Mexican Fruit Salad

This Mexican fruit salad puts a spicy twist on a summer favorite with the addition of Tajin – a chili-lime seasoning that takes fresh, juicy fruits to the next level. It’s quick, simple, super refreshing, and highly adaptable!

Sweet and Spicy Tajin Mexican Fruit Salad

We love throwing together quick and simple fruit salads. Unlike a traditional western version, though, Mexican fruit salad includes a lime and Tajin (chili lime seasoning) dressing which, when combined with tropical fruits, is vibrant, sweet, savory, tangy, spicy, and utterly delicious. The lime highlights the spice in the tajin and enhances the fruits sweetness, meanwhile the spice really adds that ‘something special’.

Better yet, this tajin fruit salad is super simple to make and adapt based on what’s in season, available, and to your taste. It’s also absolutely loaded with dietary fiber, antioxidants, digestive benefits, and several micronutrients like vitamins A and C, folate, and more.

So, whether you’re planning a BBQ, picnic, pool day, large get-together, brunch, taco night, or Cinco de Mayo gathering, Mexican fruit with tajin is a quick, healthy, refreshing side salad, snack, or dessert pick-me-up all summer long. You might also enjoy mixed berry nice cream, strawberry sorbet with mint, and summer fruit pizza.

The Ingredients

The Mexican Fruit Salad

• Pineapple: It should be heavy and firm with slight give.
• Watermelon: Purchase a seedless watermelon if possible.
• Honeydew melon: Or another in-season melon.
• Mango: Make sure it’s got a little give, but not over or under-ripe.
• Papaya: We love this addition if you can find it.
• Jicama: (optional) This will add extra crunch to the Mexican fruit salad recipe – it’s best when finely diced. Alternatively, cucumber works well for a fresh crunch.

Other fruits for a Mexican fruit bowl/cup include: Cantaloupe melon, strawberries, banana, dragon fruit, kiwi, pomegranate, grapes, berries, peaches, and apples.

The Tajin Dressing and Garnish

• Lime: Use fresh lime juice and optionally add some lime zest for extra zingy flavor. Lemon juice will work in a pinch.
• Tajin: This mildly spicy, tangy chili-lime seasoning is a popular fruit topping in Mexico, and adds wonderful depth to a Mexican fruit cup/salad. If you’re unable to find tajin, you could use dried chile powder instead, like chile de arbol (mild-medium heat) with some lime zest.
• Fresh herbs: We love using mint and cilantro, though you can use just mint if you aren’t a cilantro fan.

Optionally, garnish the tajin fruit salad with more mint, cilantro, and/or lime wedges.

What Can I Add to Mexican Fruit Salad?

• Maple syrup/Agave: To add to the tajin dressing for extra sweetness.
• Chamoy: Drizzle over a small amount of Chamoy (a sweet-tart and slightly spicy pickled fruit condiment) instead of or alongside the tajin.
• Fruit bionicos: Bionico is a popular Mexican dessert made with fruit smothered in a sweet crema and toppings (below). To adapt this into a delicious vegan bionico recipe, add a vegan cream sauce made with a combination of dairy-free coconut condensed milk and vegan yogurt (and/or dairy-free sour cream).
• Toppings: Add texture and flavor to the Mexican fruit with tajin with:
  • Shredded coconut/ coconut flakes
• • Granola
• • Dried fruit (raisins or sultanas)
  • Drizzle of maple syrup

How to Make a Mexican Fruit Salad

Prepare simple, delicious Mexican fruit cups, bowls, or salads in just three simple steps.

• 1) First, peel and dice the fruit into small ½-inch pieces. Also, juice the lime, and finely chop the cilantro and mint.

• 2) Then, add all the ingredients to a large bowl with the tajin and gently mix.

• 3) Transfer the tajin fruit salad to the fridge to marinate for at least 30 minutes. Then serve, chilled, optionally with additional fresh herbs and lime wedges.

Pro Recipe Tips

• Adjust the ingredients: i.e., more or less lime, tajin, a bit of sweetener, use other in-season fruits, etc.
• Don’t discard lime zest: Zest the limes before juicing them and save it in an ice cube tray in the freezer.  
• Leave it to marinate: Though it’s possible to consume immediately, 2-3 hours of chilling will allow the flavors to meld/enhance.
• For more aesthetics: Use cutters or melon ballers to ‘shape’ the fruit.
• Low budget tip: Use cheap, seasonal fruits and ones that are on sale for the most budget-friendly tajin fruit cup/salad.
• Cut even-sized pieces: So you can get a bit of everything in each bite.
• To save time: You can purchase some fruits pre-chopped. However, these won’t taste as fresh and tend to cost more.

How to Cut the Fruit

• Pineapple: Use a long, sharp knife to chop off the top and bottom, then down the sides to remove strips of the peel. Then, slice the pineapple in quarters lengthwise, remove the core, and slice into small pieces.
• Mango: Slice the ‘cheeks’ on either side of the mango pit, then score the mango in a grid pattern, push the outside to invert it (like a hedgehog), then slice the mango cubes. OR peel the mango first, slice away the cheeks, and dice.
• Small melon: For smaller melons, cut in half lengthwise, then again, and again into ½-1-inch slices, then use a knife to cut pieces along each slice, making sure not to cut through the skin. Finally, use a knife to cut away all the diced pieces.
• Watermelon: Cut it similarly to pineapple by cutting off the top and bottom, then slicing away the peel. Then cut the remaining melon in half and dice it.
• Papaya: Cut the top/bottom, peel it, slice in half, remove the seeds, then dice.
• Jicama: Cut off the top and bottom, remove the peel, then dice the jicama.

For Mexican fruit cups, you might prefer to cut the fruits into ‘sticks’ instead.

Storage Instructions

It’s best to prepare Mexican fruit with chili several hours before serving, so it has time for all the flavors to meld. Any leftovers will store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 2-3 days.

We don’t recommend freezing the fresh fruit, as they often become mushy upon thawing.

Have any leftovers that are a little mushy? Blend them into a delicious smoothie.

More Vegan Fruit Recipes

• Healthy banana popsicles
• Easy vegan raspberry cupcakes
• Strawberry crumble
• Mango sticky rice
• Vegan pineapple upside down cake
• Coconut pineapple pie
• Creamy lemon ice pops
• Raspberry bread pudding

Photos by Alfonso Revilla