When the weather is warm outside, I love a cool and refreshing salad to go along with my BBQ Pork Chops and grilled asparagus. This berry salad is a great accompaniment for almost any meal, or serve it as a dessert! Love berries? Be sure to also check out my blueberry milkshake recipe! Who else is excited about the abundance of cheap and delicious berries in the stores right now?! While berries are amazing to eat on their own as a snack, they’re even better in this berry cheesecake salad. It’s a blend of ripe and juicy berries that’s coated in a light and fluffy cheesecake mixture. This is the ultimate summer side dish, perfect for a barbecue or potluck! Best of all it only takes minutes to make. If you have any leftover berries, use them to make fruit crisp, sparkling raspberry limeade or blackberry salad.
Berry Cheesecake Salad Ingredients
To make this salad, you will need mixed berries, cream cheese, powdered sugar, vanilla extract, heavy cream and whipped topping.
How Do You Make Berry Cheesecake Salad?
Place your cream cheese in a bowl, and beat it with a hand mixer or stand mixer until it is smooth and fluffy. Add the powdered sugar, then mix to combine. Next, add the vanilla extract and heavy cream, then beat one more time. Finally, fold the whipped topping into the cream cheese mixture. Place the berries in a bowl and pour the creamy dressing over the top. Stir gently to coat the berries in the dressing. Add a garnish of more berries and mint if desired, then serve and enjoy.
Tips For The Perfect Salad
Fresh berries work best in this salad. Frozen berries will not have a good texture and release excess liquid in the dressing. You can serve your salad immediately, or refrigerate it for up to 8 hours. There is often a debate with sweet salads: is it a side dish or a dessert? This one works both ways! I typically do a combination of equal parts of strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, and blackberries. I cut up the strawberries into quarters to make them easier to eat, but the other berries can stay whole. It’s important to be gentle when you toss the salad so you don’t crush the berries. Make sure the cream cheese is very soft so you don’t end up with lumps in the cheesecake mixture.
Berry Cheesecake Salad Flavor Variations
This salad is delicious as-is, but you can change the ingredients to customize the flavors to your tastes.
Fruit: No berries on hand? Try using other types of fruit such as peaches, grapes, cherries, kiwi, pineapple or mango. Add-Ins: Feel free to stir in some mini marshmallows, toasted chopped pecans or mini chocolate chips. Garnishes: Finish the salad with a sprinkle of toasted coconut, crushed vanilla wafer cookies or some shaved white chocolate. Dressing: Add more flavor to the dressing with almond extract, cinnamon or lemon zest.
Once you try this salad, you’ll find yourself making it on a regular basis. It’s just that good!
Berry Cheesecake Salad Video
