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Great-Grandma’s Frozen Fruit Salad

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Frozen fruit salad is a blast from the past.  This vintage recipe is a cool and delicious way to eat your fruit. It is at home at all of our holiday meals, but would also be a fun summer side dish!

Close slice of frozen fruit salad showing fruit and marshmallows in peach frozen mixture.

This vintage recipe comes straight from my great-grandma’s recipe box. It is a fun twist on marshmallow fruit salad, but even more fun because it is frozen!

It is perfect for holidays or as a refreshing summer side dish. Frozen fruit salad could even be a light dessert.

This recipe is still a staple at my family holidays.  My Aunt Jenny usually makes it now and it is present at every Easter, Thanksgiving and Christmas.

looking across a glass pan of frozen fruit salad with bits of fruit cocktail and marshmallows showing.

I have a handful of recipes from my Great-Grandma, so I was going through them trying to decide which one I should make first.  

When I got to this one, I knew I had to make it.  I am familiar with a few of the others, but this one is still a tradition!

Though the combination might seem a little odd these days, it really isn’t that much different than fluff salads or creamy fruit salads.  It just has the added bonus of being frozen!

square of pink frozen fruit salad being lifted out of pan.

I love trying vintage recipes like this, don’t you?  It’s like taking a little step back in time, right into the kitchen of a loved one.

I think my great-grandma must have come to age in a time of fruity dishes like this, because another favorite from her recipe box was the green Jello salad that is loaded with pineapple and cream cheese.  There is definitely a nostalgia to both recipes.

square piece of frozen fruit salad on small plate.

My great grandma wasn’t only known for her fruity side dishes though.  She also made delicious cookies.

I have shared her peanut butter cookies as well as her oatmeal raisin step-on cookies. Both should be on your list of recipes to make soon.

Great-grandma wasn’t the only good cook, her mom is the one that brought us dutch apple cake. I put a spin on that recipe to make our favorite peach breakfast cake.

square piece of frozen fruit salad on small plate.

All of my great-grandma’s made great food.  You can search “great-grandma” in the search bar (in the side bar on desktop or down below the comments on mobile.)  You will find loads of great classic recipes.

Here are some suggestions:

Great-grandma’s scalloped corn is a classic side dish. It is made from super simple ingredients but it really is delicious!

Great-grandma’s apple crisp is actually a quite healthy treat. It is a great way to turn apples into something extra fun. 

Great-grandma’s egg noodles are a Thanksgiving must have for our family. However we also use them to make chicken and noodles a couple of times throughout the year. 

Or try making an old fashioned frog eye salad. It is another fun twist on a fruit salad with a creamy custard base and teeny balls of pasta.

When and how do you serve frozen fruit salad?

My family always serves frozen fruit salad as a side dish at holiday dinners.  It is a small way to have great grandma there with us and part of the tradition.

Frozen fruit salad would be perfect side dish for a summer BBQ as well.  It would be such a refreshing addition to the menu.

Great grandma's hand written recipe card for frozen fruit salad.

Serve frozen fruit salad as a light fruity dessert. It’s a great make ahead and you can grab a piece whenever you want it.

For an extra fun twist on frozen fruit salad, freeze it in a cupcake tin.  Then it’s single serve and the perfect way to have a piece whenever you want!

Can I use something besides fruit cocktail?

You can use any mix of fruit you would like, but fruit cocktail adds great flavor. The extra cherries add color and flavor.

Did you make this great recipe? Please leave a review in the recipe card below!

Close slice of frozen fruit salad showing fruit and marshmallows in peach frozen mixture.

Frozen Fruit Salad

Carlee
Frozen fruit salad is a blast from the past. This vintage recipe is a cool and delicious way to eat your fruit. It is at home at all of our holiday meals, but would also be a fun summer treat!
4.81 from 136 ratings
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 0 minutes
Additional Time 2 hours
Total Time 2 hours 15 minutes
Course Fruit Salad
Cuisine American
Servings 24 Servings
Calories 169 kcal

Ingredients
 

  • 6 ounces cream cheese softened
  • 1 cup mayonnaise
  • 1 cup heavy cream whipped
  • cups fruit cocktail well drained
  • ½ cup drained Maraschino cherries
  • cups mini marshmallows

Instructions
 

  • Quarter cherries
    ½ cup drained Maraschino cherries
  • Cream together the room temperature cream cheese and mayonnaise.
    6 ounces cream cheese, 1 cup mayonnaise
  • Add cherries, fruit cocktail and marshmallows, mixing it together.
    3½ cups fruit cocktail, 2½ cups mini marshmallows
  • Fold in whipped cream.
    1 cup heavy cream
  • Put into a glass 9×13 pan or similarly sized freezer safe serving dish. Freeze until solid.
  • Remove from freezer 10-15 minutes before time to serve.
  • Cut into squares and enjoy.

Video

Nutrition

Serving: 1servingCalories: 169kcalCarbohydrates: 13gProtein: 1gFat: 13gSaturated Fat: 5gPolyunsaturated Fat: 7gCholesterol: 22mgSodium: 90mgSugar: 11g
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Recipe Rating




Julie

Thursday 25th of January 2024

Mom made this every Christmas, but never had it written down. I've looked everywhere and my older sister finally found it here. It looks and sounds exactly like the one she made. It was my favorite thing on the table and the leftovers in the freezer always made me so happy for days afterwards. (As a side note: the Green Jello you describe sounds like the one my aunt would contribute each Christmas!) Thank you, thank you, thank you for sharing. I cannot wait to make our frozen fruit salad and taste a childhood memory again. My kids never got to experience this, since Grandma stopped cooking, and they say it sounds disgusting. HA. We'll see what they think...

Carlee

Friday 26th of January 2024

I am so happy I could help you have it again! My dad's family still makes it for all the big holiday meals, but my mom can't be convinced to like it. I guess it is polarizing like that. Hopefully you can win your kids over!

Dennee

Thursday 18th of January 2024

I recognized this recipe , It was printed in the Watkins Salad Cookbook 1946. One of your Grandmother's must have had the book or a friend passed on the recipe. Over the years, people have put their own twist on it. Original only had Peaches, Pineapple, & Maracschion cherries . Back then they used regular marshmallows and cut them in 4 with scissors. They came in a box of a dozen. Watkins Cookbooks were very popular. Recipes are a Great way to remember Love Ones.

Carlee

Thursday 18th of January 2024

Thanks for sharing the history of the recipe!

jellybean

Thursday 28th of December 2023

This was too cute to pass up! Thank you for sharing this special vintage recipe. I made it to go along with our family Christmas meal & it was a delicious ending! I loved the texture & taste & look. It was a lovely pink & the top was frosty & so festive. It cut into the sweetest little squares with the cherries and fruit pieces showing. My kids absolutely loved it. Such a bonus that it could be made ahead!

Carlee

Thursday 28th of December 2023

I am so glad you liked it!

Mary

Saturday 16th of December 2023

Recipe is exactly same as one published in old Better Homes and Garden cookbook (I received as a shower gift for my wedding in 1967.). Always one of my husband’s favorites

Carlee

Saturday 16th of December 2023

That could very well be where my great-grandma got the recipe from. It still makes an appearance at our family gatherings. My aunt is in charge of making it for Christmas this year.

Sheila Merk

Wednesday 13th of December 2023

Thank you I finally found this receipe As a child my mother made this and i loved never couldnt figuire out how she made it As soon as i read this after at least 50 years I knew this was it Now i think she put pecans in hers

Carlee

Thursday 14th of December 2023

You have no idea how happy this makes me. I am so glad I could help.