Pineapple Boat Fruit Salad with Sherbet – Tropical Dessert

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Last Updated on June 24, 2021 by Alaina Bullock

Served in a pineapple boat, fresh fruit is tossed together then topped with a few scoops of your favorite flavor sherbet in this deliciously refreshing Pineapple Boat Fruit Salad recipe.

Summer is here and already the temperatures here in Alabama have been hovering near the mid-90’s. Add in the humidity, and you feel like you are in a sauna as soon as you step out the door! This fantastic pineapple boat fruit salad topped with sherbet is a wonderful way to have you feeling like you are on a tropical island instead!

When I was 13 years old, my father took my sister and me to Hawaii. We visited the Big Island, Kauai and Oahu. In addition to the beautiful scenery, one thing that has always stuck in my mind was this amazingly delicious fruit salad I’d get as a late night treat at one of the hotels.

I call it a treat because the fresh fruit salad was served in a pineapple boat and then, instead of being topped with coconut or a sweet dressing, it was topped with scoops of sherbet! The sherbet would slowly melt over the fruit, and it all tasted so darn good! Hmmmm, perhaps it should’ve been called a Pineapple Boat Fruit Salad Sundae instead?

Despite how much I loved that fruit salad in a pineapple boat, I’ve never tried to recreate it, until now. I think you’ll enjoy this Pineapple Boat Fruit Salad as much as I! It’s pretty to look at, easy-to-make, and oh, so good!

And if cantaloupe, watermelon and honeydew isn’t your thing, use bananas, grapes and raspberries instead. You can really use any fruit – and any sherbet or ice cream – you want. That’s another beautiful things about this fruit salad, it’s extremely versatile. I bet it’d also taste great topped with ice cream and some chocolate syrup!

So are you ready to make your Pineapple Boat Fruit Salad…err, Sundae?

Pineapple Boat Fruit Salad

Ingredients to Make a Pineapple Boat Fruit Salad

1 whole Pineapple, as ripe as you can find
1/2 cup honeydew melon chunks
1/2 cup cantaloupe chunks
1/2 cup watermelon chunks
1/3 cup Blueberries
1/3 cup Strawberries, halved
1/2 cup Pineapple, Chunks
2-3 Scoops Favorite Sherbet

Instructions To Make A Pineapple Boat Fruit Salad

Before cutting, turn the pineapple to find the most attractive and stable way for it to lie flat, without it rolling over.

Next, using a very sharp, large knife, cut the pineapple lengthwise. I personally prefer to cut off about 1/3 of the fruit instead of cutting it into two equal halves. This way the stem remains intact and the ‘boat’ is nice and deep. However, it’s all personal preference! If you want equal halves or to make two boats, then cut the pineapple in half – trying as much as possible to go right down the middle of the crown.

Now using a smaller sharp knife, remove any fruit from the smaller section, eat it and then throw away the outer peel.

To remove the fruit from the larger section, begin by making a cut around the perimeter of the fruit about 1/2 inch in from the outside edge. This will give you a nice rim for support. Be sure to aim your knife at a diagonal towards the inside of the fruit while you are cutting. And watch that you don’t cut too deep as you don’t want the knife piercing through the skin.

Next, score the pineapple as if you’re dicing it, then scoop out the fruit with a large spoon. Don’t throw the chunks away. Place them into a large bowl for later use.

See that yummy juice and those shreds left inside the pineapple shell? Pour the juice into a cup, and then use the spoon to carefully scrape the shreds off the sides. Now you can drink the juice and eat the shreds while admiring the awesome pineapple boat you just created! Now on to the other fruit.

Cut the honeydew melon into bite-sized pieces, tossing the pieces into the large bowl with the pineapple.

Same with the cantaloupe…

and the watermelon.

Throw in the strawberries, and add the blueberries. Now toss it all together….

Use a slotted spoon to scoop the fruit chunks into the pineapple shell.

Isn’t it pretty and colorful?!

If you don’t need it right away, just cover it with plastic wrap and keep in the fridge. When you are ready to serve it, top with 2 or 3 scoops of your favorite flavor sherbet  – I used rainbow – dig in and enjoy!

Aloha! And don’t forget the handy dandy printable version of this recipe below.

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