This popular 24 Hour Fruit Salad dessert, originally from the Midwest, is a traditional and iconic no-bake fruity treat made with juicy fruit, crunchy pecans, and mini marshmallows – tossed in a homemade creamy egg custard and chilled overnight for all flavors to blend and intensify!
Originally fresh fruits would have been used in this overnight fruit salad, and could still be used if so desired, but the convenience of canned fruit being available all year round makes life even sweeter when it comes to whipping up this fruity dessert for the holidays, summer barbecues, or whenever desired. Learn How To Cut A Mango if you want to add this to your salad, mix in Air Fryer Pineapple, or use leftover Fall Fruit Salad Dressing in your egg-based custard.
If you love fruit salads with a twist, try this Peach Pretzel Salad, Watermelon Cake, and Peach Burrata Salad with Cherries, Pistachios, and Berries.
🍜 Ingredients:
- Canned pineapple chunks – Plus the juice, which will be incorporated into the recipe.
- Canned mandarin oranges – Plus the juice, which will be incorporated into the recipe.
- Lemon juice – Preferably freshly squeezed juice from a lemon. Bottled lemon juice can be used in a pinch.
- Granulated sugar – For the custard mixture.
- Cornstarch – Used to thicken the custard.
- Butter – Unsalted butter is best for this sweet fruit salad.
- Heavy cream – This adds a creamy thickness to the homemade custard for extra decadence!
- Eggs – Make sure to have your eggs at room temperature for this recipe.
- Grapes – Seedless is best.
- Mini Marshmallows – If you can’t source mini marshmallows, cut regular marshmallows down to size.
- Bananas – Sliced into thick slices.
- Pecans – Folded into the fruit salad mixture and can also be added as a garnish.
Optional Garnish:
Top your overnight fruit salad with additional pecans, sliced almonds, or coconut flakes. This fruit salad is delicious as is but can be served with vanilla ice cream.
Equipment Needed:
No special equipment is required when making this overnight fruit salad. You’ll only need a saucepan, whisk, and a large mixing bowl.
Variations and Substitutions:
- Use whipped coconut cream and confectioners’ sugar instead of egg custard and heavy cream for a vegan overnight fruit salad.
- Strawberries, kiwi fruit, and cubed cantaloupe are lovely additions or substitutes. They are juicy and colorful and help to make it all look bright and attractive.
- Use fruit-flavored mini marshmallows for a fun addition to this fruit salad instead of regular mini marshmallows.
- Omit the pecans for nut allergies.
🔪 Instructions:
PREP: Allow the eggs to reach room temperature and wash and pat dry the grapes in preparation for assembling this overnight fruit salad.
Step 1: Combine the pineapple and orange juice, and then add 1 cup of the mixed juice to a saucepan.
Step 2: Add lemon juice, granulated sugar, and cornstarch to the juice mixture, and whisk.
Step 3: Add the eggs to the juice mixture and whisk until frothy.
Step 4: Cook the mixture over medium heat, whisking until it turns into a light and thickened custard. Remove the custard from the heat and whisk in the butter. Allow it to cool for about an hour.
PRO TIP: You do not want a skin to form on your custard as it cools. To avoid this, press a sheet of plastic wrap directly onto the surface of the custard and leave it to cool.
Step 5: Add the cooled custard to a large mixing bowl and fold in the whipped cream.
Step 7: Pour the cooled custard mixture over the combined fruit and toss to coat well. Slice the bananas and gently fold them into the fruit salad mixture.
Step 6: In a separate bowl, combine the pineapple chunks, mandarin oranges, grapes, mini marshmallows, and pecans.
Step 8: Cover the freshly assembled fruit salad with plastic wrap and chill overnight in the refrigerator.
GARNISH AND SERVE: Serve this overnight fruit salad chilled with optional garnish such as additional nuts, maraschino cherries, and coconut flakes.
- You must cook the custard for the length of time directed by the recipe otherwise, the custard will be too thin to cover the fruit or to stick to the fruit. Remember that custard becomes thicker as it cools.
- Be mindful not to add any fruit to the custard until it is cool otherwise, the custard will become thinner and have a runny consistency.
- Fruits like bananas will go brown from oxidizing when cut and so a squeeze of lemon juice over the banana slices will help prevent this. Having the custard ready to toss the bananas once sliced is also helpful. The remaining fruit can, however, be prepared in advance.
- Keep your marshmallows sealed until you are ready to add them to the fruit and custard mix, so they do not dry out. Fruit-flavored mini marshmallows are also fun to use for this dessert.
- Marshmallows tend to swell in the mix from absorbing liquid. As much as you love these little delights, do not add more than the recipe calls for.
- The combination of fruit juices, cornstarch, and eggs makes a lovely mild custard sauce with a subtle fruity flavor. You will love the light and fresh appeal of this fruit salad!
Fruit salads were properly introduced to the world during World War 2 as a good supplement for Vitamin C!
Yes, you can. This dessert needs to be chilled for a minimum of 6 hours and preferably overnight, which makes it an ideal dessert to prepare the night before.
Chilling this fruit salad overnight allows the different fruits and custard to set and the flavors to blend. This fusion enhances the fruity sweetness of the dessert and the subtleness of the custard. Take your bowl of fruit salad out of the refrigerator before serving it.
Unfortunately not. You cannot freeze this dessert at all. On thawing, you would have a soggy mess of collapsed and discolored fruit and thin liquid for what once was lovely custard!
You can use whipped coconut cream and confectioners’ sugar instead of eggs. Simply toss your fruit into the whipped cream, chill overnight and serve!
24 Hour Fruit Salad
Ingredients
- 20 oz. can pineapple chunks plus juices
- 15 oz. can mandarin oranges plus juices
- ¼ cup lemon juice
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 3 large eggs room temperature
- 2 cups seedless grapes
- 2 cups miniature marshmallows
- 2 large bananas sliced into thick slices
Instructions
- Pour the juice from the pineapple chunks and the mandarin oranges into a measuring cup – you will need one cup total – you can combine the two juices or use one and substitute water to make a full cup.
- In a medium saucepan, pour 1 cup of reserved juices. Add it to the lemon juice. Whisk in the sugar and cornstarch.
- Add the eggs to the juice mixture and whisk until combined and frothy.
- Place the saucepan over medium heat and constantly whisk, cooking until the mixture thickens into a light custard.
- Remove from heat and allow to cool completely (about 1 hour).
- In a large bowl, toss together drained pineapple chunks, drained mandarin oranges, grapes, and marshmallows. When the custard has cooled, slice bananas and add them to the fruit mixture. Immediately toss with custard mixture, cover with plastic wrap, and place in the refrigerator overnight.
Nutrition
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