We first tried a cream cheese fruit salad like this at a local deli. Since I couldn’t get that recipe, I started mixing up different dressings until I hit on this one. Now I make this refreshing delightful salad for every picnic and get-to-gether. It can be a snack, side dish or dessert. —Connie Osterhout, Napoleon, Ohio
Fruit salads can get boring and that’s why we love amplifying the traditional recipes with a sweet, creamy and tangy dressing. This cream cheese fruit salad recipe is packed with juicy fruits like apples and grapes, and all the components offer different colors and textures to make for added complexity. It’s a light and bright salad that can be served for breakfast, lunch or dessert and a great dish to bring to a company potluck or holiday breakfast.
Ingredients for Cream Cheese Fruit Salad
Golden Delicious apples: These versatile apples can do it all — good for eating, baking or sauces, the mildly sweet and tender apples play a starring role here.
Red Delicious apples: This juicy, crisp and refreshing apple variety is great to eat raw, which makes it the perfect choice for fresh fruit salad.
Green grapes: Green grapes can be tart, juicy and sweet. We’re opting for the seedless variety in this recipe to make them easier to eat.
Red grapes: Red grapes tend to be sweeter and less tart than green grapes and are a great way to offset those sour notes. They also offer pops of bright and bold color.
Pineapple: Tropical, sweet and totally juicy, pineapple offers a nice and chewy texture to fruit salads like this one. It also helps add some bright and vibrant yellow color too.
Mandarin oranges: Boasting a stronger flavor than regular oranges, mandarin oranges
Cream cheese: Thick, creamy and mildly-flavored, cream cheese makes a great base for dressings, especially in fruit-forward dishes like this one.
Sour cream: Tangy and smooth, sour cream blends with cream cheese, mayonnaise and sugar to create a thick and refreshing dressing for this fruit salad.
Mayonnaise: Tangy and custard-like, mayonnaise has a mild flavor that lets it take on the flavors of whatever it’s mixed with.
Sugar: Sugar combines with creamy elements like cream cheese, sour cream and mayonnaise to create a thick and tangy dressing that nicely offsets the sweetness of the fruit in the salad.
Directions
Step 1: Combine the fruit and dress
In a large bowl, combine the first six ingredients. In a small bowl, beat the dressing ingredients until smooth. Pour over the fruit, then toss gently to coat.
Cream Cheese Fruit Salad Variations
Add some nuts: Nuts help add crunchy texture to this otherwise smooth and creamy salad. They also add a deeper flavor that’s savory and complex. Pecans, walnuts and almonds are all a great choice here.
How to Store Cream Cheese Fruit Salad
This fruit salad is best stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator. Be sure to transfer any leftovers to a refrigerator-safe container, cover and refrigerator for two to four days.
Can you make company fruit salad ahead of time?
You can absolutely prepare this fruit salad in advance. Although, it’s best not to dress it until you’re ready to serve. Keep the dressing separate from the salad and toss it right before you’re ready to serve in order to keep the fruit as fresh and crunchy as possible.
Cream Cheese Fruit Salad Tips
How can I keep my apples from turning brown?
The best way to prevent these cut apples from turning brown is to toss the juice from a small can of pineapple into the bowl. The juice keeps the other fruit from browning and bits of pineapple give the salad a tropical zing.
