This easy Strawberry Banana Cheesecake Salad recipe is a delicious, creamy dessert salad with Jello, fresh strawberries, creamy cheesecake filling, and sweet bananas topped with Cool Whip, fresh fruit, and graham cracker crumbs. It's the perfect salad and sure to be a big hit at your summer BBQ or holiday dessert table.
For more delicious dessert salads, try Orange Fluff Salad and Fruit Salad with Cool Whip next!
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If strawberry Jello pie and no-bake cheesecake had a baby, it would look a lot like this creamy strawberry banana salad.
The bottom strawberry Jello layer is loaded with luscious strawberries (2 pounds!), the tangy cream cheese filling is smooth, creamy, and not too sweet, and the ripe bananas tie it all together.
It's an easy, delicious dessert salad with endless possibilities for adapting to suit your tastes.
🍓Ingredients
See the printable recipe card at the bottom of the post for the full list of ingredients and exact amounts.
- Cornstarch. A little cornstarch helps thicken the gelatin and hold the strawberry Jell-O layer together.
- Fresh strawberries. I use 2 full pounds of juicy strawberries, which comes to about 6 cups of sliced strawberries.
- Softened cream cheese. Soften the cream cheese at room temperature so it blends easily without lumps.
- Sour cream. Sour cream adds creamy texture and even more tang to the cream cheese layer.
- Cool Whip. Cool Whip makes the cheesecake filling light and fluffy. If you're not a fan of Cool Whip, check out Truwhip! You'll need 4 ½ cups, which is a 12 oz. tub or 1 ½ 8 oz. tubs.
- Graham cracker crumbs. Crushed graham crackers give this creamy fruit salad even more cheesecake flavor -- and a little crunch.
🫐Variations
- Stir the fresh strawberries into a different flavor of Jell-O like orange, raspberry, or cherry.
- Swap out some of the strawberries for different fruits like fresh blueberries or raspberries.
- Instead of crushed graham crackers, use crushed Nilla Wafers, chocolate or golden Oreos, even pretzels if you love the combo of sweet and salty.
🥣How to Make Strawberry Banana Cheesecake Fruit Salad
Step 1: Bring water, sugar, and cornstarch to a boil in a medium saucepan. Boil and stir for one minute. Remove from heat and stir in the strawberry gelatin powder until dissolved. Cool 10 minutes.
Step 2: Stir strawberry slices into the Jello and pour the mixture into a 9 x 13 pan. Chill until set, about one hour.
Step 3: Whip cream cheese, sugar, and sour cream in a large bowl. Fold cheesecake mixture with 1 ½ cups Cool Whip. Spread cream cheese mixture over the strawberry layer.
Step 4: Arrange banana slices on top of the cheesecake layer. Completely cover the bananas with 3 cups of Cool Whip. Chill until set, 2-4 hours.
Step 5: Strawberry banana cheesecake salad is best enjoyed within 1-2 days. Immediately before serving, top with sliced strawberries and bananas and crushed graham crackers.
Enjoy, repeat!
👉Helpful Hint: Place the pan in the freezer for 30 minutes to speed up setting the Jello layer.
✅Top Tips
- Be sure to completely cover the sliced bananas with Cool Whip to keep them from turning brown.
- Save the toppings for the last minute to keep the bananas fresh and the graham cracker crumbs crispy.
🎁Storage
Store leftover banana strawberry cheesecake salad in an airtight container or covered with plastic wrap in the refrigerator for 3-4 days.
❓FAQs
Yes, you can use whipped cream instead of Cool Whip. It will be mixed with cream cheese in the cheesecake layer, which should keep it stabilized. For the top layer, I recommend making stabilized whipped cream to keep it from turning runny, or adding the banana layer and whipped cream layer immediately before serving.
Covering the bananas completely in Cool Whip keeps air from getting at them, which is what turns them brown. You can also toss bananas in a little bit of fresh lemon juice.
Yes, you can easily halve this recipe. An 8-inch square baking dish is the closest thing to ½ of a 9 x 13 pan. If you use a larger dish like an 11x7 or 9x9, the layers will just be thinner.
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📖 Recipe
Strawberry Banana Cheesecake Salad
Ingredients
Strawberry Layer
- 2 cups water
- ½ cup sugar
- ¼ cup cornstarch
- 6 ounces strawberry Jell-O
- 2 pounds fresh strawberries, hulled and sliced (6 cups of sliced berries)
Cheesecake Layer
- 16 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
- ½ cup sugar
- ½ cup sour cream
- 12 ounces Cool Whip, divided
- 3 bananas, sliced
- Toppings: sliced strawberries, sliced bananas, graham cracker crumbs
Instructions
- For strawberry layer, bring water, sugar, and cornstarch to a boil. Boil and stir for one minute. Remove from heat. Stir in strawberry Jell-O powder until dissolved. Cool 10 minutes.
- Stir sliced strawberries into Jell-O. Pour strawberry mixture into 9 x 13 pan. Chill in refrigerator until set, about an hour, or freezer for 30 minutes.
- In large mixing bowl, beat cream cheese, sugar, and sour cream until smooth. Stir in 1 ½ cups Cool Whip until completely combined. Spread cream cheese mixture over the strawberry Jell-O layer.
- Arrange banana slices on top of the cheesecake layer. Spread 3 cups Cool Whip over the banana slices. Be sure to completely cover the bananas. Chill until set, 2-4 hours.
- Immediately before serving, top with sliced strawberries, sliced bananas, and graham cracker crumbs.
Notes
- To speed up setting the Jello layer, place the pan in the freezer for 30 minutes.
- Be sure to completely cover the sliced bananas with Cool Whip to keep them from turning brown.
- Save the toppings for the last minute to keep the bananas fresh and the graham cracker crumbs crispy.
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