There is no better summer dessert than a refreshing fruit salad with Cream Cheese Fruit Dip. Made with cream cheese, yogurt, vanilla and brown sugar, you could almost eat this dip by the spoonful.
Can you believe Memorial Day is already this weekend?? I feel like this year is flying by so fast that I can barely keep up! Memorial Day weekend is one of my favorites because we almost always have some sort of BBQ or cookout with friends and family and it finally feels like summer.
What's In This Article
Cream Cheese Fruit Dip
And I don’t know about you, but I can’t serve a fruit salad without an awesome fruit dip to go alongside it. Whether it be served as a dessert, or even as a side dish for a summer BBQ, a good fruit dip is a necessity!
Dips can make or break a party.
My typical fruit dip recipe is a mixture of equal parts vanilla yogurt and whipped cream. While it is good and super tasty, sometimes I like to take it up a notch and get really decadent.
PRO TIP: This cream cheese dip can also be used on ice cream, brownies or chocolate cake!
So I decided to combine a cream cheese fruit dip with a yogurt fruit dip and the result was magical. Slightly sweet, a little tart and super rich and creamy. The perfect blend.
Ingredients
A lot of fruit dip recipes out there use marshmallow fluff (marshmallow cream). And while those recipes are delicious, using Greek yogurt in its place significantly reduces the amount of sugar and sweetness, while still tasting delicious. It’s a win-win!
You’ll need:
- Plain Greek Yogurt- Greek is thicker, while regular is thinner. Thick is better in this case. You can use vanilla too.
- Vanilla Extract– This can be omitted, but does help to amplify the vanilla essence.
- Cream Cheese- You can use full fat, reduced fat or low fat. In this case, it will still be rich and decadent.
- Brown Sugar– You need a little something to sweeten it up, I like the molasses flavor of brown sugar, but you can also use powdered sugar.
How to Make Cream Cheese Fruit Dip
To make this easy dip…
- Start by whipping softened cream cheese in the bowl of a stand mixer (or hand mixer.) It’s super important to soften the cream cheese first, or else your dip will turn out lumpy instead of smooth. Add in the yogurt and blend until smooth and creamy.
- Once the yogurt and cream cheese are combined, add in the brown sugar and vanilla and beat until completely combined. Transfer to a a serving bowl and you are done! It doesn’t get much easier than that.
PRO TIP: No matter the recipe, beat cream cheese well before combining with other ingredients to make sure it is smooth.
Party Dip
Fruit salad with fruit dip is a great dish to serve at a bridal or baby shower. It’s something universal that you know everyone will love. You could even add a bit of food coloring to customize this dip to whatever theme.
This recipe can be easily doubled or even tripled if serving a lot of people. With only four ingredients and five minutes, this Cream Cheese Fruit Dip is sure to be the hit of all of your summer BBQs.
Variations
This recipe is so easily customizable. Here are a few ways to do it.
- Extract– Vanilla is optional, but you can swap this out for almond, peppermint, rum, coconut, butter or any other flavor you want.
- Yogurt– Swap out plain or vanilla yogurt for your favorite flavor- fruit or otherwise.
- Flavored Cream Cheese– same goes with the cream cheese! Grab a brick of strawberry or blueberry to switch things up.
- Chocolate: Add 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder and top with chocolate chips.
- Toffee: Fold in 1 – 1/2 cup toffee bits.
- Apple Pie: Blend in 1 teaspoon apple pie spice.
- Lemon, Lime or Orange: Replace extract with citrus juice and 1 teaspoon zest of desired fruit.
- Coconut: Fold in 1/3 cup toasted sweetened coconut.
- Caramel or Fudge- Swirl in caramel or fudge sauce. Dulce de leche works well too.
- Fruity- Another way to add fruit is to swirl in fruit sauce, jam or jelly.
- Bacon- Don’t dis it until you try it! Top with crumbled bacon candy.
- Peanut Butter- After whipping cream cheese, add 1/2 cup of smooth peanut butter and resume with the recipe.
Storage & Freezing
Can fruit dip be made ahead of time? Fruit dip can last in the refrigerator for three to four days, so you can absolutely make this ahead of time, One last thing to do the day of your party of get together!
Can cream cheese fruit dip be frozen? You can absolutely freeze it! You can safely store it for a few months in an airtight container. This is especially helpful if you made a little too much, or have a little bit leftover that you’d like to save for later.
Serve it with…
What to serve with fruit dip? Well the obvious answer is, of course, fresh fruit! My favorite fruits to serve with this dip are berries, apple slices, strawberries, grapes and melon, but any fruit will do!
You can also serve this dip with animal crackers, graham crackers, or even chocolate chip cookies for a fun dessert idea. Also, if you like the salty and sweet combo, try serving this sweet dip with some salty pretzels!
More Fruit Recipes:
Cream Cheese Fruit Dip Recipe
Ingredients
- 8 ounces cream cheese , softened
- 4 ounces Greek yogurt , plain or vanilla
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar
Instructions
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, whip the cream cheese until light and fluffy.
- Add the yogurt, blending until combined.
- Add the vanilla and brown sugar, beating until well combined.
- Transfer to serving bowl, cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.
- If you've tried this recipe, come back and let us know how it was in the comments or ratings!
This is a great dip to make for guests. It is simple to make and you can just use pre-cut fruit for dipping. It really doesn’t get any easier than that. I also like that I can make it ahead of time so I am not rushing.
I’ve never made a fruit dip to go with fresh fruit. I love the idea. Definitely going to try it asap!
That sounds so tasty and easy. I’m going to try it. Thanks for the recipe. Sharing it now.
I’ve never tried dessert dips, but this looks awesome 🙂
This might just be the ultimate way to entice kids to eat their fruit for dessert! I can’t wait to whip up a batch 🙂
Yum! This is my favorite fruit dip of all time! Perfect for parties!