Mexican Fruit Salad with Yogurt and Chili Recipe
This fruit salad combines sweet fruit with slightly spicy yogurt and lime juice, which may surprise you if you only know sweet desserts. In Mexico, fruit is very often sprinkled with chili and drizzled with lime, even at street stalls, so this combination is completely natural there. It’s a great dessert after dinner or a light snack on a hot day when you don’t feel like heavy sweets.
This fruit salad showcases a completely different, Mexican approach to dessert – the sweetness of the fruit is balanced with chili, lime, and a pinch of salt, creating an effect that’s addictive from the first spoonful. The yogurt sauce is light, refreshing, and pleasantly spicy instead of heavy like whipped cream or ice cream. It’s a great way to turn ordinary fruit from a bowl into something that resembles street snacks from Mexican stalls.
Chef's tips
Cut the fruit with the sharpest knife you have and don’t mix it for too long so the watermelon and banana don’t fall apart – a few gentle strokes with a spoon are enough. Make the sauce a little in advance and chill it, then combine it with the fruit just before serving, because after a while the fruit releases a lot of juice and the salad becomes watery. Start carefully with the chili – you can always add another pinch after tasting the sauce.
How to serve
Serve well chilled, preferably in glass dessert cups or bowls, drizzled with a little extra sauce and sprinkled with a pinch of chili on top for the brave. It tastes great after a light lunch, with a glass of lime water, homemade lemonade, or iced tea. At my place it usually appears on hot weekend days on the balcony, when everyone wants “something sweet” but no one feels like heavy cake.
Ingredients
- pineapple peeled - 200 g
- mango - 1 piece
- watermelon - 250 g
- banana - 1 piece
- plain yogurt - 250 g
- honey - 1.5 tablespoons
- lime - 1 piece
- chili powder - 0.5 teaspoons
- cinnamon - 0.25 teaspoons
- salt - 1 pinch
Preparation
- Peel the pineapple, remove the hard core, and cut the flesh into small cubes. Peel the mango, remove the flesh from the pit, and also cut into cubes.
- Cut the watermelon into cubes, removing the seeds. Peel the banana and slice it.
- In a large bowl, gently mix all the fruit, trying not to mash it.
- In a separate small bowl, mix the plain yogurt, honey, lime juice, chili powder, cinnamon, and a pinch of salt. Stir until you get a smooth sauce.
- Taste the sauce – it should be sweet, slightly sour, and gently spicy at the same time. If needed, add a bit more honey or lime juice.
- Just before serving, pour the yogurt sauce over the fruit and gently toss so all the pieces are coated in a thin layer. Serve immediately, preferably slightly chilled.
Storage
Store the cut fruit and yogurt sauce separately in the fridge in airtight containers and combine only right before serving. Once mixed, the salad is best eaten the same day, as the fruit releases a lot of juice and the texture becomes watery over time.
