Easy Thanksgiving Fruit Salad with Wild Rice & Pecans
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This easy Thanksgiving fruit salad recipes is bright & citrusy! Filled with pops of pomegranate, maple-glazed crunchy pecans, and a light citrus honey dressing, this fruit salad comes together in 15 minutes and is the perfect make ahead recipe!
For other healthy side dishes, try my carrot sweet potato casserole and healthy Thanksgiving coleslaw.
Recipe at a Glance: Thanksgiving Fruit Salad
⏱️ Prep Time: 15 minutes
❄️ Chill Time: 1-2 hours
🍽️ Servings: 8
👍 Difficulty: Easy
😋 Recipe Highlights: Healthy, hearty, and unique ingredients different from the other salads on your table. This is sure to impress your guests!
🛒 Featured Ingredients: Cooked wild rice, apples, pomegranate arils, olive oil, maple syrup, and glazed pecans
🍎 Nutrition Facts: 259 calories per serving, 40 grams carbs, 11 grams fat, 4 grams protein
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If you have ever attended a Thanksgiving celebration in the Midwest, then you probably hear “fruit salad” and think of a big bowl filled with marshmallows, Cool Whip, mandarin oranges, and cherries.
Don’t get me wrong–I’ve got nothing against a typical Midwest fruit salad, especially for special occasions. But I found myself craving a fruit salad with more nutrients and texture. Something crisp and bright, but still the right amount of sweetness to be a favorite at the holiday table next to my whole wheat oatmeal cookies..
With a little bit of creativity, trial and error, I came up with one of the best Thanksgiving fruit salad recipes I’ve ever had–no Cool Whip needed! Serve along with my apple & kale salad and some orange Brussels sprouts, you’ll have plenty of festive & healthy options for everyone to enjoy!
Jump to:
- Recipe at a Glance: Thanksgiving Fruit Salad
- Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Featured Ingredients
- Swaps & Substitutions
- How to Make Thanksgiving Fruit & Wild Rice Salad
- Make Ahead Instructions
- Storage Instructions
- What to Serve with Wild Rice Fruit Salad
- Want More Cozy Fall Recipes?
- Thanksgiving Fruit Salad Recipe FAQs
- Additional Thanksgiving Recipes
- 📖 Recipe
- 💬 Reviews
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
This healthy Thanksgiving fruit salad recipe is bright & citrusy, filled with tons of crisp textures and fresh flavors, then tossed with a citrus-honey dressing.
Filled with nutrient dense ingredients, crunchy textures, and natural sweetness, this fruit salad is superior to the fruit fluffs that typically adorn your holiday table.
Featured Ingredients
To make this Thanksgiving fruit salad recipe, you will need:
Wild Rice– The nutty flavor of wild rice goes perfectly with the fruits. Pre-cook your wild rice and cool it prior to assembly. To learn more about wild rice and how to cook it, check out my post on how to cook wild rice in the Instant Pot.
Pomegranate Seeds– Also known as arils. These are the perfect addition to this salad! Each bite fills your mouth with a fresh pop of juice. De-seed your pomegranate prior to salad assembly, or buy pomegranate arils at the store.
Tip: de-seed the pomegranate while submerged in a bowl of water to prevent a mess.
Orange Juice– OJ is the base of the most delectable fruit salad dressing you will ever enjoy. Plus it contributes a pop of vitamin C and acid to keep the fruits from oxidizing.
Honey- Honey is the perfect natural sweetener for this recipe. Maple syrup is another option if you prefer the taste of maple.
For a complete list of ingredients, be sure to check out the recipe card at the bottom of this post.
Swaps & Substitutions
Play around with different fruit combinations to suit your tastes. Try to incorporate a variety of textures and flavors to give the salad depth. Some swaps to try:
Instead of pomegranate arils, try fresh cherries.
Instead of diced apples, use diced pears.
Instead of grapes, use mandarin oranges.
The dressing uses a bit of cinnamon. For more flavor variety, try a pumpkin pie spice blend or apple pie spice blend. Use the same amount of the spice blends as you would for the cinnamon.
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How to Make Thanksgiving Fruit & Wild Rice Salad
- Prepare the Wild Rice.
Cook and cool the wild rice prior to assembling the salad. To make your own wild rice at home, check out my instructions for how to cook wild rice in the Instant Pot. You can also buy wild rice in a can at many major grocery stores (the brand is called Canoe). That can be a great time saver.
2. Glaze the Pecans.
Roughly chop 1/2 cup of raw pecan halves. Heat a small saucepan or skillet on the stove to medium heat and add 2 tbsp maple syrup. Add the chopped pecans, 1/2 tsp cinnamon, and 1/8 tsp salt. Cook on medium heat, stirring frequently, for 3-4 minutes until the syrup has caramelized the pecans and is no longer liquid in the pan.
Be careful not to burn them–if your stove runs hot, use medium-low heat. Pour your pecans out onto parchment paper and separate them into an even layer. Let cool.
3. Add Rice & Fruit to Bowl.
Add your wild rice to the bottom of a large bowl. Halve the grapes and add them to the bowl. Next, add the 1 cup pomegranate arils and 1/2 cup of dried cranberries. Finally, chop your apple into bite-sized pieces and add them to the bowl. Drizzle 1 tbsp of fresh lemon juice over the apple pieces and use a spoon to thoroughly mix the salad.
4. Add Glazed Pecans.
Add your glazed pecans, chopping a bit more before adding if needed. Toss the fruit salad with a big spoon.
Note: If you are making this fruit salad ahead of time, wait to add the pecans until right before serving.
5. Mix the Dressing.
Add 3 tbsp olive oil, 1/4 cup orange juice, 1 tbsp honey, and a pinch of cinnamon to a small bowl or jar. Shake to mix. Pour on top of the salad and toss to evenly mix.
6. Chill.
Chill for 1-2 hours before serving. Stir in the candied pecans before serving.
Make Ahead Instructions
If you are bringing this holiday fruit salad to an event, it can be made several hours up to one day ahead of time. The apples, grapes, and pecans will lose some of their crunchiness as time goes on, so I don’t recommend making this any farther ahead than that.
If you are making this ahead of time, store the glazed pecans in an airtight container and wait to stir them in until right before serving. They will lose their crunch if they are stirred into the salad too far ahead of time.
Storage Instructions
Store this fruit salad in the fridge in an airtight container. The texture of this fruit salad is best when eaten within 2 days of making it, but it could last up to 4 days if needed.
If you have any leftover wild rice, my Minnesota Wild Rice Soup recipe is absolutely perfect. You can use your leftover pellet grill smoked turkey instead of chicken in that soup, too!
What to Serve with Wild Rice Fruit Salad
Outside of a traditional Thanksgiving feast, this fruit salad makes a delicious side dish for any potluck or brunch. My easy Smoked Whole Chicken is great main dish for such an occasion.
This winter fruit salad goes great with healthy breakfasts such as my High Protein French Toast Casserole, healthy biscuits and gravy, or low sugar blueberry crisp. or scooped on top of a bowl of yogurt.
Want More Cozy Fall Recipes?
Fresh, homemade cranberry wild rice bread is perfect to serve with nearly any hearty fall meal. You might also enjoy my whole wheat pumpkin sourdough English muffins, my autumn flavor Chex Mix or my Chinese 5 Spice Maple Glazed Pecans–absolutely delicious!
Thanksgiving Fruit Salad Recipe FAQs
The end of November has many wonderful seasonal fresh fruit options. Apples, pomegranates, pears, and oranges would be the best seasonal produce choices for this fruit salad.
In this Thanksgiving salad, we use lemon juice on the apples to keep them from turning brown, but the dressing also has orange juice which helps, too. You can also use lime juice. Citrus juice is probably one of the most common fruit salad additives to prevent browning.
This fruit salad is best eaten within 1-2 days for texture purposes, but it is good for up to 4 days if needed.
Additional Thanksgiving Recipes
For a more complete Thanksgiving menu, give these recipes a try!
Make This Recipe Part of Your Thanksgiving Menu!
This is sure to be a hit at your family Thanksgiving dinner! Let this be a healthy addition to your special occasion!
Please leave a comment and review! It means the world!
📖 Recipe
Thanksgiving Fruit Salad with Wild Rice & Pecans
Ingredients
Fruit Salad
- 2 tablespoon Maple Syrup
- 1/2 cup Raw Pecan Halves chopped
- 1/2 teaspoon Cinnamon
- 1/8 teaspoon Salt
- 1 cup Wild Rice pre-cooked
- 1 cup Red Grapes
- 1 cup Pomegranate Seeds
- 1/2 cup Dried Cranberries
- 1 large Apple, variety of choice or two small
- 1 tablespoon Lemon Juice
Citrus Dressing
- 3 tablespoon Olive Oil
- 1/4 cup Orange Juice
- 1 tablespoon Honey
- 1 pinch Cinnamon
Instructions
Fruit Salad
- Heat a small skillet on the stove top to medium heat and add the maple syrup. Add your chopped pecans, 1/2 tsp of cinnamon, and 1/8 tsp salt. Cook, stirring frequently, until the maple syrup is no longer liquid in the pan and is coating all of the pecans in a sticky glaze. Remove from heat, pour onto parchment paper, and cool.2 tablespoon Maple Syrup, 1/2 cup Raw Pecan Halves, 1/2 teaspoon Cinnamon, 1/8 teaspoon Salt
- Into a medium sized or larger bowl, add the cooked & cooled wild rice. Cut your grapes in half and add them to the bowl, followed by the pomegranate seeds, and dried cranberries.1 cup Wild Rice, 1 cup Red Grapes, 1 cup Pomegranate Seeds, 1/2 cup Dried Cranberries
- Cut your apple into bite size pieces. Add to your bowl and drizzle with 1 tbsp lemon juice. Use a big spoon to toss the fruit salad.1 large Apple, variety of choice, 1 tablespoon Lemon Juice
Citrus Dressing
- To small bowl or jar, add the olive oil, orange juice, honey, and pinch of cinnamon. Whisk or shake to combine.3 tablespoon Olive Oil, 1/4 cup Orange Juice, 1 tablespoon Honey, 1 pinch Cinnamon
- Pour dressing over salad. Add the candied pecans and stir to thoroughly mix.
Chill
- Chill for 1-2 hours before serving.
Video
Notes
Instead of diced apples, use diced pears.
Instead of grapes, use mandarin oranges. For flavor & spice, I use cinnamon, but the warm spices in a pumpkin pie spice blend or apple pie spice blend would also be great. Use the same amount of apple pie spice as you would for the cinnamon. For best taste, texture, and recipe presentation, serve fruit salad within 1 day of making it. However, leftovers will last up to 4 days in the fridge. If making this fruit salad ahead of time, store the glazed pecans in an airtight container. Wait to incorporate them into the salad until right before serving to keep them crisp. You can use canned wild rice (“Canoe” is one such brand) for a short cut. For a simple, fool proof way to prep wild rice, you can make it in the instant pot. Combine 16 ounces of wild rice with 5 cups water in the pressure cooker, cook for 30 minutes on high pressure, then let the pot release pressure naturally.
This is so good! I loved all the texture. Most fruit salads I’ve eaten just seem soft or soggy, but this is so crisp! This is a hit at every gathering I bring it to!