Ube macapuno salad is a Filipino-style holiday fruit salad, the kind that shows up at Christmas and New Year tables, turned deep purple with ube halaya and packed with sweet macapuno strings. Most recipes on this site cut the carbs. This one is a high-sugar dessert, so if you count net carbs, treat it as a dish for the rest of the table.
Save this recipe for later:
Keeping it thick overnight
The failure everyone knows with Filipino fruit salad is the watery bowl. You make it the night before, and by morning the fruit is swimming in thin, pale liquid at the bottom. That liquid is syrup from the jars and the can, leaking out of the fruit as it sits.
Drain every jar and the can in a sieve for 10 minutes before anything touches the cream. Excess liquid is what loosens a cream filling, so get rid of it before you fold. This is the tip that comes with the recipe, and it does most of the work.
The cream cheese keeps it thick too. You beat it smooth first, then beat in the ube halaya, so the base starts out dense and stable before the thinner cream and condensed milk go in.
What goes in
- Ube halaya: purple yam jam. It gives the color and that mellow, vanilla-and-nut flavor ube is known for.
- Table cream or heavy cream: the recipe allows either a 7.6 oz can of table cream or 1 cup of heavy cream. Table cream is the classic choice in Filipino fruit salad.
- Sweetened condensed milk: only half a 14 oz can. It sweetens and adds body.
- Ube extract: optional. It deepens the purple and the ube flavor if your halaya is on the pale side.
- Macapuno strings: soft, jelly-like strands of a special coconut variety, sold in syrup.
- Nata de coco: chewy cubes of coconut gel.
- Kaong: sugar palm fruit, small and translucent with a gentle chew.
- Fruit cocktail: the canned mix that makes it a fruit salad.
- Cream cheese: 4 oz, softened, for structure and a little tang.
How to make ube macapuno salad
You need about 15 minutes of hands-on time, plus at least 4 hours in the fridge. Overnight is better.
- Drain first. Set the macapuno, fruit cocktail, nata de coco and kaong in a sieve (or two) and let them drain for 10 minutes.
- Make the base. Beat the softened cream cheese until smooth, then beat in the ube halaya.
- Add the creamy part. Mix in the cream, condensed milk and ube extract until the mixture is thick and evenly purple, with no white streaks.
- Fold. Fold in the drained macapuno, fruit cocktail, nata de coco and kaong. Fold gently so the fruit stays whole.
- Chill. Cover and refrigerate at least 4 hours, or overnight.
- Serve. Stir once and serve it very cold.
If your cream cheese is still cold from the fridge, it will leave small lumps in the base, and those lumps will not beat out once the cream goes in. Give it time on the counter first.
Give the chill its full time as well. It thickens the cream and lets the ube flavor settle into the fruit. A salad served after one hour tastes thinner and less purple than one that sat overnight.
The Foodie Yummy Cookbook
12 reader-favorite recipes in one printable PDF. Enter your email and download it instantly.
Where the sugar comes from
This is a high-sugar dessert, and we have not run a per-serving carb number for it. Here is where the carbs come from, so you can judge for yourself:
- Sweetened condensed milk: half a 14 oz can, mostly sugar by design.
- Ube halaya: purple yam cooked down with sugar and milk into a thick jam.
- Fruit cocktail: a 30 oz can, packed in syrup.
- Macapuno, nata de coco and kaong: all three come in jars of sugar syrup.
The cream cheese and the cream are the only low-carb parts of the bowl. Draining the jars well takes off some of the syrup, though the salad is still firmly a dessert.
Serving it at a holiday table
Ube macapuno salad is rich and sweet, so it sits best next to savory food, and at a holiday table it usually follows the big savory spread. For the low-carb eaters at the same table, a few things they can fill up on:
- A crisp green salad with a sharp vinaigrette
- Roasted or grilled chicken thighs with crispy skin
- Roasted vegetables such as green beans or broccoli
- A cheese board with nuts and a few berries
Serve the salad in small cups or a chilled glass bowl. Small portions go further at a potluck, and a cold bowl keeps it thick on the buffet a little longer.
Storing leftovers
Fridge: keep it covered and cold. It is made to sit overnight before serving, and it keeps well for a couple of days after that. Stir before serving, since some liquid may collect at the bottom.
Freezer: skip it. Cream-based fruit salads tend to separate when they thaw, and the fruit cocktail turns soft and watery.
Serving: no reheating. Serve it straight from the fridge. Because it is a dairy dessert, keep it out of room temperature as much as you can at a party: set out a smaller bowl and refill it from the fridge.
Ube macapuno salad questions
Why did my fruit salad turn watery?
Almost always because the fruit was not drained well enough. Drain everything in a sieve for 10 minutes before folding, and start with a thick cream cheese base.
Can I use heavy cream instead of table cream?
Yes. The recipe lists 1 cup of heavy cream as the alternative to a 7.6 oz can of table cream. Mix it in with the condensed milk until the base is thick and evenly purple.
Do I need the ube extract?
No, it is optional. Add it if you want a deeper color and a stronger ube flavor. The ube halaya alone still turns the salad purple.
Can I make it ahead?
You should. It needs at least 4 hours in the fridge, and overnight gives the best texture and flavor, which makes it an easy dish to bring to a potluck or holiday party.
Is this ube macapuno salad keto?
No. Condensed milk, ube halaya, syrup-packed fruit and sweetened macapuno make it a high-sugar dessert. We have not developed a low-carb version, so there are no tested swaps to offer.
Save this recipe on Pinterest
For another tropical fruit dessert, try our Hawaiian Cheesecake Salad . You may also enjoy our Pineapple Cheesecake Fluff Salad . For a pink fruit salad, try our Cranberry Orange Gelatin Salad with mandarin oranges and pecans.
For another dessert salad, try the Butterfinger apple salad or the lime pear gelatin salad .
Made it or loved it? Share this recipe
Written and edited by The Foodie Yummy Kitchen Team
The Foodie Yummy Kitchen Team writes and edits the recipes on Foodie Yummy: classic American potluck salads, holiday sides and easy comfort food, with a few low-carb options. Every recipe lists exact quantities, numbered steps and a printable recipe card, plus notes on swaps, storage and make-ahead timing. Spot a problem with a recipe? Tell us through the contact page and we will correct it. About us
Ube Macapuno Salad
Ingredients
Instructions
Beat the cream cheese until smooth, then beat in the ube halaya.
Mix in the cream, condensed milk and ube extract until thick and evenly purple.
Fold in the macapuno, fruit cocktail, nata de coco and kaong.
Cover and chill at least 4 hours, or overnight.
Stir once and serve cold.
Notes
Drain every jar in a sieve for 10 minutes so the cream stays thick.
The 15 minutes covers hands-on time only; plan at least 4 hours of chilling, or overnight.
This is a full-sugar dessert, not keto or low-carb.