Treat your dinner guests or potluck friends and family to an easy Taffy Apple Salad recipe. Made with apples, pineapple, whipped cream, peanuts & more.
Potlucks are all about the varieties of salads. From our favorite Broccoli Salad recipe to the all-American Potato Salad. What’s your favorite?
Why Taffy Apple Salad is Best
You’ll find this classic recipe in all kinds of old church cookbooks. It has been proudly served at many picnics and potlucks over the years – and it’s always a favorite!
Our recipe is the classic version you may remember, with sugar, egg, apple cider vinegar, etc. Some new versions are made with pudding mix, but we LOVE the old fashioned apple salad.
And if you’ve never had a dessert salad, this is the one to try!
- This cool, creamy salad makes a sweet dessert dish, especially on a warm day!
- Only 10 minutes to prep, then it chills in the fridge.
- The apple and pineapple add big fruit flavor.
- Salted peanuts are folded in for a crunchy, salty bite.
While we love our pistachio salad, you’ve got to try our Snickers Salad recipe next!
Ingredient Notes
- Pasteurized Egg – This helps with the texture of the salad, but you can omit it if you prefer. If you choose to omit the egg, there’s no need to heat the sugar mixture.
- Cool Whip – Use thawed Cool Whip from a tub or substitute Homemade Whipped Cream. Our homemade cool whip works fantastic in this recipe too.
- Apples – We love using a combination of red and green apples in this salad, but use whichever variety you love. And no need to peel them!
- Pineapple – A 20 ounce can of crushed pineapple (drained) works great for this recipe and gets well incorporated. You could also use a can of pineapple chunks if you’d like a chunkier texture.
- Salted Peanuts – These add great crunch and flavor, just be sure to wait and add them when you’re ready to serve.
Easy Instructions
Make the egg mixture. Whisk the sugar, egg, vinegar and flour together in a small saucepan. Heat over medium heat and whisk constantly until thickened, about 5-10 minutes. Remove from heat and cool completely.
Fold in fruit and Cool Whip. Fold the apples and pineapple into the cooled sugar mixture and stir to combine. Then fold in the Cool Whip and chill the mixture for at least 1 hour.
Add the peanuts and serve. When ready to serve, mix in the peanuts. Enjoy!
Tips and Tricks
- Whisk the egg mixture well until it’s thickened in the saucepan. This will take about 5-10 minutes.
- Be sure to let the egg mixture cool completely before you add the fruit and Cool Whip.
- For extra creaminess, you can add a package of vanilla or butterscotch pudding mix to the cooled sugar mixture to make a creamier salad, like this Watergate Salad recipe.
- Cover and refrigerate the fruit and Cool Whip mixture for at least 1 hour so everything gets well chilled.
- Wait until serving to add the peanuts so they stay nice and crunchy.
Recipe FAQs
Yes, this salad can be made in the morning and eaten that evening. It is best served the same day, as it can get watery and the apples may brown. Be sure to wait to add the peanuts right before serving.
Yes, if you need this recipe to be nut-free, you can omit the peanuts.
No, it’s optional. The egg adds to the texture of the salad, but you can leave it out. In that case, you don’t need to heat the sugar mixture, just proceed with adding the fruit and Cool Whip.
Store the salad, covered, in the refrigerator for up to 2-3 days. However, it’s best the day that it’s made and with the peanuts added just before serving.
More Easy Potluck Recipes
- Avocado Salsa
- Apple Pie
- Ambrosia Salad
- Grasshopper Poke Cake
- Dorito Taco Salad
- Banana Pudding Recipe
Taffy Apple Salad
Ingredients
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 1 large egg optional
- 1 Tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- 1 Tablespoon all-purpose flour
- 4 cups apples diced
- 20 ounce can crushed pineapple drained
- 8 ounce Cool Whip thawed
- 1 ½ cup salted peanuts
Instructions
- In large mixing bowl, whisk together the sugar, egg, vinegar and flour.
- In a small saucepan, heat egg mixture over medium heat and whisk it constantly until thickens. This will take 5-10 minutes. Remove from heat and cool completely.
- Fold in chopped apples and drained pineapple. Stir together.
- Fold in Cool Whip and refrigerate one hour or until ready to serve.
- Right before serving add peanuts (and candy bars if desired). Enjoy!
Notes
- The egg adds to the texture of the salad, but you can leave it out. In that case, you don't need to heat the sugar mixture, just proceed with adding the fruit and Cool Whip.
- Whisk the egg mixture well until it’s thickened in the saucepan. This will take about 5-10 minutes.
- Be sure to let the egg mixture cool completely before you add the fruit and Cool Whip.
- For extra creaminess, you can add a package of vanilla or butterscotch pudding mix to the cooled sugar mixture to make a creamier salad, like this Watergate Salad recipe.
- Cover and refrigerate the fruit and Cool Whip mixture for at least 1 hour so everything gets well chilled.
- Wait until serving to add the peanuts so they stay nice and crunchy.
- Storage– keep taffy apple salad refrigerated and use within 2-3 days for best falvor and texture.
I have never heard of this salad either but apparently some people have been eating for years in their family! Thank you for sharing the recipe. I love that you can add all these toppings to the salad.
Had this at a potluck a little while ago, and didn’t have leftovers, which truly shows how great it is!
This recipe is so easy and I don’t know anyone who doesn’t go back for seconds!
I love making this! Definitely a favorite with my family.
We have the same recipe in my family, except first we combine the sugar, egg, vinegar, and flour in a saucepan and stir them over medium heat until the mixture thickens. Then refrigerate until cool before adding to the salad. This way avoids the raw egg.
This looks really delicious. I was intrigued by the name. And now I’ve just been distracted by your Nutella No Bake Cookies. Wondering if I have enough Nutella and other ingredients to make them NOW!
Yum! Love Snickers with apples!
Hi Aimee,
Thanks so much for linking up to Creative Thursday this week. I this I just found my new favorite salad for the summer! This looks so refreshing and with the cut up snickers it could be dessert as well. Thanks for sharing.
Can’t wait to see what you link up next week.
Have a great week,
Michelle
Sounds so delicious!
Very interesting – I enjoy taffy, but I can’t imagine a “salad”. It looks tasty, though!
This sounds and looks amazing!
I never heard of Taffy Apple Salad before, but I know I would love it! Great recipe!!!
I puffy heart love snickers apple salad!! I have never tried the egg version though…not sure I could do it with a raw egg in it. Although I eat cookie dough all the time, so I guess I really could:-)
Recipe calls for cooking it in a sauce pan.
Snickers in a salad. Yep, everyday for sure. This looks terrific! Come visit. We have some wonderful things to share this week.
I had never heard of apple salad until Ashton posted one a few weeks back. This one looks AMAZING. I need to make apple salad, I think it’ll be come my favorite salad, ha!
This sounds fabulous – I wish I had the ingredients to throw it together right now.
I just posted a Cool Whip recipe yesterday! And I grew up eating this recipe that you just posted, sans raw egg. What did my mom call this…gosh, I don’t know. But she made this. With Snickers, apples, pineapple, yep..I have eaten TONS of this stuff. So good!