I enjoy making fruit salad since it may serve as a quick and healthy snack, sweet ending to a meal, or even a light morning meal. When combined with fruit juice, the vanilla pudding creates a stunning sauce, which is why I adore this dish so much. Fruit salad goes from ordinary to extraordinary with this simple addition.
The vanilla pudding thickens the fruit liquid to a drizzleable consistency, coating each piece of fruit and retaining all of the fruit’s natural tastes. In our household, this would not last long. My daughter enjoys it in the morning with Greek yogurt and oats, while my son and husband prefer it on ice cream, angel food cake, or pound cake, and I enjoy the ease of just putting some in a bowl and topping it with whipped cream.
I think lemon zest is essential, but lime zest can also work in this recipe, because it gives the dish a refreshingly tangy note.
At any gathering, whether a potluck, picnic, or dinner party, this dish will be a huge hit.
Ingredients
2 cups of cut strawberries
Two 15-ounce cans of sliced peaches; one can with the liquids reserved, the other drained
Two sliced bananas One green or red apple, cored and chopped One can of mandarin orange segments (11 ounces) drained
Ingredients: 1 1/2 cups cleaned blueberries 1 1/2 cups washed and halved purple grapes 1 lemon
The equivalent of three tablespoons of quick vanilla pudding mix (regular or sugar free)
Instructions:
Lemon zesting.
The juice from one of the peach cans should be collected in a big basin. Separate a bowl for the peaches.
Combine the liquid and vanilla pudding mix (3 tbsp).
Empty the remaining peaches, mandarin oranges, and pineapple chunks from the can. (Juice is optional with these other canned fruits.)
Mix in all the fruit and the lime zest to the pudding. Gentle mixing is recommended.
Serve at room temperature after chilling for at least 30 minutes.
Notes
Use whatever fruits you have on hand; when they’re in season, my favorites are raspberries and blackberries. Sprinkle in some coconut flakes, if you like.
If you have access to fresh fruit, use it instead of canned. The liquid from one can of fruit should be set aside and used to flavor the pudding. However, if you’re using fresh peaches, you can use any fruit you like.
• To keep fresh peaches from browning, peel them and toss with a splash of lemon or lime juice.
Options for serving include dousing ice cream, angel food cake, or pound cake with it, or spooning it over the dessert.
• Reserve the juice from another can of fruit and add in 3 tablespoons of vanilla pudding mix if you’d like extra sauce to spread (it soaks into angel food cake beautifully).
You can swap out the lemon zest for lime zest. The two together create a delicious citrusy flavor.
Wait to add the bananas if you plan on cooking this ahead of time to prevent them from turning brown and becoming soggy.
If you can’t get vanilla pudding, any other flavor will do. Banana pudding is delicious, and I’ve tried it.