Creamy Apple Salad is an old-fashioned cool and creamy dessert salad made with tart apples, cranberries, cool whip, and mini marshmallows.
This creamy, sweet Apple Salad recipe is perfect for serving as a dinner party Appetizer or Dessert recipe. You’ll love this recipe if you like classic Ambrosia Salad or fun Apples and Snickers Salad.
Table of contents
Sabrina’s Apple Salad Recipe
While it may not be as healthy as classic Fruit Salad, Apple Salad is one delicious way to get a big serving of fruit! It is a delicious mix of fresh apples, dried cranberries, and mini marshmallows coated in a creamy vanilla pudding and cool whip mixture. The tart crisp fruit and fluffy sweet dressing are a classic comfort food that is sure to become your favorite way to eat apples!
My fresh Apple Salad recipe is easy to make, using boxed pudding mix, a tub of frozen cool whip and a bag of mini marshmallows. You’ll love the creamy vanilla dressing, the tart apples and cranberries, and bursts of chewy marshmallows throughout the salad. The cool, creamy salad makes a delicious dessert in the summer or sweet addition to your holiday dinner table
Ingredients
- Vanilla Pudding: This recipe calls for 3.4 ounces of instant vanilla pudding, or a regular box of pudding mix. You use a full box of the pudding powder, but less milk than normal, for an extra thick, extra rich vanilla-flavored mixture.
- Milk: You are going to use only 1 cup of whole milk, to make the vanilla pudding mixture. The package instructions say 2 cups, but this will make your Apple Salad dressing too thin. You can use low-fat or non-dairy milk if you prefer.
- Cool Whip: Adding Cool Whip to the milk and pudding mixture makes it light and fluffy and adds more volume. Be careful to fold in the Cool Whip gently so that it doesn’t deflate. Before starting the recipe, you can use store-bought or homemade Cool Whip.
- Apples: During the recipe’s prep time, peel, core, and chop 6 Granny Smith apples into bite-size pieces. The crisp apples add the perfect crunch and tart flavor to the sweet salad recipe. If you prefer, you can leave the peel on.
- Lemon Juice: Preparing the apples with lemon juice enhances the flavor and prevents the crunchy apples from browning too quickly. If you don’t have lemon juice, you can use a little apple cider vinegar to prevent the apples from browning.
- Mix-ins: The mini marshmallows add bursts of chewy texture and extra sweetness to this wonderful dessert salad. The dried sweetened cranberries add a pop of color and tartness to the combination of crunchy apple and creamy dressing.
How to Make
Time needed: 15 minutes.
- Prepare the Pudding
Add the vanilla pudding mix and milk to a large mixing bowl. Then whisk well to combine, and let it sit for 5 minutes to set.
- Add the Cool Whip
Gently fold in the cool whip to make a rich vanilla cream mixture.
- Apples:
Peel, core, and slice 6 Granny Smith apples. To prevent the apples from browning, toss the pieces in lemon juice.
- Combine Salad Ingredients
Add the apples, cranberries, and mini marshmallows to the pudding mixture. Then, toss to coat the fruit and marshmallows in the pudding mix.
- Refrigerate
Cover the bowl in plastic wrap and refrigerate the Apple Salad until ready to serve.
Recipe Card
Ingredients
- 3.4 ounces instant vanilla pudding mix
- 1 cup whole milk
- 8 ounces Cool Whip , (homemade recipe)
- 6 Granny Smith apples , peeled, cored and chopped
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 1 cup dried , sweetened cranberries
- 3 cups mini marshmallows
Instructions
- Whisk together the vanilla pudding and milk and let sit for five minutes before gently folding in Cool Whip.
- Toss the chopped apples with lemon juice.
- Add the apples, cranberries and marshmallow to the pudding mixture and toss to coat.
- Refrigerate until ready to serve.
Nutrition
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Chef’s Note: Best apples for this recipe
Granny Smith apples are the best apples for this recipe. They have a more tart flavor, which helps balance the sweetness from the cool whip and mini marshmallows, so the recipe isn’t sickeningly sweet. They also have a crisp texture, so they won’t become too soft in the creamy mixture. Other popular apple varieties are Honeycrisp and Pink Lady apples, which are good alternatives if you don’t have Granny Smith apples or like something with a bit more sweetness.
Can this salad be made ahead?
Apple salad is best enjoyed fresh, but leftovers can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 1-2 days. Apples may soften over time, so it’s best to consume it soon after preparing.
Nutritional Facts
What to Pair With Apple Salad
- Easy Baked Chicken: This chicken is flavored perfectly with paprika, salt, and pepper and baked to crisp and juicy perfection in just 45 minutes.
- Air-Fryer Roasted Chicken Thighs: Air-fried Chicken Thighs are a crispy meal with a sweet and slightly spicy flavor. They’re easy to make and ready in about a half hour!
- Instant Pot Pork Chops: These pork Chops are flavorful, tender, and juicy, with a rich gravy to pour on top. They’re ready in under 30 minutes, made in one pot!
- Grilled Pork Tenderloin: Grilled Pork Tenderloin is tender, juicy, and delicious with a garlic lemon Dijon marinade. It takes just four easy steps from marinade to plate.
- Quiche Lorraine: This easy breakfast or delicious brunch option is made with bacon, onions, and Swiss cheese in a flaky pie crust. It’s perfect for a crowd!
How to Store
- Store: Cover the salad bowl in plastic wrap or transfer the leftovers to an airtight container to keep the recipe in the fridge. You can keep this recipe fresh for up to 3 days, so if you want to make your Apple Salad a few days in advance, you can.
- Freeze: Unfortunately, the cream and pudding mixture won’t freeze well, and the recipe will lose its texture in the freezer. If you haven’t finished the salad within 3 days, you’ll be better off tossing it and preparing the recipe fresh. But you and your family shouldn’t have any problem finishing this delicious apple salad quickly!
When to Serve Apple Salad
Apple Salad is a great recipe for potlucks, holiday parties, or dinner parties. You can serve it after dinner as a light dessert or put it out at a party in a buffet style and let your guests help themselves to a serving. It’s easy to prep, making it a great option for holidays and parties when you’re busy preparing many other things.
Frequent Questions
This salad is made with a rich, sweet, creamy dressing and other sweet ingredients like marshmallows and fruit that make it perfect for dessert. But it’s often served as a sweet appetizer during parties and potlucks.
The simple answer is no. Although the word salad is in the recipe title, this is more of a sweet treat than a healthy food choice. However, as far as desserts go, you get some healthy ingredients, such as apples and cranberries, in the mixture. Add more fruit and nuts to the sweet salad if you want extra nutrients in the blend. You can always make it a lighter dessert option using low-fat milk and cool whip.
Apple Salad called a salad because it’s made with a mixture of loosely combined ingredients like any other salad, but it’s not comparable to the bowl of leafy mixed greens that likely comes to mind when someone says salad.
Variations
- Nuts: Want to add extra crunch to the creamy Apple Salad recipe? You can easily do that by adding any types of nuts. Toss in chopped nuts to the salad recipe. Pecans, almonds, or walnuts are all good options, and if you want a sweet nut option, you could even mix in Candied Pecans.
- Fruit: You can add other fruit ingredients to your Apple Salad. Try mixing in blueberries and strawberries. You could also add different kinds of dried fruit, like pitted dried cherries or dried dates.
- Flavor Ingredients: To add a warm, comforting flavor to the sweet fruit salad, you could combine the vanilla dressing with a tablespoon of brown sugar, a dash of cinnamon, and nutmeg.
- Maple Apple Salad: To add a rich, sweet, slightly caramel-like flavor to your apple salad, whisk a tablespoon or so of maple syrup into the cool whip mixture. The maple syrup tastes best if you leave the vanilla pudding out of the dressing mixture. Apple Walnut Salad tastes particularly good with the maple flavor, so add chopped walnuts to the salad mixture. You could also use a little honey instead of the maple syrup.
- Light Apple Salad: To make a healthier Apple Salad, you can change the apple dressing ingredients to make them lighter. Swap out the regular Cool Whip for a fat-free Cool Whip and get a fat-free, sugar-free pudding mix.
More Delicious Dessert Fruit Salads
Great recipe! Thanks for sharing!