Tapioca Fruit Salad

For holiday meals, I try to have something for everyone. I need choices for kids in highchairs and seniors in wheelchairs. Some of the adults have specific dietary choices, others want very traditional fare. I find something for everyone.

Which is why this tapioca fruit salad is a terrific choice. It's sweet and creamy, and kids love it. So do plenty of adults LOL.

But most important, when assembling a bunch of different sides for a big meal, my favorites are the ones that are EASY. And this one really is! You need to spend about 10 minutes the day before the party, and another 5 minutes the day of.

Can't get much easier than that!

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Why I love this/why this recipe works

I've loved this salad for EVER. Or at least it feels that way. It was originally my mom's recipe, from about 40 years ago. She, and I, have made many variations of it over the years.

This is a sweet and fruity salad. Cool whip and canned fruit, pudding and Jello-O. Think of it as the ultimate kid-friendly salad.

It's perfect for holiday meals, but also great in warm weather, when you can add fresh, in-season berries. Yum!

Ingredients

• Pudding mixes - vanilla and tapioca. This is the cook 'n serve kind, not instant pudding.
• Strawberry Jell-O - This is the old-fashioned Jell-O, full of sugar. If you are using sugar free Jell-O, the weight of the package is different but you still only need one small package. Different flavors can be used per variations suggested below.
• Whipped topping (Cool Whip)
• Fruit cocktail - 1 can
• Strawberries - fresh or frozen

How to make this tapioca fruit salad

This is a 2-day salad, but only requires a few minutes of time each day.

The day before your party, make the Jell-O/pudding mixture. Simply heat water to the boiling point and dissolve the pudding and Jell-O packets into the water. Stir two to three minutes to ensure everything is well dissolved. Then, cover the bowl and let it set overnight in the fridge. If using frozen berries, I like to put them in a separate bowl and place that in the fridge so they will thaw by the next day.

The next morning, drain the can of fruit cocktail. Mix the Cool Whip, fruit cocktail, and strawberries in the bowl with the pudding mixture. As you stir, the "pudding" breaks apart into smaller pieces and incorporates with the Cool Whip. This results in a creamy, smooth, sweet matrix for your fruit. Put the bowl of salad back in the fridge until it's time to serve.

Easy-peasy!

Variations

The original version of this salad specified just "red" Jell-O and a large can of fruit cocktail, which is about 2 normal sized cans. My directions are for my favorite version, which uses strawberry Jell-O, one can of fruit cocktail, plus about 1½ cups of strawberries. Fresh are wonderful but I commonly use frozen, since it's hard to source fresh strawberries in Wisconsin in the winter!

But there are so many flavor possibilities with this! Here are just a few:

• Black Cherry Jell-O with frozen sweet cherries
• Orange Jell-O with canned mandarin oranges
• Lime Jell-O with pears, peaches, or both

Here are a few more salads perfect for a holiday gathering

• Broccoli Kale Salad
• Grape Salad
• Mediterranean Spaghetti Squash Salad

📖 Recipe

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Tapioca Fruit Salad

A delicious sweet and creamy salad, perfect for your holiday table!

Prep Time15 minutes mins

Total Time15 minutes mins

Course: Salad

Cuisine: American

Servings: 20

Calories: 89kcal

Author: Sula

Video

Ingredients

• 3 ounce package Jell-O strawberry (or 0.3 oz of sugar-free)
• 3 ounce package vanilla pudding cook n serve, not instant
• 3 ounce package tapioca pudding cook n serve
• 3 cups water
• 8 ounce whipped topping Cool Whip or similar
• 14.5 ounce can fruit cocktail
• 1½ cups strawberries sliced or cut up (fresh or frozen)

Instructions

• Heat water to boiling. In a large bowl, dissolve pudding and Jell-O mixes in the boiling water. Stir 2-3 minutes until the mixes are fully dissolved. Cover the bowl and refrigerate overnight.
  3 ounce package Jell-O, 3 ounce package vanilla pudding, 3 ounce package tapioca pudding, 3 cups water
• The following morning, drain the fruit cocktail. Then add the whipped topping, fruit cocktail and strawberries to the bowl and stir well. Ensure the pudding mix is well incorporated into the Cool Whip. When done, cover the salad and refrigerate until time to serve.
  8 ounce whipped topping, 14.5 ounce can fruit cocktail, 1½ cups strawberries

Notes

Substitute Jell-O flavors and fruit per your preference. Lime Jell-O and canned pears, black cherry Jell-O with frozen sweet cherries, or orange Jell-O with canned mandarin oranges are just a few possibilities.

If using only canned fruit, 2 (14-15 oz) cans will be needed.

Nutrition

Calories: 89kcal | Carbohydrates: 18g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 2g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 1mg | Sodium: 85mg | Potassium: 48mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 16g | Vitamin A: 52IU | Vitamin C: 7mg | Calcium: 13mg | Iron: 1mg

Nutrition values are estimates only, using online calculators. Please verify using your own data.