Watermelon Fruit Salad with Brown Sugar Boba Pearls
Time for a little sweet treat with our watermelon fruit salad as we combine watermelon balls with dragon fruit, palms seeds and brown sugar boba pearls. This is a cheeky summer fruit salad that is so easy to make and devour.
Why You’ll Love This Watermelon Fruit Salad
Fruit salads are a great way to finish a meal as a delicious sweet dessert. You can make many combinations with seasonal fruit like kiwi fruit and passionfruit or more classic summer berries with mint.
You can learn how to cut your own fresh fruit platter and serve a crowd. Fruit salads are definitely an easy dessert option.
When it came to creating a watermelon fruit salad, I didn’t feel inclined to go to the more classic, healthier options like adding other melons, blueberries, strawberries or tropical fruit like pineapple and mango.
Instead, I wanted to give watermelon fruit salad an Asian twist with a cheeky treat.
My kids are slightly obsessed with bubble tea. Brown sugar boba tea is one of their favourite flavours. With that in mind, I wanted to see if I could create a dessert with boba pearls at home that is less sugar and more fruit.
The caramel sweetness of brown sugar boba pearls works a treat with watermelon and dragon fruit. The chewy texture of boba and crunchy toddy palm’s seeds create a point of difference, and together a new kind of summer watermelon fruit salad is born.
What Flavour Mixes Well With Watermelon?
We love tossing watermelon into fruit salads as well as savoury salads. It adds a natural sweetness and fresh juicy textures throughout. Watermelon goes well with fresh fruit as well as a range of savoury ingredients.
Classic savoury pairings with watermelon include cheese like feta and parmesan or fresh herbs like mint and basil. Adding a tamari dressing can also change the sweetness of watermelon, just like our Apple and Watermelon salad.
Fruits that I love to add with watermelon are other melons, including rockmelon, honeydew melon, canary melon or tropical fruit like dragon fruit, lychees, kiwi, mango and coconut.
In this watermelon fruit salad recipe, I have mixed watermelon with dragon fruit, toddy palm seeds and boba pearls. The reason being I wanted to try different textures along with varying levels of sweetness.
However, you can, of course, make your own variation and include any of the fruits above to make your own version of a fresh fruit salad with watermelon.
What Is Boba?
Also known as tapioca pearls in Australia, boba pearls are small, marble-sized black round balls made from tapioca starch.
However, when we say boba now, we generally refer to the milk tea drink. You will see it being advertised as boba milk tea, bubble tea, pearl tea or tapioca milk tea!
Originating from Taiwan, boba milk tea is probably one of their more famous exports.
Super popular with the younger crowd, boba the drink is typically served in a large tumbler of sweet milk tea with various toppings. You will need a large straw to slurp up the sweet toppings such as grass jelly, pudding, aloe vera, popping pearls and fruit.
In addition to milk tea as a base, there are now very inventive flavours and forms to create your own unique boba dessert.
What Does Boba Taste Like?
Flavour-wise, boba pearls are quite bland, making it the perfect vehicle to carry other flavours, including the brown sugar syrup used in this recipe.
I purposely added boba pearls to this watermelon fruit salad recipe for its texture.
Recipe Overview
Flavour/Texture: When you look at the 4 main ingredients, you would think this dessert salad will be very sweet. However, when you mix them in this watermelon fruit salad, it is not.
Brown sugar boba pearls are sweet by themselves. Plus canned palm seeds in syrup. However, when you mix them with watermelon and dragonfruit, the sweetness is dialled down, and it tastes very refreshing.
The varying textures in the watermelon fruit salad are also very interesting, with sweet juicy dragon fruit and watermelon balls plus chewy boba pearls and crunchy palm seeds. Very much a delicious party going on in your mouth!
Ease: Very minimal cooking other than making the boba. This is an easy watermelon fruit salad you can make in advance.
Time: This is a quick boba dessert salad if you are also using instant boba pearls. It will take less than 20 minutes altogether.
However, some brands will take 20 minutes to simmer the boba slowly. You can make the watermelon and dragon fruit balls at the same time whilst the boba is cooking, but obviously, this will extend the total time for a little bit longer.
Ingredients
These are the ingredients you need for Watermelon Fruit Salad with Brown Sugar Boba Pearls:
Boba: They are typically sold in dry packets at local Asian grocery stores. Essentially you need to rehydrate the boba pearls with hot water.
However, each brand will have its own cooking time and method; therefore, please check instructions before starting. I used a brand that can rehydrate them in 2 minutes or so.
Brown Sugar: To add sweet caramel flavour to the boba.
Watermelon: For a good watermelon, feel the weight. If it is heavy for its size, that’s a good start. Next, look out for a creamy yellow spot where it has been resting on the ground. And finally, give the watermelon a tap for a deep hollow sound which means it is ripe and full of juice.
Dragon fruit: There is red and white flesh dragon fruit available. I usually buy white flesh dragon fruit as red ones are harder to find. The white dragon fruit contrasts nicely with the red shades of watermelon.
Toddy palm seeds: Canned palm seeds can be bought from Asian grocery stores. Try to find the ones that are still whole and not sliced. However, if you can’t find the whole ones, sliced is fine too.
Variations and Substitutions
Substitution for toddy palm seeds: if you can’t find palm seeds, you can use other canned tropical fruits like lychee or longan which are more readily available.
Replacement of boba: If you don’t want to make brown sugar boba pearls, you can use fresh blueberries instead. Blueberries don’t have the same texture but go well with watermelon and dragon fruit.
Serve on a large platter: you can serve watermelon fruit salad on a large platter to share versus serving in individual glasses.
Instructions
Follow these instructions for how to make Watermelon Fruit Salad With Brown Sugar Boba Pearls:
How To Make Boba Pearls
I use a brand that makes instant boba pearls. I pour the required amount of hot water over the boba and let it sit for 2 minutes until ready to eat.
However, not all boba is like that. Please follow the instructions on your package to yield ½ cup of boba.
Once cooked, remove boba from water and place into a mixing bowl.
Add brown sugar to boba pearls and mix until the brown sugar has dissolved.
How To Make The Fruit Salad
Repeat the process with one dragon fruit.
Use a small melon baller and ball 2 cups of watermelon balls.
Scoop out ½ can of palm seeds and place into a bowl.
Give toddy palm seeds a rinse with cold water to remove the extra thick syrup.
How to Assemble the Salad
Add watermelon balls, dragon fruit balls and toddy palm seeds in a large mixing bowl.
Gently mix together.
Add brown sugar boba to the bowl and mix.
Scoop into individual glasses to serve.
Great Mocktails for This Dessert Fruit Salad
How to serve a mocktail with this Watermelon Fruit Salad:
Taro milk tea is a great recipe if you have leftover boba! Fruit salad and bubble tea sounds would definitely be a fun way to entertain friends.
For something a bit more refreshing, try this pomegranate mocktail with lime which only has 3 ingredients or for a twist on a classic and taking advantage of summer fruits, this blueberry mojito mocktail might just be your thing!
Frequently Asked Questions
The gelatinous texture of boba sometimes gets people worried that it is made from gelatin therefore not suitable for vegans. As mentioned, boba pearls are made from tapioca starch, a product of the root vegetable cassava. It is naturally gluten-free and vegan friendly.
Do not refrigerate cooked boba pearls if they are not in some form of liquid – like syrup or fructose. They will harden in the fridge. Cooked boba pearls also stick to each other, so best to leave boba in a liquid such as the brown sugar syrup and eat within 4 hours of making them.
There are various ways you can cut dragon fruit to eat. In this recipe, we cut it in half and then use a melon ball to create dragon fruit balls.
Alternatively, cut dragon fruit in half and then use a large spoon and scoop out the flesh as a whole. Then slice it or cut it into cubes.
Watermelon by itself is a great snack, but you can also try other watermelon salads:
Watermelon and Apple Salad
Best Watermelon Salad
Watermelon panzanella
Toddy palm is a tall, robust palm tree native to the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia. It bears clusters of round-shaped fruit (similar size to a coconut) with a black husk.
Inside the fruit, there are translucent pale-white seeds with a jelly-like texture. Possibly similar to a lychee but with a crunchier texture and milder sweet flavour.
We don’t have fresh palm fruit or palm seeds available to us. Instead, we usually buy canned palm seeds, which are soaked in a sweet sticky syrup. Toddy palm’s seeds are prevalent in Southeast Asian and Indian desserts and sweet drinks.
As this recipe only uses half a can of toddy palm’s seeds, other uses for the leftover canned palm seeds include:
– adding to a tropical fruit salad with pineapple, lychee, mango and kiwi fruit
– scoop over a bowl of coconut ice-cream
– use in Southeast Asian drinks like Vietnamese Che Thai
Yes, you can make all the individual components ahead of time and then assemble the watermelon fruit salad when ready to eat. However, please remember that prepared boba pearls are best consumed within a few hours to avoid texture change. Keep the boba pearls in the brown sugar syrup until ready to eat.
Some of the ingredients in this watermelon fruit salad may seem a little foreign but don’t be afraid. They are easily accessible, and once you have them in your pantry, you will be making this fruit salad over and over again.
Easy to make and so delicious to eat, I suspect I will be making this cheeky treat all summer long.
That’s all!
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Watermelon Fruit Salad with Brown Sugar Boba Pearls
Ingredients
- 2 cups watermelon, balled
- 1 cup dragon fruit, balled
- 300 g toddy palm seeds, (1/2 can)
- ½ cup boba
- 3 tbsp brown sugar
Click on the toggle below for conversion to US Cooking Units.
Instructions
Fruit Salad
- Cook boba pearls according to package instructions.
- Once cooked, remove boba from water and place into a mixing bowl.
- Add brown sugar to boba pearls and mix until brown sugar has dissolved.
- Use a small melon baller and ball 2 cups of watermelon.
- Repeat the process with one dragon fruit.
- Scoop out ½ can of palm seeds and place into a bowl.
- Give toddy palm seeds a rinse with cold water to remove the extra thick syrup.
Assembly
- Add watermelon balls, dragon fruit balls and toddy palm seeds in a large mixing bowl.
- Gently mix together.
- Add brown sugar boba to the bowl and mix.
- Scoop into individual glasses to serve.
Notes
- The total time to prepare this salad will vary depending on the brand of boba you use.
- You can purchase dry boba pearls and canned palm seeds from your local Asian grocery store.
- If you can’t find canned palm seeds, substitute with other canned tropical fruits like lychee or longan which are more readily available.
- If you don’t want to make brown sugar boba pearls, you can use grass jelly which will have a softer pudding-like texture. Alternatively, use fresh blueberries instead. Blueberries don’t have the same texture but go well with watermelon and dragon fruit.
- You can serve watermelon fruit salad on a large platter to share versus serving in individual glasses.
- Boba is made from tapioca starch which is derived from the root vegetable cassava. Therefore this recipe is suitable for vegans.
- Do not refrigerate cooked boba pearls as they will harden in the fridge. Cooked boba pearls also stick to each other, so best to leave the boba in the brown sugar syrup and try to eat within 4 hours of making them.
Nutrition
*Disclaimer: Nutritional information provided is an estimate only and generated by an online calculator.
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Such an easy, and delicious salad recipe to make for everyone. I love it!