Orange Vanilla Fruit Salad

Ever had one of those recipes where you make it, you take a bite, and you just sit - momentarily stunned by the goodness that is the food that just hit your taste buds? This recipe was just that type of recipe.

A Pioneer Woman recipe and quite possibly one of THE best fruit salads I've ever had. Naturally it takes perfectly healthy food and makes it not so healthy, but it's worth it.

This fruit salad is essentially covered in a simple syrup that is infused with orange and vanilla...just stop and think about that for a minute.  Yah...exactly.

The salad was not overly sweet and was surprisingly refreshing.  I put it over angel food cake, and quite frankly I cold have done without the cake.

This recipe gets two very enthusiastic thumbs up!

Orange Vanilla Fruit Salad
Recipe from the Pioneer Woman
Serves 12


Photo by Pioneer Woman

1 cup Sugar
1 cup Water
Juice Of 1 Orange
Zest Of 1 Orange
2 whole Vanilla Beans, Caviar Scraped Out (or 2 Teaspoons Vanilla Extract)
4 pints Strawberries, Hulled And Halved
2 pints Blueberries
2 cups Red Grapes, Halved
2 cups Green Grapes, Halved
Mint Leaves

Preparation Instructions

Place the sugar, water, vanilla, orange juice and orange zest into a small saucepan and stir to combine. Bring to a boil, then turn the heat to low and simmer for 15-20 to thicken slightly. Set aside to cool, then store in the fridge until cold.

Mix together all the fruit in a large bowl and pour the syrup over the top, tossing gently. Garnish with mint leaves and serve.