in the fruits.

Step 3. Add the fresh lemon juice. Add the lemon juice to the fruits and mix the fruits gently. Lemon juice starts to melt the sugar. and then both work to extract fruit juice.

Step 4. Taste and adjust. At this point, taste the salad, if you desire more sweetness, add sugar to the salad. If the salad is already too sweet for your taste, you may add more lemon juice to balance out the sweet and sour flavor.

Step 5. Wrap and refrigerated it. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let the salad rest and chill in the fridge for a minimum of 30 minutes or till the juices are out and flavorful.

Fruit salad is wrapped and chilled in the fridge.

Step 6. Serve it. You simply serve the salad in individual serving bowls and serve it as delicious as it is. On special occasions, you may top the fruit salad with either whipped cream or ice cream. Enjoy!

Tips

Taste and adjust. The best way to create a perfect sweet-sour flavor is to taste-test it. if too sweet, add lemon juice. if too sour, add sugar to it.
Peel the fruits. If you are making other versions of this fruit salad, make sure to peel the tough skin of some fruits. This way fruit juice will be released better to create a delicious sauce.
Toss or mix gently. The goal is to incorporate lemon juice and sugar with fruits and not to make the fruit pieces mushy.
Take your daily fruits. We make this classic Italian dessert almost every day. Prepare the fruit salad while preparing the dinner. Then, it would be ready by the end of the dinner

Substitutions and variations

Use seasonal fruits. Use any fruits available in each season or use your favorite ones. The variations to this recipe are endless. Fruits examples are as follows: Apples, berries, bananas, oranges, pears, kiwi, grapes, peaches, plums, cantaloupe, mandarine, watermelon, pineapples, cherries, pomegranate, nectarine, etc.
Make tropical fruit salad. Use banana, mango, papaya, pineapple, dragon fruits, passion fruit, acai, jackfruit, starfruit, or guava.
Skip the sugar. If the fruits you use in the salad are already sweet enough, you may skip the sugar. Or adjust the amount and type of sugar to your preference.
Blend the fruit salad. You can simply blend the fruit salad into a smoothie or add ice to it and make a slushie. You may even turn it into popsicles.
Add lemon zest. Just a pinch of lemon zest will add lots of fragrance to the salad.
Make lemon sorbet. You may also mix the sugar, lemon juice, and some lemon zest. Then add them all to the fruits.
Make honey lime dressing. Simply substitute sugar and lemon with honey and lime in the recipe.
Make the fruit salad ahead. You can make this fruit salad a day before. The longer the diced fruits sit in the dressing, the more fruit juices will be released.
Use other garnish. Nuts, seeds, or herbs (mint, dill, thyme, basil) are great options.
Make creamy fruit salad. Mix in some Greek yogurt, cottage cheese, or sour cream when serving.
Use canned fruits. Although fresh is always best, you can opt for canned fruits to make fruit salad.

How to store fruit salad

Store the Macedonia di frutta in an airtight container in the fridge for 2 days. You may use the leftover in your morning smoothie, yogurt, or oatmeal.

How to serve it

This Macedonia di frutta is the best dessert for any time of the year. Prepare it with seasonal fruits and serve it as a delicious dessert to end a meal. Or serve it as a sweet treat for a snack.

Completed recipe is served in a bowl and topped with whipped cream.

I hope you get to love this healthy low calories dessert as much as we do. Make this year-round to serve it to kids and adults alike. All are going to love it. It is so delicious and refreshing!

Did you make this recipe? Let me know how you did it. I love to hear from you!

Please rate, comment, and share this recipe on Pinterest. Thank you!

FAQs

What is Italian Macedonia di frutta?

It is a common Italian fruit salad made with seasonal fruits dressed in lemon and sugar sorbet.

Why is it called Macedonia di frutta?

There are different populations (Slovenians, Turks, Albanians, Macedonian, Greeks, etc. ) who live in Balkan countries that have given derive to the Macedonia di frutta-Italian fruit salad name.