Amish Fruit Salad Recipe

This recipe for Amish fruit salad is made with a sweetened homemade fruit sauce that has been thickened to perfection. It combines canned and fresh fruits, resulting in a delightful and refreshing medley of flavors.

Prepare to be delighted with every spoonful of this amazing fruit salad, as it delivers a symphony of mouthwatering flavors that will leave you craving more. It's a simple, refreshing dessert perfect for potlucks or family gatherings.

Variety of Fruits

The specific ingredients used in Amish fruit salad can vary, depending on personal preferences and the availability of fruits. However, some common fruits that we typically included are:

1. Apples: Crisp and juicy apples, such as Gala or Fuji, are commonly used. They provide a sweet and slightly tart flavor.
2. Oranges: Segmented oranges or mandarin oranges add a bright citrusy taste and a burst of freshness to the salad.
3. Bananas: Sliced bananas contribute a creamy and smooth texture to the salad, along with their naturally sweet flavor. (However, I recommend adding them just before serving.)
4. Grapes: Red or green seedless grapes are often included (typically cut in half), offering a juicy and slightly tangy element to the salad.
5. Pineapple: Chunks or tidbits of pineapple bring a tropical sweetness to the mix, balancing the flavors of the other fruits. (If preferred, you could use fresh pineapple as well.)
6. Peaches: Canned peaches bring a delightful sweetness that adds a pleasant contrast to the overall taste profile of the fruit salad. The soft texture adds a pleasing melt-in-your-mouth quality to the fruit salad, complementing the firmer texture of other fruits.
7. Berries: Depending on the season, berries such as strawberries, blueberries, or raspberries can be added, adding vibrant colors and a delightful sweetness.

This amazing fruit salad can be made with whatever fruit you have on hand. Sometimes we made it made with mostly canned fruits such as peaches, pears, and pineapple. But we loved it when it had grapes in as well. And fresh berries are definitely a great addition.

How to Make the Sauce

1. Prepare the Liquid Base:
   • In a saucepan, combine 3 cups of water, 2 cups pineapple juice (or a combination of pineapple juice and peach juice), ¾ to 1 ½ cups sugar (depending on your desired sweetness), ¼ cup lemon juice, a pinch of salt, and 1 (3 oz.) package lemon jello.
2. Heat to Boiling:
   • Place the saucepan on the stove over medium-high heat. Stir the mixture occasionally and bring it to a boil.
3. Prepare the Clear Jel Slurry:
   • In a small bowl, mix ½ cup of Clear Jel with ¾ cup of cold water to create a smooth slurry.
4. Thicken the Sauce:
   • Once the liquid in the saucepan reaches a boil, slowly pour the Clear Jel slurry into the hot liquid while continuously whisking to prevent lumps.
   • Continue whisking and allow the mixture to come back to a boil. Be careful as it may splatter.
5. Cool the Sauce:
   • Once the sauce has thickened and come to a boil, remove the saucepan from the heat.
   • Set the sauce aside and let it cool completely before adding fruit.

Sweet Fruit Salad Dressing

Homemade fruit salad dressing is easy to make, and you can adjust the sweetness as desired.

Fruit is already sweet, so I don't like making the dressing too sweet. Therefore, I only add a ¾ cup full of sugar. My original Amish fruit salad sauce recipe had one and a half cups of sugar, and that's too much for me. But if you enjoy really sweet sweets, then you might like it with 1 ½ cups.

The sauce is thickened with clear jel and jello. And you could adjust that a bit too depending on how thick you like the sauce.

Clear Jel

Clear Jel and cornstarch are both common thickeners used in cooking. However, Clear Jel is a modified cornstarch that withstands high temperatures and freezing, making it ideal for canning and pie fillings.

And clear jel is always my preferred thickener when it comes to thickening sauce for fruit. It doesn't get cloudy like cornstarch and leaves no aftertaste. Plus it doesn't continue thickening after being chilled. Therefore, when you are finished cooking the sauce/dressing, you can tell how thick it will be.

But I know that you can't walk into Walmart and buy clear jel, and most grocery stores don't carry it. However, you can typically find it at Amish and Mennonite bulk food stores. So if you're lucky enough to have one of those close by, you can probably purchase it there. (Make sure you get the cook-type clear jel and not instant.)

You can also purchase it online at Amazon, so I'm leaving a link here for you.

(This morning when I decided to make this fruit salad, I remembered that I finished my clear jel the last time. So I decided to make a run to the local Mennonite store to get more clear jel. When I couldn't find any on the shelf, I asked the lady at the store if they didn't carry clear jel. And they don't. "What? Why no clear jel?" Ends up that for some reason they like to use Therm Flo better than Clear Jel. She said it works pretty much the same.

So now I have Therm Flo instead of Clear Jel. And I couldn't really tell any difference when I used it. So, if your local bulk food store doesn't have clear jel, maybe you have to look for Therm Flo instead.)

Can I Use Cornstarch?

I have not tried this recipe using cornstarch instead of clear jel. But if you must, you can use cornstarch. However, it works a bit differently, so it probably won't be an even trade.

I'm honestly not sure how much cornstarch you will need to use to replace the clear jel. But some folk will tell you that you need to use a little more cornstarch. So, in other words, to replace a half cup of clear jel, you may need an approximate two-thirds cup of cornstarch.

Fruit salad can be enjoyed as a refreshing side dish, a light dessert, or a standalone snack. Combining fresh, juicy fruits with creamy dressing creates a harmonious blend of textures and flavors that are both satisfying and wholesome.

Amish Desserts

In Amish culture, where meals are often served to large crowds, resourcefulness and frugality are highly valued. Amish women, renowned for their culinary skills, ingeniously create tasty dishes using ingredients already available in their pantry or cellar.

Growing up Amish, fruit salad with sauce was a dish that was often served alongside cakes, pies, and pudding.

Our group was predominantly comprised of dairy farmers, granting us an abundance of milk. So we made lots of homemade thick and creamy cornstarch pudding. Our pantry was always stocked with essential ingredients, allowing us to whip up a homemade cake whenever an occasion arose.

And, of course, our shelves were lined with jars of canned fruits, preserved from the bounty of summer harvest. So homemade fruit salad with a glaze-like sauce was a dessert dish that was served many times.

And we never served a solitary dessert dish but rather presented an array of complementary dishes. Cake accompanied by pudding and fruit salad with dressing was a combination we thoroughly enjoyed.

More Amish Dessert Recipes with Fruit

• Fruit Pizza
• Creamy Grape Salad
• Strawberry Tapioca Pudding
• Peach Delight Dessert
• Frozen Fruit Slush
• Strawberry Danish Dessert