Put a delicious twist on your next summer gathering by serving fruit salad with lemon pudding mix. Guests will rave, as they wonder what is making the fresh fruit taste so uniquely delicious!
Original post: June 2014 | Updated: August 2024
Why This Recipe Works
Having a giant bowl of ready-to-eat fruit at my fingertips in the summer months makes me happy. This family favorite recipes makes me especially happy and here’s why:
- When my kids start to reach for an unhealthy snack, I love being able to put a bowl of fruit in front of them that they’ll gobble down.
- This is not your traditional fruit salad recipe! A yummy secret ingredient is hiding inside!
- Use different types of fruit for this delicious recipe, depending on what your family and guests enjoy most.
- This easy fruit salad recipe can be enjoyed as a solo snack, side dish or dessert for the entire family.
- Great for family gatherings, family dinner or hot days spent bbq-ing with friends.
Recipe Ingredients
Watermelon – Grab a seeded variety and purchase half, if you can. Otherwise, just reserve the remaining half for snacking.
Cantaloupe – Same as the watermelon, reserve half of the cantaloupe for salads or for snacking.
Pineapple – Don’t be intimidated by fresh pineapple! Its bumpy exterior is actually easy to cut through. Read our tutorial about cutting a pineapple without waste. To make things easier, replace fresh pineapple with canned pineapple tidbits if desired.
Strawberries – Use a paring knife to easily hull and chop fresh strawberries.
Grapes – Green grapes or red grapes can be used interchangeably. I like halving grapes for fruit salad to make it easier to get onto a fork.
Blueberries – Add blueberries last, as they are the most likely ingredient to get mushed.
Lemon – Freshly squeeze lemon juice adds such a nice fresh flavor!
Lemon pudding mix – Use dry pudding mix (instant variety) and if you’d like to cut back on the sugar but still taste the magic of this ingredient you can cut the amount used in the recipe by half.
How to Make Fruit Salad with Lemon Pudding Mix
Step 1
Cut the fruit as desired.
Throw it all in a large mixing bowl, folding in the blueberries last to avoid mashing them.
Step 2
Add juice from 1 lemon, along with the instant lemon pudding mix.
Step 3
Mix it all together and chill until ready to serve. Enjoy!
Recipe Notes
- Replace the lemon juice with lime juice for an added boost of citrus flavor.
- Make it a juicier recipe by adding up to 1/2 cup pineapple juice. This will turn it into a delicious tropical fruit salad.
- Top each serving with cool whip or a scoop of ice cream if serving as a dessert.
- To achieve less of a lemon flavor, replace lemon instant pudding with instant vanilla pudding mix to create more of a vanilla pudding fruit salad.
- Mini marshmallows add a nice touch!
- Coconut flakes add flavor and create a fun tropical vibe.
How To Cut Pineapple
If you are using pineapple in this fruit salad (and I highly recommend that you do!) and wish to avoid paying a million dollars to buy pre-cut fruit, learn How to Cut Pineapple yourself quickly and easily.
Best Fruits for Fruit Salad
Feel free to swap out the suggested types of fruits in this recipe for other varieties. Here are some suggestions:
- Sliced bananas (add these just before serving and be sure to sprinkle with lemon juice)
- Maraschino cherries
- Fruit cocktail salad from a can
- Canned fruit such as mandarin oranges or pears – drain fruits first
- Chopped mangoes or papaya
- Orange slices
- Kiwi fruit
- Pomegranate seeds
- Apples (squirt with lemon juice first)
- Peaches
- Berries such as blackberries, mulberries, strawberries, raspberries or blueberries
Can You Make Fruit Salad With Frozen Fruit
Fruit salad can be made using frozen fruit. Thaw the fruit before adding. Use a paper towel to remove excess moisture if needed!
How To Serve Fruit Salad
When serving this dish as a side dish, serve it in a large bowl with a big serving spoon and allow people to grab the amount of food they prefer.
If serving as a dessert, assemble in individual bowls before handing them to guests.
How To Store Fruit Salad
Store fruit salad in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days, or until the fruit gets mushy.
More Delicious Fruit Recipes
Homemade Fruit Rollups
No Bake Strawberry Pie
Baked Cinnamon Apple Slices
Kale Superfood Salad
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Fruit Salad With Lemon Pudding Mix Recipe
Ingredients
- 1/2 watermelon seeded and chopped
- 1/2 cantaloupe chopped
- 1 pineapple chopped
- 16 oz strawberries hulled and chopped
- 2 cups grapes halved
- 1 pint blueberries
- 1 lemon juiced
- 1/4 cup lemon pudding mix dry, instant version
Instructions
- Combine all fruit in a large bowl. Squirt the lemon juice over the top and carefully mix in the pudding mix. Chill until ready to serve.
Notes
- Replace the lemon juice with lime juice for an added boost of citrus flavor.
- Make it a juicier recipe by adding up to 1/2 cup pineapple juice. This will turn it into a delicious tropical fruit salad.
- Top each serving with cool whip or a scoop of ice cream if serving as a dessert.
- To achieve less of a lemon flavor, replace lemon instant pudding with instant vanilla pudding mix to create more of a vanilla pudding fruit salad.
- Mini marshmallows add a nice touch!
- Coconut flakes add flavor and create a fun tropical vibe.
I took this to a picnic/dinner and everyone loved it. I will make it again.
So glad it was enjoyed, Bev! It’s definitely a delicious salad I don’t make often enough.
Several people have asked this question but it was never answered. Is the pudding mix instant or cook & serve?
Instant! Thank you for clarifying Laura.
Question?? Could i put dry vanilla in without the lemon or no??
Thank you
Hi Heidi, good question! You can use water if you’d like. There’s liquid in the fruits you’re mixing, but you might need a little more to help mix the pudding in. I like the citrus component but if you don’t, that’s ok.
You print recipe button links to the wrong recipe
Thank you so much for pointing this out, Sarah! It is now corrected!!
Megan
Going to try your fruit salad this weekend for a 1st Communion. Do you know how long it stays good in the fridge? I was hoping to prep Sat and serve Sun?
Thanks!
Courtney
I would say do it same day of you want it fresher. Fruit will get to mushy/soggy (for my liking) if you let it sit over night. But maybe the lemon squeezed on it will help not do that….?
Thank you! I did not think of mushy fruit. I’ll do it early Sun 🙂
If I’m using a lemon juice concentrate, how much would you recommend adding?
Hi Madeline! Just a few small squirts will do!
Megan
Have you tried this with other fruit combos? Is there any fruit that it doesn’t taste good with?
Hi Jenni! Any fruit would work great with this twist. You can’t go wrong!!
M
Hi Marie! I use red, but green would be great, too!
Megan
What kind of grapes do you use? Green or red?
Hi Jennifer! I have never tried freezing this salad before serving. I would imagine that would work ok. Let me know if you try it! Good luck!
Megan
Just curious if you have tried freezing it before serving and if it worked? I want to make this for my sons birthday party this weekend and it is going to be crazy hot outside so I was wondering if freezing would help the fruit last longer. Or if I would just end up with a frozen lump of fruit stuck together. Thanks for the recipe!
Amber: The pudding mix doesn't make it syrupy sweet, it just gives the sweetness a hint of flavor. It is delicious!
Marilee: Either will work great!
Hope this helps, ladies!
Megan
cook and serve pudding mix or instant?
Does the pudding mix make the fruit salad really sweet and syrupy, like when you put sugar on fruit? I love fruit salad but I don't usually like it when sugar is added. I want my fruit salad to taste like fruit, not sugar!
Hi Karen! It might sound weird, but it is sooo good! It does make the fruit sweeter AND add a yummy flavor. Let it sit in the fridge for an hour and it's SO GOOD! Enjoy. 🙂
Megan
This sounds weird, to just throw in some vanilla pudding mix….dry. Does it make the fruit sweeter? Or just add a different flavor to the fruit? Does it taste better if eaten right away, or after an hour or two? Thanks
Hi Kat! The pudding mix you have will work great! Enjoy the salad AND the pool! Thanks for reading, too!
Megan
I'm going to try this today! Sounds really good.I
only have the cook and serve vanilla pudding mix on hand,
is that ok? Or does it gave to be instant? i have all the fruit as i
intend on taking some to the pool today. I love your recipes, I
LOVE to cook & glad I found your site.
I've had a sunroof fly off when I was getting on the highway, & had no idea where it went 😉 I'm thinking about trying this recipe for the forth, looks yummy. Thanks for posting.
Cool, I will have to try this