This recipe was one of my great grandma’s specialties. Champagne Salad was one of the desserts that Granny always made for holidays, it was my favorite! Last Christmas I made these Tea Towels using Granny’s handwritten recipe card for this dessert. After featuring the DIY on the blog, several people asked me about the recipe and I knew that it was one that I wanted to make and share here.
This frozen dessert is creamy and full of fruit, it’s perfect for summer (especially if you don’t have an ice cream maker). Make a batch of this dessert, slice it up, then store it in the freezer for quick single-serving treats. Or serve it as a refreshing finale at your next barbecue. I bet this recipe would also be great in popsicle form!
Champagne Salad 12 servings
- 8 oz cream cheese (softened)
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 12 oz package frozen strawberries (thawed)
- 20 oz can crushed pineapple (drained)
- 2 bananas (sliced)
- 1 cup pecans (chopped)
- 8 oz cool whip
In the bowl of a mixer, beat together cream cheese and sugar. Add strawberries, pineapple, bananas, and pecans and turn on mixer to blend. Use a spatula to fold in cool whip.
Pour in a 9″ x 13″ (or 10″ square) pan. Freeze overnight. Thaw for half an hour before slicing and serving.
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This looks delicious Shae! :)
Thanks Jewels!
I totally remember this type of dessert at Christmas. Now I have a craving for it. Thanks!
How neat! I was wondering if it was a classic recipe or a more unusual one. I did a little searching and found only one similar recipe.
It looks delicious! We don’t have Cool Whip here, what can I use instead?
I haven’t tried it yet, but I did come across this recipe: http://www.somethingswanky.com/homemade-cool-whip/ It’s supposed to taste like whipped cream and hold up well, like cool whip.
Regular whipped cream might work, since this dessert is frozen right away, the whipped cream may not have time to deflate and lose its light consistency?
Thank you, Shae!
This looks amazing! Love the flavours!
Thanks! They’re some of my favorites!
I love this dessert’s name! And heck, I even have Cool Whip in the fridge so there’s really no reason not to! :)
I hope you enjoy this recipe if you give it a try! I’m sure that you could mix it up with a lot of different types of fruit that you might have on hand.
Served it last weekend. Very good and refreshing. We commented that it tasted like a banana split, might try drizzling with chocolate next time. That would make a nice presentation. I also liked that you can make ahead, keep in the freezer and take out a piece at a time. We always love your recipes.
Love this! We’re definitely going to give this a try and let you know how it goes :)
This looks awesome. Just leaving out the nuts because of allergies but I bet it’s gone very quickly!!
Where does the champagne come into the recipe?
That’s a very good question – I’m really not sure where this dessert got its name… maybe its because it has kind of a light and airy texture, even after freezing, or maybe because it’s a festive dessert? We always enjoyed it on holidays!
I believe that you have it on the side, with a fresh strawberry wedged onto the rim…(o;
My mother in law made something similar and froze it in cup cake papers in a muffin tin. Once frozen she would pop them in a zip lock bag until she served them. Then she would take the number she needed and slip off the paper and serve, usually as a frozen fruit salad in summer. I am glad to have the recipe now.
Do you use frozen strawberries with syrup?
Yes, I do use the frozen strawberries that are sweetened.
I just use frozen unsweetened and it is great👍
perfect for a shower I am hosting.
My mom made it with whipped cream. As cool whip
wasn’t invented yet… doubt the great grandma had cool whip either,,,,
I remember my Atlanta, GA. grandmother making a dessert similar to this for ladies’ luncheons…she used whipped cream as there was no such thing as Cool Whip in those days. I’m 78 and a food writer and sort of food historian – Cool Whip was not introduced until the mid 60s
Love this! My Mother made it with cherries and a dry product named Dream Whip (pre-Cool Whip era). She made it in muffin papers/tins, froze, then bagged. She always had some for a quick Summer dessert or treat. Yum!
I have lost my recipe that is very similar to this but instead of strawberries it has canned dark sweet cherries. I am taking your version to my church small group tomorrow night. Can’t wait to try it with strawberries. Thanks for sharing and I will be checking out more of your recipes.
I found this recipe years ago. Love it. I add 2 small cans of mandarin oranges drained, fantastic!!!
I make a version of this using marachino cherries rather than strawberries.
can this dessert be placed in the freezer for any time less than overnight and eaten in a softer version rather than frozen squares?
Do you think this recipe could be made and NOT frozen…served as more of a dessert salad or side salad like similar recipes that are made with fruit and cool whip? Thanks!
You could try it! It would taste delicious but may serve up a little on the runny side because it doesn’t contain a thickener like pudding or jello mix.
Try adding vanilla instant pudding powder to stabilize the cool whip to serve unfrozen
Well dang! Where’s the Champagne??
My grandmother always made something like this for Christmas. She put maraschino cherries and some mayonnaise and cream cheese in hers and froze it in the old time ice cube trays without the divider. Then she would slice it. I couldn’t wait to eat it! Thank you for the recipe.
I made this for my families Christmas dinner…then I had to make another batch for my grandchildren to take back to college..we put the individual squares into small freezer bags for them to take out one at the time! I will definitely be using this recipe year round!!
It is now my Go To dessert. My whole family loves it so much, they won’t let me make any other dessert for all family function’s! Thank you so much!
Cindy
do you drain the strawberries?
Hi Kathy! I use the whole package of strawberries without draining them.
Is this granulated sugar or powdered sugar?
Granulated sugar!
I am for sure making this . I’m going to take to church potluck . Thank you for recipe
I’ve been looking for this recipe since I had this dessert in the early 80’s and lost it! Thank you for sharing just in time for Christmas!
I’ve made this beautiful salad for years! Everyone loves it, so refreshing served just slightly thawed! I found it years ago in an old southern cookbook…those southern ladies knew their luncheon salads, right?!