Sri Lankan Fruit Salad (Easy Tropical Fruit Salad Recipe)
A refreshing Sri Lankan fruit salad made with juicy pineapple, ripe papaya, sweet mangoes, and bananas, then topped with a tart and sweet lime coconut sauce and creamy whipped vanilla coconut topping. This delicious tropical fruit salad is dairy-free, easy to make in just 15 minutes, and perfect for summer gatherings, holidays, brunches, or as a light dessert after a spicy meal.
This Sri Lankan Fruit Salad At A Glance:
What makes Sri Lankan fruit salad different: It is usually made with tropical fruits such as papaya, pineapple, bananas, and mangoes and served with condensed milk and/or a drizzle of lime, honey, and sugar.
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Servings: 6
Serve: With coconut cream, coconut lime sauce, or regular whipped topping. Part of it can be made ahead, with the bananas and whipped topping and sauce added in before serving. This can be served chilled or at room temperature.
Dairy-free and Gluten-free.
A Taste of Sri Lanka
Growing up in Sri Lanka, a fresh fruit salad almost always featured tropical fruits like papaya, pineapple, mangoes, and bananas. These fruits were as common there as apples, raspberries, grapes, and oranges are here in the U.S.
Sometimes my mom would make this fresh tropical salad with rambutans, mangosteen, and ripe jackfruit added in too. By the way, ripe jackfruit is sweet and can be enjoyed in smoothies, unlike green jackfruit which is savory and usually used in savory tacos, curries, etc.
Most times, lime juice and honey or sugar were sprinkled onto the fruits. And, other times creamy condensed milk was drizzled all over the fruits for an incredibly rich finish to a meal.
For the Sri Lankan fruit salad you see here today, I wanted to keep this a dairy-free fruit salad so I made a dairy-free coconut lime sauce with coconut condensed milk. I also made a light coconut whipped cream flavored with vanilla and a teensy bit of lime zest.
Ingredients
- Ripe pineapple (for tips on picking ripe fruit, check out the FAQ’s below)
- Rpe papaya
- Ripe mangoes
- Bananas
- Pure vanilla extract t or vanilla bean paste
- Full-fat coconut cream
- Lime
- Coconut condensed milk
- Salt
- Mint leaves (optional)
Instructions To Make Sri Lankan Fruit Salad
- Refrigerate the coconut cream overnight.
- Peel the pineapple. To this by cutting off the outer skin with a sharp knife. Then, if you have a pineapple corer, remove the core. Or, do what I do and simply chop off the sides of the pineapple, around the core. Then, cut the pineapple chunks into bite-sized cubes.
- Slice the papaya in half, remove the seeds with a spoon, peel, and dice. If your papaya is very ripe, after removing the seeds, use a scoop to scoop out the papaya.
- Peel the mangoes, cut the flesh away from the pit, and cube.
- Slice the bananas just before serving to keep them fresh. If you are making this fruit salad a day or two ahead, then only chop the pineapple, papaya, and mangoes, and store these in an airtight container.
- When ready to serve, combine all the fruit in a large bowl.
- Scoop the thick cream from the chilled coconut cream into a mixing bowl, add the vanilla extract and, using an electric mixer, or whisk, whip until light and fluffy. Then, use a microplane grater and zest the lime. Add a couple of pinches of lime zest to the whipped coconut cream and fold in well.
- Then, make the coconut sauce by adding 2 tablespoons of coconut condensed milk to a jar or small bowl. Add 1 tablespoon off lime juice, a pinch of salt, and a pinch of lime zest to the jar as well. Mix this very well.
- When serving, serve the fruit salad into individual bowls, pour a little bit of the coconut lime sauce on top and top with a dollop of the coconut vanilla whipped topping, some mint leaves for garnish, and enjoy!
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Tips for the Best Tropical Fruit Salad
- Use fruit that is fully ripe for the best flavor.
- Chill the fruit before serving for an extra refreshing dessert.
- Add bananas just before serving so they don’t brown.
- If making ahead, store the fruit and coconut topping separately and assemble just before serving. The coconut lime sauce tends to separate so it is best made just before serving.
- Fresh fruit always tastes better than canned fruit in this recipe.
Variations
This tropical fruit salad is easy to customize.
- Best tropical fruits to use in addition to the 4 listed are rambutan, mangosteen, passion fruit, or jackfruit. If you like, some kiwi, blueberries, or strawberries can be added too for a variety of colors.
- The lime can be substituted for another citrus flavor such as lemon or orange.
- Add a quarter teaspoon of grated ginger to the fruit salad for some punch.
- Cool whip or whipped cream can be used instead of the coconut whipped topping.
- Instead of a coconut lime sauce as the fruit salad dressing, the coconut condensed milk can be replaced with honey for a honey lime dressing.
Serving Suggestions
Serve this Sri Lankan fruit salad filled or at room temperature at warm weather get-togethers, potlucks, and brunches.
This tropical fruit salad recipe is also perfect for an afternoon snack or weeknight dessert.
Storage
Store leftover fruit salad in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 2 days. The bananas might discolor so I usually eat them all before storing the leftovers.
For the freshest texture, store the whipped coconut topping and coconut lime sauce separately and add it just before serving.
F.A.Q.’s
How to pick ripe fruit for this Sri Lankan fruit salad?
- Pineapple should smell sweet at the base, and be turning yellow or light orange.
- Papaya should give slightly when pressed and also be orange.
- Mangoes should smell fragrant near the stem. And, one tip my mom shared with me is that ripe sweet mangoes tend to have slightly wrinkling orange skin.
- Bananas should have a few brown speckles.
Can this be make it ahead?
Yes, this Sri Lankan fruit salad can be made a day or two ahead. Peel, cut, and combine the pineapple, papaya, and mangoes. Store these together in an airtight container in the fridge. The coconut whipped topping can also be made ahead and chilled. When ready to serve, peel and slice the bananas into the bowl and make the coconut lime sauce.
Can frozen fruit be used?
Unfortunately, this easy fruit salad recipe works best with fresh fruit. So please refrain from using frozen fruit or canned fruit to make this tropical summer fruit salad.
Ingredients
Sri Lankan Fruit Salad
- 1 ripe pineapple
- 1 ripe papaya
- 2 ripe mangoes
- 2 bananas
- Mint leaves (optional) for garnish
Coconut Vanilla Whipped Topping
- 1 13.5 oz can coconut cream (refrigerated overnight)
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 1/8 tsp lime zest (1 lime for both sauce and topping)
Coconut Lime Sauce
- 1/8 tsp lime zest (1 lime for both sauce and topping)
- 1 tbsp lime juice
- 2 tbsp coconut condensed milk
Instructions
- Refrigerate the coconut cream overnight.
- Peel the pineapple. To this by cutting off the outer skin with a sharp knife. Then, if you have a pineapple corer, remove the core. Or, do what I do and simply chop off the sides of the pineapple, around the core. Then, cut the pineapple chunks into bite-sized cubes.
- Slice the papaya in half, remove the seeds with a spoon, peel, and dice. If your papaya is very ripe, after removing the seeds, use a scoop to scoop out the papaya.
- Peel the mangoes, cut the flesh away from the pit, and cube.
- Slice the bananas just before serving to keep them fresh. If you are making this fruit salad a day or two ahead, then only chop the pineapple, papaya, and mangoes, and store these in an airtight container.
- When ready to serve, combine all the fruit in a large bowl.
Coconut Vanilla Whipped Topping
- Scoop the thick cream from the chilled coconut cream into a mixing bowl, add the vanilla extract and, using an electric mixer, or whisk, whip until light and fluffy. Then, use a microplane grater and zest the lime. Add a couple of pinches of lime zest to the whipped coconut cream and fold in well.
Coconut Lime Sauce
- Then, make the coconut sauce by adding 2 tablespoons of coconut condensed milk to a jar or small bowl. Add 1 tablespoon off lime juice, a pinch of salt, and a pinch of lime zest to the jar as well. Mix this very well.
Serve
- When serving, serve the fruit salad into individual bowls, pour a little bit of the coconut lime sauce on top and top with a dollop of the coconut vanilla whipped topping and enjoy!
Notes
Tips:
- Use fruit that is fully ripe for the best flavor.
- Chill the fruit before serving for an extra refreshing dessert.
- Add bananas just before serving so they don’t brown.
- If making ahead, store the fruit and coconut topping separately and assemble just before serving. The coconut lime sauce tends to separate so it is best made just before serving.
- Fresh fruit always tastes better than canned fruit in this recipe.
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Enter your email and I’ll send you this recipe to you. Plus you’ll get new recipes from me every week!
Wow ! This fruit salad is great for summer time. Looks very tropical and delicious ! One of my all time favorites ! Thanks for sharing.
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Wow, this fruit salad brought back a lot of memories! Loved the whipped coconut topping. 🙂
I want a huge bowl of this salad with a mound of that delicious whipped coconut topping 🙂
What a fun twist on a classic fruit salad! I clearly need to eat more papaya and mangoes and kiwi! My kitchen currently looks like a mini bomb exploded in there, and I’m about to head off to clean it up. Thanks for sharing! #client
im a pretty messy cook myself 🙁
I’m a very neat cook but I would never clean my board in between preparation, unless absolutely necessary. I have a few boards which really helps 🙂
I haven’t managed to convince myself to like papaya, but I love all the rest! <3 I'm definitely gonna have to try this recipe out!
Haha, TOTALLY wish I had a self cleaning kitchen! Love little tricks like this to keep things from getting out of hand — and the fruit salad looks amazing!
I love reading about the food of different cultures, like the fruits typically used in Sri Lanka. And drizzling condensed milk – cool!!
haha oh my gosh a self-cleaning kitchen! Now that would be AMAZING! I’m sooo messy when I’m cooking … and I hate clean up!
I absolutely love the sound of this fruit salad – one of my favorite type of desserts during the summer!
Oh my, if you looked at my kitchen right now, you’d probably want to head right back out the front door;) I could definitely use Clorox’s Pump’N’Clean! And a bowl of this salad! It looks incredibly refreshing and delicious with the whipped vanilla coconut!
I try to cleanup as I go along.. messiness irritates me and stresses me out. I have issues as I’m getting older. I need to try the whipped vanilla coconut topping.. I’ve seen it so many times, but I haven’t yet tried it. Such a great sub. Lovely salad.
I feel like my kitchen is always a mess and I hate to clean it. Will have to get some of that pump and clean. Love that it doesn’t have any harsh chemicals and sometimes buying a new product can put a little fun into cleaning. Temporarily at least.
Love the fruit salad! 🙂
Need to try this pump and clean very soon! The salad looks so fresh, love the whipped coconut cream!
I absolutely adore the sound of this salad: so refreshing and summery! And that coconut topping sounds to die for – what a winner combo! x
I’d have to really think about how I cook! I think it’s a mix of cooking and then cleaning so there is mess but it has to be cleaned up as soon as the cooking is done.
Looks like an amazing fruit salad! Happy Monday!
Now that’s what I call an exotic fruit salad. I’m loving that you added coconut whipped cream, because everything tastes better with coconut whipped cream?
BTW I’m such a messy cook, if I ever get rich I want to hire somebody to clean my kitchen everyday. Now that would be a dream!
I love a fruit salad, and they’re always so refreshing to eat in the summer! The coconut cream sounds like a perfect addition too. Yum! Thank you for sharing!
Oh gosh I am SUCH a messy cook. Some days I dream of having a dish assistant 😀 …then I tell myself I’m being ridiculous.
Exotic and delicious!
What an amazingly refreshing sounding fruit salad Shashi, with a topping that is making my mouth water! I have to say that I tell Lynne to keep well away from the kitchen when I’m in full cooking mode!