Frozen fruit salad is a blast from the past. This vintage recipe is a cool and delicious way to eat your fruit. It is at home at all of our holiday meals, but would also be a fun summer side dish!
This vintage fruit salad recipe comes straight from my great-grandma’s recipe box. It is a fun twist on a fluff style salad, but even more refreshing because it is frozen!
It is perfect for holidays or as a refreshing summer side dish. Frozen fruit salad could even be a light dessert.
This recipe is still a staple at my family holidays. My Aunt Jenny usually makes it now and it is part of the menu at every Easter, Thanksgiving and Christmas.
I have a handful of recipes from my Great-Grandma, so I was going through them trying to decide which one I should make first.
When I got to this one, I knew I had to make it. I am familiar with a few of the others, but this one is still a tradition!
Though the combination might seem a little odd these days, it really isn’t that much different than fluff salads or creamy fruit salads. It just has the added bonus of being frozen!
I love trying vintage recipes like this, don’t you? It’s like taking a little step back in time, right into the kitchen of a loved one.
I think my great-grandma must have come to age in a time of fruity dishes like this, because another favorite from her recipe box was the green Jello salad that is loaded with pineapple and cream cheese. There is definitely a nostalgia to both recipes.
My great grandma wasn’t only known for her fruity side dishes though. She also made delicious cookies.
I have shared her peanut butter cookies as well as her oatmeal raisin step-on cookies. Both should be on your list of recipes to make soon.
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Great-grandma wasn’t the only good cook, her mom is the one that brought us dutch apple cake. I put a spin on that recipe to make our favorite peach breakfast cake.
When and how do you serve frozen fruit salad?
My family always serves frozen fruit salad as a side dish at holiday dinners. It is a small way to have great grandma there with us and part of the tradition.
Frozen fruit salad would be perfect side dish for a summer BBQ as well. It would be such a refreshing addition to the menu.
Serve it on a lettuce leaf for a little extra vintage flair.
You can also serve frozen fruit salad as a light fruity dessert. It’s a great make ahead and you can grab a piece whenever you want it.
For an extra fun twist on frozen fruit salad, freeze it in a cupcake tin. Then it’s single serve and the perfect way to have a piece whenever you want!
Or you can freeze the mixture in a loaf pan or two. Unmold the salad and cut it into thin slices while it is still frozen solid.
Can I use something besides fruit cocktail?
You can use any mix of fruit you would like, but fruit cocktail adds great flavor. It is a fun way to get the pineapple chunks, grapes, cherries, and more without having to chop fresh fruit. Plus the canned fruit are a little bit softer, which helps give you a great texture when everything is frozen.
Do I have to use mayonnaise?
If you are concerned about the mayonnaise in fruit salad, I understand. It does sound strange.
Believe me though, it works. It helps to give a nice creamy texture when it’s frozen.
If you really want to skip it, try using some Greek yogurt instead.
Frozen Fruit Salad
Ingredients
- 6 ounces cream cheese softened
- 1 cup mayonnaise
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 3½ cups fruit cocktail well drained
- ½ cup drained Maraschino cherries
- 2½ cups mini marshmallows
Instructions
- Quarter cherries
- In a large bowl, cream together the softened 6 ounces cream cheese and 1 cup mayonnaise until smooth.
- Add ½ cup drained Maraschino cherries, drained 3½ cups fruit cocktail, and 2½ cups mini marshmallows to the cream cheese mixture. Stir until combined.
- Whip 1 cup heavy cream to stiff peaks. Fold whipped cream into the fruit mixture.
- Put into a glass 9×13 pan or similarly sized freezer safe serving dish. Freeze until solid.
- Remove from freezer 10-15 minutes before time to serve.
- Use a sharp knife to cut into squares and enjoy.
Notes
Video
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Wow, what a great memory! I know this is the exact recipe my Nana used to make every holiday with a sit-down meal. I was always shocked it contained mayonnaise. It was prepared it a little differently visually. She would take the empty cans from the fruit cocktail and freeze the finished product in the freezer inside the cans. The frozen salad was always served as the first course. She would take a salad plate, put lettuce on the plate and then open the frozen salad by using a can opener to take off the end of the can that was intact so the “cylinder” of the frozen salad would slide out. She then would cut them in about 1 1/2 to 2″ thick pieces, so we had a perfectly round little salads on our plate and top it with a dollop of whipped cream! That was a lot of work for a family of 25 but so worth it to her!! Thanks for the memory! I miss those days!
What a fun way to serve it! That sounds extra special. ❤️
I made it as written, but before freezing, and after tasting it, I added some cherry juice for color and to sweeten the salad. After adding the cherry juice, I added some powdered sugar because I thought it was still too savory and not sweet enough. I thought that maybe I missed a step or ingredient in the recipe. I drained both the cherries and fruit cocktail well and the fruit was packed in juice, not heavy syrup so neither added enough sweetness for my taste or the official taste tester, husband. I’m wondering if you ever add juice or sugar to this recipe.?
The marshmallows help to sweeten it up, but there is no reason that you couldn’t add in a bit of sugar. Or you could sweeten your whipped cream. It usually isn’t super sweet, but just sweet enough to still feel like a treat.
Mom made this every Christmas, but never had it written down. I’ve looked everywhere and my older sister finally found it here. It looks and sounds exactly like the one she made. It was my favorite thing on the table and the leftovers in the freezer always made me so happy for days afterwards. (As a side note: the Green Jello you describe sounds like the one my aunt would contribute each Christmas!) Thank you, thank you, thank you for sharing. I cannot wait to make our frozen fruit salad and taste a childhood memory again. My kids never got to experience this, since Grandma stopped cooking, and they say it sounds disgusting. HA. We’ll see what they think…
I am so happy I could help you have it again! My dad’s family still makes it for all the big holiday meals, but my mom can’t be convinced to like it. I guess it is polarizing like that. Hopefully you can win your kids over!
I recognized this recipe , It was printed in the Watkins Salad Cookbook 1946. One of your Grandmother’s must have had the book or a friend passed on the recipe. Over the years, people have put their own twist on it. Original only had Peaches, Pineapple, & Maracschion cherries . Back then they used regular marshmallows and cut them in 4 with scissors. They came in a box of a dozen. Watkins Cookbooks were very popular. Recipes are a Great way to remember Love Ones.
Thanks for sharing the history of the recipe!
This was too cute to pass up! Thank you for sharing this special vintage recipe. I made it to go along with our family Christmas meal & it was a delicious ending! I loved the texture & taste & look. It was a lovely pink & the top was frosty & so festive. It cut into the sweetest little squares with the cherries and fruit pieces showing. My kids absolutely loved it. Such a bonus that it could be made ahead!
I am so glad you liked it!
Recipe is exactly same as one published in old Better Homes and Garden cookbook (I received as a shower gift for my wedding in 1967.). Always one of my husband’s favorites
That could very well be where my great-grandma got the recipe from. It still makes an appearance at our family gatherings. My aunt is in charge of making it for Christmas this year.
Thank you I finally found this receipe As a child my mother made this and i loved never couldnt figuire out how she made it As soon as i read this after at least 50 years I knew this was it Now i think she put pecans in hers
You have no idea how happy this makes me. I am so glad I could help.
I feel like we had the same grandmother! This and the green jello are still staples in my family!
Ha! Then we were both lucky!
What can be substituted for the cherries 🍒? I don’t like 🍒.
Could grapes?
Sure! Grapes would be good, the color just won’t be as pink.
Can you make this two days ahead?
Yes! Because it’s frozen, you can even make it a couple of weeks in advance.
@Carlee,
Thank you!