Vietnamese Mango Fruit Salad

This Vietnamese mango fruit salad with honey lime syrup is the perfect side dish for any Vietnamese meal. Featuring a simple list of ingredients—lime, honey, mango, coconut chips, cilantro, and just a pinch of cayenne—this mango fruit salad is far from boring.

There’s just something about a fruit salad that always satisfies. But for some reason, fruit salads are always kind of an afterthought. At least for me they are. It’s that “oh shit” moment when you’re feeding guests breakfast and you realize all you have planned is scrambled eggs and toast. Fruit salad it is! Whatever we have will be diced up and thrown together.

That’s the beautiful thing about fruit salads, even the not-so-composed fruit salad are pretty good.

But put some intention into it and something really delicious can happen.

Can fruit salad be made ahead?

Fruit salads can be made ahead, but there are a few caveats. For instance what do we mean by “ahead”? If it’s just a few hours, then go right ahead. If it’s a day before, I would recommend not making it ahead. The quality of fruit drastically decreases once cut—juices are released and oxidation occurs—which in my opinion defeats the purpose of a fresh fruit salad.

5 Way to Improve a Fruit Salad

Fruit salad with honey

• Or any other natural sweetener. You can also use maple syrup, agave, or coconut sugar.

Fruit salad with coconut

• No matter the kind of fruit salad, I like adding coconut. It’s adds some crunch without being too crunchy. Sounds weird, I know. But coconut doesn’t fight with the fruit like nuts or seeds would.  

Fruit salad with mint

• Or any fresh herb. This mango fruit salad uses cilantro, but basil, mint, thyme or rosemary would also be wonderful. Try to pair heartier herbs (rosemary, thyme) with winter fruit, and more tender herbs with summer fruits (basil, parsley, mint). However, take all of that with a grain of salt.

Fruit salad with lime zest

• Or any fresh zest. Lemon, orange or lime, I don’t discriminate! They all add tons of flavor to a fruit salad.

Fruit salad with a pinch of spice

• Here I added cayenne and Maldon sea salt but cardamom, allspice, cloves, cinnamon, nutmeg or even a bit of black pepper are all great ways to spice up a fruit salad. A little goes a long way.

Want more fruit salad recipes?

Spanish Waldorf Salad

A Spanish take on the classic apple salad

Winter Citrus Salad

Flavored with lime, five-spice powder, and pomegranate arils

Strawberry & Pine Nut Brittle Salad

The brittle in this salad is SO good

Make sure to tag me @ZESTFULKITCHEN ON INSTAGRAM or comment below if you make this Vietnamese Mango Fruit Salad!

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