Macadamia Free Basil-Pesto Fruit Harvest Salad
This vibrant fruit salad is a showstopper that proves fresh, simple ingredients can taste genuinely luxurious. The real magic here is the basil-pesto dressing — fragrant chiffonade basil whisked together with extra-virgin olive oil, bright lemon juice, garlic, and a subtle hint of ground ginger — which transforms a bowl of everyday fruit into something you'd find at a fancy brunch table. Grapes, blueberries, strawberries, apple, and pear all get tossed together for a mix of textures and natural sweetness that plays beautifully against the herby, citrusy dressing. Letting the dressing sit for ten minutes before tossing is a small step that makes a big difference, giving the basil time to fully infuse the oil. A scatter of torn fresh mint at the end adds one last pop of color and aroma. Traditional pesto recipes often call for pine nuts or other tree nuts, but this version skips them entirely and still delivers that unmistakable herbaceous punch — no substitutions needed, no compromises on flavor. It's the kind of dish that disappears fast, so you might want to double the batch.
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Learn more →Ingredients
4 servings
For the basil-pesto dressing
- ¼ cup fresh basil leaves, tightly packed
- 3 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
- 2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
- 1 small garlic clove, finely minced
- ¼ tsp fine sea salt
- ⅛ tsp ground ginger
For the salad
- 2 cups seedless red grapes, halved
- 1 cup fresh blueberries
- 1 cup fresh strawberries, hulled and quartered
- 1 medium apple, cored and thinly sliced
- 1 medium pear, cored and thinly sliced
For serving
- 1 tbsp fresh mint leaves, torn (optional)
Instructions
- 1
In a small bowl, whisk together the olive oil, lemon juice, minced garlic, fine sea salt, and ground ginger until fully combined and slightly emulsified.
- 2
Stack the basil leaves, roll them tightly lengthwise, and slice into thin ribbons (chiffonade). Add the basil to the dressing and stir to combine. Let the dressing sit for 10 minutes so the basil flavor infuses into the oil.
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