Hey, y'all! There are several of pairs that always go well together; peanut butter & jelly, mashed potatoes & gravy, and macaroni & cheese are just a few that come to mind. One of my favorite duos is berries and cheesecake! I've never been a huge fan of overly sweet foods. I'd rather have a sundae with fruit and granola than with chocolate and candies. I prefer my cakes to have vanilla frosting with a layer of fruit in between the cakes. Don't even think about putting chocolate anywhere near my cheesecakes.
In case you couldn't already tell, I'm all about quick and easy side dishes! My favorite recipes are ones that take less than 10 minutes to prepare. My Easy as (Key Lime) Pie Dip, Yogurt Pie, Best Damn Fruit Dip, and Strawberry Cheesecake Dip are all prime examples of this. This, my friends, is another one of those fool-proof recipes. Simply mix, toss and chill your way to the most perfect side dish. Notice how I didn't mention anything about baking? Nope! That's because this dish has a super sneaky short cut!
Triple Berry Cheesecake Salad is a lip-smacking medley of blueberries, tart raspberries, strawberries and pound cake coated in a delicious cheesecake filling. Oh my goodness y'all, it is AMAZING! This is one of the dishes I brought to a barbecue this 4th of July (get it, red, white, and blue???) and we were practically licking the bowl clean. I'm also including a gluten-free version of this amazing dip that is just as good!
Ingredients:
8 oz cream cheese, softened
8 oz Cool Whip
1/2 cup sugar
1 pt blueberries
1 pt raspberries
1 lb strawberries, hulled and quartered
1 Sara Lee pound cake, thawed
Instructions:
Wash, trim and slice berries. Set aside.
Add cream cheese into a large bowl. Beat on medium-speed until smooth. Add in sugar and beat again.
Fold in Cool Whip and mix until combined.
Cut the pound cake in half long ways. Cut into bite sized pieces.
Add the pound cake and fruit into the mixture. Stir until combined.
Refrigerate for 1 hour to allow the sugar to disintegrate.
If you're looking for a gluten free version, you can simply leave out the pound cake. Near the beginning of summer I was diagnosed with a gluten intolerance. I went from being "gluten-aware" to almost 100% gluten-free (I'm trying...it's just so hard at first! I've found that taking Benadryl helps with the itching so I'll take some of that if I know I'm going to have something with gluten). When I made this dish for the 4th of July I simply set aside part of the berries and cream mixture in a separate bowl before I added the pound cake. I promise you it was just as good!
This salad tastes just like eating a huge hunk of cheesecake covered in fresh berries. It couldn't be more perfect for patriotic holidays like the 4th of July or Memorial Day. And seriously, could it be any easier?
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