Dessert Now, Dinner Later!

A culinary graduate sharing recipes, knowledge, & skills.

Coconut Cream Fruit Dip (+ Video)

by 101 Comments

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Coconut Cream Fruit Dip – This super easy 3-ingredient fruit dip is creamy and delicious paired with any fruit! A must for summer parties and potlucks, baby and bridal showers, or anytime!  

 

Coconut Cream Fruit Dip - This super easy 3-ingredient fruit dip is creamy and delicious paired with any fruit! A must for summer parties and potlucks, baby and bridal showers, or anytime!

I first tried this coconut cream fruit dip at a recipe swap one of my friends hosted. I was blown away by how simple and refreshing it is paired with the fruit and I’ve been addicted to it ever since!  

 

Coconut Cream Fruit Dip - This super easy 3-ingredient fruit dip is creamy and delicious paired with any fruit! A must for summer parties and potlucks, baby and bridal showers, or anytime!

It’s so easy to make with only three ingredients: cream of coconut, cream cheese, and whipped topping. If you’ve never heard of cream of coconut it is NOT simply coconut cream. It’s presweetened like sweetened condensed milk. Cream of coconut is used in piña coladas and is really good! My favorite brands are Coco Real or Coco Lopez.  

 

Coconut Cream Fruit Dip - This super easy 3-ingredient fruit dip is creamy and delicious paired with any fruit! A must for summer parties and potlucks, baby and bridal showers, or anytime!

This recipe makes a lot of coconut cream fruit dip! It’s great for parties of any kind and I can guarantee your friends will ask you for the recipe. Just print them a copy, or I’d love for you to send them to my blog!  

 

Coconut Cream Fruit Dip - This super easy 3-ingredient fruit dip is creamy and delicious paired with any fruit! A must for summer parties and potlucks, baby and bridal showers, or anytime!

I’ve updated this post a few times, but I’m sharing it like new today because it’s so good and I’ve made a recipe video to show you just how easy it is to make! Enjoy my friends! You will fall in love with this coconut cream fruit dip! I just know it!   **5/18/15 – I’ve updated the recipe to the original amounts since posting half of the ingredients was confusing to so many.

 

  • FULL RECIPE = party size (20+ servings)
  • HALF RECIPE = snacking/family size (10 servings)

 

Want to get the cute serving tray that I have? Get it on Amazon.

 

 

Coconut Cream Fruit Dip - This super easy 3-ingredient fruit dip is creamy and delicious paired with any fruit! A must for summer parties and potlucks, baby and bridal showers, or anytime!
Print

Coconut Cream Fruit Dip

 

Prep Time 5 minutes
Total Time 5 minutes
Yield 20 servings

Ingredients

  • 1 (8oz) pkg cream cheese
  • 1 (15oz) can cream of coconut (Not coconut milk or coconut cream! Find this in the aisle with the margarita mix & other mixers.)
  • 1 (8oz) tub whipped topping (Cool Whip)

Instructions

  1. In a large bowl with an electric hand mixer, beat the cream cheese with the cream of coconut until all lumps are gone.
  2. Add the whipped topping and mix again.
  3. Serve with fruit or graham crackers. Keep refrigerated.

Recipe Notes

  • - TIP: Some readers have found beating the cream cheese first, then adding the cream of coconut helps to keep the lumps out. You can also try softening the cream cheese or using a stand mixer with the whisk attachment.
  • - What is Cream of Coconut? It is coconut cream that has been presweetened, much like sweetened condensed milk. Find it in the aisle with the alcoholic mixers. Look for the Coco Lopez or Coco Real brands.
  • - Not a fan of Cool Whip? Go ahead and whisk 1 cup of heavy whipping cream with ¼ cup of powdered sugar until stiff peaks form (easiest to do in a stand mixer).

 

© DESSERT NOW DINNER LATER All images & content are copyright protected. Please do not use my images without prior permission. If you want to republish this recipe, please re-create the recipe, snap YOUR OWN PHOTO and re-write the recipe in YOUR OWN WORDS, or link back to this post for the recipe.
Pictures updated & post re-published 7/19/2017. Post originally published to my blog April 12, 2012.

 

Coconut Cream Fruit Dip - This super easy 3-ingredient fruit dip is creamy and delicious paired with any fruit! A must for summer parties and potlucks, baby and bridal showers, or anytime! (+ Recipe Video!)

Comments

  2. Just wanted to say that I love your blog. I get recipes from it frequently and they are all just simple, tasty, and I always have the ingredients which is a big plus for a mom of 6 who hates to run to the store!! Keep the recipes coming!

    Reply

    • Thanks Cindy! That means a lot to me! I am so glad you are enjoying them! I don’t plan on stopping any time soon so keep coming back 🙂

      Reply

    • Oh my gosh that is a good question! I actually got it as a wedding gift like 4 1/2 years ago & this is actually the first time I have used it. I am glad I pulled it out, because I love it! So, sorry I can’t direct you as to where to get one, but you can gawk at mine 🙂

      Reply

    • Hi Mel, I actually have some of these plates for sale!! I bought them because they look like a color wheel and that went along with my business…anyways…I have 2 left….:)

      Reply

    • Thanks to a gal on Pinterest: “The fruit tray is made by Godinger and is called a relish tray and is around $10 at Macy’s.” It is made by Godinger. Awesome that it inexpensive & cute 🙂

      Reply

    • Mel in the first comment on this page she said she got the serving dish on Amazon. I cked. Amazon. they have 10 new [email protected] $28.95 -ea, and 1 new one @ $28.36 for such a little disc. in the used one I think I’d invest in one of the new one’s . lol Good Luck.

      Reply

  9. I’m sure you’ve been waiting for someone to ask this … so I will – lol. Can real whipped cream be substituted for this and approximately how much would it need. I suspect it couldn’t be made up the day before like Cool Whip (I’m guessing). Do you ever add actual coconut to this or would that be overkill? Thanks!

    Reply

    • For sure you can use real whipped cream. It about doubles in size & you are using around 1-1 1/2 cup of cool whip, so I would start at 1/2 cup of heavy cream whipped with 1/4 cup powdered sugar & 1/2 tsp vanilla to sweeten it. You can make it ahead of time, it might lose a little bit of volume (won’t be as light & airy) but it is still good for several days. You might want to consider whipping your cream to stiff peaks to help hold the volume. I have not added actual coconut to it, but you should try it out. I’m sure it will taste great 🙂 Toasted coconut might be nice too. 🙂

      Reply

  11. I love your blog! and love this coconut dip. One question, though…I’ve made it twice now, but I can never seem to get all the lumps out. What is the trick to a smooth beautiful dip? Thanks so much!

    Reply

    • That is a good question. When I make this, I use the Neufchatel Cream Cheese, so it is naturally softer & easier to get the lumps out. If you are using whole fat cream cheese, it might be a little bit harder to get out, but as long as you use your stand mixer & paddle attachment, you can just let it go for as long as you need to, to get the lumps out. I hope this helps 🙂

      Reply

    • Anytime you add cream cheese to something that you want to be smooth just whip (or mix) the cream cheese by itself first. It’s easy to get a smooth consistency then. 🙂

      Reply

    • mamasan_az I have a recipe that calls for mixing cream cheese, I found if you beat it alone first then add the liquid in very tiny amounts and whip after each one, you get no lumps. Hope it work for you.

      Reply

  14. This looks great can not wait to try it at my next Stamp Club class.
    Also love the dish you serve it in – would you mind sharing where you got it?

    Thanks so much for sharing such wonderful ideas and treats!!
    Annette

    Reply

  16. Dumb question…but it says 1/2 can (15 oz) of cream of coconut….does that mean the whole can is 15 ounces and I would use 7.5, or is the whole can 30 ounces and I should use 15 ounces?

    Reply

  17. Hi. I made this over the weekend and it was DELICIOUS!!

    I made the dip for a large party so I made the full recipe. I was bit confused about how many ounces of the cream of coconut to use since it came in a plastic squeeze bottle that was 21 ounces (not 15). I found it to be very sweet, so I used 1.5 cups (12 ounces)… Should I have used the full 21 ounces in the full recipe for the dip?

    Reply

    • Great! I am glad you liked it. I used the 21oz squeeze bottle as well; just like the one pictured above, so I kind of had to eyeball mine. If that 1 1/2 cups was about 3/4 of the 21oz container, then you probably had the 15oz. Ounces weight wise are not really equivalent to cups, depending on the liquid, so if you have a scale, next time I would use that because it’s more accurate, or you can try less cream of coconut next time, or even make your own whipped cream & sweeten it lightly rather than using the cool whip. It’s totally up to you how you want to adjust it to your personal taste. I have had others say they wanted more coconut flavor in it, so everyone is different. Glad you made it! Thanks for stopping by!

      Reply

      • Still a bit confused on the ingredients. For the half recipe, it indicates 1/2 (15 oz) can of cream of coconut and you say that should be 7.5 ozs. If I don’t have a scale and use a measuring cup, how would I measure out that amount? Also when you say 1/2 (8 oz.) tub of Cool Whip, do I also halve that and mix in only 4 ozs. from the 8 oz. tub? Looks so good. I want to prepare this for a gathering next week and want to get the amounts right. Thanks.

        Reply

        • So the full recipe is 1 (8oz) package of cream cheese, 1 (15oz) can cream of coconut, and 1 (8oz) tub of cool whip. It makes a lot, which is why I halved each of the ingredients. Just eye-ball the amounts from the containers if you are going to half it, but if you are having a party I would do the amounts I just stated. It’s not a super picky recipe, so a scale isn’t necessary. Enjoy!

          Reply

    • I haven’t personally frozen it. It might effect the texture of the dip, but I have frozen cream cheese icing before & it was fine for cinnamon rolls, & since this has cool whip in it, which is frozen anyway, it might be okay. If it does freeze well, I would say don’t freeze it for longer than 1 month. Give it a try & let us know if it works out. 🙂

      Reply

  22. I have never used coconut cream, so I am wondering what part it plays in this recipe? For taste, sweetening, texture? I am excited to make it but couldn’t find the cc when I was shopping. I’ll look in the aisle u mentioned next time.

    Reply

    • The cream of coconut usually comes in a can by the margarita mix. It should be easy to find in any grocery store. It gives this dip a light coconut flavor that makes it different from other fruit dips. Cream of coconut is used in Pina Coladas & stuff like that. I hope that helps. Keep looking, it’s there I promise 🙂

      Reply

      • I live in Illinois and couldn’t find it by the margarita mix at any grocery store, but I happen to have a Hispanic BF and he mentioned that the Hispanic section of any grocery store usually has a bunch of coconut items……turns out he was right. All three local grocery stores here have it in the “ethnic” or “Hispanic” aisle….just for another area for others to try because this recipe is FANTASTIC!! I have made it numerous times just since the holidays because it was such a big hit and EVERYONE keeps asking for it. Also, like you said, I make it with low fat/calorie cream cheese & cool whip so it truly is not a high calorie snack! LOVE it! Thank you!

        Reply

        • Joleen! Thank you so much for coming back to share your experience! I had no idea that the cream of coconut wouldn’t be in the mixers aisle. It must be a Utah thing, so thanks for sharing where you found it, and I am so glad that you have made it several times and love it! It seriously is my favorite fruit dip ever, I rarely try anything new to dip fruit in. Thanks again!

          Reply

  23. Hi!

    Loved your recipe when I came across it at Pinterest. I wanted something different for my birthday, and this sounded perfect. We do not have Coolwhip in the Netherlands, so I substituded it with whipped cream. I loved it!! Is it okay if I put a dutch version of the recipe on my small blog? Offcourse I would link to your original recipe.

    Greetings from Holland,

    Lianne

    Reply

    • Yep, whipped cream & cool whip are almost the same, so it should have worked great. I am glad you liked it! I would be interested to see your dutch version, just make sure you leave the link back to my blog. Thanks!

      Reply

    • Yes, let me try & explain it the best I can. As far as a name, I am not sure what it is called, we just did it on our brownies in a bakery I worked in. Typically, if you have a rectangle pan of brownies with frosting, you would start in the corner & go back & forth with a zig-zag across the whole pan of brownies until you reached the opposite corner. Then you just drag your spatula down through the zig-zags & repeat across the whole pattern. So zig-zag the whole pan. Then just make lines across the zig zags lifting your spatula after every pass. I hope that makes sense, if not I will try & do some brownies for the blog & do a step-by-step tutorial on how to make the design. Thanks for asking. That will be a good post to share if there are people who want to know about it. 🙂

      Reply

    • Yes, I would start at 1/2 cup of heavy cream whipped with 1/4 cup powdered sugar & 1/2 tsp vanilla to sweeten it. Whip your cream to stiff peaks to help hold the volume, so it doesn’t deflate, then add it to the rest of the dip.

      Reply

  31. Made this for a BBQ with friends and it was a big hit! So Yummy! Just make sure to whip the cream cheese first before adding the cream of coconut. I didn’t and couldn’t get all the lumps out.

    Reply

    • Sorry you couldn’t get the lumps out! That happened to me once & I just switched to a whisk attachment & it fixed it. But I am glad you liked & your friends enjoyed it!

      Reply

  33. I LOVE this recipe! It has been my “go to” for any simple dessert. I have also made it cutting out the coconut cream and using just the “fat” in coconut milk (a variation of coconut whipped cream recipes I see all over Pinterest). It too blended well and gave it a lighter not as sweet taste. I’ve also cut the cream cheese with great success and no loss of taste.

    Reply

  34. For all who are getting lumps, soften the cream cheese 1st (let it sit out of frig for about an hour) then whip before adding coconut cream. You will have no lumps. This works anytime you want to blend cream cheese into anything. Soften and whip before adding extras.

    Reply

    • Hi Karolina,

      Cool Whip is a pre-made type of whipped cream here in the United States. For this recipe, I would whip up 1/2 cup of heavy whipping cream with 2 Tbsp of powdered sugar until stiff peaks form. Double that if you double the recipe.

      Reply

      • We may be better to use the whipped cream version, too, though, because Cool Whip (though it holds up so well) is made with unhealthy trans fat and lots of sugar plus who knows what chemical preservatives and flavorings. Thanks for this recipe!

        Reply

    • Yes, I’ve made Coconut Whipped Cream. I haven’t put it in this recipe, but I’m sure it would taste good!

      Reply

    • You must have missed the part in the notes of the recipe card where you can substitute heavy cream whipped with a little powdered sugar for the cool whip. 😉

      Reply

  41. ThIs fruit dip is to die for! As impetuous as I as, I started mixing without reading and realized it looked “curdled”- I then read and realized that an immersion mixer will do the trick to lose the lumps! It worked fabulously!!! Thanks for posting recipe!

    Reply

  42. This sounds like a good idea to use with another Pinterest tip I’ve been using successfully to make strawberries last longer. Laying strawberries on a jelly roll pan (cookie sheet w/sides at my house : ) ) unwashed, keeping them all separated so no one’s touching it’s neighbor, keeps any mold and yuk from spreading. Then just refrigerate. Wash as berries are used. The frig air seems to dry them on the outside a little bit, too, which keeps down the spoilage. I’ve had berries last a week this way. If I use the vinegar rinse, dry them well, spread out in a pan, and refrigerate, I bet more berries will survive fresh and pretty, if they last… I’ve had this dip and it’s delicious. A thought – switching the Cool Whip for real cream sweetened w/powdered sugar lets you sweeten to taste. I’ve gotten used to not wanting syrupy sweet things much anymore. I know, what’s wrong with me, right? It’s that extra 20 lbs, that’s what) Good job Amber. Love your presentation!

    Reply

  43. Hello Amber. I am hosting a dinner party for about 20 people in couple of weeks. I don’t want to make it infront of them. Can I make the dip couple of hours before the guest will start to arrive and keep it in the refrigerator? Or it has to be made right before I decide to serve it? Sorry if my question sound dumb, but I have never made any dessert ever. So i really don’t know the rules of keeping this dip fresh and fluffy. The way it looks in the picture. Thanks.

    Reply

    • You can definitely make it ahead of time. Make sure you use a hand mixer and mix out all the lumps of the cream cheese before adding the cream of coconut. If it still ends up lumpy, use the whisk attachment on a stand mixer. I haven’t had any problems with lumps, but a few others have, and those seem to be the best tricks. This dip lasts a good week in the refrigerator. Good luck, and enjoy!

      Reply

  44. This looks really good…and really pretty. I’m guessing, though, that the bananas only look pretty for about 8 minutes.

    Reply

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