Bring this to a summer gathering and watch what happens!
Fresh fruit, a little sweetness, and homemade cinnamon sugar pita chips that come out golden and crispy every single time. This fruit salsa is the kind of appetizer that looks like you spent the afternoon on it — and takes about 20 minutes, start to finish.
The chips are the secret. Pita bread brushed with melted butter and sprinkled with cinnamon sugar, baked until golden. They shatter when you scoop. They hold the fruit without going soggy. And they taste like dessert disguised as a snack.
Chip-Making Tips
A few things that make the chips come out perfectly every time:
Pull them when golden, not crispy. They continue to crisp up as they cool. If they look done in the oven, they’ll be overdone by the time they hit the table.
Butter on both sides. Not just the top. This is what makes them shatter-crispy rather than just dry.
Cut before baking, not after. Triangles or strips baked individually get even browning. Cutting after baking causes the chips to break unevenly.
Make them up to a week ahead and store at room temperature in an airtight container. They stay crispy.
Love sweet salsa? Try this peach mango salsa or mango pineapple salsa next.
Ingredients You Need
Here are the fresh ingredients for this delicious fruit salsa recipe. Jump to recipe for exact measurements.
- Peaches: use ripe and fresh peaches for best results.
- Mango that has also been peeled and diced into tiny pieces. Other tropical fruits like pineapple will work.
- Kiwi: scooped out and chopped.
- Fresh Strawberries: hulled and diced into tiny pieces
- Honey: for a little extra natural sweetener. Granulated sugar, maple syrup, or agave are great options.
- Lime juice: to balance out the fruit and honey. Lemon juice is a great option too.
- Basil or mint: too add fresh flavor (optional). If you have extra, learn how to freeze basil for later.
- Tortillas: use flour tortillas, gluten-free tortillas, or corn tortillas. I’ve also made these with pita for pita chips.
- Cinnamon sugar: I use the best cinnamon sugar with granulated sugar and cinnamon. You can use brown sugar instead
Want to try another fruit? Use more of your favorite fruits like golden apples, nectarines, pineapple, pears, grapes, blueberries, or raspberries.
Fruit Selection Guide
The base recipe uses strawberries, mango, kiwi, and apple — and that combination works because you get bright color, varied texture, and natural sweetness at every level. But this is one of those recipes where you can work with whatever’s ripe.
What holds up best (great for make-ahead):
Apple, mango, kiwi: all firm enough to sit in dressing for a day without getting mushy.
What gets soft faster:
Strawberries and peaches release juice quickly. If you’re making this more than a few hours ahead, add them closer to serving time.
How to Make Fruit Salsa
These are the step-by-step instructions for this fruit salsa with cinnamon chips. Jump to recipe card for the printable instructions.
- Chop the fruit: dice the ripe fruit small with a sharp knife or vegetable chopper.
- Mix it together: Add everything to a large bowl with lemon juice and honey and give it a good stir. Refrigerate for 20 minutes to chill.
- Homemade cinnamon tortilla chips: Use a pizza cutter to cut the tortillas into triangels. Spray them with coconut oil cooking spray or brush them with melted butter and dip each in cinnamon sugar. Lay them in a single layer on a baking sheet and bake at 350°F for 8-10 minutes.
- Serve: Top with fresh herbs and serve with the pita chips.
Make-Ahead Timelone
- Up to 1 week ahead: Bake the chips. Cool completely, store in an airtight container at room temp.
- Up to 24 hours ahead: Mix the fruit salsa (minus strawberries if you want them fresh). Store in a sealed container in the fridge.
- Before serving: Drain off any excess juice that has accumulated at the bottom of the bowl. Add fresh strawberries if you held them. Give everything a stir.
How to Serve Fruit Salsa
- With Stacey’s Cinnamon Sugar Pita Chips or cinnamon graham crackers of you don’t want to make your own.
- Scoop it on top of angel food cake, like lemon angel food cake or gluten-free angel food cake.
- Over vanilla ice cream.
- With fried ice cream — a Mexican classic.
- Served with savory dishes on top of fish or tacos.
Storing Leftovers
It’s best the same day, but you can store it in the fridge. Cover your leftover fruit salsa in an airtight container and keep the refrigerator for up to 5 days. If you swap in another fruit, like an apple, that tends to oxidize and brown, I don’t recommend storing more than a day.
To freeze fruit salsa, cover it in an airtight container and place in the freezer for up to 2 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator.
Strawberries, mango, kiwi, and apple are the classic combination. Peaches, blueberries, raspberries, and watermelon (small dice) all work too. Aim for four to five different fruits for color and texture variety.
Yes. Mix the salsa up to 24 hours ahead and refrigerate in a sealed container. Before serving, drain off any accumulated juice. The chips can be made up to a week ahead and stored at room temperature.
Up to three days in the fridge in a well-sealed container. The longer it sits, the more juice accumulates just drain it off before serving. The chips keep up to a week at room temperature.
Not if you keep them separate from the salsa until serving. If you’re making a platter and combining them, serve within about 30 minutes for maximum crunch.
Yes. Cinnamon graham crackers, cinnamon pita chips from the store, or even cinnamon sugar tortilla chips from the chip aisle all work. The homemade version tastes noticeably better, but the store-bought route is perfectly fine when time is short.
If you love this recipe as much as I do, don’t forget to follow me on Instagram and tag me with @what_mollymade so I can see it and feature you.
More Easy Desserts
Fruit Salsa Recipe
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Ingredients
- 2 peaches peeled and diced
- 1 mango peeled, cored and diced
- 4 kiwis peeled and diced
- 16 oz strawberries hulled and diced
- 1 Tablespoon fresh lemon juice (half a lemon)
- 2 Tablespoons honey
- 2 Tablespoons fresh basil chopped
- 1/3 cup granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 10 tortillas flour, gluten-free, or grain-free (Note 1 pita chips)
- Coconut oil cooking spray or melted butter
Instructions
- Chop the fruit: Peel and chop all of the fruit in small pieces. Add it to a large bowl and toss to combine.
- Mix together: In a small bowl, stir together the lemon juice and honey and mix well. Pour over fruit and mix to combine. Cover and refrigerate while you make the chips.
- Prep the cinnamon chips: Preheat oven to 350°F. Note 2 alternative cooking methods. Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper. Toss the cinnamon sugar in a small bowl. Spray the whole tortillas with cooking spray and sprinkle on both sides with cinnamon sugar. Stack them on top of each other and cut into 8 triangles.
- Bake: Arrange them in a single layer on the prepared baking sheets and bake in the preheated oven for 10-12 minutes, flipping halfway through. They will crisp more as they cool.
- Serve: stir in the fresh basil and toss to mix up the juices. Serve with pita chips
Notes
- Pull the chips when they look golden — they’ll continue to crisp up as they cool.
- Brush both sides of the pita with butter for maximum crunch.
- Make-ahead: chips up to 1 week (room temp), salsa up to 24 hours (fridge). Drain juice before serving.
- Soft fruits like strawberries and peaches release juice quickly — add them closer to serving if making ahead.
- Storage: salsa up to 3 days refrigerated; chips up to 1 week at room temperature.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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What would be a good substitute for the kiwi? We have an allergy in the family.
Hi there! I would recommend green grapes, pineapple, or another peach or mango.
Are you using pita bread and pita chips in this recipe?