Easy Summer Mixed Berry Salad
A generous mix of strawberries, raspberries and blueberries mingled with maple lime dressing and topped with an optional lush prosecco cream. We just adore our delicious and refreshing mixed berry salad—a must-make berry fruit salad for all your summer entertaining.
Why You’ll Love This Mixed Berry Salad
I am all for easy dessert recipes. However, as a non-baker, I am always looking for easy, no baking dessert recipes. Especially dessert recipes that are quick to prepare but give that WOW factor.
With summer mixed berries in season, it was a no brainer to whip up a mixed berry salad.
Tossing fresh berries like strawberries, blueberries and raspberries together with a sprinkling of mint leaves and a zesty maple lime dressing, this mixed berry salad seriously is the easiest sweet treat ever.
We love a good dessert fruit salad and we guarantee this refreshing berry fruit salad will be a winner with both adults and kids all summer long.
How To Transform Easy Summer Mixed Berry Salad
What if you need something a little extra for dinner party entertaining? And you need to whip up an elegant dessert to match the meal? Well, I’ll show you how easy it is.
In the second part of this recipe, you add a delicious and lush prosecco cream to transform this simple mixed berry fruit salad into a sophisticated adults-only dessert. The delicate prosecco cream served on top gives the dessert a little bit of a boozy bubbly kick.
Serve this delicious combination in individual champagne glasses, and voila, your elegant dessert is ready to be devoured.
This berry fruit salad would be a great match for those end of year holiday festivities and celebrations. You can serve with or without prosecco cream to suit your crowd.
Take it on a picnic or bring it to a dinner party. A summer berry salad recipe worth saving.
Which Berries To Use In Fruit Salad
In this berry fruit salad recipe, I have used the three most popular summer berries, strawberries, blueberries, and raspberries.
Why? Firstly they are more readily available than other berries when in season but are also sweeter, which works well in a fruit salad with berries. And such a healthy combination as they are all full of vitamins and antioxidants.
Plus the colours of fresh berries! How beautiful is it to mix the bright strawberry reds with moody blueberries and plump reddish-pink raspberries?!
Apart from fruit salads, berries also make for great savoury salad recipes. Our summer strawberry salad with bocconcini and rocket or raspberry walnut dressing are delicious.
Cooking with Prosecco
I decided to make a prosecco cream for an adults-only version of this berry fruit salad recipe. I love a glass or two of prosecco, so it was so fun to use it in a dessert recipe.
Prosecco is a sparkling wine made primarily from prosecco (glera) grapes. Originating from Veneto, Italy, people often ask what the difference between champagne and prosecco is.
Other than location, you can’t call your sparkling wine champagne unless it is from the Champagne region in France. Plus, the production process is quite different and generates a different kind of sparkling wine.
Prosecco tends to be more fruity and have floral aromas thanks to the prosecco grape. The bubbles are lighter but don’t last as long as there is less pressure in the carbonation process for prosecco.
When cooking with prosecco, it leans to a sweeter, creamy profile, so it matches well with desserts. Other than prosecco cream, you can try adding prosecco to panna cotta, Tiramisu or a strawberry granita.
You can also use prosecco in white wine-based sauces and cook chicken or fish dishes. And any leftover prosecco after cooking, I think it is best to consume chilled in a lovely glass.
If you like other salads with alcohol, try our Plum wine Infused dragon fruit salad or Gin and Lime Prawn Salad with Avocado.
Recipe Overview
Flavour/Texture: I love how the mixed berries complement each other with sweet, slightly tart flavours. And together with maple lime dressing, it further enhances the natural sweetness of the berries. Plus, the added mint and lime zest really makes this fruit salad with berries pop!
You get a sweet, creamy concoction with a lush boozy finish if you add prosecco cream on top. Something I highly recommend!
Ease: This mixed berry salad falls in the super easy category. Other than whipping cream, there is not much to do!
Time: A quick and easy salad to whip up in less than 20 minutes.
Ingredients
These are the ingredients you need in Easy Summer Mixed Berry Salad.
Mixed berries: I used strawberries, raspberries and blueberries for the mixed berries, but you can, of course, choose your own combinations. Blackberries, gooseberries and boysenberries would work as well.
Mint: A perfect match with berries, mint adds a fresh and cooling effect with the sugar tones. I also love the hint of green scattered throughout the salad.
Prosecco: This recipe calls for only ¼ cup of prosecco, so if you are not planning to drink the rest of the bottle at the same time, you may want to seek out half bottles or prosecco in a can.
Yes, in a can! There are some delicious brands that produce prosecco in a can, perfect for prosecco dessert recipes like this.
Mascarpone: The main ingredient in Tiramisu, mascarpone is a smooth, spreadable fresh cream cheese. Made from double cream or sometimes triple cream, mascarpone is buttery with a slight sweetness. It is often used in desserts but sometimes in savoury dishes too.
Thick cream: This will help to whip the prosecco cream into a soft peak consistency.
Caster sugar: To be used as the sweetener in the prosecco cream. Fine white sugar will make it easier to dissolve in the whipped cream. You don’t want a grainy texture even when whipped.
Lime, zest and juice: We use both lime juice and zest in the recipe. Juice is for the fruit salad dressing. It helps balance the sweetness and adds a little zing. The zest is for garnish and added aroma to the mixed berry salad.
Maple syrup: Use a good quality maple syrup that is not filled with plain sugar or corn starch. Alternatively, you can use honey.
Variations and Substitutions
Additional fruit: If fresh berries are not seasonal or are harder to find, you can add other fruits to the salad. Try these combinations:
- other berries like blackberries, gooseberries and boysenberries
- golden kiwi, pineapple and blueberries
- watermelon, dragon fruit and strawberries
- strawberries, blueberries and grapes
Prosecco replacement: If you would still like to have a creamy component but not the prosecco in the mixed berry salad, omit the alcohol and add ½ tsp vanilla bean paste and ½ teaspoon of lime zest to the whipped mascarpone cream. This will add another layer of deliciousness.
Mascarpone substitution: Normal cream cheese or even crème fraîche could work as substitutions for mascarpone. You might need to adjust the sugar level if you use crème fraîche as it is tangier than mascarpone.
Maple syrup substitution: You can switch maple syrup with honey and make a honey lime dressing.
Instructions
Step by step instructions for how to make Easy Summer Mixed Berry Salad.
How to Make The Salad
Wash blueberries, strawberries and raspberries. Set aside for assembly.
Trim strawberries. Chop them into quarters or smaller if you have larger strawberries.
Wash mint leaves and finely slice into thin ribbons.
How to Make Prosecco Cream and Dressing
In a small mixing bowl, add mascarpone, thick cream, sugar and prosecco together.
Use a hand beater or electric whisk and gently whisk cream together. Beat until soft peaks.
Mix maple syrup and lime juice until combined.
How To Assemble The Salad
You can serve this mixed berry salad two ways – in one large bowl or individual glasses.
In a large mixing bowl, add mixed berries and maple lime dressing. Mix together.
Then add ¾ of mint ribbons and lime zest to the bowl. Gently toss together.
Transfer mixed berry salad into a large serving bowl to serve. Sprinkle remaining mint leaves and lime zest. You can add prosecco cream on the side for adults to scoop at leisure.
To serve with prosecco cream, gently spoon mixed berries into individual glasses.
Top with prosecco cream and then finish with a scattering of mint ribbons and more lime zest.
Serve immediately.
How to Serve
Here are some great summer cocktails that will go well with Easy Summer Mixed Berry Salad.
Lemonade prosecco punch would be a great way to use the rest of the prosecco! For a tasty twist on the classic Italian Spritz Veneziano, try this Limoncello spritz.
Love a simple summer cocktail too and nothing can be ore refreshing than a frozen watermelon margarita.
Frequently Asked Questions
I have frozen berries in my freezer all the time. They are fantastic for baking, smoothies and topping for breakfast yoghurt.
However, for this berry salad, I would prefer to use fresh berries. If fresh berries are not in season, I like to choose other fresh fruit rather than frozen berries.
Yes, you can prepare this salad in advance.
There is not much prep work required, but all the berries can be washed and cut ready to go. Plus, you can prepare the prosecco cream and store it in the refrigerator until serving time.
Do not add maple lime dressing until ready to serve.
If you have any leftovers, you can store the mixed berry salad in an airtight container overnight. It will store well for 1 day.
Prosecco cream is best made and served on the day. I would not recommend storing leftover Prosecco cream.
You don’t always need a fruit salad dressing. The reason is that the natural fruit juices act as a sweet dressing.
However, for this mixed berry salad, I wanted to add a fruit salad dressing. There aren’t many natural juices that ooze out of the berries, so the maple lime dressing helps enhance the natural sweetness of the berries and adds juice.
You will sometimes see honey lime dressing with berry salad recipes. That is also a great combination.
I loved the end result of this mixed berries recipe. The best part is that I can tweak it depending on my guests.
I can keep it simple with mixed berries, mint, and maple lime dressing when the kids are around. And if I need an elegant dessert, I can quickly and easily whip up prosecco cream to give it a boozy lush finish.
Easy to prepare with a touch of sophisticated flavour, I think this will be a popular berry fruit salad for summer parties and festivities!
More Dessert Fruit Salad Recipes
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Easy Summer Mixed Berry Salad
Ingredients
Salad
- 200 g blueberries
- 200 g raspberries
- 250 g strawberries
- 8 mint, leaves
- ½ lime, zest
Salad Dressing
- 2 tbsp maple syrup
- 1 tbsp lime, juice
Prosecco Cream
- ¾ cup mascarpone
- ½ cup cream, thick
- 3 tbsp sugar
- ¼ cup prosecco
Click on the toggle below for conversion to US Cooking Units.
Instructions
Salad
- Wash blueberries and raspberries.
- Wash and trim strawberries. Chop them into quarters or smaller pieces if you have larger strawberries.
- Wash mint leaves and finely slice into thin ribbons.
Prosecco Cream
- In a small mixing bowl, add mascarpone, thick cream, sugar and prosecco together.
- Use a hand beater or electric whisk and gently whisk cream together.
- Beat until soft peaks.
Salad Dressing
- Mix maple syrup and lime juice together until combined.
Assembly
- In a large mixing bowl, add mixed berries and maple lime dressing. Mix together.
- Then add ¾ of mint ribbons and lime zest to the bowl. Toss together.
- Gently spoon mixed berries salad into individual glasses.
- Top with prosecco cream and then finish with a scattering of mint ribbons and more lime zest.
- Serve immediately.
Notes
- You can use your own selection of berries, whatever is in season.
- For a kid-friendly version, you can omit the prosecco in the mascarpone cream. Add ½ tsp vanilla bean paste and ½ teaspoon of lime zest to the whipped mascarpone cream instead.
- For larger groups, you can serve the salad of berries in a large bowl and have the prosecco cream on the side. Add maple lime dressing to berries only when you are ready to serve.
Nutrition
*Disclaimer: Nutritional information provided is an estimate only and generated by an online calculator.
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Lovely recipe!
Great recipe!
Fruit salad looks good.
Thanks so much!