Overnight Fruit Salad

Total Time

Prep: 30 min. + chilling

Makes

16 servings

Updated: Jun. 30, 2023
I first tasted this rich, old-fashioned fruit salad at my wedding reception many years ago. The ladies who did the cooking wouldn't share the recipe at the time, but eventually I got it. I've made it for many meals, and our daughters copied the recipe when they married. —Eileen Duffeck, Lena, Wisconsin

Ingredients

  • 3 large eggs, beaten
  • 1/4 cup sugar
  • 1/4 cup white vinegar
  • 2 tablespoons butter
  • 2 cups green grapes
  • 2 cups miniature marshmallows
  • 1 can (20 ounces) pineapple chunks, drained
  • 1 can (15 ounces) mandarin oranges, drained
  • 2 medium firm bananas, sliced
  • 2 cups heavy whipping cream, whipped
  • 1/2 cup chopped pecans

Directions

  1. In a double boiler over medium heat, cook and stir eggs, sugar and vinegar until mixture is thickened and reaches 160°. Remove from the heat; stir in butter. Cool.
  2. In a large serving bowl, combine grapes, marshmallows, pineapple, oranges and bananas; add cooled dressing and stir to coat. Refrigerate for 4 hours or overnight. Just before serving, fold in whipped cream and pecans.

Overnight Fruit Salad Tips

Does lemon juice keep fruit salad fresh?

Adding a little lemon juice, vinegar or citrus acid to cut fruit will prevent it from browning. Refrigeration will also slow down the browning process. Try this trick in one of our favorite fruit salad recipes.

How do you keep fruit salad from getting soggy?

Overnight fruit salad is meant to be a little softer and refrigerating overnight helps create that texture. For other fresh fruit salads, reserving any dressings and keeping the fruits separate until ready to serve will ensure your salad isn’t soggy. By the way, Eggs Benedict Casserole is also made the night before, making it a great compliment to this old-fashioned fruit salad for a hassle-free brunch.

What does the egg mixture add to this overnight fruit salad?

The egg mixture becomes a thick, sweet sauce when cooked and cooled, giving the fruit salad its creamy texture. The vinegar in this sauce also prevents the fruit from browning. We bet you haven’t tried these egg recipes either.

Research contributed by Catherine Ward, Taste of Home Prep Kitchen Manager

Nutrition Facts

1/2 cup: 244 calories, 16g fat (8g saturated fat), 84mg cholesterol, 44mg sodium, 24g carbohydrate (21g sugars, 1g fiber), 3g protein.