Passion Fruit Salad Dressing

Written by
Marian Blazes
Marian Blazes is a freelance writer and recipe developer with a passion for South American food. She wrote a cookbook focusing on the cuisine of Brazil.
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Marian Blazes
Updated 11/28/20
Passionfruit salad dressing recipe

The Spruce / Diana Chistruga
Prep: 5 mins
Cook: 0 mins
Total: 5 mins
Servings: 8 servings

Enjoy the tropical flavor of this passion fruit salad dressing recipe. Quick and easy to make, this dressing is absolutely exquisite.

Passion fruit is native to the subtropical regions of South America, and it is a part of the local culinary tradition throughout the continent. The taste of passion fruit when it is fresh is bitingly tart and becomes sweeter as it ripens. Many South American specialties use this delectable fruit as an ingredient.

This sweet but tart fruit salad dressing complements many different combos of greens, and it's quick to make in the blender. Try it with a strawberry spinach salad or with pear and blue cheese salad.

Ingredients

  • 2 passion fruits (or 1/4 cup passion fruit puree)
  • 1/2 cup olive oil
  • 1 tablespoon lime juice
  • 1 tablespoon vinegar
  • 2 tablespoons honey
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt

Steps to Make It

  1. Gather the ingredients.

    Ingredients for passion fruit dressing
    The Spruce / Diana Chistruga

  2. Cut the passion fruits in half. Scrape the pulp and seeds into a small saucepan.

    Passion fruit pulp and seeds in a saucepan
    The Spruce / Diana Chistruga

  3. Heat fruit pulp over medium-low heat, stirring frequently. Heat the pulp almost to boiling, then remove it from the heat.

    Heat fruit
    The Spruce / Diana Chistruga

  4. Strain the pulp through a fine sieve or colander.

    Strain pulp through a fine sieve
    The Spruce / Diana Chistruga

  5. Discard the seeds and let the juice cool.

    Discard seeds
    The Spruce / Diana Chistruga

  6. Put the passion fruit juice, olive oil, lime juice, vinegar, honey, and salt in a blender or food processor and blend until the mixture is smooth.

    Blend until smooth
    The Spruce / Diana Chistruga

  7. Store the salad dressing in the refrigerator for up to one week. Stir or shake before using.

    Stir passion fruit salad dressing before using
    The Spruce / Diana Chistruga

Serving Suggestions

Serve a salad sparked with blue cheese or a strawberry spinach salad with passion fruit dressing with other authentic South American foods for a trip to that continent right from your own kitchen.

For a light meal, serve empanadas stuffed with cheese and ham, chicken, beef, corn, or blue cheese. Other small meal options include a trademark Argentinian sandwich of chorizo or other sausage covered with chimichurri sauce or a humita, which is a dish made of fresh corn, milk, onions, and spices that is popular in Peru, Chile, and Bolivia.

For dinner, the primo meal in Argentina centers around beef. Whether you favor a rib-eye, filet mignon, or sirloin, steak is the meat to choose. Short ribs are also a choice with Argentinian bona fides. Don't forget the chimichurri sauce with whichever of these cuts of beef you choose. Either goes great with a salad dressed in passion fruit dressing. Add Patagonian potatoes, a sort of pan-fried take on french fries; roasted potatoes with basil; roasted potatoes with vinegar and coarse salt; or french fries. You get the picture: Beef (preferably steak) and potatoes are an Argentinian staple. Choose what you like best but stay with that basic plan, along with the salad, for a taste of South America.

For dessert, serve tres leches cake with dulce de leche, chocotorta with dulce de leche, chocolate mousse with pisco, rice pudding with raisins, queso y dulce or flan.