Fruit salad with Cool Whip is a quick, creamy dessert salad made with simple ingredients like canned fruit, marshmallows, and whipped topping. This easy recipe comes together in just minutes and is perfect for potlucks, holidays, or everyday snacking.
This old-fashioned fruit salad (often called ambrosia salad or fluff salad) is sweet, light, and always a crowd favorite. It's one of those recipes that shows up at gatherings and disappears fast.
Looking for a dip to serve fruit with? This Cool Whip Fruit Dip may be more of what you’re looking for!
A 5-Minute Dessert That Always Shows Up at Potlucks
This is one of those recipes you can throw together at the last minute and still feel good bringing to the table. It's simple, nostalgic, and uses ingredients most people already have on hand.
The summer months tend to bring on a special occasion where you want to take a side dish or dessert recipe along with you! And things like BBQs, outdoor parties, birthday celebrations, church potlucks, and more, are usually events where guests are asked to bring their favorite recipes. I've made this for everything from summer BBQs to holiday dinners, and it's always one of the first dishes to go
This easy fruit salad (or dessert fluff or marshmallow fruit salad – whatever you want to call it!) would be the perfect fit for all of your easy recipe, “to-go”, needs, even for the holidays!
This recipe is in a close running for our family favorite Snicker Salad, honey lime fruit salad and Pistachio Salad for any family gathering, so I’ll let you decide which one is best!
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Frequently Asked Questions
Yes! Although there are different variations, the two are very similar and commonly called both.
You can! You can use any kind of plain whipped topping from the store or you can make your own. However the texture of the Cool Whip tends to be more airy and not as heavy, which is what makes this salad so light and fluffy.
Yes! If planning to take this to a party or gathering, it’s easy to make this a day in advance if desired. Just chill until ready to serve!
They're very similar. Both use fruit and a creamy base, although ambrosia often includes coconut and sometimes sour cream.
Yes! It can be made a day in advance and stored in the refrigerator until ready to serve.
Yes, most canned fruit should be drained so the salad doesn't become watery.
Ingredients
Although you can use all fresh fruits for this recipe, using some canned fruit is convenient, and much faster! (Save the fresh fruit for this fruit board with fruit dip!)
You can take out what you may not want and you can add in other fruits! It’s a flexible creamy fruit salad recipe so you can change things up as you prefer!
- Container of Cool Whip
- jar Maraschino cherries
- seedless green grapes
- mini marshmallows
- can mandarin oranges (we also use these in our Orange Fluff Salad)
- can pineapple tidbits
- Optional topping - shredded sweetened coconut flakes
See the full recipe card below for quantities and full instructions for this old-fashioned recipe.
Instructions
- Add the Cool Whip in to a large bowl.
- Next, add reserved Maraschino cherry juice, then fold gently until combined.
- Next, add in fruit and marshmallows.
Once combined, you can serve right away, or refrigerate for later! For a fun and creative presentation, serve this fruit salad portioned into these waffle cones that have been dipped in chocolate.
Substitutions
If there are ingredients or different fruit that you’d like to take out or add, you can do so very easily! Here are some other suggestions that we love!
- fresh strawberries (or other fresh berries)
- cream cheese
- pudding mix (like the vanilla pudding mix we used in this apple dessert salad)
- crushed pineapple instead of wedges
- canned fruit cocktail (make sure to drain if already using cherry juice)
- pineapple juice instead of cherry juice (but I LOVE the color the cherry juice gives this recipe!)
- sour cream (for a more tart flavor – you may want to add some other sweetness to help offset the “sour”.)
- cottage cheese (it adds a great texture to a salad like this)
- whipped topping or homemade whipped cream instead of Cool Whip
- vanilla yogurt
- flavored mini marshmallows
Variations
Although this recipe is delicious without it, you can top it off with shredded sweetened coconut flakes for some added texture and flavor for summer!
Storage
If you have leftovers of this delicious fruit salad, you can store it in an airtight container or cover it with plastic wrap, and store in the refrigerator for up to three days.
Related Recipes
If you love easy, no-bake desserts, you’ll also love this Oreo Pudding Dessert, peanut butter yogurt dip and this No Bake Peanut Butter Pie that are crowd-pleasers!
More Easy Dessert Salad Recipes
- Snickers Apple Salad - sweet, creamy, and always a hit
- Pistachio Salad - a classic pistachio fluff salad
- Orange Fluff Salad - light, fruity, and perfect for potlucks
Did you make this? I’d be so grateful if you left a “star” rating below to let me know what you thought! Then, the next time you need a quick and easy recipe, come back to Fantabulosity to browse all of my easy recipes!
Recipe
Fruit Salad with Cool Whip
Video
Ingredients
- 8 ounces Cool Whip
- 10 ounces maraschino cherries whole, reserve 3 tablespoons of juice, then drain
- 1 cup seedless green grapes halved
- 2 cups miniature marshmallows
- 10.5 ounces can mandarin orange segments drained
- 10 ounces can pineapple tidbits drained
- ⅔ cup shredded sweetened coconut optional
Instructions
- Add Cool Whip and reserved Maraschino cherry juice to a large mixing bowl, then fold gently until combined.
- Add cherries, grapes, marshmallows, orange segments, and pineapple tidbits to the bowl.
- Toss gently until well mixed and coated.
- Add optional topping then serve or refrigerate!
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional information is based on third-party calculations and should be considered estimates. Actual nutritional content will vary with brands used, measuring methods, portion sizes and more.
Liz says
I had the kids in our co-op class help make this salad and they loved it!! They couldn’t eat it fast enough!
Jessica says
What a great idea to make this for kids! I know my kids love it too. Thank you for sharing and for the review!
Mary says
Hi there I always use Dream Whip it holds up way better in this and the same in anything that call’s for anything that call’s for a whipped topping.
Jessica says
Hi Mary! This is a great tip! Thank you so much for sharing. We’ll have to dry Dream Whip too!
Valentina says
This creamy fruit salad recipe is such a delicious dessert to enjoy during the summer! Also, a great dessert to bring to parties! LOVE this recipe.
Jessica says
I totally agree! The perfect make-ahead party dessert for sure!
April says
This is like ambrosia salad, which I love! Such a great recipe, definitely bringing it to our next party with friends.
Jessica says
YES!! I didn’t realize what ambrosia salad was until recently! We’ve always just called it fruit salad with cool whip! Haha!!
Natalie says
Fruit dip is a must with a lot of our meals! My kids absolutely love it!! It’s a delicious way to get in a ton of fruit!
Jessica says
This is such a great way to think about it and such a fun idea! It’s like dessert but getting their fruits in too!! Genius!