Top 5 salad recipes that you should add to your menu

Whether planning a potluck, a backyard gathering or a friends and family brunch, fruit salads are an absolute favourite. Besides, it is one of the items you simply can’t miss on adding to the menu because it is delicious and healthy. Also, during the summer, fruit salads are an essential addition to lunch and dinners; some children often avoid eating fruits, but even they can enjoy fruit salads made with fresh seasonal fruits.

Therefore, written below are some of the best fruit salad recipes that you can make easily without any fuss:

Buko Salad

Buko salad is a fruit salad dessert popular that originated in the Philippines; Every Filipino household has its version of this classic treat. Along with the essential ingredients of shredded young coconut, fruit cocktail, kaong, nata de coco, condensed milk, and all-purpose cream. Additionally, it is a tropical salad made during parties or occasions such as town fiesta, birthday parties, Christmas and New Year.

1. Combine the young coconut, kaong nata de coco, pineapple chunks, and fruit cocktail in a bowl. Stir gently. Then, add the sweetened condensed milk and light cream, and mix until all ingredients are well incorporated. Finally, refrigerate for at least 4 hours or place in the freezer for 1 hour and transfer it to a serving bowl.

Apple salad with pecan and raisin

The recipe requires fresh red apples that give a fresh and crisp mouthfeel, and pecans are used instead of walnuts to enhance the salad’s taste and texture. Consequently, you get a refreshing but creamy dish with a nice crunch perfect for lunch or even a late-day snack. In the first step, wash the apples, do not peel them and cut them into ½ inch cubes; sprinkle some lemon juice on top of the apple pieces to prevent discolouration.

1. In a bowl, take the apple pieces, add freshly cut celery, pecans, raisins and ⅓ cup of mayonnaise and gently mix all the ingredients; add more mayonnaise if required. Next, cut four to five lettuce leaves and serve a scoop of apple salad on them.

Ps, Fresh pecans work nicely in this dish, but to bring out their flavour, even more, toast them first. Then, place the nuts on a baking sheet coated lightly with cooking spray and bake at 350 F for about 5 minutes—observe, as the pecans can burn quickly.

Frozen fruit salad

You must have heard of frozen fruit salads being a favourite vintage salad; then, you must be aware that it pairs well with ham or turkey holiday dinners. Also, it is perfect for holidays, and it is a refreshing summer side dish.

1. The first step, separate the egg whites from the yolks and whisk them with a hand whisker or electric mix. Besides, it would be best to whisk the egg whites until you get a stiff peak, wherein the egg whites will keep their shape, even when turned upside down. Next, beat the chilled heavy cream into the egg whites, and then in a large mixing bowl, beat together the cream cheese and mayonnaise with an electric mixer.
2. Next, fold in the whipped cream, cherries, drained fruit cocktail, and marshmallows; pour the mixture into a 1-quart freezer container or loaf pan. Garnish it with maraschino cherries or pecan halves; finally, freeze the salad until it is firm. After taking it out of the refrigerator, slice to serve the chilled salad.

Strawberry pretzel salad

There is a debate about whether to call the pretzel salad – a salad or not because the recipe calls for the use of jelly. But, regardless of what people should call it, the dish is a delicious treat for parties and get together.

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Combine strawberry Jell-O with 2 cups boiling water and stir until completely dissolved. Set aside to cool to room temperature. Crush 2 1/2 cups of pretzels in a sturdy Ziploc bag using a rolling pin.
2. In a medium saucepan, melt 8 Tbsp butter, add 1/4 cup sugar and stir. Mix in crushed pretzels. Transfer to a 13×9 glass casserole dish, press the pretzel mix evenly over the bottom of the plate and bake for 10 min at 350°F, then cool to room temp.
3. When pretzels have cooled, use an electric hand mixer to beat 8 oz cream cheese and 1/2 cup sugar on med/high speed until fluffy and white. Fold in 8 oz Cool Whip until no streaks of cream cheese remain. Spread the mixture over cooled pretzels, spreading to the edges of the dish to create a tight seal. Refrigerate for 30 min.
4. Next, hull and slice 1 lb strawberries, then stir into your room-temperature jello. Then, pour and spread the strawberry jello mixture evenly over your cooled cream cheese layer and refrigerate until jello is set (2-4 hours).
5. Dissolve the jello according to recipe instructions (NOT package instructions); use softened cream cheese and thaw cool whip in the refrigerator. Also, measure 2 1/2 cups of whole pretzels.
6. Spread cream portion to the edges for a tight seal before adding jello
7. Pour room-temperature jello gently over the top to prevent cracks in the cream layer.

Thai grapefruit salad with shrimp

If you are looking for something refreshing, light and sweet, Thai grapefruit salad is the perfect salad. Also, It’s full of wonderful tropical flavours, including plump, pink shrimp, tart-sweet grapefruit, nutty coconut, crunchy salad vegetables, and fragrant fresh herbs, all drizzled with a zingy, Thai-style dressing.

1. In a bowl, add 1/3 cup freshly squeezed lime juice, from 2 to 3 medium limes, three tablespoons fish sauce, one tablespoon soy sauce, 2 1/2 to 3 tablespoons brown sugar and 1 to 2 teaspoons Thai chilli sauce. Mix all the ingredients nicely. Next, add a few shrimps to a pot of water and boil them for a few minutes until the shrimps turn pink; then drain the water and set them aside.
2. Next, Place shredded coconut in a dry frying pan or wok over medium-high heat and stir until coconut turns light golden brown and fragrant. Then, to prepare the grapefruit, remove as much of the white peel as possible from the fruit. Break into bite-sized pieces, 3 to 4 cups is a good amount and set prepared fruit in a salad bowl.
3. Add the cucumber, red pepper, shallots, basil, cilantro, and fresh chilli, add shrimp to the salad bowl, and then pour over the dressing. Toss well to combine. Add most of the toasted coconut and cashews, reserving a little for garnishing, then toss again. However, you need to taste-test to check if the salad needs salt or sugar.

Ps, Like most Thai salad dressings, this is an oil-free dressing, so it doesn’t appear to “cling” or oil-based dressings, naturally collecting at the bottom of your salad bowl. However, be sure to toss a little more than you would for a regular salad to saturate ingredients with the dressing.