If you can't find fresh cherries, use canned cherries in your fruit salad.
A light and delicious apple, cherry and banana fruit salad is a cooling addition to the table for a summertime gathering. These same fruits are also the core ingredients in a warm fruit salad that complements mulled wine or hot tea during the cooler months. Many fruit salads use a mixture of fresh and canned fruits, so you can easily put together an apple, cherry and banana fruit salad any time of the year.
Spring Fruit Salad
Add a pastel hue to the table for a baby shower or a princess-themed birthday party with a bowl of light pink fruit salad. Drain a 10-oz. jar of maraschino cherries and reserve the juice. Beat 8 oz. cream cheese with the reserved cherry juice and fold in 2 cups heavy whipping cream. Fold in the cherries and one 20-oz. can drained pineapple pieces. Slice four bananas, core and chop two apples and peel and slice two peaches; stir into the fruit salad along with 3 cups miniature marshmallows. Refrigerate for at least one hour before serving.
Baked Fruit Salad
Spicy and delicious, a hot fruit salad helps to fend off the chill of a winter evening. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Drain and reserve the syrup from a 16-oz. can of apricot halves and a 20-oz. can of pineapple chunks. Peel four peaches and four pears and cut each in half. Mix the apricots, pineapple chunks, peaches, pears and two peeled and chopped apples in a 2 1/2-qt. casserole dish. Stir 1/2 tsp. cinnamon and 1/2 cup brown sugar into the reserved fruit juice and pour over the fruit mixture. Dot the top with 1/4 cup butter. Cover and bake for 20 minutes. Stir in two chopped bananas and bake, uncovered, for another five minutes.
Banana Split Fruit Salad
If you're in the mood for a banana split and have every ingredient on hand except ice cream, make a banana split fruit salad instead. In a large mixing bowl, fold a 20-oz. can of cherry pie filling into 16 oz. whipped frozen whipped topping, thawed. Stir in two medium bananas, chopped, and one 20-oz. can drained pineapple chunks. Chill for at least one hour before serving. Top with chopped walnuts and a peeled and diced apple to add crunch to the salad, then pour chocolate syrup over it, if desired.
Steeped Fruit Salad
A fruit salad steeped overnight in the refrigerator allows the flavors of the different fruits to meld together. In a large bowl, mix one 10-oz. box of frozen strawberries, thawed, one 12-oz. container frozen blueberries and 2 cups freshly pitted cherries. Drain one 11-oz. can of mandarin oranges and a 20-oz. can of pineapple chunks and add to the berry mixture. Stir in three sliced bananas and one 20-oz. can apple pie filling. Cover and refrigerate overnight.
Tags: fruit salad, pineapple chunks, 20-oz drained, 20-oz drained pineapple, 20-oz pineapple, 20-oz pineapple chunks
