Sweet, plump berries and refreshing fruits are layered together in this red white and blue fruit salad. Perfect for all your festive patriotic celebrations!
Why this recipe works
A combination of blueberries, blackberries, apples, watermelon, raspberries, red grapes, and strawberries create this red white and blue fruit salad for all of your patriotic parties this summer! Go the extra mile and serve it with fluffy cream cheese fruit dip on the side.
Fruit salad is a staple potluck dish that makes its rounds at just about every summer gathering. Fresh, juicy fruit is always a welcome addition so it’s a no-brainer to shape it into a flag to match the theme of all your 4th of July, Veterans Day, or Patriots Day parties.
Ingredients you will need
Get all measurements, ingredients, and instructions in the printable version at the end of this post.
Ingredient Info and Substitution Suggestions
RED – Strawberries, raspberries, watermelon, and red grapes make up the red portion of this patriotic fruit salad. Grapefruit, pomegranate seeds, or cherries would make a nice substitute or addition.
WHITE – We used apples and yellow honeydew melon as the “white” portion of this fruit flag. Other options for the white portion would be white melons, such as canary melons or golden honeydew, if available. Pears will also work, but will likely need to be tossed in lemon juice as well. You will need a star shaped cookie cutter to make the stars, but it isn’t absolutely necessary and the flag will still be vibrant and pretty without it!
BLUE – Blueberries are an obvious choice for the blue layer, while the blackberries add nice dimension. Purple grapes can be added if desired.
How to Make Red White & Blue Fruit Salad
These step by step photos and instructions are here to help you visualize how to make this recipe. You can Jump to Recipe to get the printable version of this recipe, complete with measurements and instructions at the bottom.
- Wash all fruit and allow them to dry.
- Cut up watermelon, apples, and melon into small squares. Using your discretion, cut the strawberries in half, quarters, or just with the tops removed based on size.
EXPERT TIP – If not serving immediately, soak apples in a lemon juice water mixture for at least 10 minutes after slicing.
- Start with blueberries and blackberries at the top left of the flag to get an idea of size, and then place a small layer of red, white, red, white, and red fruits in a horizontal line for spacing. Then keep layering until all fruits are gone or you have filled your dish to your liking.
- Finally, cut 1 apple (on the horizon, stem up) to use with your star cookie cutter. Place the cut stars on top of your blue layer to complete the flag.
Frequently Asked Questions & Expert Tips
Yes, you can absolutely add a dressing to this salad. Try a mixture of orange juice, pineapple juice, and honey which is what we use in our classic fruit salad recipe. Lime zest, lime juice, and honey is another delicious combination!
Yes, though you may want to keep some of the fruits separate from each other to keep the liquids from seeping together. Watermelon is one I would suggest keeping separate from the other fruits, and I would hold off on slicing the apples until the day of to prevent them from browning as much as possible. You can either prep and slice all of the fruits, store them separately in air-tight containers in the fridge, and assemble it the day of OR prep and assemble all the fruits in the serving dish aside from the apple and the watermelon, then store it tightly covered in the refrigerator overnight.
Fruit salad will keep well if kept covered in the refrigerator for 3-4 days.
Serving Suggestions
This red white and blue fruit salad is not dressed, as we thought it better to serve as-is or with cream cheese fruit dip on the side, however, you can easily add a dressing if you would like! Enjoy chilled.
More Patriotic Recipes
- Taco Salad Flag
- American Flag Kabobs
- Mixed Berry Icebox Cake
- Patriotic Charcuterie Board
- Red White and Blue Poke Cake
- Red White and Blue Caprese Salad
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Red White and Blue Fruit Salad
IMPORTANT – There are often Frequently Asked Questions within the blog post that you may find helpful. Simply scroll back up to read them!
Print It Rate ItIngredients
- 1 small seedless watermelon or 1/2 of a large watermelon
- 8 apples optionally reserve 1 for making stars
- ½ yellow honeydew melon
- 4 cups strawberries stems removed
- 2 cups raspberries
- 2 cups blueberries
- 1 cup red grapes
- 1 cup blackberries
- lemon juice for soaking apples. 1 tablespoon per 1 cup of water
Things You’ll Need
Before You Begin
- We used apples and yellow honeydew melon as the “white” portion of this fruit flag. Other options for the white portion would be white melons, such as canary melons or golden honeydew, if available. Pears will also work, but will likely need to be tossed in lemon juice as well.
- To dress – try a mixture of orange juice, pineapple juice, and honey which is what we use in our classic fruit salad recipe. Lime zest, lime juice, and honey is another delicious combination!
- Preparing ahead – you may want to keep some of the fruits separate from each other to keep the liquids from seeping together. Watermelon is one I would suggest keeping separate from the other fruits, and I would hold off on slicing the apples until the day of to prevent them from browning as much as possible. You can either prep and slice all of the fruits, store them separately in air-tight containers in the fridge, and assemble it the day of OR prep and assemble all the fruits in the serving dish aside from the apple and the watermelon, then store it tightly covered in the refrigerator overnight.
- Leftover fruit salad will keep well if kept covered in the refrigerator for 3-4 days.
Instructions
- Wash all fruit and allow them to dry.
- Cut up watermelon, apples, and melon into small squares. Using your discretion, cut the strawberries in half, quarters, or just with the tops removed based on size.*If not serving immediately, soak apples in a lemon juice water mixture for at least 10 minutes after slicing. Use 1 Tablespoon of lemon juice per 1 cup of water for soaking apples.
- Start with blueberries and blackberries at the top left of the flag to get an idea of size, and then place a small layer of red, white, red, white, and red fruits in a horizontal line for spacing. Then keep layering until all fruits are gone or you have filled your dish to your liking.
- Finally, cut 1 apple (on the horizon, stem up) to use with your star cookie cutter. Place the cut stars on top of your blue layer to complete the flag.
Nutrition
Lindsay Formaro
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