Delicious, dreamy, and sweet! This cottage cheese fruit salad with Cool Whip is the perfect side dish (or healthy-ish dessert??)! Plus, it's a crowd pleaser!
If you love a bowl of cottage cheese and fruit for a quick, healthy snack, then you will love this! Get ready to take that yummy snack up a notch when you make this quick and easy cottage cheese fruit salad. You can throw it together in a snap!
Plus, it's creamy, sweet, and flavorful. It's pretty much a dessert salad which makes it perfect for picky kids, parties, and more. It's great in the summer for potlucks and fun in the spring and winter, too!
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Try different fruits based on the season, or what cans you have in the pantry, and see which fruit and jello flavor combos you like best! This creamy fruit salad is so versatile and the family will be begging to snack on it all week long.
TIPS FOR MAKING COOL WHIP FRUIT SALAD
This easy fruit salad with cool whip… whew! That's quite the name! Maybe we'll just call it cottage cheese fruit salad… Is that any better? Ha! Anyway, the great thing about this salad is that you can use whatever fruit you have on hand. As well as other ingredients you probably already have in your fridge and freezer!
- Use up your leftover fruits that are about ready to expire (and nobody is the wiser). Bananas, pineapple, peaches, berries, and more! Whatever ya got… It all works!
- You can also use frozen berries!!
- Did you know you can freeze cottage cheese? Well, guess what?? You can also use frozen and thawed cottage cheese in this recipe!
- We usually have a tub or two of Cool Whip on hand for easy recipes like this. You can also make your own!
Pro Tip: Freeze all the things! Use our list of things you can freeze and be sure to thaw them properly before eating!
HOW TO MAKE COTTAGE CHEESE FRUIT SALAD
This fruit salad with Cool Whip is SOOOO easy, you don't even really need to follow a recipe!
You'll obviously want to balance your fruit and cottage cheese to whatever ratio you desire…then add in some jello! And top it off by folding in your Cool Whip into the bowl.
We highly suggest draining any canned fruit before tossing it in so your fruit salad remains creamy and dreamy, not soupy and gloopy!
Pro Tip: If your kids don't love chunks of cottage cheese, go ahead and just blend it up before adding it to your fruit salad! This is a great trick if you're using thawed cottage cheese. Works like a charm. Now your fruit salad is smooth and creamy!
YOUR NEW FAVORITE SIDE/DESSERT
Now let's get on to this easy recipe, just remember you can mix it up and measurements do not need to be exact in order to pull off this delicious snack… We mean… SALAD!
Easy Fruit Salad with Cool Whip
Ingredients
- 16 oz cottage cheese
- 3 oz sugar-free Jello (strawberry or raspberry)
- 8 oz Cool Whip (or homemade whipped cream)
- 2-3 cups fruit
Instructions
- Drain, dice, and slice fruit to the desired size!
- Combine fruit, cottage cheese (blend the cottage cheese before adding if you want a more smooth consistency), and jello. Mix well.
- Fold in Cool Whip and chill!
Notes
Doesn't that sound like the easiest and most delicious fruit salad with Cool Whip recipe, ever?!
What's your favorite combo to make? Let us know in the comments!
Looking for more great shelf cooking ideas?
- These frozen smoothie packs are a quick and easy breakfast idea!
- Start repurposing your leftovers to make them brand new.
- Looking to make your own soup from scratch? Build your own!
Enjoy your new fave healthy dessert! 😉
Bought the stuff to make this! Am I using the whole container of everything? Thank you in advance 😊
Yes! Just make sure that if you’re using canned fruit, you drain it before putting it in there. Hope you love it!
Hi! How long does this keep in the refrigerator? Thanks so much! 😊
It depends on the fruit that you put in it. Bananas and apples will start turning pretty quickly. We’d say 1-2 days max! It’s best to make it right before you want to eat it, then eat any leftovers quickly! 🙂
This is going to sound like a stupid question, but is this a dessert? I’m from the UK and salad here is usually savoury (just like casserole is completely different to what I have seen casserole described as in US) so not sure what this is designed as 🤣 xx
There’s no such thing as a stupid question! This can either be a dessert or a sweet side with your meal, like fruit would be. 🙂
Please advise what SIZE container, packet and tub you use in this recipe. These 3 products come in more than one size. Thank you!
Just got that updated in the recipe card! Enjoy 🙂
Is there a substitute for cool whip?? I’m in Australia and we don’t have anything like this
Not sure if you have whipped cream in a can in Australia? If not, you can easily make your own using THIS recipe!
Came out that you use are in the ingredients, it says how much
Hi! Sounds so good! Cottage cheese comes in a few different sizes. When you say “container”, which size do you mean?
Thanks!
It’s the 16 oz container of cottage cheese – just got that updated in the post! Enjoy 🙂
So what does adding the jello do to the consistency? Does it take on a “jello-like” feel or is it just creamy and the jello is for added flavor? Thanks!
The jello just adds more flavor! It’s a very creamy dish.
It looks like you are just adding the jello powder, not cooked/made jello, is that right?
Yes, that’s right!
No one in our house likes cottage cheese so, we sub sour cream. I like to add coconut flakes too 😋
Oh yum! You can also use greek or regular yogurt if you run out of sour cream.
Is there a reason for the sugar free jello? Is there a difference between the sugar free and regular jello that affects the way it sets up?
No, there’s no difference at all in how it sets up! It just keeps it from having that extra added sugar. You can easily make it with either.
Just made and it’s delicious but also a huge thing for a family of three. Could I freeze the leftovers to serve later on?
You could try it, but the consistency of cottage cheese changes when it freezes, so it may thaw weird. Try it out and let us know how it goes! 🙂
Love this! Jane only made it once and only had one or two of the small jello boxes. The small ones are .3. Your recipe says 3 oz….would I really is 10 of these? It was pleasantly sweet w just the .3 or 2 of the .3 and I just cant imagine that x10.
Thanks!
*I’ve (not Jane…idk Jane)
Are you sure yours are .3 oz? You just need one of the small jello boxes, all of mine say they’re 3 oz. Maybe yours has a typo on it? And “idk Jane”… hahaha!!!
All of the sugar free jellos I saw were either .3 oz or .6 oz. that seems like a TON of jello if I put 10 of those in….
The small box is 3 ounces and you just need one of them 🙂
Can I make without the Jello? Or is it needed for the overall taste?
You can definitely try it without the Jello. It does help with the overall taste and adds some extra fruity sweetness. But it would probably turn out fine without it. If you try it, let us know how it goes! 🙂
Yes!!!! This has been a family favorite for over 30 years! We didn’t have a name for it so we started calling it “FlubDub and that gradually changed to Pink Panther”🤣🤷🏼♀️ It is definitely one of my comfort foods…so easy to throw together and versatile, thanks for the trip down memory lane!
Ha, Pink Panther… love it!!!
Any substitute for cool whip? We don’t have cool whip in New Zealand
Do you have whipped cream in the can in NZ? If not, you can easily make your own using THIS recipe!
Do you put the frozen fruit in as is or do you thaw it first?
Thaw it! If you put it in frozen and it thaws on it’s own, it’ll make it watery.
I wouldn’t use the canned whipped cream. It seperates really quickly. Cool whip or other frozen non-dairy dessert topping. Dream whip, a box mix, would also work..
Hi!!!
I love watching you and learning you!!!
I had a question about this recipe, this recipe looks so awesome and I am planning to make this with the german pancakes (they also look delicious too) I do not have any cottage cheese and cannot go to the store, any ideas???
You could add in extra Cool Whip or make up a box of instant vanilla pudding in it’s place?? We haven’t tried it any different way, so let us know if you do and how it goes! 🙂 Hope you love the German pancakes as much as we do!
This salad was my mom’s go-to salad for all the church pot-luck dinners when we were kids. We’ve made it so many different ways. Orange jello with mandarin oranges is one of our favorites and another is lime jello with pineapple! It’s such a versatile recipe! I’m glad to see it’s still around!
Love all your tips! I had a hubby who didn’t like ricotta cheese so I used to blend the cottage cheese too and use it in the lasagna!
Thank you for sharing with us! We definitely are fans of the jello salad over here and we are so happy that there are so many ways to adjust for our specific dietary needs/wants.