Fruit Salsa & Cinnamon Sugar Tortilla Chips

May is both National Strawberry Month and National Salsa Month, so it’s a GREAT time to make this fruit salsa! But really, this recipe can work throughout the year with a few tweaks. (I’ve even made a fall version, which I’ll share later in the year!) Serve it as a snack or as a dessert. Because it’s both sweet and crunchy, it works well for either purpose.

While the recipe below is party tested and approved, you can easily substitute or add ingredients to fit your preferences and produce availability. In the same way, you could also skip the homemade tortilla chips (though many would claim they’re the best part!) if you’re short on time. Stacy’s® Cinnamon Sugar Pita Chips, vanilla wafer cookies, or cinnamon graham crackers are all fine substitutions that I’ve used. This fruit salsa would also be a delicious alternative to the traditional syrup on your pancakes or waffles, and I’ve even put it on ice cream!

TIP: Scroll down for some tweaks on how I gave this recipe a little twist to make it perfect for Memorial Day or 4th of July!

Salsa ingredients:

• 3 kiwis, peeled and diced
• 3 apples, peeled, cored and diced
• 1 1/2 pounds strawberries, tops removed and diced
• Juice of 2 limes (or lemon)
• 1 1/2 Tablespoons white sugar
• 1 Tablespoon brown sugar
• 1/4 cup plus 1 Tablespoon fruit preserves (Smucker’s® Red Raspberry used here)

Directions:

1. Prepare fruit as described.
2. In a large bowl, combine all diced fruit. Pour citrus juice over the fruit, tossing to fully cover.
3. Add sugar and preserves, stirring to combine.
4. Cover bowl and refrigerate for at least 15 minutes before serving.

Cinnamon sugar chips ingredients:

• 15 flour tortillas
• 3 Tablespoons butter, melted
• Approximately 3 Tablespoons sugar mixed with 2 teaspoons cinnamon (adjust to your preferences)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Line cookie trays with aluminum foil.
3. Cut tortillas into 8 equal triangles.
4. Brush both sides of tortilla triangles with melted butter and arrange on baking trays in a single layer. (You will probably need to do several batches.)
5. Sprinkle cinnamon sugar mixture over tortillas.
6. Bake for approximately 8-10 minutes, or until tortillas are just starting to brown.
7. Allow to cool for 15 minutes before eating.

A Patriotic Twist!

Like I said above, I love the basic recipe for this fruit salsa, and I’ve been known to make some adaptations to suit the holiday/season. A few years ago, I decided to make it for Memorial Day Weekend down the shore, so I made a few tweaks to the recipe. Instead of using kiwi, I used blueberries. And before I baked the tortilla chips, I used a star cookie cutter to make them into little stars!