Description
A vibrant and festive Thanksgiving fruit salad featuring a delightful blend of fresh apples, grapes, mandarins, dried cranberries, and pecans, all tossed in a warm spiced orange juice dressing that perfectly balances sweet and tangy flavors.
Ingredients
Scale
Dressing
- 3/4 cup Orange Juice
- 1/3 cup Sugar
- 1/8 tsp Cinnamon
- 1/8 tsp Nutmeg
Fruit and Nuts
- 2 medium Green Apples
- 2 medium Red Apples
- 1 tbsp Lemon Juice
- 1 cup Dried Cranberries
- 1 cup Pecans
- 1/2 cup Green Grapes
- 1/2 cup Red Grapes
- 15 oz Mandarin Oranges (2 small cans or 1 large, drained)
Instructions
- Prepare the dressing: Combine orange juice, sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg in a small saucepan. Bring to a low boil over medium heat, whisking continuously for 3-4 minutes until the sugar dissolves and the spices infuse the juice.
- Cool the dressing: Remove the saucepan from heat and allow the spiced orange juice mixture to cool completely to room temperature.
- Prepare the apples: Core and cut both green and red apples into bite-sized pieces. Add lemon juice to the apples and toss well to coat, which prevents them from browning.
- Prepare the mandarins and grapes: Drain the mandarin oranges thoroughly to remove excess liquid. Cut both green and red grapes in half for easier eating and better distribution.
- Combine salad ingredients: In a large salad bowl, combine the apple pieces, drained mandarins, dried cranberries, pecans, and halved grapes.
- Toss with dressing: Drizzle the cooled orange juice dressing over the fruit and nut mixture and toss gently to combine all flavors evenly without crushing delicate fruit.
Notes
- Be sure to cool the dressing completely before adding it to the fruit to avoid wilting or softening the fresh ingredients.
- Lemon juice on apples prevents oxidation and keeps the salad looking fresh longer.
- Drain mandarins well to prevent the salad from becoming watery.
- For added texture, consider lightly toasting the pecans before adding them to the salad.
- This salad can be made a few hours in advance and chilled to let the flavors meld, but toss again before serving.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 5 minutes
- Category: Salad
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: American
Keywords: Thanksgiving fruit salad, holiday fruit salad, spiced orange juice dressing, fall fruit salad, festive salad, pecans and cranberries salad
