I have always had a strong emotional connection to food, in the way that it ties family, traditions, and memories together. Due to some serious health challenges, my Mom didn’t remember a lot of things later in her life so my siblings and I began to really cling to the food-centered traditions and memories she created when we were growing up, and this Creamy Fruit Mousse is one of them.
What’s funny is just like that ‘huge’ hill you used to bike down when you were a kid, that in reality is nothing more than a slight incline, so many of our food traditions were SO fancy and special and exciting as children, and now that I’m an adult, I’m surprised at how simple many of our favorites are. This fruity mousse, for example (which in my family will forever and always be called “Peach-Jello-Fluff” no matter what flavor we’re making it). When I dug up the recipe, and then texted my sister just to make sure I had it right, I was stunned at how easy it was. The funny thing is that my Mom would make this in a worn-out tupperware container for an after-school snack, yet the very same recipe would fill little individual crystal bowls and be topped with a pillowy cloud of Cool Whip and adorn our Christmas and Easter tables with the fancy China and gold-plated flatware.
This is one of those great recipes that can go from quick and casual, to special and fancy. It’s such a great little treat to whip up when you’re short on time and ingredients, but want something fun and homemade. It was a family favorite when I was a little girl, and now it’s a family favorite for my three boys. It literally takes minutes to make and my kids think it’s soooo special, just like I did.
Ingredients Needed
This is just a preview of ingredients and method, keep scrolling for full printable recipe.
- Fruit flavored gelatin mix – You can use any flavor of Jell-0 in this recipe. Honestly, I’ve never made it with a flavor I didn’t like. Lemon seems so fresh and springy, and since it was dumping snow at my house on the first day of spring, I’m desperately channeling “fresh-and-springy!” You can also use a small box, or a large box of Jell-o, regular, or sugar free. I’m going to write this recipe out using a small box, but obviously, just double everything for a large box.
- Water
- Cream cheese – Regular or low fat (Neufchatel), avoid fat-free.
- Cool whip
- Powdered sugar
- Vanilla extract
- Small orange – Optional. You can use the zest and juice in the topping.
How to Make Creamy Fruit Mousse
- Start by dissolving Jell-o in one cup of boiling water. Just give it a quick stir, it only takes a few seconds.
- Pour the mixture into a blender and add 4 ounces of cream cheese. The hot Jell-o will melt that cream cheese super fast and it will soon be a lovely pastel color. When that’s blended, add a half cup of very cold water and pulse to combine.
- Next up is half of an 8-ounce container of light, creamy Cool Whip. Place it right in the blender and blend until the mixture is smooth- just a few seconds!
- We’re already about done- what was that, like 2 1/2 minutes?? You can now pour the mixture into one large serving bowl, or into individual containers. You know I always pick individual serving dishes! At this point, just pop it in the fridge to chill.
- After it’s chilled, it’s time for topping. The quickest and easiest route is just to use a dollop of the remaining Cool Whip and you can even sprinkle on some citrus zest if you’re feeling fancy.
The mousse sets up like gelatin, but softer and creamier. Combined with the fluffy topping, it’s a little cup of heaven (that only took you about 5 minutes of prep time!)
Storing and Other Tips
- Store finished mousse, tightly covered, in the refrigerator and enjoy within 2-3 days for best results.
- If you’re not going to serve this right away, I recommend making the topping fresh, right before serving. This will keep it light and fluffy. It’s still delicious after refrigeration, but will firm up quite a bit.
- Feeling fancy? Layer different flavors of fruit mousse! Just pop each layer in the fridge for a few minutes to firm up before adding the next layer.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, but I would probably use heavy cream, at least in the mousse itself, to help with stability.
No, this mousse will separate if frozen and thawed!
Yes! Make the mousse up to 24 hours in advance. I recommend whipping up the topping fresh, right before serving. It’s still delicious later, but will firm up in the fridge.
Easy Creamy Fruit Mousse
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 small 3 oz box fruit flavored gelatin, regular or sugar free
- 1 cup boiling water
- 8 ounces cream cheese divided
- ½ cup cold water
- 8 ounce container Cool Whip divided
- ½ cup powdered sugar
- ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 small orange
Instructions
- Dissolve gelatin in boiling water. Place in blender and add 4 ounces (half of the package) cream cheese. Process until smooth. Add cold water and pulse blender to stir. Add half of the container of Cool Whip (about a heaping cup) to the blender and process just until combined and mixture is free of lumps.
- Pour mixture into one serving bowl, or several smaller individual sized dishes. Refrigerate until firm, 3-4 hours. Either top with remaining Cool Whip or continue on with topping recipe.
- To make topping, beat remaining 4 ounces cream cheese with powdered sugar, vanilla, about 1 teaspoon orange zest (more if desired) and one teaspoon of the orange juice. Blend until creamy and smooth, and fold in remaining 4 ounces Cool Whip. Add more orange juice if needed for consistency. Dollop, pipe, or spread topping over chilled mousse just before serving. If you refrigerate the mousse with the topping on, it will harden, so it’s best to whip it up just before serving. Makes about 6, 1/2 cup servings.
Notes
- Store finished mousse, tightly covered, in the refrigerator and enjoy within 2-3 days for best results.
- If you’re not going to serve this right away, I recommend making the topping fresh, right before serving. This will keep it light and fluffy. It’s still delicious after refrigeration, but will firm up quite a bit.
- Feeling fancy? Layer different flavors of fruit mousse! Just pop each layer in the fridge for a few minutes to firm up before adding the next layer.
Questions & Reviews
I’ve made this using yogurt still very good and I’ve also made this using pudding, extremely yummy now I’m trying it your way using orange jello and vanilla topping for a dreamcicle taste, tyvm Sara
These were delicious tonight! We used lime jello and made them for a St. Patrick’s day treat. The topping is especially delicious!
My mother used a small box of jello adding 1 1/4 cup of boiling water and then stirring in one pint of vanilla ice-cream. Makes a light summer dessert.
Just in case people are lime me and read all of the comments before trying a recipe, I will leave a comment on this fairly old post. I made this last night/this morning for a baby shower. They know they’re having a girl so I thought if would be cute to make this in three punk laureates in a glass dish. I got strawberry,raspberry, and black cherry jello and started with the black cherry, thinking of would be the darkest. Well…turns out it’s the lightest. Raspberry and strawberry are almost the same color, with the raspberry being slightly darker. It doesn’t look quite as good as I hoped since once I started I couldn’t really change my order, but it’s still pretty cute. In order to get the layers to work with limited time, I did the first one around 6pm and stuck it in the fridge, then mixed up the second layer around 8, but put it in a separate bowl to get a head start on cooling. By 9 pm, the first layer was solid enough to support the next layer and the second batch was cool enough not to melt through. I poured the second layer on top of the first and let it sit overnight, then did the third layer in the morning (6am) for a 1 pm event.
Ummmm….wow. That’s what happens when you post a novel from your phone. Hopefully people can read between the lines….(punk laureates….really?!?). That’s supposed to be “pink layers”. I came to report back that it was a big hit! Also, I was going to mention that since making three batches left me with only 1/2 a container of Cool Whip for the topping (on a fairly large dish), I just added 1/2 cup of heavy cream (which I had on hand) along with the cream cheese and beat it until it got kind of fluffy, then I folded the Cool Whip in….perfection!
Pink laureates is one of the best lines ever, haha!
How many days in advance do you think these could be made and sit in the fridge before a party? Thanks for all of your amaaaazing recipes!!
A day ahead should be fine; I probably wouldn’t do it any longer, but you could certainly experiment 🙂
I was wondering if these would be ok to make and keep in the fridge 2-3 days before an event? Thanks!
Honestly I’m not sure how far in advance you can make them. Definitely the day before, but any longer and you might want to do a test batch first. Good luck!
Hi
Im from Denmark and it is not possible to get Coolwhip here. What alternatives do I have for coolwhip? Heavy cream?
Yummy. I use this recipe doubled to make a party-sized light and refreshing “cheesecake.” Pour over a graham cracker crust in an oblong glass casserole or pan and pipe on some extra cool whip. Using lite versions of all ingredients (or even fat free and/or sugar free) works. The smaller version of this recipe fills a large store bought graham cracker pie crust.
Just whipped up a batch of this recipe. I only had fat free cream cheese but I think it will work. Can’t wait for it to cool, the countdown is on…
Can I use cream cheese spread?
So it’s not real cream cheese? I’m not sure, but you could try it!