Can You Freeze Fruit Salad?

Fruit salad is a quick, easy, healthy dish that is refreshing at any time of the day. You can have it for breakfast, a snack or as a healthy dessert after your main meal in the evening. If you do want to make a large fruit salad but not waste any, have you considered putting it in the freezer?

How to Freeze Fruit Salad

It does not necessarily matter what types of fruit you use in your fruit salad, so be creative! You could use strawberries, bananas, apples, grapes etc or go exotic and use fruits such as pineapple, guava and mango.

The preparation and freezing methods vary based on how long you are going to be freezing your fruit salad, so make sure you know ahead of time so you can follow the correct instructions:

How to Freeze Fruit Salad for Weeks

If you’re looking for a healthy way to freeze fruit salad then this is not the method to opt for. If, however, you want to use it to make ice cream sundaes or to serve as dessert then try this:

1. Make your Fruit Salad
   Wash, prepare and chop your chosen fruits and place them all into a freezer-safe container.
2. Make a Syrup
   Make a simple syrup using a mixture of sugar and water. This recipe would be suitable.
3. Pour Over Syrup
   Pour your syrup mixture over the fruit, making sure to submerge the fruit 
4. Freeze
   Seal the containers and place them into the freezer on a flat surface. Fruit salad made this way should only be frozen for a maximum of 8 weeks, otherwise ice crystals could start to form and break down the fruit, turning it to mush. 

How to Freeze Fruit Salad for Months

This method will take a little longer but is well worth the effort if you want to have fruit salad perfectly stored in the freezer for months to come:

1. Wash and Dry
   Wash and dry our chosen fruit, removing any dirt or germs. 
2. Cut the Fruit
   Cut your chosen fruit into bite sized chunks, getting rid of any skin, blemishes or bruises on the fruit.  
3. Pat Dry Again
   Removing as much moisture as possible will aid the freezing process, so pat the now cut fruit with a paper towel. 
4. Grab a Baking Sheet
   Take a baking tray and line it with greaseproof paper. 
5. Spread Out the Fruit
   In a single layer, ensuring no fruit is stacked on top of each other, spread out the fruit on the baking tray.  
6. Cover
   Cover the baking tray with foil or cling film, being sure to wrap the entire sheet. 
7. Freeze Briefly
   Slide the tray into the freezer and freeze the fruit for up to 4 hours. 
8. Transfer to Bags
   Once the fruit has all frozen, remove the tray from the freezer and place the fruit into plastic freezer bags. Squeeze as much air as you can from the bag before sealing it.

3 Tips for Freezing Fruit Salad

Now you know how to freeze it, we’ve got our 3 top tips which we strongly recommend following when freezing fruit salad to have the best results:

Add a Layer of Clingfilm
When you pour the syrup over your fruit, you may want to add another layer of cling film over the top. This will prevent freezer burn. 

Use Individual Portions
It is always best to freeze dishes in individual portions to save you from having to defrost a large batch, and you can simply grab a pre-portioned fruit salad and thaw only as much as you need. 

Choose Deep Containers
It’s best to have deep containers rather than wide ones when it comes to a fruit salad as you’ll be able to make the most of the space and it’ll be easier for the fruit to submerge in the syrup.

How Long Can You Freeze Fruit Salad?

Depending on the preparation method, you can freeze fruit salad for between 8 weeks and 9 months.

If you are going to want to freeze your fruit salad for a few months, you will need to plan to freeze the fruit before making the salad with syrup.

So you would make up the fruit salad that you want to eat then with the syrup, and then keep the rest of the fruit aside to freeze to use at a later stage. 

You Can Freeze Fruit Salad for up to 9 Months

How Do You Defrost Fruit Salad?

Whether you have frozen your fruit salad with syrup or without, the thawing process is the same and there are a few ways in which you can do this.

Obviously, do not defrost in a microwave or in warm water as no one wants to be eating a warm, and most likely mushy, fruit salad! 

One way you can defrost fruit salad is to simply leave it out on the counter for a few hours to defrost at room temperature. However, be careful not to leave out for too long as the salad may reach a temperature where bacterial growth is supported, which would not be suitable to consume. 

The safest way to defrost a fruit salad is in the fridge. You will have to plan ahead, but this method ensures that you still have a delicious, fresh fruit salad with no risk of bacterial growth. 

Can You Refreeze Fruit Salad?

No, you cannot refreeze fruit salad. The general rule for refreezing food is that it should not be done, especially with fruit.

While it can be fairly safe to refreeze food if there are still ice crystals present, and it is technically safe to do so with fruit, the fruit will have degraded so much in quality if frozen for a second time, that you probably won’t even want to eat the fruit once it has thawed.

Does Fruit Salad Freeze Well?

You can freeze fruit salad fairly easily, and it is suggested that you do so to keep extra fruit salad fresh for longer.

It can be a great way to ensure you always have a healthy snack or dessert available and, whilst you may have to think ahead as to when you want to defrost the salad, there are thankfully no complicated steps when it comes to thawing. 

Related FAQs

If you’ve still got questions about freezing fruit salad or fruit in general, then these may help: