Our fruity Passion Fruit Salad will give a tropical makeover to an otherwise simple recipe. Ideal for serving at your next barbecue as it pairs beautifully with grilled meats, get ready for a fiesta in your mouth.
Are you looking for different ways to use the passion fruit your garden blessed you with? Then you will love our gorgeous sweet and tangy Passionfruit Salad recipe, which pairs beautifully with grilled chicken or pork.
P.S. if you are a huge fan of fruity dressings check out our Blueberry Salad Dressing that we used in our Basil & Tomato Salad or our Cherry Vinaigrette great for kale salads.
Table of contents
Let's Talk Ingredients & Substitutions
- Cos/Romaine Lettuce - Passionfruit Salad needs a firm lettuce variety to hold up the tangy dressing, you could also try iceberg/crisphead lettuce, or baby gem lettuce works well tool.
- Small Cucumbers - we have used Lebanese/Persian cucumbers because they have few seeds, any other seedless varieties such as English or Kirby cucumbers. At a pinch, use any cucumber you can find but just remove the seeds to prevent a watery salad.
- Bullhorn Capsicum/Pepper - for a pop of colour and some sweetness, red bell peppers/capsicums are also good here.
- Avocado - to add some creaminess, you can swap with some edamame or with some canned chickpeas if you prefer.
- Passion fruit dressing - this is what really makes the salad it is made with passionfruit pulp, avocado oil (can use virgin/extra virgin olive oil), and fresh lime juice as it pairs beautifully with the passionfruit. We have added some Kaffir/Makrut lime leaves for an extra flavour hit, but you can leave those out if you prefer. If you find your dressing a bit tart, then add one teaspoon of honey or maple syrup.
Variation
If you prefer a simpler passionfruit dressing, try this version -
3 ripe passion fruit, to make up ¼ cup
¼ cup avocado oil
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
1 teaspoon honey or maple syrup
You Will Need
How To Make It (step-by-step)
Step 1 - Cut your veg
Wash your romaine lettuce, discard the outer damaged leaves and trim the end. Either pat or spin dry in a salad spinner then shred with a sharp knife.
Wash your cucumbers, pat dry, trim off the ends and then peel leaving alternative green strips and cut them into rounds.
Remove the core, end and seeds from your bullhorn pepper, rinse under cold water, and then slice thinly.
Wash, peel and remove the seed from your avocado, cut it into chunks and squeeze some lemon or lime juice on top to prevent browning.
Step 2 - Make your passionfruit dressing
Cut your lime leaves into a chiffonade.
Put all your dressing ingredients in a glass jar, season with salt and pepper, and then shake until emulsified.
Taste and adjust seasonings according to your taste, you may need to add a teaspoon of a sweetener such as honey or maple syrup if your passionfruit tastes too tart.
Step 3 - Assemble your Passion Fruit Salad
Place all your cut vegetables in a mixing bowl, pour over your dressing, and season with sea salt and cracked black pepper.
Taste and adjust seasonings according to your liking.
Arrange in a salad bowl, leaving any leftover dressing behind and serve immediately.
What to Serve It With
Passionfruit is native to South America, so this salad would be great to serve with empanadas or tamales 🫔 or with Caribbean favourites such as Jamaican jerk chicken or Pernil (Puerto Rican Roast Pork).
Passionfruit salad also pairs well with grilled chicken, pork, or firm-fleshed meaty fish, like barramundi, cod, snapper, bass or lemony Mahi Mahi.
It is equally as good with a pork belly roast or store-bought barbecue/rotisserie chicken for an easy family dinner.
We served ours as part of a summer barbecue with pork chops and chicken breasts.
How to Meal-Prep for Lunches & Picnics
- You must make sure that your salad leaves are completely dry before assembling this salad.
- Either add loads of lemon juice to the avocado to prevent it from browning or cut some into your salad on the day.
- Keep the dressing in a separate container to pour over Passion Fruit Salad just before eating.
- For added protein, you could add some pulled pork, grilled chicken or seared lamb.
- For vegetarians and vegans try adding a grain such as quinoa or farro, or some red kidney beans or chickpeas are also great here.
People Also Ask...
Ripe passion fruits have a brighter colour with a wrinkly outer shell. They should be firm but not too soft and not too hard.
No need to be burdened with seasonal availability, if you are unable to find fresh passion fruit then it is perfectly ok to sub with either tinned or frozen (defrost the frozen well before using).
That is entirely up to you we really love the added crunch of the passionfruit seeds, so I left them in. To strain passion fruits, slice them in half and use a small spoon to scoop up the flesh, then strain the pulp through a fine strainer and remove the seeds (if you warm the seeds in a small saucepan they will be easy to strain).
This is such a simple green salad that comes together in less than ten minutes.
You can certainly make your dressing a few days ahead and keep it in a glass container in your fridge for 3-4 days. Remember to take it out of the fridge 10 minutes beforehand so that it comes to room temperature.
Great for Dairy-free, Gluten-free, Nut-free, Paleo, and Vegetarian diets.
For Vegan use maple syrup instead of honey.
Leave out the sweetener for Whole30 diets.
Not suitable for keto and low carb diets as it has a high carb count.
Recipe Card
Equipment
- Salad Spinner
Ingredients
- 1 medium Cos / romaine lettuce heart (approximately 150 grams/5.3 ounces)
- 2 small small cucumbers (approximately 300 grams/10.6 ounces)
- 1 medium red bullhorn capsicum / pepper (approximately 150 grams/5.3 ounces)
- 1 large avocado (approximately 300 grams/10.6 ounces)
- 3 tablespoons lemon or lime juice (to squeeze on the avocado)
- 3-4 ripe passion fruit1 {(o make up ¼ cup)
- ¼ cup avocado oil
- 3 tablespoons lime juice
- 2 Kaffir lime leaves (optional but adds so much flavour)
- 1 teaspoon honey or maple syrup (optional if you find your dressing is too tart)
Instructions
- Wash, trim and peel all your veg and remove the seeds from your capsicum (pepper).
- Shred your lettuce, slice the cucumbers and pepper into rounds and cut the avocado in chunks with a squeeze of lemon juice to prevent browning. Put everything in a mixing bowl.
- Cut your lime leaves into chiffonade and add to a glass jar with the rest of your dressing ingredients, season and shake until emulsified. Taste and add some sweetener if you find that it is too tart.
- Pour your dressing over the vegetables in your bowl, season with sea salt and cracked black pepper, then toss well to combine.
- Taste and adjust seasonings according to your taste.
- Arrange in a salad bowl, leaving any leftover dressing behind and serve immediately. and serve immediately.
Video
Notes
- You can also use canned or frozen passion fruit pulp, make sure the frozen pulp is completely defrosted and taste your dressing as you may need to add some extra sweetener if it is too tart.
- The seeds in the dressing add crunch to this salad if you prefer a smoother consistency you can strain them. To strain passion fruits, slice them in half and use a small spoon to scoop up the flesh, then strain the pulp through a fine strainer and remove the seeds (if you warm the seeds in a small saucepan they will be easy to strain).
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