Melon and Dragon Fruit Salad

Ripe sweet melon with bright red dragon fruit, some prosciutto, and basil drizzled with a lite honey-lime dressing and you have a beautiful Melon and Dragon Fruit Salad.

Note: The dragon fruit for this recipe was supplied by Fried’s Inc.

Nothing tastes more like summertime than fresh ripe melons. And today I am giving my delicious sweet melons something to smile about by pairing them with juicy red dragon fruit. So let’s talk about both melon and dragon fruit.

First Melon…or Cantaloupe in this case

To ensure you are buying a ripe cantaloupe, lift the stem side to your nose and take a small sniff. If you can smell fresh cantaloupe, then it’s ripe. An uncut cantaloupe can sit on the counter for about three days. At that point, you will want to cut it. For my Melon and Dragon Fruit Salad, I used a melon baller. They say you can store cut cantaloupe for up to five days, but I find the juices make the fruit mushy after two days. So cut it and eat it!

Now the real star of this bright and fresh salad – the red dragon fruit or pitaya.

This is a delicate fruit with flavors that are like a mix between a kiwi and a watermelon. The little black specks are small edible seeds that give just a little bit of crunch. Fortunately, you can find dragon fruit in many markets between July and October. To cut the dragon fruit for my salad, I sliced the red dragon fruit and used a small star-shaped cookie cutter. You can get creative and even use a melon baller to make bright little balls to match the cantaloupe.

Pro tip: Red dragon fruit easily stains your hands and clothes (just like beets) so I used disposal rubber gloves when handling them. And of course, I forgot to wear an apron and I got some of the juice on my favorite shirt. But just a little pre-laundry spray and it was good as new.

If you like this recipe, you’ll also like:

Mocha Coffee Chia Pudding                   Honey and Thyme Grilled Apricots         Asian Rainbow Salad

Melon and Dragon Fruit Salad

---

★★★★★

5 from 1 reviews

• Author: krazykitchenmom
• Total Time: 10 minutes
• Yield: 4 servings 1x

Print Recipe

Pin Recipe

Description

Ripe sweet melon with bright red dragon fruit, some prosciutto, and basil drizzled with a lite honey lime dressing and you have a beautiful Melon and Dragon Fruit Salad.

---

Ingredients

Scale 1x2x3x

• 1 small cantaloupe
• 1 red dragon fruit
• 6 slices of prosciutto – sliced into small ribbons
• 8–10 fresh basil leaves
• juice and zest of 1 lime
• 3 TBS extra virgin olive oil
• 3 TBS rice wine vinegar
• 1 TBS honey
• Pinch of salt
• Pinch of pepper

---

Instructions

For the fruit

1. Slice melon in half and remove seeds.
2. Use a melon baller to make small balls or slice into small pieces.
3. Slice dragon fruit into 1-2 inch slices and use a small cookie cutter to make shapes or cut into small pieces.
4. Slice prosciutto into thin ribbons.
5. Keep basil leaves whole

For the dressing:

1. In a mason jar, mix lime juice and zest, olive oil, honey, and vinegar.
2. Drizzle over salad.

Notes

1. Wear disposable gloves when handling red dragon fruit because it stains.
2. You can make the salad ahead of time (same day as serving) and drizzle dressing right before you serve it.

• Prep Time: 10 minutes
• Category: Salad
• Method: Slicing
• Cuisine: American

Keywords: fruit salad, tropical fruit salad, summer fruit, summer salad