Strawberry-Sauced Crunchy Fruit Salad

I made this recipe for an Eagles club family night. They wanted a "salad" and I wanted to bring something different than the typical macaroni or jello type salad. I made this recipe and it was a HIT! I had so many people asking for the recipe for it. I agree with a previous reviewer, in that the sauce is too runny to layer over the top. I just mixed it all together. I also substituted canned mandarin oranges for the oranges in the recipe, and walnuts instead of hazelnuts. Also, I live in a small town and was unable to find "vanilla sugar". In fact, I've never even heard of it. So, to compensate, I added 1 more T of powdered sugar and then a T. of vanilla extract. An excellent recipe! I can see making this over and over again. My 2 year old neice refused to eat anything else once she tasted this salad. ;)

Delicious! I used sliced almonds instead of hazelnuts and used a larger variety of fruits (nectarines, grapes, strawberries, apples, pears, plums, etc.) The sauce is more watery than creamy, so I used it as a dressing and mixed it in the fruit rather than coating it on top. Everyone loved it!

Very good. I substituted oatmeal for the nuts to work around a nut allergy. Worked very well, but we had lots of extra topping. (tastes good on ice cream). Will make again often.

I really love this recipe! I used almonds instead of the hazelnuts and subsituted half of the apples for peaches which turned out to be my favorite part of the salad. The peaches with the strawberry was excellent.

I love this recipe!!! It make a lot of fruit salad - but I am always left with an empty bowl at parties!!! I make some variations - even though this is the exact same recipe that was given to me from my sister. My version omits the orange in the fruit mixture. I also use canned pineapple tidbits instead of the crushed pineapples - as I find it is more of the same shape as the apples. I keep the strawberry sauce the same. I changes the crunchy topping - as I did not like the nutty taste. I use homemade granola. It lasts longer and doesn't get as soggy as quickly. I have even made 1/2 of this recipe and it still makes a a lot. I like to chop up the apples before my guests come, place it in a container and sprinkle about 1/3 cup of orange juice on top of the apples - so the apples will not turn brown. I also layer mine a little differently. I use a clear trifle bowl and pour 1/2 the mixed apples on the bottom, them 1/2 the can drain pineapple tidbits, 1/2 the strawberry sauce, about 1 1/2 -2 cups granola and then layer everything again - ending with the granola on the top.

Excellent! I did use only diffent kinds of apples instead of adding the extra fruits like the orange or pineapple and it was still fantastic. I didnt have hazelnuts so I substituted more rice krispys and Walnuts instead. My whole family loved it. This really was an excellent way to get a few servings of fruit in a meal. My family even stopped eating our main dish and focused on this fruit salad. Thanks for the recipe, its a keeper!

This salad was really good and makes a large quantity. I brought it as my dish to pass on Easter and everyone really seemed to like it. I mixed all the fruit and topping together earlier in the morning and right before serving mixed in the cereal topping. The only problem with this is that the salad is only good on the first day and after that it got really soggy.

When I make this in a trifle bowl, I put a tall glass in the center of the bowl and fill it with the sauce. I layer the fruits around the glass, and put a spoon in the glass so everyone can take as necessary. Yes, the recipe does make a lot of crunch, but I love to have the extra around for ice cream or whatever. Also, the original recipe called for walnuts or filberts in the crunch. Enjoy!

Amazing! Everyone loved it! It's so sweet, without a lot of sugar. Will DEFINATELY use again, and again, and again!

Made this for the 4th of July. Everyone loved the crunchies on the top. I used sliced almonds instead of hazelnuts.

This salad was a huge hit with my family! I made some substitutions because of availability of ingredients, but this is a flexible recipe. I used almonds instead of hazelnuts, reduced the apples and oranges a little, added bananas, and used a dash of vanilla instead of vanilla sugar. I also used orange juice concentrate instead of orange juice. I mixed the strawberry sauce with the fruit and served the nut topping on the side. There was a fair amount of topping left over. I think this salad would work with any kind of chopped fruit and nuts.

Huh? I do NOT see/taste why everyone gave this 5 stars. Sure, it was a pretty good fruit salad, but 5 stars? No. I made this for a brunch and, bottom line, it just tastes like chopped up fruit mixed with that stawberry topping for ice cream (with a bit of a citrus taste because of the orange juice) with some cereal mixed in it. If I were to make it again, I'd just cut the time in half and chop the fruit up, mix it with that ready-made strawberry topping and then a cup of the cereal "Honey Bunches of Oats". To be honest, it'd taste just the same....

Good fruit salad. I halved the recipe and used only 1 Tbsp of brown sugar on the cereal mixture and some splenda. I didn't use any sugar on the orange juice sauce and to be honest would be overwhelming for my taste all of this sugar, to me fruit salad is suppose to be a healthy dessert. Overall it is a nice dessert and I will make it again.

This is wonderful - my family requests it for every get-together! I change the fruit ingredients - usually no oranges or pineapples, but lots of apples, grapes and berries. I have used chopped walnuts, chopped pecans and chopped peanuts too (whatever I have on hand). Really yummy!

This is really good! I made this today because I had a bunch of fruit I needed to use before it went bad and I love it! However, I did not use rice cereal but a cereal blend and I think that added just the right variety of taste to complement the fruit.

I made this with my diabetic friend in mind, so I cut out the sugar in the sauce, just strawberries, orange juice, and a splash of vanilla. Then, I served the crunch on the side. The dressing was delicious! Just enough to make it special, but not too sweet and dessert-like.

I made this for my son's Birthday Party. It was a big hit! Everyone loved it and was asking for the recipe!

This salad was good. I liked the Strawberry sauce the most. The longer it sat out the apples got sour from the oranges but otherwise it was good.

Excellent! Easy and tasty - even my husband, who doesn't like any fruit salad, at it and liked it! I didn't change a thing and will definitely make it again.

Excellent recipe. Everyone loved it. I substituted mandarin oranges for the orange sections. We liked it best when we kept the strawberry mixture frozen until ready to serve.

Loved this! A great, healthy fruit salad. The strawberry sauce and "crunch" add a different twist.

I have to say, that this isn't the most attractive dish. I mixed the sauce into the fruit to keep the apples from browning and it made it look pretty messy. It tasted better than it looked though and the topping was yummy. :) I'll make the topping again for other salads.

Great way to serve boring fruit! My family loved it!

This is SO good! Everyone wanted the recipe.

Yum! Delicious and not too sweet. I made this for a baby shower and it was a hit. There was nothing left and everyone was asking for more. I made a few changes. I did not use oranges but did add grapes and banana slices. Its worth a try.

This recipe was so good! I followed it as written and wouldn't change a thing. Thank you!

I took this to a mom's brunch and this was a huge hit! I used walnuts and also substituted mandarin oranges for the oranges. It's something fun and new for fruit!

I halved this recipe and other than that, followed it to a T. I'm not sure what all the excitement is about, b/c everyone seems to like this recipe. I did not like it AT ALL. The flavors did not mix very well and the sauce was too liquidy, too sweet.

This salad was not all that good for all the steps and work I had to put into it. My kids liked it somewhat. I tried to follow the recipe exactly, but did not care for it.

Always get rave reviews! I make a few changes, though. I do not use oranges, as they are kind of messy and unattractive when stringy. I just add a bit more orange juice to the puree, which is perfect when using frozen strawberries! I also use diced pineapples instead of crushed as they provide a little more crunch and less mush, and put the pineapple juice from the can into the puree mix, instead of just pouring it down the drain. Also, like many others, I double the crunchy topping. Whatever is left over, we use as topping for ice cream!!

A cross between a fruit crisp and a fruit salad. Wonderful as a side dish or a dessert!

It was pretty good. WAY to much sauce. I only used about 1/2 of it. I also used a mixture of fruits.

Very good, makes a ton of salad and I even halved the recipe. I didn't stick to the recipe, but added the fruits my family liked. Will make again.

I made this for a breakfast "party" at work. Everyone raved about it and being healthier was greatly appreciated. Fot the granola topping I used old fashioned rolled oats instead of cereal. Tasted great.

I love this recipe. I have added or substituted mango, peaches, and grapes. I've found I can increase the fruit considerably and still have plenty of sauce. I mix the strawberry sauce in but serve the crunchy topping on the side. I used pecans instead of hazelnuts. Next time I'm going to reduce the butter to 1/3 cup when I make the crunchy part.

This salad was outstanding - it's one of those recipes you will make again and again - definitely a keeper.

This was ok. Too many apples. I will definitely make it again, but with peaches and other fruits instead of the apples. The strawberry glaze and the crunch are delicious. The oranges in the salad were my favorite part.

We had this for dinner tonight and LOVED it! We did serve the toppings on the side, no soggines! We also couldn't find vanilla sugar so we used more confectioners sugar. THE HAZELNUTS ARE AWESOME!!! YAY!

This was wonderful, I can't wait to make it for a special event.

Recipe is better if everything is not blended together before serving.If you can't find vanilla sugar, take granulated sugar and add vanilla beans to it. Let it sit for awhile, until the vanilla flavor is absorbed by the sugar. It takes some planning ahead to make it like this because it will take awhile for the sugar to absorb that vanilla flavoring. I know of people who make it this way: take granulated sugar and mix with vanilla extract (the real stuff, please!). That can be used right away. You don't want to use too much of the vanilla extract because you don't want soggy sugar.

This salad is delicious! Incredible flavor. We usually serve the topping and sauce separately to avoid any sogginess. Our guests rave!