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Hello! I’m Anjali. I’m a board certified health coach, author, wife, mom and food lover from the SF Bay area (now living in Seattle, WA!); with a passion for delicious food and a desire to make healthy eating easy, tasty and fun! Learn more about me here and stay for a while!

Anjali Shah

Mexican Fruit Salad Recipe with Chili Powder

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A simple Mexican fruit salad with cubed melon, mango, dragon fruit, kiwi, jicama, lime juice, and a hint of spice from chili powder. It’s an unexpected and delicious take on the traditional fruit salad. Great for a summer picnic, an outdoor bbq, or even for Cinco de Mayo!

Mexican Fruit Salad with cubed melon, mango, jicama, dragon fruit, lime juice, and a hint of spicy chili - served in a blue bowl

Fruit salad is one of my favorite healthy recipes to enjoy in the spring and summer months. Typically, I just throw whatever fruit I have on hand into a bowl and dress it with a bit of lemon juice (or for dessert – some honey).

This Mexican Fruit Salad is a fun take on the usual way you might dress up summer fruits. In this salad I brought together: mango, dragon fruit, melon, jicama, pineapple, strawberry, kiwi and chili powder for a sweet + spicy side dish. You can use whatever fruits you have on hand – although tropical fruits work really well in this recipe!

How To Make This Mexican Fruit Salad Recipe

Ingredients and Notes

The ingredients for these Mexican fruit bowls are easy to find at your local grocery store, especially since you can customize it based on whatever is in season!

Fruit: I used Yellow Watermelon, Jicama, Mango, Kiwi, Dragon Fruit, Strawberries – but this recipe is so flexible, feel free to use a combination of your favorite fruit! Honeydew melon, Coconut Flakes, or any seasonal fresh fruit would taste great in this sweet fruit salad.

Seasonings: A squeeze of lime juice, Salt, Black Pepper, and spicy chile powder or chili lime seasoning gives this salad its unique flavor. You could also use ancho chili powder for a more smoky flavor.

Tools and Equipment

Step by Step Instructions

Step 1: Cube all of your fruit to be about the same size.

Step 2: Transfer to large bowl. Pour fresh lime juice over top. Using clean hands gently combine so that lime juice covers the fruit evenly. Add salt, pepper, and chili powder. Incorporate with your hands to evenly spread spices among the fruit.

Step 3: Serve in individual bowls, and enjoy!

Mexican Fruit Salad with cubed melon, mango, jicama, dragon fruit, lime juice, and a hint of spicy chili - served in a blue bowl

What Makes This Mexican Fruit Salad Healthy?

  • Low Calorie: One serving of this fruit salad has only 55 calories. It’s a healthy low calorie dessert, or perfect to bring to a picnic.
  • No Added Sugar: Most fruit salads add orange juice or some fruit juice or syrup to make it sweeter. But this fruit salad has no added sugar. All of the fruits included are already naturally sweet! There’s no need to sprinkle any sugar on top to enjoy this recipe. One serving of this fruit salad contains 8 grams of natural sugars.
  • High in Fiber: Whole fruit is a natural source of fiber, and is much healthier than fruit juice (which has no fiber and is all sugar). One serving of this fruit salad has 2 grams of fiber.

Recipe FAQs

Is this salad kid friendly?

Kids love fruit salad! This one is a little different than ones they are likely used to enjoying, because it’s both sweet and spicy due to the chili powder. I recommend encouraging them to try it, but leave some cut fruit on the side in case the spices aren’t their thing. If they don’t like it you can offer them the plain fruit, which is a delicious treat all on its own!

What is Jicama?

Jicama is a root vegetable. It is also called a Mexican yam bean, or Mexican turnip. It’s round in shape with a thin brown skin, and a white starchy interior. It has a sweet and starchy flavor and adds a nice bit of crunch to recipes. It’s most often eaten raw with a touch of lemon or lime juice and a sprinkle of the chili powder.

What is Dragon Fruit?

Dragon fruit has a bright pink exterior and is “polka dotted” on the inside. It tastes like a cross between a kiwi and a melon. The exterior is not edible, but the inside is sweet and delicious!

What type of fruit goes well with chili powder?

Tropical fruits taste delicious with chili powder, because their natural sweetness balances out the spice nicely. Fruits such as watermelon, honeydew, cantaloupe, pineapple, and mango all pair well with a hint of chili.

Fruit Salad with cubed melon, mango, jicama, dragon fruit, lime juice, and a hint of spicy chili - served in a blue bowl

How to Serve

This salad would pair perfectly with most Mexican food. Here are a few ideas…

Expert Tips

  • Cut all of your fruit into similarly sized small cubes.
  • Use more or less chili powder depending on how spicy you like it. If you have kids you may want to hold off on adding the spices until you have separated out their portion. 
  • For an extra kick – add a pinch of cayenne to this dish!
  • Add other tropical fruit such as papaya or pineapple! Or use any fruit you have on hand!

More Healthy Salad Recipes!

Fruit Salad with cubed melon, mango, jicama, dragon fruit, lime juice, and a hint of spicy chili - served in a blue bowl

If you have tried this Mexican Fruit Salad, or any other recipe on my blog, then please rate it and let me know how it turned out in the comments below! You can also FOLLOW ME on FACEBOOKTWITTERINSTAGRAM and PINTEREST to see more delicious, healthy, family friendly food!

Mexican Fruit Salad with cubed melon, mango, jicama, dragon fruit, lime juice, and a hint of spicy chili - served in a blue bowl
Print Recipe
5 from 10 votes

Mexican Fruit Salad

A simple Mexican Fruit Salad with cubed melon, dragon fruit, jicama, kiwi, lime juice, and a hint of spicy chili. It's an unexpected and delicious take on the traditional fruit salad.
Prep Time10 minutes
Cook Time0 minutes
Total Time10 minutes
Course: Salad, Side Dish, Snack
Cuisine: American, Mexican, Vegan
Servings: 8
Calories: 55kcal
Author: Anjali Shah

Ingredients

  • 1 cup seedless yellow watermelon (or melon of choice) cubed
  • 1 cup jicama cubed
  • 1 cup mango cubed
  • 2 kiwis cubed
  • 2 dragon fruit peeled & cubed
  • 1 cup strawberries cubed
  • 1/4 cup fresh lime juice
  • 1/4 tsp salt more to taste
  • 1/8 tsp pepper
  • 1/4 tsp chili powder more to taste

Instructions

  • Cut all of your fruit into small cubes.
  • Toss with lime juice, and spices.
  • Serve immediately.

Notes

Top Tips for Making Mexican Fruit Salad
  • Cube all of your fruit into bite size pieces
  • Cube the fruit into 1 inch cubes
  • Use more or less chili powder depending on how spicy you like it. If you have kids you may want to hold off on adding the spices until you have separated out their portion. 
  • For an extra kick – add a pinch of cayenne to this dish!
  • Add other tropical fruit such as papaya or pineapple! Or use any fruit you have on hand!

Nutrition

Calories: 55kcal | Carbohydrates: 12g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 1g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Sodium: 91mg | Potassium: 166mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 8g

Posted In…

Healthy Plant Based Snacks ·

Who can resist a good snack? From easy, healthy vegetarian snacks, to kid-friendly finger foods, to perfect party dishes, my plant based snacks are an amazing way to pack a lot of flavor into a little bite.

Try my air fryer tofu nuggets, these peanut butter bliss balls, delicious corn fries, instant pot popcorn (or for a kid friendly twist – unicorn popcorn!)

Skip the pre-packed grocery store snacks! These healthy snacks are fun and easy to make at home with good-for-you ingredients.

24 responses to “Mexican Fruit Salad Recipe with Chili Powder”

  1. This salad is so pretty and very refreshing. And it’s amazing that this has got to be one of the easiest dressing ever.5 stars

  2. This salad looks healthy and delicious, I love it!! What a perfect side dish for meat or fish. Burrito Bowl here I come, cheers.5 stars

  3. I love eating fruit salads no matter what time of the year! Love the idea of adding jicama to the mix though. Awesome idea!5 stars

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