Christmas Fruit Salad with Egg Nog Sauce (Dairy Free)

This Christmas Fruit Salad is a festive holiday side dish or light dessert. Fresh and healthy fruit topped with a dairy-free egg nog sauce. Perfect for a holiday party, an intimate dinner party, or any holiday family gathering. 

WHY YOU WILL LOVE THIS

Easy, festive, delicious, and nostalgic. Christmas dinner, for as long as I can remember, starts with fruit salad. Jewel-toned baubles in fruit form, we always add something a little extra special; star fruit, pomegranate seeds, as many green and red fruits as we can find, and it is always topped with a festive creamy egg nog sauce.

Let's make some Christmas fruit salad!

INGREDIENTS NEEDED TO MAKE THIS RECIPE

Detailed measurements and ingredients can be found within the recipe card at the end of this post.

• Fruit – Well this should come as no surprise 🙂 You can really use any fruit variety that you love here is my family's favorite combination; banana (more on this below), orange segments, kiwi, raspberries, pomegranate seeds, and star fruit for on top.
• Coconut milk, nutmeg, sugar – A simple 3 ingredient dairy-free egg-nog sauce is the ultimate topping.

TOOLS YOU WILL USE

• Cutting Board
• Knife
• Electric mixer, or standing mixer

TIPS FOR MAKING CHRISTMAS FRUIT SALAD

• Use fruit that you love! It's almost silly to provide a recipe for fruit salad because a great fruit salad is full of your favorite fruits at their peak of ripeness.  Because this is a nostalgic recipe for me I used (mostly) the fruits that are in my family's recipe. Banana and orange are my favorite parts, my sister and I fight over who gets more banana in their fruit salad every year. Yes, I'm in my 40's and I am still bickering with my sister over food equality 🙂
• Do not make fruit salad in advance – this is the sole reason fruit salad gets a bad rap! The fruit should be freshly cut and arranged right before you serve it.
• Add a festive element – Pomegranate and persimmon are classic Christmas fruits for me, as is star fruit. Head over to the “exotic” fruit section at your local market and purchase something unexpected.

DAIRY FREE EGG NOG SAUCE

Creamy egg nog sauce is the true reason to serve fruit salad at Christmas. This is a 3 ingredient sauce, I made it dairy free, but you could easily replace the coconut milk with heavy cream if you want to make the authentic version. 

I have no idea where the original recipe came from, it has been a staple for at least 30 years in my family. My guess is that it was a vintage recipe in Bon Appetit in the 70's (my Mom has read Bon Appetit for that long).

I know egg nog is typically boozy, but that's not this sauce and it isn't really a thing for my family. 

To make the eggnog sauce simply combine the coconut milk that has been refrigerated overnight with 2 tbsp sugar, I used powdered sugar to maintain that snowy white color and about 1/4 tsp of (ideally) fresh nutmeg. Using an electric mixer or a stand mixer mix until well combined and a bit thicker (it will not be the consistency of whip cream more like a thick heavy cream.

Pour over fruit or eat with a spoon 🙂

I can’t wait for you to try this Festive Christmas Fruit Salad! When you make it, snap a photo and tag me on Instagram @abrapappa or use the hashtag #abraskitchen so I can feature your photo! 

If you’ve tried this recipe, don’t forget to rate and leave a comment below. I love to hear from people who’ve made my recipes!

Christmas Fruit Salad with Eggnog Sauce

Abra Pappa, MS, CNS, LDN

This Christmas Fruit Salad is a festive holiday side dish or light dessert. Fresh and healthy fruit topped with a dairy-free eggnog sauce. Perfect for a holiday party, an intimate dinner party, or any holiday family gathering. 

5 from 1 vote

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 10 minutes mins

Cook Time 0 minutes mins

Course Appetizer, Dessert, Side Dish

Cuisine American

Servings 6 servings

Calories 266 kcal

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

• 2 banana
• 2 large oranges
• 1 pint raspberries
• 6 kiwi-fruit
• 1/2 cup pomegranate seeds
• 2 star fruit

Eggnog Sauce

• 1 cup coconut milk, full fat The thick cream from the top of a refrigerated can
• 2 tbsp powdered sugar
• 1/4 tsp freshly grated nutmeg

Instructions

 

• Slice fruit and add to a large bowl. Oranges should be sliced into jeweled segments, or supremes (see notes for instructions on how to do this).
• To make eggnog sauce: Ideally refrigerate the can of coconut milk overnight, this will firm up the coconut milk and make a thicker sauce. Open the can and spoon out 1 cup of the thick cream from the top of the can, add to a bowl with sugar and using an electric mixer beat for 2 minutes until thick and creamy. Finish with freshly grated nutmeg (or ground nutmeg is fine)
• Spoon fruit salad into bowls, top with eggnog sauce, top with more nutmeg, sprinkle extra pomegranate seeds on top and serve each dish with a slice of star fruit (if you can find it!)

Notes

NOTES:

Here is a great tutorial on how to segment an orange: How to Segment an Orange 

Refrigerated coconut milk – this will harden the coconut milk and make it easier to whip. If you forget this step you can still make the sauce it will just be a bit thinner, still as delicious. 

Full Dairy Version of Eggnog Sauce:

Replace the coconut milk with heavy cream

Nutrition

Serving: 1servingCalories: 266kcalCarbohydrates: 47gProtein: 4gFat: 9gSaturated Fat: 7gSodium: 10mgPotassium: 810mgFiber: 12gSugar: 28gVitamin A: 287IUVitamin C: 153mgCalcium: 84mgIron: 2mg

Snap a photo when you try this recipe!Tag me! @abrapappa or #abraskitchen so I can feature your photo!

MORE FESTIVE RECIPES YOU WILL LOVE:

Apple Cider Immunity Sparkler

Hibiscus Adaptogen Latte

Cranberry Gingerbread Muffins

The BEST Kombucha Cocktail

Almond Flour Cut-Out Christmas Cookies