Berry Cheesecake Salad is a cool and creamy side dish or dessert salad. It’s like a cheesecake fluff that’s folded into your favorite fresh fruit and berries. This simple recipe can be made in mere minutes and pairs perfectly with your grilled meats and savory sides – nothing beats a refreshing berry salad on a warm-weather day.
Best Berry Cheesecake Salad
This Berry Cheesecake Salad is so quick and easy to make using a blend of ripe and juicy strawberries, blueberries, and blackberries and smothering them in a sweet cheesecake fluff.
Serve it as a simple summer side dish or as a deliciously light and cold dessert, this fruit-filled salad is the perfect combination of my favorite cheesecake flavors mixed with the freshest berries the season has to offer.
A Berry Cheesecake Salad is a healthier way to cure your cheesecake cravings because berries are loaded with antioxidants, fiber, and vitamins (especially vitamin C), plus cream cheese and Greek yogurt are packed with protein and calcium.
I love a cool and colorful salad to accompany my Grilled Chicken Breast, Grilled Salmon, Grilled Chicken Wings, or any other main meal meats as well set it on the table alongside my Whole Roasted Cauliflower Head, Broccoli Slaw, or any vegetable side.
Why We Love This Berry Cheesecake Salad Recipe
- Quick and easy to prepare in 15 minutes.
- Only uses 6 simple ingredients plus fresh fruit.
- No-bake recipes are great for warm weather so the oven won’t heat up your house.
- Adding berries to a salad is a great way to incorporate more fruit into your diet.
- Ultimate summer side dish or delicious light dessert.
- Perfect for potlucks, backyard barbecues, pool parties, family gatherings, or a 4th of July celebration.
Ingredients
- Fresh strawberries
- Fresh blueberries
- Fresh blackberries
- Cream cheese
- Granulated sugar
- Mixed berry Greek yogurt: Do not use sugar-free yogurt for this salad. I used Chobani brand, but feel free to use your favorite.
- Heavy cream
- Powdered sugar
- Vanilla extract
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Substitutions and Additions
- Add Flavor Accents: You can add a bit of flavor to your salad by replacing the vanilla extract with almond extract. Or add lemon or lime zest for a bit of zing.
- Tasty Toppings: Feel free to top your salad with crushed graham crackers or cookies, marshmallows, or nuts for more of a dessert-like treat than a salad.
- Fresh Fruit: This salad is easy to customize with your favorite fruits. Other ideas can include raspberries, boysenberries, grapes, cherries, and bananas.
Recommended Tools
- Mixing bowls
- Measuring tools
- Handheld mixer
- Wooden spoon or spatula
- Serving bowl
How to Make Berry Cheesecake Salad
This Berry Cheesecake Salad recipe is a quick and easy way to make a rich and creamy cheesecake filling and fold it into your favorite berries. Serve it as a sweet side dish or a cool and creamy dessert, this delicious dish is the perfect summer salad.
- Prepare Your Fruit: Rinse your fruit under cold water, slice it, and then transfer it to the paper towel lined plates. (Reserve some for garnish)
Pro Tip: It is important to allow any excess moisture to be absorbed by the paper towels to ensure that it will not thin out the cheesecake mixture when the fruit gets mixed in. - Make The Whipped Cream: Beat the heavy cream, with a handheld mixer. Add the vanilla extract and powdered sugar until your whipped cream has stiff peaks and holds its shape.
- Make The Cream Cheese Mixture: Beat together the cream cheese and sugar until smooth and fluffy. Beat in the Greek yogurt.
Pro Tip: Beat until you have a nice smooth cream cheese mixture. - Combine The Cream: Gently fold the whipped cream mixture into the cream cheese mixture until there are no streaks of whipped cream remaining.
- Assemble The Salad: Fold the prepared berries (except for the bowl of reserved berries for garnish) into the cheesecake mixture. Transfer the Berry Cheesecake Salad to a large serving bowl, top with the reserved berries, and chill for 2 hours before serving.
Pro Tip: Be sure to not smash the berries as you are mixing them into the cheesecake mixture.
Tips
- To ensure everything mixes smoothly, make sure your cream cheese is soft and at room temperature.
- This salad is best served cold on the day that it’s made.
- This recipe calls for homemade whipped cream, however you can substitute a thawed 8 oz. container of store bought whipped topping in its place. Simply omit the heavy cream, powdered sugar and vanilla extract from the recipe if you use this substitute.
- Be mindful that the longer this salad sits, the more the berry juices will seep into the cheesecake mixture.
- Serve this salad as a side dish at a brunch for a bridal or baby shower or serve it with some shortcake biscuits for a delicious light dessert.
Storage Tips
- To Store: You can store this Berry Cheesecake Salad in the refrigerator, in a covered container, for up to 72 hours.
Frequently Asked Questions
This Berry Cheesecake Salad can be made in advance. However, I recommend making the cheesecake mixture in advance but leave out the berries when refrigerating it. Stir in the berries just before serving to keep the colors from seeping into the creamy mixture and maintain the cheesecake texture.
You can use any combination of berries you like in this recipe. Raspberries would be a great addition. Just make sure to keep the proportions the same.
If you are using wild blackberries, they are much smaller in size than the commercially grown ones so you do not need to cut them in half or quarters.
The same applies to your strawberries; if they are very large then you will need to cut them smaller than just quartering them. If they are on the small side then just cut them in half.
The goal is to keep the berries in easy bite-size pieces.
I used a mixed berry Greek-style yogurt with the fruit on the bottom for this recipe. You can substitute that with a strawberry or even vanilla bean yogurt if you prefer.
I highly suggest that you use a thick style yogurt like the Greek or Icelandic versions that are available. If you choose the fruit on the bottom variety, just give the yogurt a quick mix to incorporate all the fruit before adding it to the cream cheese.
Yes, you can use your favorite dairy substitute yogurts in this recipe. I just suggest that you stick with a brand that you would enjoy eating normally and make sure it is thick and not thin like a traditional yogurt cup.
If fresh berries are not in season when you make this, you can substitute 2 12 oz. bags of frozen mixed berries for the fresh. Make sure to thaw them first and drain as much of the juices off before adding them to the cheesecake mixture.
Other Easy Fruit Salad Recipes
- Strawberry Fluff Salad
- Cherry Fluff
- Ambrosia Salad
- 5 Cup Salad
- Grape Salad
- Watergate Salad
- Pudding Fruit Salad
Berry Cheesecake Salad
Video
Ingredients
- 4 cups (2 lb. package) fresh strawberries rinsed hulled and quartered
- 1 cup (6 oz. package) fresh blueberries rinsed
- 1 cup (6 oz. package) fresh blackberries rinsed and cut in half or quartered
- 8 oz cream cheese room-temperature
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- 10.6 oz (2 5.3oz-cups) mixed berry greek yogurt (NOT sugar-free), stirred if fruit on the bottom variety (I used Chobani brand)
- 1 cup heavy cream very cold
- ¾ cup powdered sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Instructions
- Prepare your fresh fruit by rinsing it under cold water, slicing it and then transferring the prepared fruit to paper towel lined plates. This allows any excess moisture to be absorbed by the paper towels and not thin out the cheesecake mixture when the fruit gets mixed in. Reserve, in a small bowl ½ cup strawberries, ¼ cup blueberries and ¼ cup blackberries. These will be used to garnish the top of the berry cheesecake salad. Set aside.
- In a medium mixing bowl add the very cold heavy cream and beat on medium-low, with a handheld mixer, for 2 minutes. Add the vanilla extract and powdered sugar and continue to beat on high for an additional 2 minutes or until your whipped cream has stiff peaks and holds its shape. Set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl beat together the room-temperature cream cheese and granulated sugar, with a handheld mixer on medium speed, for 2 minutes or until smooth and fluffy. Add the mixed berry greek yogurt and beat for an additional 30 seconds – 1 minute. You want a nice smooth cream cheese mixture.
- Add the reserved homemade whipped cream to the cream cheese mixture. Very gently fold together, using a wooden spoon or spatula, the whipped cream into the cream cheese until there are no streaks of whipped cream remaining.
- To the cheesecake mixture add all the prepared fresh berries, except for the small bowl of reserved berries for garnish, and very gently fold the berries into the cheesecake mixture. Be sure to not smash the berries as you are mixing them into the cheesecake mixture.
- Transfer the berry cheesecake salad to a large serving bowl, top with the reserved fresh berries and chill for 2 hours before serving.
Jenn’s Notes
- To ensure everything mixes smoothly, make sure your cream cheese is soft and at room temperature.
- This salad is best served cold on the day that it’s made.
- This recipe calls for homemade whipped cream, however you can substitute a thawed 8 oz. container of store bought whipped topping in its place. Simply omit the heavy cream, powdered sugar and vanilla extract from the recipe if you use this substitute.
- Be mindful that the longer this salad sits, the more the berry juices will seep into the cheesecake mixture.
- Serve this salad as a side dish at a brunch for a bridal or baby shower or serve it with some shortcake biscuits for a delicious light dessert.
The blend of berries compliment each other and the cream balances everything out.