Quick and Easy Fruit Salsa

This simple fruit salsa is a healthy, flavorful topping or dip to use for pancakes, cinnamon chips, desserts, or even to stir into yogurt. Use any fresh, seasonal fruit in any combination you like! Keep it simple, or add extra flavor with suggested herbs and zest for a delicious, versatile topping. Great for special diets, too!

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Fruit salsa is a handy little condiment to have in your bag of tricks. It is so simple that it hardly qualifies as a recipe, so versatile that it can vary with the seasons or even just on different days, and so delicious you may end up making it often for all sorts of purposes.

Another thing fruit salsa can do for you is health-related. It tastes great, but it is also good for you and can replace other toppings to help you meet your health goals without sacrificing taste. “Good for you” can also be delicious!

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What Can I Do with Fruit Salsa?

This isn’t something I see at the store. It is sweet, but not sugary. Kind of a treat, but light and nourishing. If fruit salsa isn’t familiar, you aren’t alone. Fruit salsa isn’t ubiquitous in the way that savory salsas are. But it should be!

I had fruit salsa for the first time quite a few years ago. It was Christmas morning, and my sister-in-law made it as part of a breakfast feast. She served it with freshly made cinnamon-sugar-coated chips. And other things. I had never heard of fruit salsa, but I still remember it. It was a delicious combination!

It didn’t dawn on me until later that fruit salsa, while wonderful with cinnamon tortilla chips, would also be good in a wide variety of other applications. And it could solve little dilemmas as we reduced sugar and eliminated processed food from our diet. Like pancake topping.

While we love maple syrup, and I don’t think there is anything wrong with having it now and then, it is a really sugary kind of pancake topping. The same is true of honey– they are on the natural side, and delicious, but still sugar.

On the GAPS diet, we weren’t supposed to have maple syrup at all, and not too much honey, either. Fruit salsa is a delicious topping for pancakes, though! Still some fruit sugar, but not that much. Fruit salsa on banana pancakes is fantastic!

Here are some ways to use fruit salsa:

• not just pancakes, but waffles, French toast, crêpes, etc.
• stir into plain yogurt– no need for sugar at all, or you can add a bit of honey or other sweetener too
• over ice cream– vanilla, fruit flavored… use your imagination!
• on pound cake, shortcake, etc, possibly with some sort of creamy topping
• of course, cinnamon chips— use flour, corn, or other tortillas, or even pitas

How to Make Fruit Salsa

Think of it as fruit salad cut up extra small. You don’t really need a recipe! You just cut up your fruit, mix it together, and stir in anything else you want to make it taste even yummier! (Keep reading for suggestions!)

This time, I used apple, orange, pineapple, and strawberry.

Then I added a little fresh mint and some orange zest. The fruit salsa will taste good without anything added beyond the fruit, too.

All stirred together, it is already done! I like to let it sit for a few minutes so the flavors of the mint and orange zest meld with the fruit a bit.

Tips for Making Fruit Salsa

You can use pretty much any fruit you like, and it doesn’t have to be in equal amounts as in the recipe! Here are some suggestions for getting a good result if you make changes:

The Fruit

• chop the fruits into similar sizes– except for small berries (like blueberries), which can stay whole
• if you use fruit that could turn brown, add it shortly before serving and toss it in lemon juice (or lime or orange) to slow down the browning. Do this for apple, pear, peach, etc.
• firmer fruits work best. If you want pear, opt for a less-soft variety like Bosc or d’Anjou.
• banana is tricky– not only will it turn brown quickly, but it gets mushy fast. Add it just before serving and use up all at once if possible.
• include a red fruit– this isn’t needed for taste so much as for color and appearance! Strawberry is good; in winter I love to add pomegranate arils.
• go with fresh fruit if possible. My pineapple was not ripe the last time I made this and I used canned; it was OK, but fresh is better!

Added Flavors

• this fruit salsa is good with nothing but fruit– keep it plain if you like.
• zest– I like orange, but lemon is good, too. They provide flavor without being sour. If you get it very fine, you may not notice the texture, just the intensified flavor. I use the fine side of a box grater, but a zesting tool or knife also works.
• I like mint, but I don’t always use it. Lemon balm is also good, and fresh basil adds a different twist.
• sweeten if you like. I don’t, but a bit of honey or other sweetener will give a sweeter result.
• if you want a bit of a kick, you could add a bit of cayenne, Tabasco, or a jalapeño or other fresh pepper for a sweet-spicy combo
• stir in a couple spoonfuls of jam– any flavor!

Fruit Combos to Try

I usually just toss in what I have for a sort of “tutti frutti” effect, but you could be more deliberate. For example,

• winter fruits– apple, citrus, pineapple, pomegranate, kiwi
• summer fruits– berries, melon, etc
• stone fruits– peach, cherry, etc
• strawberry and pineapple– oddly good together, and basil goes well with them
• tropical-ish– pineapple, kiwi, citrus, etc.
• whatever you can think of!

Looking for other low-sugar toppings for pancakes and desserts? Try this berry sauce!