Need a side dish for a summer potluck or a tasty warm-weather dessert? This Creamy Summer Berry Salad is so delicious! Loaded with strawberries, raspberries, blackberries (and any fruit of your choosing), it’s a delightful treat for the tastebuds!
One of the many things I love about summer time are the in season fruits. I can’t get enough of the fresh berries! I don’t share very many side dishes here on the blog (because I’m more of a main dish and dessert type gal), so you know when I do share one, that it’s going to be really good. 🙂
I concocted this fruit “salad” the other day and my family went bonkers for it. I hesitate to call it a salad because, when I think of salad I think of something more on the healthy side, that’s not swimming in sweet, creamy goodness. 🙂 But, for lack of a better title, we’ll call it a fruit salad. But really, it qualifies as dessert.
Will you be attending lots of BBQ’s and gatherings this summer with friends and family? I have some events planned that I’m excited about. This Creamy Summer Berry Salad will for sure be making a regular appearance! It’s best when enjoyed within a few hours of being made, because the berry juices tend to make it runny and soupy as time passes. So just be aware of that. For optimal flavor, chill it for an hour, then serve.
I love all the summer activities that take place when the kids are out of school. We’ve been hitting the pool multiple times a week, playing sports, and running and biking outside galore. Though it’s definitely toasty warm here, I enjoy the summer sunshine and being with my kids all day.
The kids made a “hut” in our trees and slept there for two nights last week. It was more of a makeshift tent with a tarp strung on a rope. 🙂 I didn’t say anything about all the bugs that might be crawling on them all night or the coyotes that may keep them up with their howls. My husband and I were placing bets on how long they would last out there before coming in. But they made it the full night, both nights! And they loved it. I was proud of them, because I most definitely would not have braved it out there like they did. I enjoyed my sleep inside very much.
This creamy berry treat is such a delight! Feel free to add whichever fruit you like, that goes well together. I think bananas and blueberries would have been yummy too. I threw in a cup of mini marshmallows and I’m really glad I did. But, if you’re going to do that, be sure to add them just before serving, or they dissolve into the creamy mixture while sitting.
Creamy Summer Berry Salad
Ingredients
- 1 pkg. 3.4 oz vanilla instant pudding and pie filling, prepared according to pkg. directions
- 8 oz. container whipped topping
- 6 oz. fresh raspberries washed and dried completely
- 6 oz. fresh blackberries washed and dried completely
- 32 oz. fresh strawberries washed and dried completely, and sliced
- 4 oz. cream cheese softened well
- 1/2 c. powdered sugar
- 1 c. mini white marshmallows
- Optional other add-ins: sliced bananas blueberries
Instructions
- Prepare the vanilla pudding mix according to package directions and allow it to set up in the refrigerator.
- Using an electric mixer, cream together cream cheese and powdered sugar until nice and smooth.
- In a large bowl, fold/stir together the cream cheese mixture, pudding (that has set up completely), and whipped topping.
- Add in all of the berries and fold gently.
- Cover and store in the refrigerator until ready to serve. When ready to serve, fold in the marshmallows.
- **This salad is best if served within a few hours of being made. The juices from the berries make the mixture soupy the longer it sits. The marshmallows will start to dissolve if you add them in too soon, so wait until ready to serve.
If you are obsessed with summer fruit like I am, then you need to make this berry salad ASAP! Enjoy!
For more, delicious fruit desserts, be sure to try these Raspberry White Chocolate Cookie Bars, this Peaches n’ Cream Cake, these Dutch Apple Pie Bars, this Lemon Raspberry Bundt Cake and these Peach Pie Bars .
