This creamy fruit salad dressing is an old-fashioned favorite made with whipped cream and a cooked custard-style base. It uses eggs for a creamier texture, creating a smooth, rich fruit salad dressing that’s thicker and more flavorful than most modern versions.
Back in the day, dessert-style salads were all the rage. Somebody brought a Jello salad to every potluck or picnic, and ambrosia fruit salad or Jello with strawberries was a holiday staple. This old-fashioned fruit salad dressing is a little bit different than most modern fruit salad dressings, because it’s thicker, creamier, and definitely sweeter.
It’s perfect for fresh fruit salad, potlucks, and summer gatherings. Of course, you don’t have to make a fruit salad; it makes the perfect fruit dip too! This creamy fruit salad dressing is a classic for a reason, and once you try it, you’ll see why it’s stood the test of time.
What is Creamy Fruit Salad Dressing?
Unlike many modern versions made with pudding or whipped topping alone, this traditional fruit salad dressing uses a custard base that’s thickened with eggs, giving it a richer flavor and smoother texture. Fruit salads with this style dressing aren’t very common anymore, which makes it a fun surprise to serve up to any kind of crowd.
Why You’ll Love This Old-Fashioned Recipe
- This homemade fruit salad dressing is easy to make.
- Thanks to the custard-style base, this is a rich and creamy fruit salad dressing.
- Whether it’s a potluck, picnic or backyard barbecue, this is the perfect dressing for a fruit salad to feed a crowd.
- This recipe is make-ahead friendly for summer parties, and it makes the best holiday side dish!
- It’s chock full of classic old-fashioned flavor, just like the one Grandma used to make!
Ingredients for Creamy Fruit Salad Dressing
- Citrus Juice – You’ll need pulp free orange juice for this recipe, and also a little bit of lemon juice as a fruit preservation agent.
- Pineapple Juice – Pineapple juice adds a sweet and tangy, tropical flavor. It’s so good whether or not your fruit salad has pineapple chunks.
- Eggs – Whole beaten eggs are the primary thickening agent for the custard-style base in this creamy fruit salad dressing.
- Sugar – Most fruit salad dressing recipes use honey or maple syrup, but I prefer cane sugar because it dissolves better into the custard base. Sugar also naturally draws out more natural juices from the fruit, which translates to more flavor.
- Whipped Cream – The whipped cream makes this homemade fruit salad dressing nice and fluffy. Alternatively, you can also use whipped topping.
How to Make Creamy Fruit Salad Dressing
This homemade fruit salad dressing is easy to make. Altogether, it’ll take about 1 hour to make, if you include the chill time. It’s especially perfect for a creamy fruit salad for a crowd or serving at potlucks and parties.
How to Make This Old-Fashioned Fruit Salad Dressing
- In a medium mixing bowl, mix together the orange juice, lemon juice, pineapple juice, and beaten eggs.
- Whisk the sugar and salt into the mixture, blending well.
- Pour the mixture into a double boiler over hot water, and cook over low to medium heat ’til slightly thickened and heated thru, about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally, as needed, to prevent scorching. Another way to tell that it’s done is it should start to coat the back of the spoon. If you don’t have a double boiler, Bon Appetit has a great tutorial showing how to make your own with a small sauce pot and a heat-proof bowl.
- Remove the sauce from the heat and chill for at least 30 minutes before folding in the whipped cream. That’s it!
How to Use Creamy Fruit Salad Dressing
Once you’ve folded in the whipped cream, you can toss your homemade fruit salad dressing with fresh fruit to make a creamy fruit salad. But this creamy fruit salad dressing isn’t just for fruit salad. There are plenty of other ways you can use it too!
- It makes the perfect dressing for an ambrosia fruit salad, a popular holiday side dish!
- If you’re not in the mood for fruit salad, use it as a fruit dip for fruit kabobs.
- Set it out in its own dish on your holiday fruit platter!
Can You Make Fruit Salad Dressing Ahead of Time?
Yes, you can make this fruit salad dressing ahead of time. Just store it in an airtight container or mason jar in the fridge for up to 7 days. This dressing recipe keeps longer than most thanks to the citrus.
One of the things that I love about this homemade dressing is that it allows you to prep all of the ingredients ahead of time. You can cut up the fruit and mix up the dressing, and then wait to mix everything together until right before you’re ready to eat.
Best Fruits for Creamy Fruit Salad
This is my favorite fruit combo for this rich and creamy fruit salad dressing:
- 2-3 bananas, peeled and chopped
- 2 kiwi, peeled and chopped
- 2-3 cups strawberries, hulled and chopped
- 1 cup blueberries
- 1 large apple, cored and chopped
- 11 ounces mandarin oranges, drained
- 1 cup red grapes, halved
Prep all the fruit in a large mixing bowl and mix the fruit salad dressing in with the fruit. It makes such a delicious side dish with a balanced mix of flavors and textures.
Expert Tips and Recipe FAQ’s
You can prevent a watery fruit salad by letting the chopped fruit set in a colander for 10-15 minutes after chopping to drain out excess liquid. Add fruits that are prone to getting soggy right before serving, like bananas. If your fruit salad is already watery, you can fix it by mixing in a little powdered sugar to thicken it up.
You can substitute with honey if you don’t want to use sugar. You’ll want to cut the amount of honey to 1/3 cup instead of the 1/2 cup of sugar. Then use about 1/4 cup each of orange juice and pineapple juice instead of 1/3 cup, which will make up for the extra moisture content in the honey.
Yes, you can freeze fruit salad dressing. Store your creamy fruit salad dressing in an airtight container or mason jar in the freezer for up to 1-2 months, and let it thaw out overnight in the refrigerator before using. It will separate, but you can simply whisk everything back together again after it thaws out.
More Fruit Recipes You’ll Love
If you love this recipe, you might also enjoy these other easy fruit desserts:
- Ambrosia Fruit Salad
- Fruit Kabobs
- Mini Fruit Pizza
- Tropical Fruit Smoothie
- Chocolate Covered Strawberries
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Creamy Fruit Salad Dressing
Ingredients
- 1/3 cup orange juice
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 1/3 cup pineapple juice
- 2 large eggs beaten
- 1/2 cup cane sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
- 2 cups whipped cream
Instructions
- In a medium mixing bowl, mix together the orange juice, lemon juice, pineapple juice, and beaten eggs.
- Whisk the sugar and salt into the mixture, blending well.
- Pour the mixture into a double boiler over hot water, and cook over low to medium heat 'til slightly thickened and heated thru, about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally, as needed, to prevent scorching.
- Remove the sauce from the heat and chill for at least 30 minutes.
- Once cooled, fold the whipped cream into the sauce.
- Mix with fresh fruit to make a delicious fruit salad (see notes below).
Notes
- 2-3 bananas, peeled and chopped
- 2 kiwi, peeled and chopped
- 2-3 cups strawberries, hulled and chopped
- 1 cup blueberries
- 1 large apple, cored and chopped
- 11 ounces mandarin oranges, drained
- 1 cup red grapes, halved
This stuff is pure gold!