If there’s one dessert that always makes an appearance at Filipino celebrations, from birthdays to Christmas and New Year’s, it’s this colourful and refreshing Filipino Fruit Salad. Sweet, creamy, and served chilled, it’s the perfect treat to cool down with, especially since it’s pretty much always hot in the Philippines! ☀️

What I love about this recipe is that it’s not overly sweet, but you can easily adjust the sweetness by adding more condensed milk. If you’re missing the taste of home or just want to try a simple yet iconic Filipino dessert, you’ve got to give this one a go!

Tip #1

Ensure Ingredients are Cold: For the best texture, make sure the cream and fruits are well chilled before mixing. This keeps the salad refreshing and the cream thick.

Tip #2

Drain Fruits Well: To prevent a watery salad, thoroughly drain the syrup from the canned fruits and rinse the kaong and nata de coco to remove excess syrup.

Tip #3

Variations: Feel free to add or substitute other ingredients like apple cubes and grapes to customise the fruit salad to your liking.

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Filipino Fruit Salad

Preparation Time: 15 minutes

Chilling Time: 4 hours or overnight

Servings: 6-8

Ingredients

1 can (822 g) fruit cocktail, syrup drained
1 bottle (12 oz) nata de coco (coconut gel, green), rinsed and drained
1 bottle (12 oz) kaong (sugar palm fruit, red), rinsed and drained
1 cup young coconut meat, shredded into strips
1/2 cup cheese (Eden or Cheddar), cut into tiny cubes
1 pack (250 ml) all-purpose cream, chilled
1/2 cup (168 ml) condensed milk, adjust to taste

Preparation

Add the drained fruit cocktail, nata de coco, kaong, coconut meat, cheese, all purpose cream and condensed milk.
Gently fold the ingredients together, making sure not to crush the fruits, until everything is evenly coated with the cream mixture.
Transfer the fruit salad into a serving dish or individual serving bowls. Cover the dish with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 4 hours, or ideally overnight. This allows the flavours to meld together and the salad to become thoroughly chilled.
Serve cold as a dessert and enjoy!