Frozen Fruit Salad

Frozen Fruit Salad recipe is a creamy ambrosia-style salad mixed together with bananas, pineapple, mandarin oranges, marshmallows, and Cool Whip. Old fashioned fruit salad with fresh, canned, or frozen fruit can be served in cups or sliced for an easy make-ahead dish!

old fashioned frozen fruit salad

This simple combination of ingredients makes a luscious tropical rendition of old fashioned fruit salad like Grandma used to make. Add any preferred fruit, fresh or frozen, to the sweet cream of Cool Whip, cream cheese, and powdered sugar blended together.

While many like to serve this vintage recipe as a side for holiday gatherings, brunch, or potlucks, it also makes a light and refreshing dessert for the summer months. Pull out this cool and creamy treat as a surprise treat or snack for the kids!

If you want to take it really old school, say for a 50’s-themed supper club, serve each frozen fruit salad cup on a lettuce leaf, top with whipped cream, a cherry, and sprinkle nuts on top. I’m not sure why. it was traditionally served this way, but I’m sure some readers out there will remember it!

Ingredients and Substitutions

• Fresh, Frozen, or Canned Fruit – For a tropical ambrosia-style fruit cocktail salad, use a combination of crushed pineapple, mandarin oranges, and bananas. However, use any fruit, dependent on personal preference, season, or occasion. Strawberries and blueberries would be perfect for the 4th of July or canned cranberry sauce with crushed pineapple for Christmas or Thanksgiving.
• Cream cheese – Regular or light may be used.
• Cool Whip – Folding in thawed whipped topping gives the fruit salad a fluffy texture. Alternatively, replace it with two cups heavy cream whipped with 1/4 cup powdered sugar until stiff peaks form.
• Miniature marshmallows
• Shredded Coconut
• Coconut Extract – This pairs perfectly with the pineapple, orange, and banana combination. If you are using different fruit, such as strawberries or other berries, replace it with vanilla, almond, or lemon extract.

How To Make Frozen Fruit Salad

Frozen fruit salad recipe makes a great addition to a Sunday supper, BBQ cookout, potluck, or Easter, Christmas, and Thanksgiving tables. Timeless recipes, like frozen fruit salad and jello salad, couldn’t be simpler to mix together and always yields rave reviews!

1. Start off by draining the fruit. It needs plenty of time to drain away any excess juice. This can be done 15 minutes up to several hours before beginning the recipe. Making sure the fruit is dry as possible keeps the texture creamy rather than icy when frozen.
2. Next beat together the cream cheese, powdered sugar, and coconut extract.
3. Stir in all the remaining ingredients except Cool Whip – shredded coconut, marshmallows, chopped bananas, and drained fruit. Gently fold in Cool Whip.
4. To make frozen fruit salad cups portion out into paper lined tins. Using a trigger ice cream scoop makes this process go fast with minimal mess. Alternatively, pour the fruit salad mixture into a 9X13 glass baking dish.

make in Cups or Slices

Once the fruit salad mixture has been made it can be portioned out into muffin tins for individual fruit salad cupcakes or spread in a 9X13 glass baking dish and sliced.

Cups – Line 24 tins with paper liners. To cleanly and evenly portion out the fruit salad, use a trigger ice cream scoop. For a decorative garnish top each cup with a maraschino cherry or mandarin orange before freezing.

Slices – Pour the fruit salad into a 9X13 glass baking dish. If desired, slightly score the slices with a knife before freezing and add a cherry garnish to each slice. Before serving, set out the frozen fruit salad before slicing and serving.

Can I Use Frozen Fruit? 

Yes, most types of fruit, fresh, frozen, or canned, will work in this recipe. Use already frozen fruit or fresh to mix in with the cream cheese and Cool Whip.

A few fruits should be avoided when freezing, though. Apples or melons, such as cantaloupe, honeydew, or watermelon, will turn mushy upon thawing.

Types of Fruit to Add

Put your own spin on this recipe depending on the occasion or time of year. Fresh or frozen fruit is always available, so it can be served year round. Plus, it’s a great make-ahead dish for Easter, Thanksgiving, or Christmas!

• Canned cranberry sauce or whole berries
• Strawberries
• Berries – Raspberries, Blueberries, or Blackberries
• Cherry pie filling
• Maraschino cherries
• Canned pears
• Pineapple tidbits
• Mango

Can I halve this recipe?

Yes, this recipe makes enough to feed a crowd! For a smaller size, halve the ingredients and use smaller cans of crushed pineapple and mandarin oranges.

Divide into 12 muffin cups or pour into an 8X8 glass baking dish.

How to Store and Serve

Once the mixture has been portioned into cups or spread in a pan, freeze until solid, which takes up to 6 hours to overnight. This recipe can be made days in advance and stored, well covered, in the freezer.

To serve, set out the frozen fruit salad cups 5 minutes before serving. If slicing, set out dish 10-15 minutes before serving, and refer to this how to cut ice cream cake post for easy tips!

Store any leftovers in the freezer. For the cups, wrap individually in plastic wrap and transfer to a gallon ziplock freezer bag. The slices may also be individually wrapped and frozen similarly to easily grab and serve.

Best Tips and Tricks 

• Start off  by draining the canned fruit first. Making sure all the juice has drained away keeps the texture creamy rather than icy when frozen.
• If garnishing with maraschino cherries, blot them on a paper towel first so the juice doesn’t color the fruit salad red.
• In place of Cool Whip beat together 2 cups well-chilled heavy cream with 1/4 cup powdered sugar until stiff peaks form. Fold into cream cheese, fruit mixture.
• For a truly old fashioned recipe, add up to 1 cup chopped nuts, such as pecans or walnuts.
• If freezing in a 9X13 glass baking dish, slightly score slices with a knife first and garnish each slice. After freezing, set out 10-15 minutes before slicing and serving.
• In place of coconut extract, replace with vanilla, almond, or lemon extract.

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step-by-step web story instructions for this recipe!

More Old Fashioned Recipes 

• Seven Layer Salad
• Orange Jello Cottage Cheese Salad
• Tuna Noodle Casserole
• Tomato Pie
• Apple Cake
• Pineapple Pretzel Salad

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