Vanilla Pudding Fruit Salad — The easiest fruit salad ever thanks to the addition of vanilla pudding mix! Make it for your next party and watch this crowd-favorite fruit salad disappear! It’s always the simplest recipes that people love the most!
Vanilla Fruit Salad … with Pudding Mix!
I cannot resist the glory of summertime fruit. It’s my favorite time of year. So many amazing, sweet, juicy, wonderful options.
Every now and then my eyes are bigger than my stomach and I find myself with enough fruit on hand to open up my own grocery store.
The answer? Make fruit salad.
This lightly vanilla-kissed fruit salad is the easiest fruit salad ever. The vanilla flavor is light, but adds an extra something special to nature’s finest.
If you’re throwing a Fourth of July party or any event, you can stir the fruit salad together the night before and let the flavors marry. One less thing to do the day of the event, and the salad tastes even better after an overnight stint in the fridge.
If you find yourself with a surplus of fruit such as cherries, raspberries, apricots, peaches, nectarines, apricots, plums, cantaloupe, honeydew, or kiwi, just toss everything together.
Your fruit surplus will magically disappear!
Vanilla Pudding Fruit Salad Ingredients
To make this fruit salad recipe with vanilla pudding, you’ll need:
- Fruit
- Instant vanilla pudding mix
- Lemon or lime juice (optional)
- Vanilla extract (optional)
- Almond extract (optional)
How to Make Fruit Salad with Vanilla Pudding
Simply sprinkle 1 to 2 tablespoons of instant vanilla pudding mix over a bowl of fruit, stir, and over time the natural fruit juices will moisten the pudding powder. Or you can add a splash of water to help it along.
The pudding mix and fruit juices make a thin coating and it’s so good.
Can the Pudding Mix Be Substituted?
If you don’t have pudding mix in your area or are opposed to it, this probably isn’t the recipe for you.
What Fruit Is Best for Fruit Salad?
The best fruit for fruit salad is whatever you have on hand! This easy fruit salad with vanilla pudding can be made with any variety of fruits you have.
Try using 3 to 4 cups of:
- Cherries
- Raspberries
- Apricots
- Peaches
- Nectarines
- Plums
- Cantaloupe
- Honeydew
- Kiwi
Mix and match the fruit as you see fit! Generally speaking, three to four varieties of fruit should do the trick.
Tips for Making Vanilla Pudding Fruit Salad
If you’re a citrus fan, you can add a couple tablespoons of lemon or lime juice for a tangier fruit salad. I also find a tiny bit of almond extract tastes excellent.
Adding a splash of vanilla and / or almond extract is totally optional, but it will dial up the delicious vanilla flavor even more.
To keep your pudding mix fruit salad vegan / vegetarian, look for a vegan instant pudding mix. Jell-O brand instant pudding is vegan, but read the label to double check!
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Vanilla Pudding Fruit Salad
Ingredients
- 3 to 4 cups fruit, I used 1 1/2 cups sliced strawberries, 1 cup grapes, 1/2 cup blueberries, 1/2 cup pineapple
- 1 to 2 tablespoons instant vanilla pudding mix (Jell-O brand is vegan
- about 2 tablespoons lemon or lime juice, optional
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract, optional
- ½ teaspoon almond extract, optional
Instructions
- Add fruit to a large bowl.
- Sprinkle with 1 to 2 tablespoons instant pudding mix powder and toss to combine. Over time, the natural fruit juices moisten the pudding powder. Or help it along with a splash of water.
- Optionally add lemon or lime juice for a tangier fruit salad and toss to combine.
- Optionally add vanilla or almond extract, or both, and toss to combine.
- Serve immediately, or cover and refrigerate for up to 24 hours before serving. I prefer to make it and refrigerate overnight because the flavors marry and the coating tastes best.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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More Easy Fruit Salad Recipes:
Tropical Fruit Salad— This tropical fruit salad features fresh fruit that’s tossed in pineapple juice, coconut and almond extracts, and piña colada mix. Don’t worry, this easy fruit salad is non-alcoholic!
Ambrosia Salad — This classic fruit salad is made with pineapple, mandarin oranges, grapes, coconut, and tossed in a light and creamy, tangy-yet-sweet dressing! The EASIEST side dish ever — just add everything to one bowl and stir!
Waldorf Salad — Classic and timeless, apple Waldorf salad is always a crowd favorite especially when apples are in season! It makes a great holiday side dish that your guests will devour thanks to a sweet and creamy dressing that coats a mixture of apples, grapes, celery, walnuts, and more!
Balsamic Watermelon Cucumber Salad — An EASY, healthy, and light salad with watermelon, cucumber, arugula, goat cheese, candied nuts, and drizzled with a homemade balsamic glaze!! A PERFECT summer salad for those days when it’s too hot to cook!!
Originally posted June 30, 2014 and reposted July 22, 2022 with updated text.
I needed this recipe last week! I took an un-doctored fruit salad to my son’s boy scout family night potluck at summer camp (since I was pretty sure none of the kids had anything healthy to eat all week!) and it was good, but this would have stepped it up to excellent. Love the idea. And yes, I join you and all the others here whose eyes are bigger than their stomachs when they see summer fruit.
This is exactly the type of salad that’s just barely doctored up, but it is, slightly. Just enough to make it a little more special :)
The colors!! So pretty! I love fruit salad. I, like you, can’t resist them at the store or the farmer’s market either. And then, suddenly, I have OODLES of fruit on hand. I usually just freeze most of it to use later or make jam, but fresh fruit is so so so much better.
And anything with vanilla added to it is bound to better than the same thing without vanilla.
I’ve been using this powder thickener stuff (that no one has heard of so I never blog about it) and it does something similar like the gelatin – just a light coating that makes sure that the sauce/dip/dressing stays put on the veggies. I just added it to the kale chips I made today too. Perfection!
The powder sounds great and like a perfect find! And yes to you and me both about having oodles of produce on hand, all of a sudden, that just seemed to multiply out of no where :)
I love classic fruit salads so hard. They scream summer!
I absolutely love the idea of using pudding mix!! What a genius idea. Totally doing this – and the flavor combos are staggering. Pinned!
Thanks for pinning and there’s nothing pudding mix can’t do, right :)
YUM! Fruit salad is a summer STAPLE!!!!!!
Oh YES please! Love this vibrant fruity salad ~ & the touch of vanilla!
No kidding, this is one of the easiest recipes ever! But, fresh fruit makes everything so colorful and sweet, who needs the extra ingredients? I love vanilla so adding to a fruit salad sounds amazing!
I think this would be an awesome for this weekend! Looks so healthy and delicious. :)
Mmm…looks lovely. Vanilla makes everything better in my opinion. Gorgeous!
Have a marvelous week Averie!
I know what you mean by going overboard on fruit! I do the same thing all the time. When I realize I can’t finish it all, I freeze it for smoothies– it’s just so tempting when so much is in season!
I do the same with freezing for smoothies but sometimes I’m even loaded up for that, too! ha!
Genius pudding mix in fruit salad…who would’ve thought..I bet the vanilla factor is so good from that addition. Once again your pictures are gorgeous the fruit is so vibrant.
This looks like such a great way to get some flavor to stay on the fruit–usually the juice just pools at the bottom of the bowl. I love almond extract in almost anything sweet.
I must try this after we finish off my latest batch of your salsa!
Oh I’m so glad you’re still nursing the salsa. I made a triple batch for out of town guests this weekend and after they had their share, I went to town on it with a fork :) And yes, the pooled juice situation. This coating is a little thicker so stays on the fruit so there’s less pooled juice I’ve found.
Fruiter, summery perfection! SO creative with the pudding mix — never would have thought of that! Love it.
I would have NEVER thought to put pudding mix into fruit salad! I am obsessed with this idea because my hubs loves pudding, but I am always trying to get him to eat healthy things..I think this looks like a good way! Gorg photos too! Pinning :)
Thanks, Taylor, and I can’t remember where I saw you say in a comment on another blog this was your first Fourth of July in the US, but I ope it’s a good one! Thanks for the photography compliments and pin!
Whoa! I’m thoroughly intrigued as to how you came up with this! Pudding mix on fruit? It sounds dang tasty.
It is! :)
I love summer fruits and I love vanilla so this sounds delicious! I’ve never heard of pudding mix, but I’m sure I can make one from scratch to be able to make this summer treat!