Bursting with berries this Red White and Blue Cheesecake Salad is the perfect patriotic sweet and chilled side for summer. With a creamy whipped very berry cheesecake flavor mixed with fresh strawberries, blueberries, and bananas everyone will go back for seconds.
Whether it’s a Cherry Cheesecake or a No Bake Strawberry Cheesecake Bars the combination of berries and cheesecake just works and this very berry cheesecake salad is no exception. It’s loaded with strawberries and blueberries with some bananas tossed in.
Why You’ll Love This Salad
- It’s the perfect picnic or potluck dessert salad to bring to any summer gathering. This deliciously decadent dessert side salad is a firework of cheesecake flavor.
- Great for patriotic holidays. Whether you’re celebrating Memorial Day, the Fourth of July, or even Labor Day its sweet flavor can be served with the main course or as a dessert. It’s also not limited to lunch or dinner! This no-bake cheesecake salad makes a great recipe for brunch.
- Its fluffy texture and sweet flavor balance heavy main dishes like burgers or pork sandwiches. It’s made using cream cheese, Cool Whip, and powdered sugar as the base, which turns into a creamy cheesecake filling. As a side dish, it’s a light addition to any backyard barbecue.
Ingredients Needed
This berry cheesecake salad is similar to “fluff” salad recipes such as Strawberry Jello Fluff, but it doesn’t contain any jello. It does contain Cool Whip which is how the creamy cheesecake filling is also fluffy.
- Fresh Fruit: you will need to use fresh berries for this recipe, frozen berries will become soggy and leak into the cheesecake mixture. If you’re aiming to make a red white and blue cheesecake salad the best fruit to use is strawberries, blueberries, and sliced bananas.
- Cream Cheese: any type of cream cheese will work, but I recommend using a full-fat version because it will have a richer flavor.
- Cool Whip – Let the Cool Whip chill in the fridge or come to room temperature before folding it into filling. You can also make your own whipped cream to use, however, the salad will not be as fluffy. It will be equally delicious though.
- Powdered Sugar: Mixing in the powdered sugar will add the perfect sweetness, however, you can also use granulated sugar.
Whether it’s a salad or a dessert is entirely up to you! It does make the perfect festive patriotic side dish.
Additional Add-Ins
There are so few ingredients in this recipe that there’s not much you can swap, but there are a few changes you can make to create a new flavor or add some sweetness.
- Fruit: some other fruit options are raspberries, blackberries, cherries, and even pineapple. Sweetened coconut.
- Add some marshmallows. You can swap the bananas for marshmallows or you can add them to the mix.
How to Make Berry Cheesecake Salad
This simple and decadent side dish comes together in under 30 minutes and can be made in the bowl you plan on serving it in.
- Prepare cheesecake filling. Using a handheld mixer, beat the softened cream cheese, vanilla, and salt together until smooth and no lumps remain. Pour the powdered sugar into a mesh sieve and sift it into the cream cheese mixture (optional, but helps with lumps). Set the mixer to the lowest setting and slowly beat the powdered sugar in until a creamy texture is reached.
- Fold in the Cool Whip. Using a rubber spatula gently fold the Cool Whip into the cheesecake salad mixture until fully incorporated.
- Add in the fruit. Slice the strawberries into the desired size and add them along with the blueberries to the salad. Fold the fruit into the mixture.
- Fold in the bananas. Slice the bananas into thick slices and very carefully fold them into the salad. Place the red white and blue salad into the fridge and let it chill for about 1 hour.
Storage Information
To store this salad keep it in an air-tight container in the fridge. The fruit juices may start to seep to the bottom of the dish, but you can use a rubber spatula to stir them back into the cheesecake mixture. It will last for 3 to 4 days in the fridge.
If you plan on bringing this salad to a potluck or picnic make sure it’s not in direct sunlight and is only sitting out for 2 hours before placing it back in the fridge.
Recipe Notes and Tips
- Sift the powdered sugar into the filling mixture. To make sure your cheesecake salad remains smooth sift the powdered sugar instead of just mixing it in.
- Make ahead instructions – If you’d like to make this red white and blue cheesecake salad ahead of time follow the recipe as directed and leave the bananas (the white part) out. Slice them and then stir them in just before you plan on serving.
- Use a handheld mixer. A handheld mixer works best for beating the cream cheese base together, plus you won’t have to move it from the electric mixer bowl to another one.
- Allow your ingredients to be at room temperature. To avoid lumps in the cheesecake filling allow the cream cheese and Cool Whip to be at room temperature before mixing them in.
FAQS
If you plan on making this at a time when strawberries and blueberries are not in season, or if you’re in a pinch and can only find frozen, it will work, however, it won’t look as pretty. Frozen fruit, once thawed, will also leak juice into the mixture. Use a spatula to stir it back in if it begins to pool at the bottom before you plan on serving it.
The filling of this salad is thick, which helps it hold all the fruit together, however, if you’d like something a little less thick then you can add heavy cream 1 tablespoon at a time until the desired consistency is reached.
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Red White and Blue Cheesecake Salad Recipe
Equipment
- Handheld Mixer
- Rubber Spatula
- Large Mixing Bowl
- Sharp Kitchen Knife
Ingredients
- 8 ounces Cream Cheese room temperature
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
- ⅛ teaspoon Salt
- 2 cups Powdered Sugar
- 16 ounces Cool Whip thawed
- 2 lbs Strawberries quartered
- 1 pint Blueberries
- 2 Bananas sliced
Instructions
- Place the cream cheese, vanilla, and salt into a large mixing bowl and beat using a handheld mixture until smooth.
- Set the mixer to the lowest setting and add the powdered sugar to the bowl. Continue to mix until all the sugar is incorporated and the texture is creamy.
- Using a rubber spatula fold the Cool Whip into the cream cheese mixture until fully incorporated.
- If serving right away fold the strawberries and blueberries into the mixture then carefully add the bananas and continue to fold them in.
Notes
- Sift the powdered sugar into the filling mixture. To make sure your cheesecake salad remains smooth sift the powdered sugar instead of just mixing it in.
- Make ahead instructions – If you’d like to make this red white and blue cheesecake salad ahead of time follow the recipe as directed and leave the bananas (the white part) out. Slice them and then stir them in just before you plan on serving.
- Use a handheld mixer. A handheld mixer works best for beating the cream cheese base together, plus you won’t have to move it from the electric mixer bowl to another one.
- Allow your ingredients to be at room temperature. To avoid lumps in the cheesecake filling allow the cream cheese and Cool Whip to be at room temperature before mixing them in.
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