A couple weeks ago I stopped by my parent’s house and found my Mom sitting at the kitchen table flipping through an old binder of the quick and easy recipes she made when my brothers and I were real little, back in the early 80s.
We giggled over hand written recipes and newspaper clippings for simple, but seriously outdated, dishes like Creamy Pimento Spread (just, why?), Bachelor Company Casserole (throw everything + anything + rice into a casserole dish, then bake), and Ham Loaf (whose cloyingly sweet taste is still etched into my brain).
As we turned the pages, reminiscing about the Quiche Lorraine, Corn Flake Chicken, and Fancy Mousse of yesteryear, I gasped – Fruit Dip!
I remember devouring the thick, fluffy, luscious fruit dip my Mom would occasionally surprise my brothers and me with as a special after-school snack like it was yesterday!
Sweet, whippy, and impossibly creamy, this fruit dip is unlike anything – EVER – and I was positively chomping at the bit to taste it again after 15+ years.
The best part? The recipe only contains three ingredients. (The 80s knew what was up!)
That’d be a 7oz tub of marshmallow creme.
8oz 1/3 less fat (or whipped) cream cheese softened to room temperature (very important!)
And 2 Tablespoons frozen –> thawed orange juice concentrate.
Simply spoon the marshmallow creme into a large, microwave safe bowl, then microwave for 20 seconds so it’s smooth and not so sticky. Add in the cream cheese, then drizzle in the orange juice concentrate.
Whisk until the mixture is super smooth. That’s it!
At this point, hover over the bowl and shovel spoonfuls of the sweet stuff into your mouth, stick the dip in the fridge and get some fresh fruit dippers ready. 
You could totally prepare a plain ol’ bowl or tray of fruit to pair with the dip or, do what I did, and make super-cute fruit kabobs for dunking.
Any fruit combo under the sun would work, but I anchored my kabobs with a red grape, followed by a strawberry.
A pineapple chunk canned in 100% juice was next (no way was I paying what the grocery store was asking for a fresh one!), followed by another red grape to anchor the other end.
Dip, dip, dip!!!
The Best Fruit Dip EVER
Makes about 2 cups
Ingredients:
7oz Marshmallow Creme
8oz low-fat or whipped cream cheese, softened to room temperature
2 Tablespoons frozen orange juice concentrate
Fruit dippers: strawberries, grapes, pineapple, apples, berries, cantaloupe
Directions:
Spoon marshmallow creme into a large, microwave safe bowl, and microwave for 20 seconds. Whisk in softened cream cheese and orange juice concentrate until very smooth. Chill, then serve with fruit.
No joke – Top 5 favorite recipes of all time. I can’t even begin to describe how utterly delicious this dip is!
The texture is velvety smooth, and super thick. It alllmost tastes like cheesecake (but not totally, as I don’t love cheesecake) which makes it crazy good on strawberries.
Let’s be real though, this fruit dip would make shoe leather taste good! 
Fruit dip is awesome as a snack, like we used to have, or for any party or get together. I’m thinking it would even be delicious on a fruit pizza!
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What crazy dishes do you remember eating from your childhood?
I’m totally making this. Anything with Marshmallow Fluff and I’m game
(except I like to Fluff brand – it must be that retro bottle). BTW, my friend usually makes hers with strawberry cream cheese and cool whip. Still delicious.
I just have to tell you how much I LOVE your blog!! Thank you for all of the awesome recipes and your Friday favorites….I always look forward to seeing what you find each week!
whats the orange stuff on top – orange zest?
Yep! Sorry, should have mentioned!
Oh I cannot wait to make this! Thanks for sharing.
Your blog is so colorful, clean and appealing. Thanks for sharing so many vibrant recipes!
I have another one for you to try…
sugar free vanilla pudding (just the powder stuff)
16 oz. fat free plain yogurt
8 oz fat free cool whip
blend all together and it tastes just like the mashmallow fluff stuff – no orange zest, though, but could be added!
There’s a B&B in northern Illinois that serves a version of this with fresh fruit every morning as part of the breakfast spread. She uses a It is served with grapes, strawberries, kiwi, banana slices, cantalope and honeydew melon.
Mmmmmmm! I agree with you – it can make ANYTHING taste good! I could (and have!) eat it straight from the bowl with a spoon.
you could make home made marshmallow creme.
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup light corn syrup
1/4 cup water
1/8 teaspoon fine salt
2 large egg whites, at room temperature
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
INSTRUCTIONS
Stir together the sugar, corn syrup, water, and salt in a small saucepan over high heat. Bring to a boil, stirring occasionally, until the mixture reaches 240°F on a candy/fat thermometer.
Place the egg whites and cream of tartar in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment. Start whipping the egg whites to soft peaks on medium speed. (The goal is to have the egg whites whipped and ready, waiting for your syrup to be drizzled in. If they’re whipping faster than your syrup is coming to temperature, just stop the mixer until the syrup is ready.)
When the syrup reaches 240°F, reduce the mixer speed to low and slowly drizzle about 2 tablespoons of syrup into the egg whites to warm them. (If you add too much syrup at once, the whites will scramble.) Slowly drizzle in the rest of the syrup. Increase the speed to medium high and whip until the marshmallow crème is stiff and glossy, about 7 minutes. Add in the vanilla and whip 2 minutes more. Use immediately or refrigerate stored in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks.
no comparison
This looks amazing! I live in New Zealand and we don’t have jars of marshmallow stuff. What do you think I could use instead? Also, I’m sure we don’t have frozen orange juice concentrate but I could just use the carton concentrate right? Thanks
Lizy
You might try cool whip/whipped cream?! Also, you can use any jam or jelly instead of the orange juice concentrate. Just warm it up a bit in the microwave first to get it runny!
Quick question. I want to make this but I have someone who is allergic to oranges. Do you have any suggestions for what else I could use?
You can use any sweet jam/jelly – raspberry/strawberry, etc. Just heat it for about 15 seconds in the microwave first to get it runny!
Can you make the night before? Having a big party and need to make a large spread. Is it good the next day?
You bet!
Just 3 ingredients? That’s amazing!
Ive done this for years & it’s always a hit! I haven’t tried it with the oj concentrate yet although it sounds delish, seems like it would make it taste lighter. I often add in between half & a full container of Yoplait Light Yogurt! Blueberry, Key Lime & White Chocolate is so yummy!
I just use the cream cheese and fluff. And for variety use strawberry fluff instead of the white.
you can do this with frozen lemonade too. We were just talking about this yesterday, it really is AMAZING. I have never microwaved the Fluff before, I will try it though to see if it changes it at all.
If you are making this for a party, make sure you buy enough for a double batch… it will go quickly!!
[...] The Best Fruit Dip EVER, according to Iowa Girl Eats. I think either I nuked my Marshmallow Creme a little too long, or my cream cheese wasn’t quite room temperature, because mine’s a little grainy. But it still tastes really freakin’ good, and as long as we’ve got fruit, I’ll eat it! [...]
Wow. Seriously. I made this for my daughter’s first birthday party (which was Sunday) as the dip for her rainbow fruit trays. I made it again Tuesday and bought two packs of strawberries. I can’t get enough of this stuff! I loved the orange concentrate in it. Another recipe I saw added even more sugar (powdered) but I can’t imagine wanting to since this is already so sweet. I think I’ll try other juice concentrates with this, too. YUM!!
***Proof of it’s deliciousness: It was gone before anyone even touched the candy buffet at the party!**
[...] with fruit dip from Iowa Girl, veggies and dip, cinnamon rolls from La Segunda Bakery, and sausage, broccoli egg muffins from [...]
I usually make my recipe with fresh lemon juice, but I can imagine orange juice concentrate being equally as yummy.
The trouble with this recipe though…the fruit never makes it to the dip because I end up eating the dip straight with a spoon! LOL
This stuff is so yummy!! I am making for Memorial Day weekend and the easiness of 3 ingredients is awesome. I’m going to pair it with strawberries, grapes and cantaloupe. Can’t wait!
I don’t have a microwave, is there another way to go about heating up the marshmallow creme?
It should still work fine – you might just need a little bit of elbow grease to get it all worked in!
I just made this yesterday after work because I needed something quick to take to a friend’s house for dessert – SO GOOD! I’m super excited that I still have some in the fridge and now I’m looking around the house wondering what else I can dip into this wonderful stuff. Thanks a bunch and keep on blogging!
DELISH! It tastes like CREAM SICLE!!! I made this for my son’s first birthday and I’m sure all my family will love it! Thank you!
I just made this for a BBQ and it was a HIT! So many people asked for the recipe. Nice work!
[...] has great recipes, so I jumped over to her site, Iowa Girl Eats, and found what she claims is the BEST Fruit Dip Ever. Challenge [...]
I have never had this with orange juice. Can’t wait to try it! We usually use marshmallow creme and cream cheese. Still delicious!
A friend made this with strawberry cream cheese (is that even still a thing?) and the fluff, and it was awesome. And one less ingredient, too!
I made this for my housewarming party and it was ridiculously loved by everyone! My friend told me if I left her alone with it, there’d be a her-face-shaped hole in the middle and one of my friend’s kids didn’t want to leave cause it was go good.
AMAZING!!
Hahaha, so glad it was a hit! And tell your friend I am the exact same way around this dip!
[...] Iowa Girl Eats: The Best Fruit Dip Ever [...]
[...] And so easy! So here are the three blogs it was on: “Six Sister’s Stuff”, “Iowa Girl Eats” and “Simply Real Moms”. The following instructions will incorporate all three of [...]
Going to try this tomorrow.. sounds much more interesting that cool whip and strawberry yogurt…not that I also don’t like that.. but everyone has done this…. TO DEATH ! ! !
Going to try this tomorrow.. sounds much more interesting that cool whip and strawberry yogurt…not that I also don’t like that.. but everyone has done that one…. TO DEATH ! ! !
[...] Fruit Dip with Fresh Fruit [...]
[...] Read all the details about the recipe on: iowagirleats.com [...]
[...] 4. Creamy Fruit Dip [...]
[...] up the Marshmallow Creme Frosting. OMG THIS FROSTING! It’s essentially the same recipe as my Best Fruit Dip. EVER. except I used a tiny bit of lemon juice instead of orange juice concentrate. Regardless – [...]
[...] Fruit dips [...]
Kristen,
I found your site yesterday as a sat in a hospital room caring for my very sick mother. I have to say your humor, charm, love of all that life has to offer us and of course your delectable recipes especially the deserts cheered me up. You mentioned in your fruit dip recipe how your Mom made it for you and your brother when you were younger. Your excitement was very apparent in the finding of that recipe again. My Mom is way to sick to do any of her wonderful baking but I have been inspired by you to get the kitchen aid whirling. Mom’s Famous Crunch Cake will be on a cake plate under glass for everyone to taste a bit of the joy my Mom would always bring to each of us every time she made it. Thanks for the lift.
[...] fruit dip recipe from Iowa Girl Eats — she uses cream cheese and marshmallow [...]
How long do you chill in the fridge? I am going to make this tomorrow for a soccer party, but won’t be serving it for several hours. Will it need to soften up substanially before serving?
It doesn’t need to soften up substantially. It is fine right out of the fridge!