10 Fruit Salads That Put the Sad Grocery Store Stuff to Shame

THESE AREN’T your average too-sweet, neighborhood-block-party, looks-like-there-was-a-sale-on-honeydew kind of fruit salads.

These are actually good fruit salads, loaded with surprising, complex flavors that aren’t just SUGAR.

And let’s not sell the nutrition short. The fact that they cover the color spectrum signals their wide variety of disease-fighting antioxidants. Try one for a solid snack, a supper side dish, or even dessert. Bonus points if you try them all.

In order to ace these recipes it's important to know a few things about how to make them. Nothing major—this is fruit salad we're talking about here.

Step 1: Muscle a muddle.

A little sugar helps concentrate fresh fruit’s flavor and improve its texture by creating a dressing of sorts. Using a rubber spatula or cocktail muddler, firmly mash the “base” ingredients (you'll see what we're talking about shortly) inside a large bowl for about 30 seconds. Easy.

Step 2: Marinate.

Mix in the “add-ins,” toss everything together, and (if you have time) let it rest at room temp, stirring now and then, till it all gets juicy, 15 to 30 minutes. Like with any marinade, the flavors will intermingle and enhance when you let everything sit together.

Step 3: Top and eat.

All that's left to do is top the fruit salad with the “kicker.” Each salad serves 4.

Powerfully refreshing, nutrient packed, and purpose-built for hot summer days—these fruit salads deliver.