Red White and Blue 4th of July Fruit Salad Recipe

A delicious red white and blue fruit salad perfect for a 4th of July celebration, labor day, Memorial day weekend, summer picnics, summer bbqs, or just a hot summer day at home. An easy recipe that the entire family will love!

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When the 4th of July rolls around I am looking for any excuse to add more red, white and blue (colors of the American flag) to everything, including the food. My favorite thing to do is make an easy patriotic fruit salad recipe. If you are prone to Pinterest fails (not me raising my hand), this one is super easy and adds a festive touch without taking much time.

Thankfully there are lots of naturally red white and blue fruits that you can easily put together for a great side dish. I like fresh strawberries, mini seedless watermelon, fresh blueberries, blackberries, and banana. You can customize it with your favorite fruit if you prefer something different than mine, as long as you keep the same colors.

Here are some ideas for inspiration:

Red fruits

• strawberries
• watermelon
• cherries
• red raspberries

White fruit

• coconut
• apples (peeled)
• bananas
• pear (peeled)

Blue fruits

• blueberries
• blackberries
• concord grapes

Items needed for a Fourth of July fruit salad

Simple ingredients that can be found at any grocery store.

• 1 mini seedless watermelon
• 1 lb. strawberries
• blueberries
• blackberries
• 1 banana
• star-shaped cookie cutter
• cutting board
• sharp knife

How to make a fruity red white and blue salad

1. First I always wash my fresh berries in a bowl of cool water with a ¼ cup of white vinegar and let stand for a couple of minutes and then rinse.

2. Next I cut my watermelon and add it to my serving bowl. You can cut into small chunks or make watermelon stars. I like to do mostly chunks and a few stars for interest. If you do all stars, you waste more fruit, which I don't like to do.

3. Then I cut the strawberries, by removing the stem and then cutting it into quarters or even smaller for the bigger strawberries.

4. Add the strawberries and blackberries to the bowl with the watermelon. Stir to combine well.

5. Last before serving, peel one banana and slice into rounds. If desired, cut into small star shapes and place them on top of the fruit salad for a pretty presentation.

Making white stars

For a fun twist on a regular fruit salad, try making star shapes using a small star cookie cutter. This star set is my favorite and it has a quick ship with Amazon prime. It comes in three different sizes: small, medium and large.

The mini works great for bananas since it is so small. Just slice the banana into rounds and use the cutter to punch out mini stars. This is a great task for kids!

If you are using apples, you will need to slice the apples into flat rounds and punch out the stars.

My kids both claim that fruit cut into star shapes taste better! How cute are those little mini banana stars?

How to serve

The fruit salad is best made fresh and served right away at room temperature as is for a side dish.

You can also serve it as a dessert. Serve with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream for a perfect patriotic dessert.

Make sure to save cutting the bananas no more than 30 minutes in advance to prevent browning. The closer to last minute the better.

The other fruit can be cut ahead even the day before. If you cut the fruit the day before, you may have excess liquid from the watermelon that accumulates at the bottom of the bowl. Just drain it off to prevent it from getting soggy.