Strawberry Banana Cheesecake Salad

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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!

strawberry banana cheesecake salad in a 9 x 13 dish.

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🍓Ingredients
🫐Variations
🥣How to Make Strawberry Banana Cheesecake Fruit Salad
✅Top Tips
🎁Storage
❓FAQs
😋More Easy Recipes
💌Let's Stay in Touch
📖 Recipe

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.

strawberries and strawberry Jell-O being poured into a white casserole dish.

Step 2: Stir strawberry slices into the Jello and pour the mixture into a 9 x 13 pan. Chill until set, about one hour.

hand holding knife spreading cheesecake mixture on top of strawberry Jell-O.

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.

hand holding knife spreading Cool Whip over fresh banana 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.

strawberry banana cheesecake salad in a white bowl.

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

Can I use fresh whipped cream?

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.

How do I keep bananas from turning brown?

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.

Can I make a smaller batch?

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.