Filipino Fruit Salad

By Naz Deravian

Published Dec. 17, 2025

Filipino Fruit Salad
Andrew Bui for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Kaitlin Wayne.
Total Time
20 minutes, plus about 6 hours’ chilling
Prep Time
15 minutes
Cook Time
5 minutes, plus about 6 hours’ chilling
Rating
4(54)
Comments
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A colorful, sweet and delightful treat often part of Noche Buena feasts, Filipino fruit salad is easy to prepare and a joy to share. Variations abound, but at its heart it’s a combination of shredded young coconut (see Tip) and canned fruit cocktail mixed with condensed milk and all-purpose cream, a shelf-stable canned variety with a delicate taste and texture. This version, adapted from Ellen Tran, owner of Bahay Natin Food Mart in Los Angeles, includes sweet, chewy nata de coco (coconut gel) and kaong (candied sugar palm fruit). For a savory bite to balance all the sugary goodness, some also include bite-size cubes of cheese. Ms. Tran recommends draining the solid ingredients well and serving the fruit salad nicely chilled to keep the sweetness in check.

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Ingredients

Yield:6 servings
  • 1(30-ounce) can fruit cocktail, drained well (3 cups)
  • 1(12-ounce) jar nata de coco (coconut gel), drained well (¾ cup, see Tip)
  • 1(12-ounce) jar kaong (sugar palm), drained well (1 heaping cup, see Tip)
  • 1pound frozen or canned shredded young coconut (1 packed cup), thawed if frozen and drained well (see Tip)
  • 2ounces Cheddar or Eden cheese (optional), cut into ¼-inch cubes (½ cup loosely packed, see Tip)
  • 1(14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk (1 cup)
  • 1(7.6-ounce) can all-purpose cream (see Tip)
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (6 servings)

577 calories; 27 grams fat; 18 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 6 grams monounsaturated fat; 1 gram polyunsaturated fat; 77 grams carbohydrates; 3 grams dietary fiber; 64 grams sugars; 9 grams protein; 148 milligrams sodium

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Add the drained fruit cocktail, nata de coco, kaong, shredded coconut and cheese, if using, to a large bowl. Pour the condensed milk and canned cream over everything and gently mix until combined. Cover and place in the fridge until well chilled, about 6 hours (or up to 1 day).

  2. Step 2

    Ladle the fruit salad into small bowls to serve.

Tips
  • Often used in Filipino desserts such as halo-halo, chewy nata de coco (coconut gel made from fermented coconut water) and kaong (the fruit of the sugar palm tree) are both sweet and jellylike. Often preserved in syrup, they can be found sold in jars or packages at Filipino markets, Asian markets or online.
  • Fresh young coconut strips are traditional in many buko salad recipes, but the frozen or canned coconut strips used here are a more widely available alternative at Filipino or Asian markets.
  • Eden cheese is a processed, mild cheese similar to mild Cheddar. It can be found at Filipino markets.
  • All-purpose cream is a shelf-stable cream sold in cans or packs at Filipino markets and some supermarkets. (Canned table cream is lower in fat, so it’s not an ideal substitute.)

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Ratings

4 out of 5
54 user ratings
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Comments

Westchester Peach

Omitted the cheese and loved it. Brings back memories of enjoying this with Filipino friends in my youth. All the moms were phenomenal cooks. This hit the spot after chicken adobo.

GD

If you live in Queens, NY, you'd be able to find these ingredients in your local Filipino grocery store, but otherwise, I'm not sure.

Prakash Nadkarni

The cheese is possibly best omitted. Medium-to-strong cheeses (blue, cheddar, Swiss, etc.) complement acidic fruit (grapes, citrus, apples, etc.) and red wines. Here, though, the coconut, palm fruit, and condensed milk yield unopposed sweetness (despite the fruit cocktail), and the cheese is likely to clash rather than harmonize.

Renren

This is exactly how my family in the Philippines makes fruit salad. Feel free to leave the cheese out, as a third culture kid I usually do.

L.M.

This reminds me of my childhood! The only difference between this and my mom's is the cheese used. I prefer the softness and mild tang of the small cream cheese bits in her version over the harder, larger cheddar/edam. Oh, and be careful when buying young coconut. I've bought frozen packs before that were spoiled (likely due to thawing during transport). I haven't had much luck with "freshly" shredded ones, either. You can tell when it's spoiled by the smell.

Crissy

A lot of these ingredients are available online from Weee grocery for those who do not have Filipino grocery stores near them.

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