Marshmallow Fruit Salad with Pudding and Cool Whip

Easy Fruit Salad Dessert Recipe

Fresh fruit salad with vanilla pudding and Cool Whip. So simple, yet so extremely delicious. This is one of those dishes that you don’t actually really need a recipe for, but whenever I need to make a fruit salad, this is the one that I make, so I thought it would be worth sharing!

I learned how to make this fruit salad dessert from my lovely Mom-in-Law. I’ll show you how I like to make it, but you can make adaptations according to your preferences, of course.

Ingredients

My favorite fruit combo for this pudding salad is as written in the recipe below – granny smith apples, bananas, strawberries, and grapes. And you know, sometimes we get special and add some fruity flavored marshmallows.

I stick to my tried and true, but there are lots of other fruit options you may want to try! In fact, the next time I make this I am thinking of trying some pineapple for an added twist. I also have a good friend of mine that prefers to make hers with Grapes, Gala apples, and Granny Smith apples and the kids love it!

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!)

Invite the kids to help out!

This marshmallow fruit salad recipe is easy and even fun to make, so don’t hesitate to get your kids involved in the process! My little ones love to help me anytime they can and this is the perfect opportunity.

I cut up all of the different types of fruit while they work on whipping the pudding together. Once I am done chopping everything up I let them transfer all of it to the bowl and stir everything together.

Admittedly, it’s not always the cleanest experience, but they love it and it makes them even more excited to eat something they help put together!  Plus, it allows me to keep the tradition alive and pass this recipe on!

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.

Let us know what you think about this fun fruit salad dessert recipe. Comment below your favorite ingredient combinations, thoughts, or questions!

Other Recipes You Might Like:

• Caramel Apple Snickers Salad
• Easy Mountain Dew Apple Cobbler
• Lemonies
• Healthy Granola Yogurt Parfait
• Dole Whip Pineapple Popsicle

Marshmallow Fruit Salad with Pudding and Cool Whip

Take this easy fruit salad dessert recipe and make it all your own! Just a few minutes of your time, your favorite fruits, Cool Whip, and some vanilla pudding create this beautiful and delicious dish you are sure to love.

4.54 / 5 ( 28 Reviews )

Print Rate

Prep Time: 15 minutes minutes

Total Time: 15 minutes minutes

Serves: 8

Adjust Servings: 8

US CustomaryMetric

Equipment

• Bowl

Ingredients

• 2 boxes 3.4 ounces each vanilla or cheesecake instant pudding mix
• 3 cups milk
• 8 ounces whipped topping
• 2 granny smith apples chopped into bite-size pieces
• 1 pound strawberries hulled and chopped into bite-size pieces
• 3 bananas peeled and sliced
• 13 ounces grapes halved
• 1 ½ cup fruity mini marshmallows optional

Instructions

• Whisk the dry pudding mix together with the 3 cups of milk.
• Gently fold in the whipped topping, until combined. Then fold in the fruit and marshmallows, until evenly distributed.
• Serve immediately or refrigerate.

Recipe Notes

Can be made a few hours in advance, but salad may start to separate or get soggy after the first day.

Nutrition

Calories: 263kcal | Carbohydrates: 48g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 7g | Sodium: 71mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 37g