Easy Fruit Salsa with Cinnamon Sugar Tortilla Chips is a fresh fruit salsa recipe that's beginner-friendly and easy to make ahead. Finely diced apples, strawberries, and peaches are coated in a light fruit-preserve sauce and chilled while the homemade cinnamon chips bake.
For another fruit-filled treat, try our Fresh Fruit Salad with Honey Lime Dressing, Apple Cinnamon Scones, or Blueberry Turnovers.
Easy Fruit Salsa with Cinnamon Sugar Tortilla Chips at a Glance 🔎
- 🕒 Prep Time: 20 minutes
- ⏱️ Cook Time: 10 minutes
- 🧊 Optional Chill: 30 minutes
- 👥 Servings: 8 servings
- 🔥 Cook Method: Oven-baked
- 🍽️ General Category: American appetizer or snack
- 👩🍳 Pair With: Summer brunch, cookout appetizers, or vanilla yogurt
- ⭐ Difficulty Level: Easy
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I've found the chips crisp best in a single layer. Let them cool on the pan, then arrange them around the chilled salsa before serving. ~Jami
Jump to:
- Easy Fruit Salsa with Cinnamon Sugar Tortilla Chips at a Glance 🔎
- Why We Love This Recipe
- Key Ingredients
- Substitutions & Variations
- How To Make Easy Fruit Salsa with Cinnamon Sugar Tortilla Chips
- Expert Tips for Success
- Storage
- Easy Fruit Salsa Recipe FAQs
- More Fruit Recipes You'll Love ♥️
- 📖 Recipe
- 💬 Share Your Thoughts
Why We Love This Recipe
- Fresh, Scoopable Texture: Finely dicing the fruit makes it easy to scoop onto a tortilla chip, preventing large pieces from tumbling off.
- Lightly Sweet Flavor: Fruit preserves and honey create a glossy sauce without masking the flavor of ripe strawberries and peaches.
- Perfect for Parties: The salsa can be chilled in advance, making it a practical appetizer for cookouts, showers, brunches, and summer gatherings.
- Homemade Cinnamon Chips: Baking flour tortillas creates crisp, sturdy chips that hold the juicy fruit better than delicate store-bought alternatives.
Key Ingredients
- Honeycrisp Apple: Honeycrisp stays crisp after it's diced and adds a sweet-tart flavor that keeps the salsa from tasting flat. Cut it into pieces about the size of the diced strawberries, then toss it with lemon juice immediately to slow browning.
- Strawberries: Choose ripe, red strawberries that smell sweet but still feel firm. Very soft berries release more liquid and can make the salsa watery, especially when it's prepared several hours ahead.
- Peaches: Ripe but slightly firm peaches provide the best balance of flavor and structure. If a peach is extremely soft, it may break down while the salsa is stirred and chilled. Love peaches? Try our Peaches and Cream Overnight Oats.
- Fruit Preserves: Strawberry, peach, or apricot preserves create a light sauce that helps the fruit hold together on a chip.
- Lemon Juice and Honey: Lemon juice helps protect the apple's color and balances the sweetness of the fruit. Honey smooths out the tartness, but you can reduce it when your strawberries and peaches are especially sweet.
- Flour Tortillas: Eight-inch flour tortillas produce sturdy chips with a crisp edge and slightly tender center. Spread them in a single layer so the wedges bake evenly instead of steaming where they overlap.
- Cinnamon Sugar: Mixing the cinnamon thoroughly into the sugar prevents dark, bitter patches on the chips. Sprinkle both sides while the melted butter is still wet so the coating sticks.
A full ingredient list with exact measurements can be found in the recipe card below.
Substitutions & Variations
- Honeycrisp Apple: Substitute Pink Lady, Fuji, or Granny Smith. Granny Smith produces a tarter salsa and works well when the peaches are particularly sweet.
- Fresh Peaches: Use nectarines or mango when peaches aren't in season. Frozen peaches are not recommended because they become soft and release too much liquid after thawing.
- Fruit Preserves: Replace the preserves with seedless strawberry jam, peach jam, or apricot jam. Warm the jam for a few seconds so it folds into the fruit without crushing it.
- Dairy-Free: Brush the tortillas with melted coconut oil or a neutral vegetable oil instead of butter.
- Tropical: Replace the peaches with mango and add finely diced pineapple. Drain the pineapple well before adding it so the salsa doesn't become overly wet.
- Presentation: Spoon the salsa into small clear cups and tuck one cinnamon chip into each serving. Keep extra chips on the side so they remain crisp.
How To Make Easy Fruit Salsa with Cinnamon Sugar Tortilla Chips
Step One: Prepare the Apples
Finely dice the Honeycrisp apple and immediately toss it with the lemon juice in a large bowl. Aim for pieces no larger than ¼ inch so the salsa stays on the chips.
Coating the apple before preparing the other fruit gives the lemon juice time to cover the cut surfaces and slow browning.
Step Two: Mix and Chill the Fruit Salsa
Dice the strawberries and peaches to roughly the same size as the apple. Add them to the bowl and gently fold everything together.
Stir in the preserves and honey until no thick pockets of preserves remain. Cover and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes. The finished salsa should look glossy and lightly saucy, but the fruit pieces should still hold their shape.
Fold in the mint (if using) shortly before serving.
Step Three: Prepare the Cinnamon Sugar Tortilla Chips
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Brush both sides of each tortilla with melted butter, paying attention to the edges, which can otherwise bake up dry.
Combine the sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl before sprinkling it over the tortillas.
Cut each tortilla into eight wedges and arrange the pieces in a single layer on baking sheets. Overlapping wedges won't crisp as evenly.
Step Four: Bake, Cool, and Serve
Bake the tortilla chips for 8 to 10 minutes. Look for lightly golden edges rather than waiting for the entire surface to become brown. The centers may feel slightly flexible when they first leave the oven, but they'll crisp as they cool.
Allow the chips to cool completely on the baking sheets.
Stir the chilled salsa once before transferring it to a serving bowl, and use a slotted spoon if excess juice has collected at the bottom.
Expert Tips for Success
👩🍳Jami's Pro Tips: Want to take this recipe to the next level? Check out my expert tips below for the best flavor, texture, and meal prep hacks!
✔️ DO Dice all the fruit into small, uniform pieces so each scoop contains apple, strawberry, and peach.
✔️DO Toss the apple with lemon juice as soon as it's cut to help preserve its color.
Storage
Store fruit salsa in a covered container in the refrigerator for up to two days, although its texture is best the day it's made. Keep the cooled tortilla chips separately in an airtight container at room temperature for up to three days. Freezing isn't recommended because thawed fruit becomes watery, and the chips don't require reheating unless you want to refresh them for two or three minutes in a 300°F oven.
Easy Fruit Salsa Recipe FAQs
Firm fruits that can be diced and stirred without breaking down work best in fruit salsa. Apples, strawberries, peaches, nectarines, mango, pineapple, and kiwi are common choices.
Sweet fruit salsa is typically a dessert-style dip made with diced fruit, preserves, honey, or sugar and served with cinnamon chips. Mexican fruit salsa may include lime, chile peppers, Tajín, cilantro, or onion and is often served with tacos, fish, or grilled meat.
Tortilla chips may remain soft if they overlap on the baking sheet, have too much butter, or haven't cooled completely. Arrange them in one layer and bake until the edges are lightly golden. Remember that the chips continue to firm as they cool.
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📖 Recipe
Easy Fruit Salsa with Cinnamon Sugar Tortilla Chips
Equipment
- Large Mixing Bowl
- Cutting board
- Chef's Knife
- Small Mixing bowl
- Baking sheet
- Pastry brush
Ingredients
Fruit Salsa
- 1 large Honeycrisp apple finely diced
- 16 ounces strawberries finely diced
- 2 ripe peaches finely diced
- 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- 2 tablespoons fruit preserves such as strawberry, peach, apricot, or orange marmalade
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 2 tablespoons fresh mint finely chopped, optional
Cinnamon Sugar Tortilla Chips
- 8 flour tortillas 8-inch
- 3 tablespoons melted butter
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Instructions
- Add the diced Honeycrisp apple to a large mixing bowl and immediately toss with the lemon juice. Add the strawberries and peaches and toss gently to combine. Coating the apple right away helps slow browning and keeps the salsa looking fresh.
- Add the preserves and honey. Stir gently until the fruit is evenly coated and the preserves are fully incorporated. If using mint, fold it in just before serving for the freshest flavor.
- Cover and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes. As the fruit rests, the juices combine with the preserves and honey to create a light, naturally sweet sauce.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Brush both sides of the tortillas with melted butter.In a small bowl, combine the sugar and cinnamon. Sprinkle the mixture evenly over both sides of the tortillas. Cut each tortilla into 8 wedges and arrange in a single layer on baking sheets.
- Bake for 8 to 10 minutes, or until the chips are lightly golden and crisp around the edges. Allow them to cool completely on the baking sheet.
- Transfer the chilled fruit salsa to a serving bowl and serve with the cinnamon sugar tortilla chips.
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Video
Notes
- Toss the apple with lemon juice immediately after dicing to slow browning.
- Use ripe but slightly firm fruit so the pieces hold their shape.
- Arrange the tortilla wedges in one layer so they bake evenly.
- Keep the salsa and cooled chips separate until serving to protect their texture.
Jami Powell says
Great dish for summer gatherings!