This post is sponsored by Cuties Citrus. All opinions are mine alone and partnerships like this help keep the blog ad free for your enjoyment. I hope you love the product and the Winter Fruit Salad with Cinnamon Vanilla Dressing as much as I do.
Enjoy all the best of in-season flavors with this Winter Fruit Salad with Cinnamon Vanilla Dressing. It's great for the holidays, a potluck, or Thanksgiving! This easy-to-make recipe is great for chefs of all ages!
With the winter holidays fast approaching, time spent in the kitchen seems to amplify; and if you have kids, then you quickly discover how helpful (albeit slow) extra hands can be. Today's Winter Fruit Salad with Cinnamon Vanilla Dressing is a great teamwork recipe and is perfect for little hands of all ages.
100 Days of Sunshine
Now that Daylight Savings has ended and the days are shorter, we are all challenged to find sunshine and all things merry and bright in this otherwise drab season. For my family, one of those things is Cuties; and my girls love being Cuties Correspondents by sharing them with everyone around them. They fit perfectly in a lunch box for my oldest to take to school and share with her friends, while the adorably chubby hands of my 2 year old can easily peel them and pass them around to those she loves. She gets so excited about seeing them on the table that she'll run over and hug the bowl (and try to eat them all in one sitting!)
I look forward to Cuties' return to the store every year, and I'm ecstatic that they are finally here! You too can celebrate 100 Days of Sunshine and brighten someone's day by sharing some delicious cuties this season! Show it off using #100DaysOfSunshine!
Skills & Techniques
Just because the chefs preparing this Winter Fruit Salad with Cinnamon Vanilla Dressing are pint sized, doesn't mean that they can't master some basic culinary proficiencies to make this recipe shine.
- How to Make Simple Syrup. This recipe calls for a standard (or basic) simple syrup. Learn how to get the right ratios and my tips for infusing it with the cinnamon vanilla flavors.
- How To Buy & Store Citrus. Involve the kids by teaching them what to look for at the store and how to keep it fresh when you get it home.
- Apples 101. This recipe uses Fuji apples, but if those aren't one of your favorites, use the FAQ's here to help you pick the right apple for you.
Storage and Leftovers
If you have leftovers of this Winter Fruit Salad with Cinnamon Vanilla Dressing, it will hold in your refrigerator in an airtight container for up to five days. During that time, you may find that the apples begin to brown. However, the sugar in the simple syrup will help slow that process.
If you have leftovers of the cinnamon vanilla simple syrup, it will stay fresh in the fridge for up to three months when stored in an airtight container.
Winter Fruit Salad with Cinnamon Vanilla Dressing
One of my favorite things about this recipe is that it gets better overnight. As the dressing settles into the fruit, the natural sugars, cinnamon, and vanilla meld together for a divine flavor combo. This is also a fantastic recipe for kids to work on for Thanksgiving; they can make it ahead, or it can keep hands busy on turkey day.
Get your free printable grocery list for this Winter Fruit Salad with Cinnamon Vanilla Dressing HERE.
This grocery list has everything that you’ll need to make this Winter Fruit Salad with Cinnamon Vanilla Dressing recipe. To help in making grocery shopping simple, each ingredient is listed in easy-to-find grocery store amounts. If there is no amount specified, that means that you can buy the smallest (or largest) container available and still have plenty left over.
Want to try some of our other excellent winter recipes? I recommend:
- Fennel & Orange Marinade
- Creamy Macaroni & Cheese with Butternut Squash
- Mustard Rubbed Pork Loin with Brussels Sprouts and Apples
- Festive Holiday Chestnut Roll Wreath
Happy Cooking!!! 🙂
Winter Fruit Salad with Cinnamon Vanilla Dressing
Ingredients
Winter Fruit Salad
- 10 Cuties mandarin oranges,, peeled and segmented
- 4 large fuji apples,, cored and diced
- 2 pomegranates,, arils removed
Cinnamon Vanilla Dressing
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 cup water
- 2 cinnamon sticks
- 1 vanilla bean*,, split down the middle and seeds scraped
Instructions
- In a small sauce pot, combine all of the ingredients for the Cinnamon Vanilla dressing. Stirring regularly, bring the mixture to a simmer then turn off the heat and let the dressing cool to room temperature. About 1 hour.
- In a bowl, combine the Cuties, diced apple, and pomegranate arils. Stir the cooled cinnamon vanilla dressing a little, then pour desired amount on top of the fruit salad. Toss until the fruit salad is evenly coated. Serve.
Lois. O says
Now this is my type of fruit salad! How did you nail literally all my favorite fruits into one salad? Beautifully presented too! Thanks for sharing!
Mackenzie Ryan says
Thank you so much, Lois. It has so many favorites, it's a great recipe for pleasing almost anyone.
Marisa Franca says
What a pretty salad!! Fresh veggies in spring and summer and winter fruit in the cold weather. Somehow a salad out of fruit sounds so good with the heavier food. Your salad has just the right amount of flavor combination.
Mackenzie Ryan says
I totally agree with it feeling light and fresh amidst the heavier winter foods. Plus, you get that vitamin C boost!
Donna says
Oh I love everything about this recipe!! The photos are just darling, the recipe is something my kids would have so much fun helping me put together, and the cinnamon vanilla dressing makes it fancy enough for me 🙂
Mackenzie Ryan says
Yes to all these things, Donna! I love how easy this recipe is for the kids to contribute to. Plus, it has something for every age to try to help with.
Michele says
I don't know what I love better... how festive this salad is our that adorable little girl in the photos! What a cutie! (get it, they are both cuties!). Im going to make this for a holiday luncheon... it fits in my healthy eating for December plan! Thanks
Mackenzie Ryan says
Oh man, I love a good pun Michele. Thank you! I hope you love the recipe!
prasanna hede says
Oh this salad looks so exciting with all the lovely fruit colors combined and the dressing looks amazing too!
Mackenzie Ryan says
So often winter foods are dull to look at, but this winter fruit salad is so pretty and enticing! Plus, it packs so much flavor with little effort.
Daisy says
Commenting again, Mack, as I suspect the comment I left on this post over the weekend didn't log into the system.
Anyway, I love this! Vanilla + cinnamon + citrus sounds like a surprisingly intriguing combo, and as I've started cooking again last month (yay!), this recipe is something I'll save to try.
I haven't been by your blog in a while but glad to see you going strong. Hope you are well!
Mackenzie Ryan says
I'm glad you did comment again because the first one didn't go through. It's such a good combo, I hope you get to try it now that you're cooking again, Daisy!