Grandmama’s fruit salad is my absolute favorite thing in the entire world to eat. I adore it. I love it. As my son said once “This is so good, if it were a girl, I’d marry it!”. Grandmama’s Holiday Fruit Salad is so incredibly good.
My grandmother always made it for us at Thanksgiving and Christmas and now that she has gone on to celebrate Thanksgiving with Jesus, this fruit salad holds even more precious memories. No other desserts exist for me when this fruit salad is present. You can tempt me with creme brûlée, tiramisu, carrot cake, even Grandmama’s chocolate pie, but Grandmama’s Holiday Fruit Salad is the beginning and end as far as I am concerned.
In case you haven’t caught on yet, I REALLY REALLY love THIS fruit salad!
LETS MAKE SOME!!!!
~eyes widen and mouth begins to water~
To make Grandmama’s Holiday Fruit Salad you will need: Apples, Oranges, Seedless Grapes, 3-4 cans fruit cocktail (with juice), 1 Cup sugar, and 6 egg yolks (the yellow part).
Peel and chop apples. Place in bowl.
Peel and cut up oranges. Cut oranges up over apples and stir so that the orange juice prevents them from browning.
Cut grapes into halves. Place in bowl.
Pour all of the fruit cocktail into bowl, juice and all.
stir well.
Drain juice from bowl of fruit into a sauce pot.
Add sugar
(you CAN use Splenda in place of sugar here!)
Separate eggs. You can discard the whites or find another use for them
(ideas in notes on the recipe card at the bottom of this post)
Beat egg yolks well.
Add to sauce pot. Stir well.
Cook approximately 15 minutes over medium heat stirring occasionally until slightly thickened.
Cool.
Pour over fruit. Stir, Cover, and refrigerate.
Will keep in the refrigerator for a week.
Make at least 24 hours ahead so that flavors can marry – or they can just date for a bit, they”ll likely get along better if they haven’t signed on for a commitment after such a short time anyway.
Serve cold.
If you had any idea how wonderful this tastes you’d be dying right now!
Grandmama and Mama always store theirs in glass jars in the fridge, kind of like this one.
Ingredients
- 6-8 Apples
- 6 Oranges
- 1 lb Seedless Grapes
- 3-4 15 Ounce Cans Fruit Cocktail You can use generic, it is every bit as good!
- 1 Cup sugar
- 6 egg yolks*
Instructions
- Peel fruit and chop into small pieces. Cut oranges over apples so that the juice from the oranges will stop the apples from turning dark. Pour fruit cocktail over fruit. Drain juice from fruit into saucepan.
- Add 1 cup sugar and 6 egg yolks. Blend well.
- Cook approximately 15 minutes over medium heat stirring occasionally until slightly thickened. Cool. Pour over fruit.
- Stir, Cover, and refrigerate. Will keep in frig for a week. Make at least 24 hours ahead so that flavors can marry. Optional: Coconut and pecans. Bananas can be added but they turn dark quick and the fruit salad will not last as long in refrigerator.
Notes
Banana Pudding
Lemon Meringue Pie
Orange Meringue Pie
Coffee Cream Pie
Yum 
Have you ever put bananas in this fruit salad? I was wondering how bananas would hold up. I like bananas in fruit salad but I also don’t want to ruin the left overs with black, slimy things either.
I recently found your blog and love it. Now I can’t stay away from it. I think you were raised with the same food as I was…and it’s all good.
Thanks for being so excited about the food and the way of life we southerners live.
My mom always put bananas in her fruit salad, too so I can’t imagine a fruit salad without them. Guess we can make up the salad ahead and add sliced bananas just before serving.
Another great one! My hubby just loves fruit salad- I can’t wait to try this one out on him and see if he notices the difference! This recipe reminds me of a punch my grandma used to make when we had big parties back in the day- Christy- maybe that’s what we need next! You know people are having Christmas parties left and right soon- I think we could all use a good southern punch recipe!
This looks absolutly beautiful Christy all the colors of the fruit. That sauce is so different that i gotta try it. your pictures are beautiul especially with the sunlight coming through. Happy Thanksgiving.
Hey Tammy! Yes, I have put bananas in it and so has Grandmama. One of the neat things about it, though, is how long it keeps and stays nice and fresh in the fridge and like you said, the bananas kind of kill that effect. What I do when I want bananas is just slice them into my bowl of fruit salad rather than adding to the whole thing. You can, though, absolutely you can! It just won’t keep as long.
I am so glad you’re here!!! Thank you for reading!
Caitlin What a great idea on the punch!!! I’m right on it!!! I hope you enjoy this, I can honestly eat my weight in this fruit salad!
Tina! Hey girlfriend!!! It is pretty, isn’t it? I hope you have a great one, too!! I have your email all queued up to answer now!!!
Thank you all for reading!!!
Christy 🙂
Ok Christy I came back to post and let you know that I am so making this for Thanksgiving. I have a jar exactly like that with a snow man on it. I will make it wed night and carry it up to my mother in laws house in a cooler LOL. I gotta make this salad dh looked at it and said ummmm now that looks good. Ok Christy its going on the road with us.
Wow! This looks fan-freakin-tabulous and I can’t wait to try it!
Oh my… I JUST got back from the store a little while ago…. This looks YUMMY!! Now hubby needs to go to the store….
hey all! i thought about the bananas, too, but i see the best way to add those, great idea. i guess my questions are:
1) what purpose do the eggs serve? as a binder? flavor enhancer? for richness?
2) do you think citrus fruit would affect this mix in any way? (kumquats, grapefruit, etc…)
i have low blood sugar and love fruit but i can’t eat so much of it. however, protein and fat work wonders, so i am going to pretend the egg yolks will mitigate that! maybe i would even make myself add some greek yogurt for health to justify it, hee, hee!
great recipe, thanks, c!
So it’s kind of like a really rich pudding custard sauce? It looks delicious!
Hey Y’all!!! I am so glad you are as jazzed about the fruit salad as I am! I hope you get to try it and be sure and tell me if you do!!!
Sweepea:
1)The egg yolks are cooked with the juice and sugar and make a thin custard like sauce which coats the fruit and gives it the most delicious flavor…oh my it is just wonderful.
2)It already has citrus in it (oranges) so go ahead and add more if you like!
I have problems with my blood sugar as well and so I substitute splenda for the sugar in this and there is no problem in doing that, still comes out beautifully.
Like you, I can’t eat a lot of fruit. I mainly have issues with really sweet fruit such as oranges. The apples in this don’t really bother me. I LOVE oranges but just don’t eat that many of them. This fruit salad doesn’t bother me, but if i were to eat an entire orange by itself i would have serious blood sugar issues.
Thank y’all so much!!!
Christy
Thanks! I just read the entire recipe and realized you’d already addressed the bananas. Bet that’s irritating–so I apologize. Guess I am already in a tizzy over the holidays. A reminder to slow down.
I could swim in a vat of that with my mouth open…
Hey Tammy!
Oh posh, I am not the least bit annoyed! You’re talking to the person who reads the last chapter of a book BEFORE I buy it, then I read the first chapter and scan for good parts and I’m done! LOL You couldn’t annoy me if you tried! Thats what my kids are for! ~grins~
Average Betty: Still laughing….I love it when you have one of those laughs that just catches you by surprise and you have to toss your head back and let ‘er rip! My daughter came in here to check on me, I was so loud! Its funny because we had our family thanksgiving on Sunday and I have some of this in the fridge and I’ve pretty much been living off of it for two days now and am still loving every single bite! lol
Still laughing….
Splenda here I come! Everyone in the family is on a special diet of some kind. This should be good for Thanksgiving so I don’t have to listen to them gripe about calories lol.
Hey Stephanie! Its not really that rich of a sauce, its kind of like a thinned out pudding I guess. Its hard to explain. OH well, y’all are just going to have to come eat now! Git on over here!
~rings the bell~
Hey Bill! I LOVE having a low sugar dessert at Thanksgiving, you are definitely THE MAN!
Gratefully,
Christy
Hi Christy: Just wondering if you have tried this with Not peeling the apples. I would think it would be good. Also did you cook the dressing with the sugar substitute and it turned out sweet?
I am truly enjoying your book and your personality.
I needed a sauce for apple and banana salad. My husband found this one. I will try IT!!nAN
I hope you like it!! Can’t wait to hear.
My first time by here! Found you over at Divine Caroline & since you’re Southern, I had to drop by. This sounds wonderful, even though I’ve never heard of putting eggs in your fruit salad. I can imagine that it must taste really good. Yum! I’ll have to stop by here again.
Hi Love this site ! For the fruit salad you can add a box of instant Vanilla Pudding mix, it is delicious ! So easy not to have to do the Egg mixture . Happy Thanksgiving
I made this for Thanksgiving Day and it was a smash!!! Was lucky that out of that huge batch I got a little bit of leftovers to bring home.
I used the fruit cocktail made with splenda and regular splenda in the juice mix and there was not one complaint from anyone…even from my one son who dislikes things with artificial sweetners!!! He never knew! Everyone from age 6 through 64 enjoyed it…very light and refreshing. We started eating it when we were nibbling on appetizers and then some had through dinner and then again after dinner time! Cleansed the palate nicely.
A couple of tips/suggestions: I used my Vidalia food chopper to chop the apples and oranges with the larger square blade. I alternated the apple pieces with the orange pieces which served two situations…one it immediately added the orange juices to keep from browning and secondly, since the orange sections had a tendancy to go through it a bit harder, the apple sections following the orange cleaned out and plugged areas!
Also, I think next time I will drain and save the fruit cocktail juices as the bowl was so large it was impossible with my arthritic thumbs to hold and drain. I used a slotted spoon this time and just spooned the fruit into a colander over a pop and then into another large bowl until I got to just the remaining juices. With draining the fruit cocktails first, just using a slotted spoon and moving from the one bowl to another should be enough without having to use the colander at all as there will be a lot less juice in the bottom of the bowl to add to the fruit cocktail juices in the pot.
Thanks for a great recipe Christy!!! Gerry
Christy I made the fruit salad and toted it down to my husbands familys. It was a big hit and everyone loved it. Wow it made a lot. I put it in a jar exactly as you did. The longer it sat the better it was. Thanks for a great recipe.
Howdy and Happy Turkey Day!!
I was just thinking today what I was gonna make to take to the family eatins and I think this may be it. My Maw Maw makes a variation of this but I’m gonna tell her about the egg yolk/custard part. I think I just may take peanut butter cake too.
Keep it up girlie!! I’m addicted(especially now that I’ve moved and actually have a kitchen I can do stuff in, I just need the stuff to do it with).
I think I will make this for Christmas! It’s the one dessert I know my SILs won’t duplicate at my in-laws gathering! And a lemon meringue pie for my hubby with the egg whites!
I gots a question. Do ya think if I ommitted the apples in this recipe I could make a jumbo batch and can it in water bath canner? Now sure if the egg yolks even cooked would be safe to do that with, but my guys loved it for our very small turkey day yesterday.
This is in my refrigerator right now getting ready for tomorrows dinner. I am going to have to try it out though in a little while because it just looks so delicious that I can’t wait until tomorrow! Have a wonderful New Year and thank you for all of your wonderful recipes!
I LOVE THE IDEA OF GIVING THIS FRUIT SALAD TO CHURCH MEMBERS FOR CHRISTMAS PRESENTS. I’LL HAVE TO FIND A JAR LIKE THE ONE YOU USED. MY MOTHER KEPT CANTALOUPE CHILLED IN THE REFRIGERATOR IN THE SUMMERTIME. NOTHING LIKE IT!! THANKS FOR HELPING US ALL MAKE MEMORIES FOR OUR FAMILIES.
Does ANYBODY know wilf this is a safe recipe to make in big batches and can? Or even freeze for that matter. No response when I asked earlier and I’d love to have pints handy for dessert round here.
Hey Angelia! I’m sorry you didn’t get a response earlier but I was visiting my family in Georgia for Thanksgiving and that was my top priority. I always take a few days off from SouthernPlate when the holidays roll around. I know in this day and age the line between what is electronic and what is a person gets blurred and we tend to expect instant answers from computers but I’m afraid this is still just me behind the scenes.
I have never tried canning or freezing this. It *might* freeze okay but I don’t think it would can well. Mama did a post years ago about how she makes her own little frozen fruit cups and I think you might enjoy that post so I’m going to put the link below.
I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving!
https://www.southernplate.com/heritage-hints-from-mama-frozen-fruit-cups-and-guilty-pleasures/
Hey Angelia! I’m sorry you didn’t get a response earlier but I was visiting my family in Georgia for Thanksgiving and that was my top priority. I always take a few days off from SouthernPlate when the holidays roll around. I know in this day and age the line between what is electronic and what is a person gets blurred and we tend to expect instant answers from computers but I’m afraid this is still just me behind the scenes.
I have never tried canning or freezing this. It *might* freeze okay but I don’t think it would can well. Mama did a post years ago about how she makes her own little frozen fruit cups and I think you might enjoy that post so I’m going to put the link below.
I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving!
https://www.southernplate.com/heritage-hints-from-mama-frozen-fruit-cups-and-guilty-pleasures/
This recipe looks ABSOLIUTELY DIVINE
I can’t wait to try this recipe. I think that I will try adding some mini marshmallows.
I just discovered your blog. I’ve subscribed to your newsletter.
I love, love, love all your recipes. I just wish that I wasn’t on a diet, because I want to try everything!!!!!
Ughh, Christy you will not BELIEVE what I just did! I made your awesome fruit salad to give to someone, and for some reason I didn’t read the recipe thoroughly enough (and I was in a huge hurry so I was rushing!) and I ended up poaching the egg yolks and serving fruit salad with tiny pieces of egg in the sauce! Once I realized it, I was so embarrassed! I will be trying again soon and hope to get it right next time! I added pineapple chunks- and used mandarin oranges instead of cutting up oranges. Even with egg pieces it was still tasty! : )
Christy, I made this on a whim to get my kids to eat fruit salad. They tried it but they said that they were “too full to even eat it” (I think they were just full of “something” other than food that night). But, I ate some and it was sooo good! I put it in a bowl and kept it in the fridge over night. Now, there is some still in there and it’s telling me, “Now, you know you want to eat me…be a good girl and do as your told like your Mamaw taught you!”
Now I know I have to sign up for your newsletters! This has been my favorite Holiday dish since I was a little girl…….we won’t go in to how long ago that was….we’ll just say a long time. I love your eggyolk “savce” & can’t wait to add it to my salad at Thanksgiving. I do add bananas at the last minute before serving & take out any that may be left before storing. Don’t the apples make it just perfect? I love the added crunch.I’ve even added berries, if they’re in season when I’m making it. OK, I’m off to sign up……I’ll be talking with you soon…..
Now I know I have to sign up for your newsletters! This has been my favorite Holiday dish since I was a little girl…….we won’t go in to how long ago that was….we’ll just say a long time. I love your eggyolk “sauce” & can’t wait to add it to my salad at Thanksgiving. I do add bananas at the last minute before serving & take out any that may be left before storing. Don’t the apples make it just perfect? I love the added crunch.I’ve even added berries, if they’re in season when I’m making it. OK, I’m off to sign up……I’ll be talking with you soon…..
I have been searching and searching for this recipe! Fell in love with it when MIL made it at Easter. Had a copy. Moved a lot over the years. MIL is gone now and I am a GM. Needed to find this for holidays. I will change up a few of the fruits as the seasons change and add white grapes except at Christmas. Made a sample just had to try it out. Used Blue, black and raspberries along with canned fruits cocktail and bananas sliced just at serving with whipped cream on top. Yummy! Thank you so much!
Hi,
I tried this recipe to the letter and something doesn’t seem right.. it tastes too much like egg yolk. What did I do wrong? I prepared everything and cooked the sause according to directions..