This simple cheesecake salad is a delightful combination of fresh fruit and creamy cheesecake filling. Sweet, tangy, and bursting with fresh flavor, it’s always a hit at any gathering!
You only need 4 simple ingredients to make the cream cheese sauce, and you can use any fruit you have on hand. This fruit salad is so tasty that you are going to want to make it all year long!
CHEESECAKE FRUIT SALAD = THE BEST DESSERT SALAD!
There are a lot of tasty dessert salads out there, but this one is my favorite!
- It’s not overly sweet like some that call for pudding mix, cookies, and other tasty but not super healthy ingredients.
- Instead of Cool Whip, it calls for real cream, which I almost always prefer because it comes from cows instead of a factory. But if you love Cool Whip, we can still be friends. 😁
- It’s actually loaded with fruit, instead of being a bowl of sauce with a few pieces of fruit in it. What can I say, I love fruit!
- You can prep it ahead of time, or make it at the last minute. I need flexibility.
- No matter what kind of fruit you put in it, it tastes heavenly. Because cheesecake in any form is amazing. Unless it has tofu in it, but that’s a story for another day.
Frequently asked questions:
Yes. Cool Whip is handy especially if you are dealing with dairy intolerance. You can omit the cream, powdered sugar, and vanilla and use an 8 oz tub of Cool Whip.
Yes, you can make it several hours before you need to serve it, just cover and chill it. But I recommend adding the diced apple and banana right before serving. You don’t want brown fruit in your salad.
Fresh berries work much better. Frozen berries can be used in a pinch, but honestly I don’t like using them.
If you do use frozen, I prefer adding them to the salad frozen so they aren’t as mushy. Because frozen berries release water, your salad will be more runny. But some people like to thaw them first; it’s a matter of preference.
If you do use frozen fruit, you need to eat the salad immediately whether they are frozen or thawed.
How to make Fruit Cheesecake Salad
- PREP – Let your cream cheese sit on the counter for a few hours to soften. Wash the berries and place them on a tray or cookie sheet in a single layer so they dry off.
- WHIP – In a medium sized bowl, beat the cream until stiff peaks form. (It will beat up faster if you chill the beaters and bowl in the freezer for 5-10 minutes.) Add powdered sugar and vanilla and beat until stiff peaks form. Set aside.
In another bowl, beat the cream cheese until very smooth. Beat in about 1/4-1/3 cup of the whipped cream. Fold in the remaining cream.
Place mixture in the fridge while you slice the fruit. - SLICE – Remove the stems from the strawberries and cut into chunks or slices. Core the apple and cut into bite sized chunks.
- COMBINE – Dump all the fruit into a large bowl, then add the cream cheese mixture.
Stir gently until fruit is evenly coated. - SERVE – You can either chill the salad for a few hours and add the bananas right before serving, or you can add the bananas and serve immediately. Prepare for people to want seconds!
Storing leftover
If you have any leftovers, they will only last for a day or two in the refrigerator. I recommend picking out any bananas, they brown after just a few hours. The strawberries will also start to get mushy once they have been cut.
Honestly, I never have leftovers. Everyone loves this salad so much, they eat it until it is gone!
VARIATIONS:
- As mentioned above, you can swap out the cream, powdered sugar, and vanilla for an 8 ounce tub of Cool Whip.
- Some lemon zest or fresh lemon just add a tangy, fresh citrus flavor.
- Adding a cup or two of mini marshmallows is always a kid favorite.
- Use any fruit you like. We’ve also tried blackberries, pineapple, kiwi, peaches, and nectarines. All are delicious!
- You could also add shredded coconut or chopped nuts for a nice crunch.
- To make this salad low carb, use only 6 cups of berries, and swap out the powdered sugar for powdered Swerve.
- Try using it as a topping for pancakes, waffles, or french toast. YUM!
MORE TASTY SWEET SALADS:
- Apple Fruit Salad
- Grape Salad with Cream Cheese
- Cranberry Fluff
- Honey Lime Dressing for Fruit
- Bing Cherry Jello Salad
- Sour Cream Fruit Salad
CHEESECAKE SALAD RECIPE
Cheesecake Fruit Salad
Ingredients
- 1 cup heavy cream whipped
- ½ cup powdered sugar
- ½ tsp vanilla extract
- 4 oz neufchatel cream cheese or full fat cream cheese
- 1 ½ cups sliced strawberries 1 pint of strawberries
- 1 ½ cups fresh raspberries
- 1 cup fresh blueberries
- 1 apple diced
- 1 banana sliced
Instructions
- Let your cream cheese soften to room temperature.
- Wash the berries and apple and pat them dry with a paper towel or lay them out in a single layer to dry.
- In a medium bowl, beat the cream with a hand mixer at high speed until soft peaks form. (If you freeze the bowl and beaters for 5-10 minutes, first, your cream will beat up faster and fluffier.)
- Add the powdered sugar and vanilla, and beat until stiff peaks form; set aside.
- In another bowl, beat the cream cheese until very smooth. Beat in about 1/4 cup of the whipped cream, then fold in the remaining whipped cream.
- Slice up all of the fruit and place in a large serving bowl. Add the cream cheese mixture and stir gently until all the fruit is coated.
- Serve immediately. (You can make it a couple hours ahead of time and store in the refrigerator. Just don't add the bananas until right before you serve it.)
Notes
- If you don’t have powdered sugar on hand, granulated sugar also works great! Just beat it a little longer with the cream cheese until it dissolves.
- You can use any fruit you want, you just need to make sure you end up with about 6 cups of fresh fruit total.
- I prefer light (neufchatel) cream cheese, it is a little softer and makes the salad more creamy. But full fat cream cheese works too!
- Need a non dairy fruit salad? You can replace the cream, powdered sugar, and vanilla with an 8 oz top of whipped topping (Cool Whip).
Nutrition
Next time you’re craving cheesecake but want something a little healthier, whip up a batch of this cheesecake fruit salad instead!
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Everyone was pleased with this cheesecake salad! They love how rich and flavorful it was. Some even asked me for the recipe!
It’s always a win when someone requests the recipe – hooray!
this was everything that I needed and more and I had no clue that it existed! thank you so mych for sharing this recipe!
You are so welcome! I hope it becomes a staple at your house like it is at mine!