Fruit salad is a dish consisting of various kinds of fruit, sometimes served in a liquid, either their own juices or a syrup. In different forms, fruit salad can be served as an appetizer, a side salad. When served as an appetizer, a fruit salad is sometimes known as a fruit cocktail (often connoting a canned product), or fruit cup (when served in a small container).
There are many types of fruit salad, ranging from the basic (no nuts, marshmallows, or dressing) to the moderately sweet (Waldorf salad) to the sweet (ambrosia salad). Another “salad” containing fruit is a jello salad, with its many variations. A fruit cocktail is well-defined in the US to mean a well-distributed mixture of small diced pieces of (from highest percentage to lowest) peaches, pears, pineapple, grapes, and cherry halves. Fruit salad may also be canned (with larger pieces of fruit than a cocktail).
Pudding Fruit Salad—our take on ambrosia fruit salad—combines fresh fruit, canned fruit and sweets, such as marshmallows and vanilla pudding. This refreshing fruit salad with Cool Whip and pudding is a great addition to any BBQ. With only 80 calories per serving, this guilt-free fruit salad with Cool Whip will keep your sweet tooth happy. If you’re looking to take this Pudding Fruit Salad from summer to fall, take a peek at our “Expert Tips.”
Gently stir in grapes, marshmallows, oranges and pineapple. Add strawberries; toss gently to coat. Serve immediately or store in refrigerator up to 8 hours.
Tips from the Betty Crocker Kitchens
tip 1
Top Pudding Fruit Salad with additional strawberries for each serving as an optional garnish.
tip 2
When serving at parties, to keep our fruit salad with Cool Whip cold, place the bowl in a larger bowl filled with ice.
tip 3
Make this a kid-friendly dessert instead of a salad, taking it from summer to fall by trading in chunks of apple for the berries and butterscotch pudding for the vanilla.
tip 4
This fruit salad with vanilla pudding is a good counterpoint to a buffet of vegetable or green salads. Stock your pantry with canned fruits that complement fresh grapes and berries—canned pears or peaches in juice are great in place of mandarin oranges or pineapple tidbits. Be sure to use the same can size of what you’re replacing.
Nutrition
80 Calories, 1 1/2g Total Fat, 0g Protein, 17g Total Carbohydrate, 13g Sugars
Easy Fruit Salad
This Fruit Salad is a simple, refreshing side dish that complements just about any meal! We ate this salad, or a variation of this salad a lot growing up. Most family picnics and barbecues included this scrumptious, fruity recipe. We always call it “blackberry salad” but in reality it’s made up of whatever fruit we have on hand. It’s the best way to use up extra fruit in the fridge before it goes bad, and there are so many ways to change it up! With the pudding mixture it tastes more like a dessert than a salad. Perfect for church potlucks, summer picnics, or just a side to a quick hot dog dinner on a busy weeknight, your whole family will love this creamy, yummy salad!
Variations for Fruit Salad with Cool Whip
We use a regular tub of Cool Whip, but you can use the sugar free, fat free version too, and it tastes delicious!
You can also use heavy whipping cream. Whip it up before adding the pudding and sliced fruit.
Use up fresh fruit from your refrigerator, or incorporate frozen fruit too.
Blackberries, raspberries, blueberries and strawberries can be quite pricey, especially when they’re not in season, so use a few of each of these, then use apples, pears, bananas, grapes and other cheaper fruits to give this salad a bit more bulk.
Peaches, huckleberries, melon, cantaloupe, or boysenberries taste yummy in this salad too.
Add nuts, raisins, craisins, or coconut for extra texture and flavor.
Make a tropical salad by using fresh pineapple, mandarin oranges, coconut and bananas instead of other berries.
Feel free to use any flavor of pudding mix to change up the flavor. We’re partial to pistachio, but vanilla, lemon or any other flavor would taste terrific!
Ingredients
3.4ouncesinstant pistachio pudding mixyou can use vanilla if you’d like
15ouncescrushed pineappledon’t drain
8ouncesCool Whip
2pounds1strawberriessliced
3bananassliced
1poundgrapes
16ouncesmandarin oranges
12ouncesblackberriesor raspberries
fruit salad with cool whip and pudding
Instructions
Mix pudding mix and crushed pineapple in a large bowl.
Add Cool Whip and mix well.
Stir in fruit.
Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.
Fruit salad with Marshmallows Ingredients
The basic recipe is simple and you can tweak it to turn it into your own recipe. Some people add things like extra maraschino cherries, nuts, or coconut.
But here are the basic ingredients you need to whip up a batch of this Cool Whip ambrosia salad!
1 can of fruit cocktail, drained
1 can of mandarin oranges, drained
1 can of pineapple chunks, drained
1 banana, sliced
1 8 oz. container Cool Whip
1 3 oz. package instant vanilla pudding mix (I usually use sugar-free.)
2 cups miniature marshmallows
How to Make Easy Fruit Salad with Cool Whip
Empty the entire container of Cool Whip into a large bowl. Mix in the vanilla pudding mix until smooth.
In a separate bowl, gently mix all of the fruit together.
Add the marshmallows in with the fruit and mix a bit.
Then fold the fruit into the Cool Whip and pudding mixture.
Chill and serve.
I recommend chilling the fruit salad for at least a few hours before serving although Weston is known for trying to sneak in a few bites before it goes into the refrigerator to chill.
Pistachio Fluff Fruit Salad
This is a light and fluffy dessert salad based on pistachio pudding; the pudding is made lighter with the addition of whipped topping. Add an extra can of mandarin oranges, if you like.
Additional: 30 mins
Total: 35 mins
Prep: 5 mins
Servings: 6
Yield: 6 to 8 servings
Ingredients
Directions
Dump instant pudding into a large mixing bowl. Add pineapple, and mix well. Mix in whipped topping. Stir in bananas, marshmallows, fruit cocktail, and mandarin oranges. Cover, and refrigerate until thoroughly chilled.
Nutrition Facts
Per Serving:
445 calories; protein 2.5g; carbohydrates 79.8g; fat 14.8g; sodium 269.3mg.
You can switch up the pudding too…
Vanilla or cheesecake flavored instant pudding is my favorite here, but I imagine white chocolate or lemon flavors would be yummy options too! As Michelle commented, for a healthier version of this fruit salad dessert you could also use vanilla yogurt instead of pudding. (Thanks for the tip!)
Final Thoughts
This pudding fruit salad is a staple for holiday meals, summer BBQs, and potlucks. Any time we want a sweet, creamy fruit salad to share, this one is up there in our favorite recipes! It is so fresh and sweet with all that fresh fruit, it reminds me of spring/summer every time.
can you make this fruit salad ahead of time?
Yes, you can make it ahead of time. However, because of the bananas and apples, we recommend making it as clos
can i use all fresh fruit?
You sure can! You can just get some sweet mandarin oranges and peel/cut them (make sure to get the extra white stuff off) and you can chop up your own fresh pineapple, too!
can i use cool whip instead?
You absolutely can!
fruit salad with cool whip and pudding
Fruit Fluff (aka Fruit Salad)
Ingredients
1 30 ounce can fruit cocktail, drain juice in a bowl
1 20 ounce can pineapple chunks, drain juice in the same bowl as the fruit cocktail
1 15 ounce can mandarin oranges, drain in a bowl
1 3.9 oz instant vanilla pudding
8 ounces whipped topping (like cool whip), thawed
half bag of mini marshmallows (you can use more if you would like)
Maraschino cherries for color and garnish (optional)
Instructions
Drain canned fruit (make sure to drain it well!) into a bowl reserving ¾ cup of juice. Discard the rest of the juice. In a large bowl, whisk together the ¾ cup juice and instant vanilla pudding for two minutes – will be thick. Fold in cool whip then add drained fruit and marshmallows and mix. Finally. Cover tightly and chill for at least 2 hours before serving. Everything will thicken as it chills.
Notes
This can be made with other canned fruits or you can add grapes, oranges, cherries, etc. Apples and bananas will turn brown over time. This can also be made the day before you serve it – we eat it as leftovers and it’s still really good. The marshmallows do soften after it sits awhile but they are really good like that! If you want the marshmallows to be firmer, add marshmallows before you serve.
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