These frozen fruit salad cupcakes are made with cherries, bananas, and pineapples in a lightly sweet, creamy, frozen filling topped with a dollop of whipped cream! This refreshing, easy no bake dessert is perfect for warmer months!
Easy Frozen Fruit Salad Cupcakes
Frozen fruit salad had never really been on my radar until I tried it at a local ice cream shop years ago. A creamy, frozen dessert with chunks of fruit in it? I tried it, fell in love and decided to make my own version.
In this frozen fruit salad, creamy sweetened condensed milk is folded into light and fluffy cool whip along with a hint of lemon juice for brightness and some almond extract for a uniquely deep flavor. Maraschino cherries, bananas, and pineapples are mixed into the smooth filling before it is spooned into muffin tins and frozen solid. The result is a light, refreshing dessert with just the right amount of sweetness. It’s perfect for spring and summer days and is sure to win over a crowd.
Feeling inspired to make more recipes with fresh fruit? ‘Tis the season. Try my Strawberry Banana Frozen Yogurt Cupcakes, these Fruit Cheesecake Sugar Cookie Cups, or this Raspberry Peach Sangria Trifle.
What Is Frozen Fruit Salad?
Frozen fruit salad is a chilled dessert of fresh fruit suspended in a creamy, frozen mixture of whipped cream and sweetened condensed milk. This no-bake treat is often frozen in a loaf pan and sliced but I decided to turn it into cupcake form instead.
Recipe Ingredients
Here is a list of ingredients needed to make fruit salad cupcakes. Scroll to the recipe card below for measurements.
- Cool Whip – Take the Cool Whip out of the freezer to thaw before using. Feeling adventurous? Try making your own Homemade Whipped Cream instead. One full recipe of my whipped cream would replace 8 oz of Cool Whip.
- Sweetened condensed milk
- Lemon juice
- Almond extract – I love almond extract here but vanilla will work just fine as well.
- Maraschino cherries – Drain the juices from the cherries, but hold on to 2 tablespoons for use in the filling. This will help keep the frozen dessert from becoming icy.
- Crushed pineapple
- Bananas
How to Make Frozen Fruit Salad Cupcakes
Making frozen fruit salad cupcakes couldn’t be easier. It’s just a few simple steps. Make sure to scroll to the recipe card below for more detailed instructions.
- Soak the bananas in pineapple juice to help keep them from browning too much.
- Fold the Cool Whip, sweetened condensed milk, lemon juice, and almond extract together.
- Stir in the cherries, pineapple, bananas (drain the pineapple juice), and 2 tablespoons of cherry juice from the jar.
- Freeze. Fill a cupcake pan lined with cupcake liners with the mixture and freeze until solid.
- Garnish with whipped cream and cherries.
Recipe Tips & Variations
Here are some tips and tricks that will help you achieve the best frozen fruit salad cupcakes possible. I even threw in some fun variations for you to try.
- Drain the fruit. Before adding the fruit to the mix, make sure it is drained off any excess moisture, This will help keep the dessert from developing an icy texture.
- Don’t over-mix. You want the Cool Whip to maintain some of its volume. So, when mixing the sweetened condensed milk and the fruit into the Cool Whip, fold the ingredients in gently and only until just incorporated.
- Experiment with different fruits. Try strawberries or blueberries instead of cherries or consider using crushed peaches instead of pineapple. Most fruits are a welcome addition to this frozen fruit salad.
- Add some nuts. Traditionally, this dessert often has nuts in it. Throw your favorite nut into the mix (I like cashews and pecans here) along with the fruit for a little extra crunch.
- Make your own whipped cream. Instead of Cool Whip, make your own whipped cream. Try my Homemade Whipped Cream, this Stabilized Mascarpone Whipped Cream, or even my Strawberry Whipped Cream.
Can These Be Made In Advance?
Absolutely. Once the cupcakes have frozen completely arrange them in a single layer in an airtight container. Seal the container and store them in the freezer for up to 3 months.
More Fresh Fruit Recipes:
Summer is coming and it’s got me thinking about fresh fruit. These frozen fruit salad cupcakes are some of my favorites but here are some other delicious recipes starring fresh fruit.
- Fruit Cheesecake Sugar Cookie Cups
- Fruit Pizza
- Berries and Cream Layer Dessert with Dulce de Leche
- Raspberry Peach Sangria Trifle
- Fresh Berry Vanilla Layered Cake
- Banana Split Icebox Cake
- All Fruit Party Cake
Frozen Fruit Salad Cupcakes
- Prep Time: 20 mins
- Freeze Time: 3 hours
- Total Time: 3 hours 20 minutes
- Yield: 22-24 Cupcakes
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Freezer
- Cuisine: American
Description
Ready for the perfect springtime dessert? Frozen fruit salad cupcakes are made up of cherries, bananas, and pineapples suspended in a creamy, frozen filling topped with a dollop of whipped cream.
Ingredients
- 16 oz crushed pineapple, drained (reserve the juice)
- 2–3 bananas, chopped
- 12 oz Cool Whip, thawed*
- 14 oz can sweetened condensed milk
- 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
- 1/4 tsp almond extract
- 12 maraschino cherries, quartered
- Additional Cool Whip for garnish, if desired
- Additional cherries for decorating, if desired
Instructions
- Prepare two cupcake pans with cupcake liners. Set aside.
- Pour reserved pineapple juice over the bananas. Set aside.
- Gently fold Cool Whip, sweetened condensed milk, lemon juice and almond extract together. Be careful not to over mix.
- Add the cherries, pineapple, bananas (drain the pineapple juice and discard the juice), and 2 tablespoons of cherry juice from the jar to the Cool Whip mixture and stir to combine.
- Divide the mixture evenly between the cupcake liners and put in the freezer until completely frozen, 3-4 hours.
- Remove cupcakes from the pan and garnish with whipped cream and a cherry, if desired.
Notes
- You can also use homemade whipped cream. You’ll need 1 1/2 recipes worth to replace 12 ounces of Cool Whip.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 Cupcake
- Calories: 120
- Sugar: 19.8 g
- Sodium: 30.2 mg
- Fat: 3.2 g
- Carbohydrates: 21.9 g
- Protein: 2.1 g
- Cholesterol: 7.6 mg
Keywords: fruit salad cupcakes, frozen fruit salad, frozen fruit salad cupcakes, fresh fruit recipes
Categories
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Thank you for sharing this recipe. I remember this treat from my childhood and I’m excited to make it. I’ll rate it when I do, but I know it’s 5 stars because you created it! The cupcake shape is clever.
I hope you enjoy them!
Do you freeze the cupcakes with the Cool a Whip and cherry on top ?
You could do it either way.
Can’t wait to make this yummy fruit salad. Thank you for sharing the recipe. Love.
Doris
I hope you enjoy them! They really are yummy!
Hi, Lindsay,
This recipe sounds amazing, & it seems to be quite refreshing. Thank-you for sharing it! 🙂
My only question: Would it be possible to use a substitution for Cool Whip? I don’t use it if at all possible for a variety of reasons. I did find some recipes for Cool Whip substitutions. So I assume they’d work in CW’s place?
I’m looking forward to trying this out the next time I plan on bringing cupcakes somewhere. 🙂
I shared my blog address, although there’s not much there at this point. When I do start it up again soon, though, would it be all right if I share this recipe with your blog address linked to it? I really like what I see here! 🙂
Yes, you can substitute homemade whipped cream for the Cool Whip, if you prefer.
Thank-you, Lindsay. 🙂
These sound delish! I’m thinking of using this recipe for baby girl’s first birthday party in a few days. I can’t stand cherries, however. :/ (Not good, since my FIL has a cherry orchard.) Anyway. I thought it’d use the raspberries you suggested above, but I was wondering if I need anything to replace the two tablespoons of cherry juice?
Thanks! 🙂 I can’t wait to make these! 🙂
You don’t need to replace it, it just flavors the mixture a bit. You could mash a few raspberries and add the juice from those if you wanted.
Lindsay,
My mom has a allergy to acidic fruits and juices, Is there other fruits or juices I could substitute here. These look fantastic.
I would think banana and mango would be a good flavor combo and I think those are lower in acidity.
would you be able to use canned fruit?
Canned fruit should be fine, just make sure to discard the juice.
How long do you leave. them out before serving? Do you complefly tbaw?
I like to serve them mostly frozen, so I set them about for about 10-15 minutes before serving.
Am I missing something here…is the pineapple juice poured over the bananas to keep them from darkening and then drained before adding the bananas to the other ingredients? This sounds so tasty…will try it soon.
Yes, you are correct. The pineapple juice is used to keep the bananas from browning, then discarded.
Looks like a delish treat! What can we substitute almond extract with for those who suffer nut allergies? By how much should I reduce the ingredients if I only have mini-cupcake pans?
Vanilla extract should be a good substitute. Almond is a stronger flavor, so you could use a little more vanilla. If you only have mini cupcake pans you’ll probably want to cut the recipe in half. You might also want to make sure your fruit isn’t too chunky – or you won’t be able to fit much into each mini cupcake. Enjoy them! I love this recipe!