24 Hour Fruit Salad

Discover the yumminess of this old-fashioned 24 Hour Fruit Salad! It’s a medley of colorful fruits and marshmallows with a sweet and tangy sour cream dressing. It's the perfect side dish for your next barbecue, holiday dinner, or brunch table.

This post contains affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

Creamy Fruit Salad

24-hour fruit salad is a traditional and iconic fruity treat. It’s jam-packed with fresh or canned fruit and sweetened with mini marshmallows and a homemade creamy sauce. This make ahead fruit salad is chilled overnight for all flavors to thoroughly blend and intensify. This salad may be a little retro, but in reality, it’s timeless!

Why You Should Try This Easy 24-Hour Fruit Salad Recipe

If you are looking for recipes that can be made in advance, this fruit salad is definitely one that gives you a jump on meal prep. Moreover, this fruit salad gets better as it sits overnight in your fridge. Plus, with marshmallows in the mix, your kids will gobble it up! 

This 24-hour fruit salad is perfect for the busy holidays since it can be tossed together up to a day in advance. However, there’s genuinely no wrong time to enjoy it.

Fresh or canned fruit, you can’t go wrong with this luscious salad. So, give it a try – you and your family will love it!

24-Hour Fruit Salad Recipe - Ingredients You Will Need

Here's a quick list of ingredients for this creamy fruit salad:

For the salad dressing:

• Eggs
• Sugar
• Orange juice
• Vinegar
• Butter
• Sour cream
• Salt

For the salad:

• Green grapes
• Banana
• Pineapple
• Bing cherries
• Orange
• Plums
• Cantaloupe (optional)
• Mini marshmallows
• Fresh mint sprigs to garnish

Ingredient Notes

You can make this salad with fresh fruit or with canned fruit. To use canned fruit, open the cans and drain off the liquid. Let the drained fruit sit in a colander for about an hour to give the fruit a good chance to dry out.

Other fruits can be used. For instance, when they’re in season, consider fresh berries instead of grapes. Other fruits that work well are kiwis, peaches, nectarines, apricots, and mangoes. Avoid fruits that tend to oxidize quickly and turn brown, such as apples and pears.

Instead of regular mini marshmallows, use fruit-flavored ones for a fun addition.

How to Make 24-Hour Fruit Salad With Marshmallows

This is how to prepare this easy salad:

To make the dressing:

1. Combine the eggs, sugar, orange juice, and vinegar.
2. Cook over medium heat until the mixture thickens.
3. Remove from the heat and stir in the butter and salt.
4. When cool, fold in the sour cream and refrigerate.

To assemble the salad:

1. Combine the fruit and marshmallows and fold in the dressing.

2. Spoon into a serving bowl and chill for 24 hours.
3. Serve garnished with mint sprigs if desired.

How to Serve This Fruit Salad

This 24-hour fruit salad recipe is ideal as a dessert, potluck dish, part of a brunch buffet, or a great side for a summer BBQ.

This is a wonderful fruit salad to accompany ham.

Top your overnight fruit salad with coconut flakes, pecans, or sliced almonds.

A glass serving bowl (or individual glass bowls) will make your fruit salad look really lovely.

How to Store Leftover Fruit Salad

Leftovers will be good in the refrigerator in a covered container for up to 2 days. The salad is safe to eat for up to 4 days, but some separation may happen. If this occurs, gently stir the salad to re-incorporate the liquid before serving.

Unfortunately, you cannot freeze this fruit salad. When thawed, you will have a soggy mess of discolored and collapsed fruit in a thin liquid that was once a lovely thick dressing.

More Salad and Dressing Recipes

• Three Bean Salad
• Tomato Soup French Dressing