Cream Cheese Fruit Dip

While growing up, I thought dips were cheesy, savory blends served alongside vegetables, fried foods and chips. When I first went to a party and saw colorful apple slices, ruby red strawberries and hunks of banana next to a bowl of creamy dip, I thought somebody put the bowl in the wrong place. But it wasn’t a mistake—it was cream cheese fruit dip, a slightly sweetened soft spread to go with fruits of all kinds.

Many fruit dip recipes include marshmallow fluff, but ours is even simpler, using just cream cheese, sugar and vanilla. However, if you want to fancy up your dip, we’ve got some spiffy modification ideas in our Variations section.

Eat this fruit dip with cream cheese as part of a daily snack, serve it at parties next to platters of your favorite fruits or send some to school in a lunchbox.

Ingredients for Cream Cheese Fruit Dip

• Cream cheese: Chilly cream cheese is hard to stir, so let it come to room temperature before using. Use one of the best cream cheese brands for flavor and texture.
• Brown sugar: Brown sugar has molasses and a deep, rich flavor. You can use either dark or light brown sugar, but I like dark for its deeper flavor in this cream cheese fruit dip recipe.
• Vanilla extract: This fruit dip with cream cheese has few ingredients, so each one needs to shine. Make sure you’re using real vanilla extract vs. imitation vanilla, and make it one of the better vanilla extract brands for the best flavor. Homemade vanilla extract is great to have around for this very reason.
• Assorted fresh fruit: Serve up your dip with plenty of in-season fresh fruit, from apples to berries.

Directions

Step 1: Mix the dip

In a small bowl, beat the cream cheese, brown sugar and vanilla until smooth. Serve with fresh fruit for dipping. Refrigerate leftovers.

SARAH TRAMONTE FOR TASTE OF HOME

What fruits can you eat with cream cheese fruit dip?

You’ll want fruits that are firm enough to stand up to being dipped. Some great options are sliced apples or pears, halved or whole strawberries, grapes, orange segments and pieces of (not too ripe) banana. You can use juicier fruits such as pineapple, mango, peaches and cantaloupe, too, but you might want to provide forks or toothpicks for picking them up. In all cases, look for fruits that are ripe but not soft, and make sure you know if you’ve got fruits that keep ripening once they’re picked.

Cream Cheese Fruit Dip Variations

• Enhance the cream cheese: For variety, swap in some marshmallow fluff or sour cream for part of the cream cheese. The former will make a gooey, sweeter dip, and the latter will make a lighter, tangier dip.
• Change up the sweetener: In place of the brown sugar, try using maple syrup or honey. Either makes a stellar fruit dip with cream cheese. You could also mix in store-bought or homemade caramel sauce.
• Mix in spices: Any spice you might put in a pie would be great in your cream cheese fruit dip recipe. Cinnamon is a super choice, but also consider nutmeg, allspice, ground ginger, clove or some homemade pumpkin pie spice.
• Make it chocolaty: Sift in cocoa powder until the dip is as chocolaty as you desire, or whisk in melted chocolate. You could even blend in some purchased chocolate hazelnut spread.

How to Store Cream Cheese Fruit Dip

If you know you’ll have extra dip, it’s a great idea to divide the batch and put some away before you start dipping. That way, the dip you’re keeping won’t have fruit juices or crumbs mixed into it. Store cream cheese fruit dip in a tightly sealed container in the fridge.

How long does cream cheese fruit dip last?

Untouched fruit dip with cream cheese can keep for up to four days in the fridge. If you’re storing some that has been used for dipping, finish it up within three days.

Can you make cream cheese fruit dip ahead of time?

Definitely. If you choose to make the fruit dip with cream cheese in advance, remove it from the fridge about an hour before serving so that it has a chance to soften to a dippable consistency.

Cream Cheese Fruit Dip Tips

SARAH TRAMONTE FOR TASTE OF HOME

Can you leave fruit dip out at room temperature?

You can leave this cream cheese fruit dip recipe out at room temperature only while you’re using it, and not for too long. If the dip sits at room temperature for more than two hours, the USDA says that you should toss it. However, you could always put your dip bowl on ice, and that would keep it fresher longer.

What can you serve with cream cheese fruit dip?

In addition to fruits, this dip is amazing with sweet crackers and cookies such as homemade honey grahams, vanilla wafers and gingersnaps. It would also be good swirled into mashed sweet potatoes or as a spread for the best French toast, fluffy pancakes or basic crepes.