Paradise parfaits are a creamy combination of a delicious fluffy pudding and fresh fruit. They are simply heavenly!
This tasty combination is layered together to make a delicious cool dessert! For more summer musts, be sure to try some Pies & Tarts like Blueberry Galette.
fresh and delicious
Anyone here craving FRUIT and lots of it?! I always get so excited when it is berry season. Sure, you can purchase berries all year long from the grocery store, but they are ever so tasty when it’s that time of year!
With summer time, I’m especially grateful for fruit and seem to crave it every day!! I also start to incorporate fruit more into my recipes and today’s treat is so fruity and delicious that I think it will knock your socks off.
In fact, we made these Paradise Parfaits for a dessert when we had company over and a few people said it was the most heavenly treat ever. The cream mixture comes from one of my favorite desserts – Kansas City Dirt Cake.
It was perfectly combined with the fruit in this parfait making it a whole new treat and a NEW favorite!!
Layer and enjoy!
CREAM MIXTURE. In a bowl, beat cream cheese and margarine (or butter) until smooth. Mix in powdered sugar and fold in whipped topping. Set aside. In a separate bowl mix pudding, milk and vanilla. Fold this mixture in with the cream cheese mixture.
LAYER & REFRIGERATE. Layer fruit and creamy pudding mixture in cups and top with a whole strawberry. Refrigerate for 1 hour before serving.
Parfait Variations
A great thing about these paradise parfaits is that you can easily change them up with your favorite fruits and whatever is in season. Some other delicious fruit include:
- Peaches
- Raspberries
- Bananas
- Cherries
- Kiwi
- Apricots
Aside from changing up the fruits you can also add other delicious ingredients:
- Granola
- Chopped nuts
- Coconut flakes
- Mini chocolate chips or mini M&Ms
- Toffee Bits
Tips:
- Be sure to get INSTANT pudding not the kind you have to cook first
- To soften, cut cream cheese into slices and let it sit at room temperature for 30-60 minutes. You can speed up the process by microwaving it for 8-10 seconds. Flip the block to another side and microwave for 8-10 seconds. Be careful that you do not melt the cream cheese.
Make ahead + store
Making this ahead of time gets a little tricky because of how the different fruits react after being cut. Some will brown quickly. Others will start dripping juices. You will have to use your judgement with the fruits that you choose to use, but generally speaking making these the night before should be ok.
- One ingredient you can use is Fruit-Fresh. It will help keep your fruits from browning allowing you to assemble these ahead of time and still keep them looking fresh.
- Cover each parfait cup with plastic wrap and fasten it with a rubber band. Store in the fridge
STORE leftover paradise parfaits, covered in the fridge. You will notice the fruits will begin to become soggy or brown, but it will still be ok to eat for 2-3 more days.
More Layered Desserts:
Paradise Parfait Recipe
Ingredients
- Strawberries hulled and halved
- pineapple cut up
- blackberries
- 4 oz PHILADELPHIA Cream Cheese softened
- ¼ cup margarine or butter
- ½ cup powdered sugar
- 1 small container cool whip
- 1 box INSTANT white chocolate pudding or vanilla pudding
- 1 ½ cup milk
- 1 tsp vanilla
Instructions
- In a bowl, beat cream cheese and margarine (or butter) until smooth. Mix in powdered sugar and fold in whipped topping. Set aside.
- In a separate bowl mix pudding, milk and vanilla. Fold this mixture in with the cream cheese mixture.
- Layer fruit and creamy pudding mixture in cups and top with a whole strawberry.
- Refrigerate for 1 hour before serving.
Love how delicious these look, so fresh and the cream cheese cream yum!!
The cream cheese cream makes these sooo good!! Thanks so much!!
These are so insane! Love the presentation
Thanks so much!! I hope you try them:) They are delish!!
Could you make these the night before?
I am sure you could, though I am not sure if the fruit would get soggy or anything like that. I personally haven’t made them that far in advance. I think it should be ok.
Such a great flavor of pudding and fruit. A great dessert for summertime.
We love these parfaits!! We make them all summer! We crave fruit & of course, it’s even better with the filling!
Such an easy recipe! So yummy!
These paradise parfaits are AMAZING! so easy to make and loaded with sweet flavors. A great summer holiday dessert.
This is my family’s new favorite dessert! It is so yummy we all enjoyed it! Thank you for sharing another awesome recipe.
My kids loved their “fancy” breakfast and it was so easy to make. Mom win!