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This classic Cream Cheese Fruit Dip is easy to make and delicious alongside fruit, diced pound cake, or even pretzels!
Say hello to your new favorite way to eat fruit. This Cream Cheese Fruit Dip is the perfect combination of sweet, tangy and oh-so fluffy goodness!
Serve it up with your favorite dipable fruit for an absolute treat everyone will love.
Trust me, even the cream cheese haters in my life are all about dipping ripe strawberries and little cubes of grilled poundcake into this creamy fruit dip! We love making it for every occasion, from holidays to summer barbecues to game-day parties.
My favorite easy fruit dip
You know the drill. I love dips of all kinds. If I can dip it or dunk it, I am a happy camper.
It doesn’t matter if it’s savory – like Homemade Ranch Dip, Spicy Guacamole, Buffalo Chicken Dip, or French Onion Dip – or sweet, like Cookie Dough Dip or this Cream Cheese Fruit Dip. I am ALL IN.
This Cream Cheese Fruit Dip is an easy classic. It’s quick to make (like, 5 minutes!), doesn’t use a lot of ingredients, and is always a hit at parties.
Honestly, it’s pretty great as a family game or movie night snack, too.
And if you’re a parent who is forever trying to get more fresh fruit into your kids, consider this your secret weapon.
What goes in fruit dip?
Most of the ingredients for this sweet dip are things I tend to keep in my fridge or pantry on a regular basis, so it’s pretty simple to whip this up for last-minute gatherings.
To make this dip, you’ll need:
- 1 8-ounce package room-temperature cream cheese
- ⅓ cup powdered sugar
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 7-ounce container marshmallow creme
- 1 heaping cup thawed Cool Whip
- 2 tablespoons maraschino cherry juice
See? I told you the ingredients were simple! The cream cheese makes the dip nice and tangy, while the marshmallow creme and Cool Whip make it sweet and light.
The maraschino cherry juice is totally optional, but I love the subtle pink color it adds.
If you’re out of powdered sugar, don’t panic. I’ve got a post that will teach you how to make a powdered sugar substitute that you can totally use in this recipe.
I’ve also got some tips for softening cream cheese in a jiffy if you forgot to set yours out ahead of time.
Pin this now to find it later
Pin ItHow to make cream cheese fruit dip
This dip is so easy, it only takes about 5 minutes to mix together!
Just use an electric mixer to beat the cream cheese for about 3 minutes. Add in the powdered sugar and vanilla and beat for an additional minute.
Use a spatula to fold in the marshmallow creme, followed by the Cool Whip and maraschino cherry juice.
Cover the dip and refrigerate it for at least 2 hours before serving.
See? Wasn’t that easy??
Can this dip be made ahead of time?
Even though I love throwing this Cream Cheese Fruit Dip together for last-minute gatherings, it’s great if you’re planning ahead, too!
You can easily make this dip the day or night before you plan to serve it. Just keep it in an airtight container in the refrigerator until you’re ready to serve it.
If you want to freeze it, keep in mind that you will need to whip it with an electric mixer after thawing. Cream cheese tends to split after being thawed, but a good mix with your hand mixer should bring it back together for serving.
Serving suggestions
The most obvious answer of what to serve with Cream Cheese Fruit Dip is right in the name – fruit!
Any fruit will do, but I particularly like strawberries, grapes, pineapple, and even cherries.
But don’t limit yourself to just fruit! Try serving it with cubes of cream cheese pound cake or Whipping Cream Cake. If you love the sweet-salty combo, you could even serve it with pretzels!
(How good would it be with homemade soft pretzels or cinnamon sugar soft pretzel bites??)
This dessert is so fun and easy, I know it’ll become a new favorite at your family gatherings. Try making a whole dessert dip table with this recipe, nutella fruit dip, orange fruit dip, and snickers dip!
Recipe FAQs
The maraschino cherry juice really is optional! It gives the dip a pretty pink tint, but this cream cheese fruit dip is still totally delicious if you leave it out.
The nice thing about Cool Whip is that it has stabilizers in it that keep it from breaking down when added to recipes like this fruit dip. Regular whipped cream won’t hold up as well over time, especially if you plan to make this dip more than a couple hours ahead of time.
If you don’t want to use Cool Whip, I would use stabilized whipped cream instead. It will hold up better and allow you to make the dip farther in advance.
You can freeze it, but keep in mind that cream cheese can take on a strange texture after it has thawed. You will need to use your electric mixer to beat the dip for a few minutes to make it smooth again, and the texture may not be 100% the same.
It will still be delicious, though, so it’s an option if you need it!
Cream Cheese Fruit Dip
Ingredients
- 8 ounces cream cheese room temperature
- ⅓ cup powdered sugar
- ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 7 ounces marshmallow creme
- 1 heaping cup thawed Cool Whip
- 2 tablespoons maraschino cherry juice optional
Instructions
- In a medium bowl with an electric mixer, beat the cream cheese on medium speed for about 3 minutes. Add in powdered sugar and vanilla and beat for an additional minute. Use a rubber spatula to fold in the marshmallow creme. Then fold in the Cool Whip and maraschino cherry juice until everything is thoroughly combined. Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours before serving. Serve with fresh fruit.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
this dip is soooo good oh my gosh, like many others i have made it my go to and everyone cheers when they find out its been made XD i love to serve it with graham crackers, bananas, berries, and pound cake chunks. but honestly, ive also been known to use it on top of a english muffin, a waffle, a crepe, basically it goes perfect with damn near everything! top ten recipe, easily.
I used strawberry flavored cream cheese and it was amazing!
….Btw, I had made this the night before so it was well chilled & the flavors were all married nicely :)
I made this for my granddaughter’s baby shower to go with the fruit trays that I made. I wanted 2 different dips so I bought the Baker’s chocolate that you just pop in the microwave & serve (easy peazy) & I wanted a homemade one which was this recipe. I made it exactly as you have it & it turned out awesome! It was perfect after I had added the cherry juice…no measuring, I just poured it from the jar until I got the desired pink tint. It gave it such a nice flavor too. What a huge hit it was! There were sooooo many compliments on it! They started calling it “The magic fluff” ha ha One of her friends kept coming back to get more fruit & fluff dip…she told me that she is definitely addicted to it now :) I had made a double batch since we were expecting arou 25 to 30 people – it was all gone by the end & there was still a lot of the chocolate left. This will be my “go to” dip for all future fruit trays! Thanks for sharing ♥
Hi!
I am so happy to hear you enjoyed this recipe! Thanks so much for stopping by and leaving your feedback!
-Jamie
I didn’t have cherry juice so I added fresh orange rind. Oh my goodness it was soooooo good!
I’m so glad to hear that, Julie! Thanks so much for stopping by. Happy baking!
Jamie
Wow! Thanks for that tip … excellent substitution!
No. Marshmallow cream and cool whip? Those aren’t real food. Just no
Hi GiGi – You can eat both marshmallow cream and Cool Whip, which means they are real food! If they aren’t ingredients you like to use, there are plenty of other recipes you might like instead, but many people enjoy those ingredients as part of an occasional special treat and there is no need to shame someone for that choice. Have a great day!
Jamie
@Jamie,
Well Said! *claps all around* I am printing this recipe and saving for my guilty pleasure. I have become obsessed with Marzetti cream cheese fruit dip so if i can just make it at home in MUCH bigger batches I’m gonna be a super happy camper.
Jennifer
I hope you enjoy! thanks for stopping by, Jennifer. Happy baking!
Jamie
Any advice as to how long this will hold up in the refrigerator? Could I make it 2 days before my event? 3? Does it freeze well?
So excited to serve this at a baby shower!
Hi there – I’d say you could probably make it 2 days ahead of time and it would be fine. It would probably freeze fine, although you might need to mix it with a hand mixer after thawing to get the texture to come back together. Good luck and congrats, future auntie!
Jamie
Holy moly!! I made this for a baby shower this weekend (minus the maraschino juice). It was incredibly easy and was a hit!!! The words specifically used were ‘the fruit dip is to die for’… thank you for sharing this recipe!!!!
I love hearing that! Thanks so much for stopping by and sharing your feedback. Happy baking!
Jamie
Delicious!!! Just what I was craving. Trying to find what else I can eat this with lol grapes and watermelon for now. Thanks!
So glad you loved it! Apple, pineapple, cookies, pretzels, graham crackers…a spoon…they’re all great options! Thanks for stopping by and sharing your feedback. Happy baking!
Jamie