Follow these five basic tips to make a healthy, delicious pineapple fruit salad. This vegan fruit salad recipe is inexpensive, with a cost of just $.52 per serving.
Pineapple fruit salad is one of my favorite side dishes. As much as I enjoy individual fruits, I love them even more when their flavors come together all in one bowl.
Even if I only have three or four types of fresh fruit on hand, I like to chop them up and mix them together. Pineapple is a great base flavor, and it does a nice job of bringing out the bright flavors of other fruit. Here’s a good tutorial about how to properly cut a pineapple.
Vegan Fruit Salad Tips
Fruit salad can go in so many different directions, but here are five principles I keep in mind when making one.
- Take the time to chop the fruit into small pieces. That way, you can get more flavors in each forkful.
- Keep the peels on the apples for extra vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, and fiber.
- Pay attention to the dirty dozen list to help you decide when to spend the extra money on organic produce.
- Include several different colors. This will help the fruit salad look and taste better.
- Add a little orange juice to keep the apples from browning.
Store-bought fruit salad never tastes good to me, and the fruit is typically cut into giant chunks. Take a few minutes to make your own pineapple fruit salad, and you’ll enjoy it much more.
Average Cost of a Fruit Salad
The average cost of a fruit salad varies according to which fruit you use and what’s on sale. This pineapple fruit salad recipe costs a total of $12.49 to make based on the typical prices of these ingredients at my grocery store (see my price chart for details). This comes out to just $.52 per serving, with a serving size of 2/3 cup.
If you’re feeding a big crowd, you can double the recipe. And if you need fruit salad for 100, multiply the recipe times 4. You’ll be chopping for a while, but the results will be delicious!
You can substitute just about any kind of fruit in this fruit salad according to what’s on sale. If you’re including softer fruit like banana, add it just before serving so it doesn’t get mushy.
Pineapple Fruit Salad
Ingredients
- 1 pineapple (4 lbs, about 5 1/2 cups chopped)
- 2 medium oranges (chopped, 3 cups)
- 3 medium apples (cored and chopped, 4 1/2 cups)
- 1 lb strawberries (chopped, 3 cups)
- 1/2 cup orange juice
Instructions
- Chop all the fruit into bite-sized pieces. Place the fruit in a large bowl.
- Add the orange juice, and stir to coat the fruit.
- Store the fruit salad in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. Serve cold, or bring to room temperature before serving. (Note: This fruit salad looks best on the day it’s made. It gets a bit soggier with each passing day, but it should be fine to eat for up to 4 days if refrigerated.)
Nutrition Estimate
Price Breakdown
This recipe yields 16 cups of fruit salad (24 servings of 2/3 cup each), and the total cost is $12.49, or $.52 per serving. Make this easy pineapple fruit salad recipe for your next barbecue, and everyone will be sure to have a little something healthy on their plate.
If you have leftovers, you can put them into fruit popsicles. Perfect treat for a hot day!
Note: This post was first published in 2013, and it was updated in 2019.
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