Food and Recipes Dish Fruit Salad Cheesecake Fruit Salad 5.0 (1) 1 Review Whipped cream cheese, frozen whipped topping, and powdered sugar make a creamy dressing for cheesecake fruit salad. By Laura Kanya Laura Kanya Laura Kanya served as a recipe tester and developer in the Vermont test kitchen of Dotdash Meredith. She has been active in the food industry for more than two decades, including as a pastry chef, chef instructor, executive chef, and director of operations in restaurants, resorts, and food production companies. Southern Living's editorial guidelines Updated on April 4, 2024 Recipe tested by Catherine Jessee Recipe tested by Catherine Jessee Prior to joining the Food Studios, Catherine accumulated 3 years of experience cooking in restaurants and earned her M.A. in Southern Studies, where she focused on Appalachian foodways. Catherine is also a writer and passionate about the intersection of culture and food. She served as a Nathalie Dupree Graduate Fellow with the Southern Foodways Alliance 2020–2022. Learn more about the Southern Living Test Kitchen Rate PRINT Share Trending Videos Close this video player Photo: Caitlin Bensel; Food Stylist: Torie Cox Active Time: 10 mins Total Time: 10 mins Servings: 8 If you're looking for a bright and refreshing side dish, look no further than this cheesecake fruit Salad. Juicy slices of melon, pineapple, berries, and kiwi are wrapped in a fluffy, creamy cheesecake filling and chilled. Learn how to make cheesecake fruit salad. Perfect as a dessert or a side dish, you can serve it on a weeknight or for brunch, but it's right at home on a holiday plate, too. What Is Cheesecake Fruit Salad? Cheesecake fruit salad is a refreshing and fun way to get your serving of fruit and have your cheesecake, too (without baking!). Sliced fruit pieces are folded into a cheesecake-like filling made with cream cheese, frozen whipped topping, yogurt, and powdered sugar. This fruit dish is ready in just 10 minutes, so it's a great last-minute option for weeknight dinner, potlucks, brunch, neighborhood parties, or even when you're craving a sweet and fruity snack. Our Test Kitchen professionals said this recipe reminds them of ambrosia salad, "but a bit fresher with fresh fruit instead of canned fruit!" Ingredients for Cheesecake Fruit Salad You'll need just seven ingredients for this dish: Whipped cream cheese: Used as the creamy base of the filling. Some recipes use instant pudding mix, but we like the texture and flavor of cream cheese better. If you have a regular block of cream cheese, you can beat it with a hand mixer for a few minutes before adding the rest of the ingredients to incorporate air.Whipped toppin: Makes the filling light and airy.Yogurt: Adds richness without added sugar.Ripe fruits: Give great balance of acidity, flavor, and color.Powdered sugar: Lends sweetness and also body to the cheesecake filling.Lemon juice: Increases the acidity to balance out the dairy in the yogurt and cream cheese.Vanilla extract: Elevates all the flavors and helps balance the tang of the fruit with the sugar's sweetness. Caitlin Bensel; Food Stylist: Torie Cox Can Cheesecake Fruit Salad Be Made in Advance? Yes, this no-bake cheesecake salad with fruit is a great dish to make a few hours ahead of when you plan to serve it. Make sure you give it a good stir before putting it on the table or buffet. The juicy fruits may leak some moisture and separate a bit from the cheesecake filling. Alternatively, you can make the cheesecake filling ahead of time, and fold the fruit into it just before you plan to serve it. What Kind of Fruit Should You Use for Cheesecake Fruit Salad? We developed this recipe with fruits that can be found any time of the year—pineapple, red grapes, honeydew melon, kiwi, and mango—but you can always reach for seasonal fruits when they're available. In the summer, consider blackberries, strawberries, and blueberries for red, white, and blue version of this creamy fruit salad. The ratio of 2-to-1 fruit to cheesecake mixture is a good balance. You can taste the fruit, and it peaks thru the cheesecake so you can see the color. It's really a beautiful dish! Ingredients 1 (8-oz.) container whipped cream cheese spread (such as Philadelphia) 1 cup thawed frozen whipped topping 1/4 cup vanilla whole-milk strained (Greek-style) yogurt 1/4 cup powdered sugar, sifted 1 tsp. fresh lemon juice (from 1 small lemon) 1 tsp. vanilla extract 5 cups chopped ripe fruit (such as pineapple, honeydew melon, mango, kiwi, red grapes) Directions Mix cheesecake filling: Whisk together cream cheese, whipped topping, yogurt, sugar, lemon juice, and vanilla extract in a large bowl until combined. Caitlin Bensel; Food Stylist: Torie Cox Add fruit: Gently stir in fruit. Serve cold. Caitlin Bensel; Food Stylist: Torie Cox Frequently Asked Questions Can I cut up fruit for fruit salad the day before? Absolutely! Work ahead, and cut the fruit the day before. You can even mix the cheesecake filling in advance, too. Just give it a few minutes to soften before you try to fold the fruit into it. How do you keep fruit salad from becoming soggy? Once the fruit and cheesecake filling are mixed, you really only have about two days to enjoy this fruit salad. After that, the juices will start to water down the cheesecake filling. Make this dish just before you plan to serve it so you avoid any watery salad. Can you freeze cheesecake fruit salad? No, this dish will not thaw well, so it's best to not freeze it. Instead, store it in the refrigerator and enjoy it within two days for the best experience. Rate It Print