Overnight Fruit Salad
This amazing overnight fruit salad recipe is packed with juicy fruit and a sweet custard dressing that you make the day before so that it is ready to serve when you are.
Servings: 10 cups
Calories: 359kcal
Ingredients
- 20 ounces pineapple chunks with juice not drained
- 15 ounces mandarin oranges with juice not drained
- ¼ cup lemon juice
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 3 large eggs room temperature
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
- 1 cup heavy cream whipped (2 cups whipped cream or Cool Whip)
- 2 cups seedless grapes
- 2 cups mini marshmallows
- 1 cup pecans chopped
- 2 large bananas sliced into thick slices
Instructions
- Pour the liquid from the pineapple chunks and mandarin oranges into a measuring cup, making sure you have 1 cup total; you can mix the juices together or top up with water if needed.
- Add 1 cup of the reserved juice mixture to a medium saucepan along with the lemon juice, then whisk in the sugar and cornstarch until smooth.
- Whisk the eggs into the juice mixture until everything is fully combined and slightly frothy.
- Set the saucepan over medium heat and cook, whisking constantly, until the mixture thickens to a light custard consistency.
- Remove the saucepan from the heat, whisk in the butter, and let the custard cool completely, about 1 hour.
- Gently fold the whipped cream into the cooled custard until evenly incorporated.
- In a large bowl, combine the drained pineapple chunks, drained mandarin oranges, grapes, marshmallows, and pecans; once the custard has cooled, pour it over the fruit and toss to coat. Slice the bananas and add them to the mixture, stirring gently so the custard coats the slices without breaking them apart.
- Cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.
Notes
- The lemon juice helps keep the banana slices from browning, so it’s best to slice the bananas right before folding them into the custard; the remaining fruit can be prepped in advance.
- Keep the marshmallows in their packaging until you’re ready to mix them in so they don’t dry out.
- Press a piece of plastic wrap directly onto the surface of the custard as it cools to prevent a skin from forming.
- The custard-style dressing is light with a gently sweet fruit flavor that keeps the salad fresh rather than heavy.
Nutrition
Calories: 359kcal | Carbohydrates: 48g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 19g | Saturated Fat: 7g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 3g | Monounsaturated Fat: 7g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 91mg | Sodium: 41mg | Potassium: 382mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 37g | Vitamin A: 827IU | Vitamin C: 23mg | Calcium: 61mg | Iron: 1mg
