Cheesecake Fruit Salad

This creamy and delicious cheesecake fruit salad is a simple mix of your favorite fresh fruit, cool whip, vanilla yogurt, cheesecake pudding mix, and sugar.

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About Cheesecake Fruit Salad

Cheesecake fruit salad is a great addition to any potluck, meal, or holiday dinner, and it’s made even better by the fact that you can customize it with any fruit you’d like. Use your favorites or pick from what’s fresh at your local farmer’s market.

What kind of fruit can you use?

When making this salad, you can use any fresh fruit that you’d like, such as:

• Strawberries
• Raspberries
• Kiwi
• Blueberries
• Orange slices
• Cherries
• Blackberries
• Apple slices
• Sliced banana

Can you use frozen fruit?

Frozen fruit releases a lot of juice as it thaws, and because of this, I can’t recommend it for this salad.

However, you still could use frozen fruit, so long as you’re prepared for the difference it’ll make in the salad. There won’t be an impact on the taste, but the white cream will likely be tinted and flavored by the fruit juice, and the fruit itself will have a more soggy texture.

What else can you add to this creamy fruit salad?

If you’re looking for extra flavors, try adding:

• Lemon zest (up to one tablespoon).
• A splash of lemon juice (not much, maybe half to one full teaspoon).
• Crumbled cookies or graham crackers.
• Chocolate shavings or crumbled chocolate.

Can you make cheesecake fruit salad in advance?

Yes! In fact, this cheesecake fruit salad should be refrigerated at least one hour before serving, so some advanced preparation is required.

How long does cheesecake fruit salad last?

Once prepared, it can be stored in a sealed container in the refrigerator for up to two or three days.

How long can you leave out a cheesecake salad?

As with any cream-based dish you serve for a crowd, you should keep track of how long it sits out at room temperature.

For most foods, the general rule of thumb is that a perishable item should not be in the “danger zone” for more than two hours. And by “danger zone”, this is usually at or just above room temperature. I recommend preparing this salad chilled, so this should give you more time (about one hour) before the salad reaches room temperature.

As your event carries on, you can move the cheesecake salad back to the refrigerator once it gets past the two-hour mark. If your guests still want more salad, let it chill for at least 30 minutes before bringing it back out again.

Notes & tips for cheesecake fruit salad

• When selecting fruit, make sure that it’s fresh and ripe, with minimal brusing.
• When working with fresh fruit, after I cut everything up I like to soak them in hot water while I prepare the other ingredients. I think it helps soften the fruit a little to match the consistency of the cream mix (a little like fruit in yogurt). You can skip this part if you’d prefer “crunchier” fruit.
• The sugar in this salad should dissolve, but if you want to make sure there isn’t a crunch from the sugar, you can use powdered sugar instead. Powdered sugar measures higher, so substitute the two tablespoons of granulated sugar for three tablespoons of powdered sugar.

More great recipes with fruit

How to make cheesecake fruit salad

This next part is only a photo tutorial of the recipe steps. If you’re looking for the full recipe measurements and instructions, scroll down to Recipe Details.

Step 1 – In a large bowl, whip up the cool whip, yogurt, cheesecake pudding mix, and sugar. The ingredients should be thoroughly mixed; no clumps of the pudding mix should remain.

Step 2 – Add your chosen fruit to the bowl and use a spatula to gently fold it into the cheesecake mixture.

Step 3 – Pour the cheesecake salad into a serving bowl, then smooth out the top. If you have fruit left over, feel free to decorate the top for a pretty presentation.

Step 4 – Refrigerate the cheesecake fruit salad for at least one hour (so the pudding can set.)

Step 5 – Serve and enjoy!