Fruit Salad with Tahini Granola and Creamy Yogurt
This Fruit Salad with Yogurt and Tahini Granola is a modern hybrid between a parfait and fruit salad for a crowd. It’s cooling, crunchy, tangy, and juicy, making it the perfect light dessert on a warm summer day.
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This fruit salad recipe with yogurt was the product of having people coming over for an impromptu grill-out and me wanting to whip up a dessert based on what we had on hand already. I drew inspiration from a traditional fruit salad that is covered in whipped cream and overly sweet marshmallows, but swapped those ingredients out for tangy yogurt, syrupy fruit, and crunchy granola.
I also wanted layers (so you could see everything) while serving for a stunning presentation and the results ended up being almost like a big parfait. The big difference between this fresh fruit salad and a parfait though is that they are usually personalized in little cups and I wanted something I could just put on the table with the rest of the food for people to scoop onto their plate along with the grilled goodies.
Similar to strawberry shortcake, you macerate the fruit in a little sugar, which really brings out the sweetness and creates a bit of juice for you to mix with the yogurt to tone it down. Also, the first time I made this fruit salad for a crowd, I tried making the granola on the stove-top but couldn’t get it to have a pleasant crunch with this method so I suggest you use an oven for this part (I know, it’s hot outside and you don’t want to turn the oven on but I promise it’ll be worth it).
The final presentation is made by layering yogurt, granola, fruit, toasted sesame seeds, and finally mint for an end result that is bright, creamy, crunchy, savory, and sweet all in the same bite.
What’s in This Fruit Salad with Yogurt?
To make this fresh fruit salad for a crowd, you’ll need the following:
- Fresh fruit
- Granulated sugar
- Lime juice and zest
- Oats
- Chopped peans
- Slivered almonds
- Cinnamon
- Salt
- Maple syrup
- Olive oil
- Tahini
- Vanilla extract
- Greek yogurt
- Toasted sesame seeds
- Fresh mint
How to Make Fruit Salad with Yogurt & Granola
Don’t let the beautiful presentation fool you — this mixed fruit salad is quite easy to prepare.
- Fold together the fruit, sugar, lime juice, and lime zest. Set aside to let the fruit release its juices.
- Mix together the granola ingredients, then transfer to a parchment paper-lined baking tray. Bake until golden.
- Add some of the macerated fruit juices to the yogurt to thin it out to a spreadable consistency.
- Spread the yogurt onto a serving platter, then layer the fresh fruit salad and the tahini granola on top.
- Garnish with fresh mint leaves and serve immediately.
Can I Prep Fruit Salad with Yogurt in Advance?
You can prep the fruit and set it in the fridge to macerate ahead of time, and you can also bake the granola in advance. However, you should wait to plate the fruit salad with yogurt until you’re ready to serve it (otherwise the granola becomes soggy).
Tips for Making This Fresh Fruit Salad
You can use any combination of fresh fruit and berries you’d like in this fruit salad for a crowd. Just be sure to include strawberries since they’re extra sweet and juicy.
The tahini granola works best with old-fashioned oats. Instant oats are too powdery to make granola from.
I used plain Greek yogurt, but I bet vanilla Greek yogurt or a fruity flavor would work nicely here too.
Want More Fresh Fruit Desserts?
- Hibiscus Lemon Curd Tart with Cocoa Crust
- Blood Orange Sorbet with Red Wine Hot Fudge Sauce
- Strawberry Rhubarb Cobbler with Pecan Biscuits
- Blueberry Lemon Pie
- Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp
- Cherry Fudge Ice Cream Pie
This Fruit Salad with Tahini Granola and Creamy Yogurt recipe is a modern hybrid between a parfait and fruit salad for a crowd. It's cooling, crunchy, tangy, and juicy making it the perfect light dessert on a warm summer day.
- 3 cups chopped fruit (including strawberries)
- 4 Tbsp sugar
- 1 lime (juice and zest)
- 2 cups oats
- 1/2 cup chopped pecans
- 1/2 cup slivered almonds
- 2 tsp cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 cup maple syrup
- 1/3 cup olive oil
- 1/4 cup tahini
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 cups greek yogurt
- 1 tsp toasted sesame seeds
- Fresh mint for garnish
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Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
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In a small bowl, fold together the fruit, sugar, lime juice, and lime zest. Set aside to let the fruit release some of it's juices.
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In a medium bowl, mix together the oats, pecans, almonds, cinnamon and salt. Make a well in the center of the oat mixture and add in the maple syrup, oil, tahini, and vanilla extract. Mix until the liquid ingredients are combined and then fold the dry ingredients into the wet until completely incorporated.
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Transfer to prepared baking sheet and spread out onto an even layer. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, stirring every ten minutes to keep the granola at the edges of the pan from burning. Once browned, remove from oven and set aside to cool completely.
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Meanwhile, once the fruit has released some of it's juices, place the yogurt in a small bowl and whisk in 2-3 tablespoons of juice from the fruit to thin the yogurt out enough to spread (you may need to add more depending on what brand of yogurt you are using).
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Once the granola is cooled, use a large spoon to spread the yogurt in an even layer on a large serving tray. Sprinkle enough granola over the yogurt just to cover it, sprinkle half of the berries over the granola, add another layer of granola to cover those berries (you may have some granola left depending on the size of your serving tray and that's okay), add the remaining berries on top of that, and finally garnish with sesame seeds and mint. Serve right away!
3 Comments
dannie
I love this recipe because you have used one of my favourite fruits that is strawberries.it is attractive to the eyes and at the same time very sweet.
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