Easy Mandarin Orange Dessert with 3 Ingredients
Are you ready for another simple and satisfying dessert? How about an easy mandarin orange dessert?
A couple of weeks ago, I shared the pineapple version of this delightful sweet bite.
It's basically just three ingredients whipped up by hand into a glorious easy mandarin dessert that will knock your socks off.
Okay, maybe not literally but it sure will instantly cure any sweet tooth.
That is a real "condition", isn't it?
But seriously, I'm amazed at how just three ingredients come together to make this epic treat!
If you remember the pineapple version on Cutefetti, it's just canned fruit in syrup combined with dry pudding mix and whipped topping.
But the result is anything but "just".
EASY MANDARIN ORANGE DESSERT
Enjoying it chilled from your fridge is like walking into a spring wonderland and topping with another dab of whipped cream takes it right over the top. Literally!
I've yet to meet one person who did not find this flavor combination dreamy and the recipe easy to make.
MANDARIN ORANGE DESSERT INGREDIENTS
There are just a small handful of ingredients to make this wildly popular treat. Be sure to scroll down to the recipe card to get the exact measurements.
- Undrained Mandarin Oranges in Light Syrup offers just the right amount of sweetness to enliven a delicious dessert recipe.
- Dry Vanilla Flavor Instant Pudding breaks all boundaries by giving you that creamy taste without having to whip up any extra ingredients.
- Thawed Whipped Topping - This creamy, easy-to-spread ingredient can be easily incorporated to elevate any dessert.
The beauty of this basic recipe combo is that there are so many flavor possibilities. I absolutely love it! Find a list of some of my favorites at the bottom of this post to get started.
Here's the unbelievable simple recipe for these sweet bites of goodness. It's completely easy to make, but tastes amazing. It's so easy to double and triple this recipe to serve for special occasions. It's particularly popular to serve at Baby Showers.
Easy Mandarin Orange Dessert
Best Mandarin Orange Dessert with only 3 ingredients.
Ingredients
- 1 can (15 oz.) Mandarin Oranges in Light Syrup, undrained
- 1 pkg. (3.4 oz.) Vanilla Flavor Instant Pudding
- 1 cup thawed Whipped Topping
Instructions
- Mix mandarin oranges in juices and dry pudding mix until pudding mix is dissolved .
- Gently stir in whipped topping.
- Refrigerate for an hour before serving.
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Nutrition Information
Yield 6 Serving Size 1Amount Per Serving Calories 96Total Fat 4gSaturated Fat 3gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 0gCholesterol 1mgSodium 92mgCarbohydrates 16gFiber 1gSugar 9gProtein 1g
If mandarin oranges aren't your thing, make sure to peek at the Pineapple version!
For another twist, try this new Pineapple Banana Dessert recipe, too.
I hope you enjoyed this recipe and that it inspired some creativity in the kitchen. If you have any questions, comments or suggestions to share with me about this post, please leave a comment below or use the contact page.
Be sure to take pictures of your creations and tag them with @cutefetti on social media so I can see what yummy things everyone is making from my recipes. Mostly importantly, have fun with it!
What other canned fruits or pudding flavors do you think would be tasty with this recipe?
I'm ready to experiment with more!
will this break down if made one day ahead of serving?
I'm so thrilled that I've came across you & your easy recipes! I always have that craving for Fruit, also having snacks always! Wouldn't of thought of anything like your 3 ingredient fruit recipes! Like you say, so many different varieties to think of, not worried about over doing 1 fruit flavor! Thank you for sharing! Will be starting these many ways today! Will be following you as of now!
Has anyone tried both pineapple and mandarin oranges together. If you have did you drain the mandarin oranges. ?
I made the Mandarin orange recipe. Next time I make it I will add the juice in the can first, so that it is easier to blend the pudding. I will also try the sugar free pudding as I thought this was just a bit sweeter than I thought it would be. For something different to try, this is it!
Thank you, dana
From Dana
I was Not Mandarin Oranges in The Can Tried Your Recipe .Thank Youso Much It Is Good.My Next one Will Be with A Can Of Pineapples& Vanilla Pudding.Cannot Eat bananas.So I on I Will Put Whipped Cream on Top.🥰
How can I make this less sweet? I find it waaayyyyy too sweet? Would the tweak be to use less dry pudding mix or use regular whipped cream or drain off 1/3 of the juice? I’m not sure which would be best?
@Kathy, hiya! You could definitely do real whipped cream with less or no sugar even to reduce. The sweetness. Hope that helps!
Okay but very sweet.
@Pat Boburczak, I did not put much sugar in the whipped cream, and it turned out good. I do not care for Cool Whip; not good ingredients!
Can you use whipped cream instead of cool whip?
@Linda, you definitely can 😊
Can I use heavy whipping cream instead of cool whip?
@Dottii, as long as you whipped the heavy cream, yes. 😅
What about Mandarin oranges AND pineapples, together?
Go Bananas! 😉
How do you think this would be frozen as a popsicle?
@Mitzi, I would guess that it would be really yummy! let us know if you try it!
Apricots? Do you have recipes for them
I am a diabetic and heart patient. I am going to try to make it for my husband today.
Cheese cake flavor pudding
Pineapple
Mandarin oranges
Banana
Yummy!
Is this actually using 1 cup of Cool Whip ? OR is it an 8oz container? Big difference. Also the video appears to be using the 8 oz option.
@Loreta, recipe says use 1 cup.
So yummy! I drained the juice from the mandarin oranges and mixed with the pudding. It became thick quickly. Then folded in oranges and whipped cream. So light and delicious 😀 thank you for sharing this recipe.
@Kerri, Next time I will drain my oranges as mine came out very runny. I actually served it over more oranges. Too much liquid.
Should I cut or mash the oranges?
@Trace, hiya. No, the pieces are bite sized so they are perfect for this. Hope that helps!
I think Chocolate pudding and Cherry or Strawberry might be good. what do you think?
Chocolate and cherry might work. This tastes best with canned fruit. If you experiment, please let us know how it turned out. 🙂
@Beth,
I made the mandarin orange fluff. I used 1/2 of the juice from can and yet
the mixture is still tooo juicy. It tastes good but way too juicy.
@Karen, did you let it set, that is an important part for the liquid to absorb into the dessert which usually makes it taste extra good.
Sounds good, quick and easy to make. Can't wait to try it. I make a cooked version with vanilla pudding, tapioca pudding and orange jello which I call "Orange Fluff." A family favorite. Takes longer, but makes a bigger batch.
Can you freeze for large parties?
I have a similar recipe adding pineapple and mandarin oranges and using sugar free pudding
I would to try each fruit dessert! I can't wait! I am heart patient and long for something comforting, and no one will fuss at me for eating it. Thank you so much!
How could I adjust the recipe to use canned pineapple and mandarin oranges? Extra pudding and coolwhip?? How much? THANKS!
@Kirsten Noel Darby,
@Dick,
Can this be made with dairy-free whipped topping?
@Marie Nichols, Yes, it should work out as long as the amount is the same. Let us know how it turns out!
Wow, so easy & delicious 😋, also added pineapple & cherries, great dessert, 😊
This also makes a great “frosting” for a light cake in the summer.
Thank you. My daughter made this tonight. It was perfect. Light and sweet.
Stop lauding this dessert. It is not that great. Will not make it again. Would not want to serve this to my guests or family.
@Dénis Noel, So, don't.
@John Thomas, BEST comment goes to...
👏 👏 👏
Hello and thank you for the recipe! Can I use fresh whipped cream instead of cool whip?
Thanks so much!
@Smith Jones, yes, instant pudding stabilizes whipped cream very nicely!
Can i use canned peaches for this?
Yes, you might want to either cut them into smaller pieces or used diced though. 😉
I make this but use orange jello along with a natural cool whip and or the coconut one...also the oranges but add cottage cheese too...delicious!!
Same here! For years Its been my "go to" dish for all the holiday events! Either you love it or you dont & I believe that the cottage cheese is the deciding factor over all. Perhaps next time I suppose ill make too dishes; one with & one without.
Is there a way to use fresh strawberries with this recipe? I have a bunch of strawberries that seem to have lots of its own juices. Will that work?
This will kind of work but only if you squish the strawberries to push the juices out. It won't be AS flavorful as canned with juices-- but I have done this with blueberries and it was still good. Let us know how it turns out.
thank you. I'll let you know how it turns out:-)
@Dawn Lopez, can I use doles peaches?
So I made this dessert today but was not very happy with it. I love to cook and bake and I'm very good about following directions for recipes. However, when I mixed the dry mixture, can of Mandarin oranges and the whipped topping the mixture was very dense. It was not light and fluffy at all. I even tried adding a little more topping but didn't seem to change the outcome. It also had a slight bitter taste to it as if I should have only put half of the dry ingredients. Maybe there was an issue with the vanilla instant pudding that I bought. Who knows. I usually make the vanilla pudding according to the box, then once putting his set and ready to eat I take some pudding and whipped topping and mix it together and then add fruit. It tastes much better that way and light and fluffy. It also makes it great cake frosting if you don't like sweet frostings.
Can I use fresh mandarins?
Not for this, sorry. It's the juice from the canned mandarins that brings the ingredients together.
Hello,
I used fresh mandarins and squeezed some to create juice (added a bit of sugar because they were a bit tart). I also used already made vanilla pudding instead of the dry mix. I mixed it all with the cool whip. It's still turned out delicious!
Did this with frozen strawberries and fresh. Didn’t have vanilla pudding sub cheese cake pudding. Awesome!
My Mom made one that had tapiociathat was delicious!!Know any?
Sounds yummy! How would you use fresh fruit instead of canned? Would you just make a fresh Mandarin coulis to make up for the liquid along with some diced fresh fruits? Thanks in advance!
You are so cool
how about using sugarfree pudding? Just need more boxes.?
I made this for my diabetic dad & used mandarin oranges packed in water, sugar free pudding mix & lite cool whip. It was delicious.
Thank you so much for sharing this Debie! So glad that works out, too!
@Debie, oh my gosh! I am so glad you posted this! I’m also a diabetic waiting on a pancreas transplant and I bought the exact same ingredients. Honestly though when I picked the low sugar Mandarin oranges, I did not realize they were packed in water. As soon as I dumped it in with the vanilla putting mix, I saw where it said packed in water on the can. I want to head and just made it anyway and I just put it in the refrigerator about 30 minutes ago. I was so scared it wasn’t going to work out, even though it looked like it would once it was cold again. I am so relieved, I thought I just wasted my ingredients and then it wouldn’t work. Thank you again Debi!
Jeremy Parnell
Tried this last night followed the directions to the letter and some of the light syrup in the mandarin oranges were not absorbed into the pudding and it left the dessert runny.
Your recipe says 1cup whipped topping should it be one 8oz cool whip or 1cup? Thank you!
Hiya! It's 1 cup for this! You could use the whole 8oz, it would just be more fluffy and less condensed. 😉
Can you use a cup of “Redi-Whip”?
I would probably try a cup and a half of the Redi-whip.. it should work out good! Let us know how it turns out
Chocolate with cherries.
They are so good together
Or strawberry pudding and strawberries
Brilliant! I am going to have to try these ideas!
@Dawn Lopez, last night, I stopped at one of the smaller stores on my way home. All I had in was chocolate pudding mix. I’ll try my best to think of a fruit I can use with the chocolate pudding mix, but couldn’t think of anything. Would cut up bananas have worked?
@Jeremy R Parnell, what about frozen cherries and chocolate!
Can it be made the day before? Or is it better to do it the day of your event?
I bet strawberries with chocolate pudding would be great!
Ooh Michelle! That sounds SO good! Love it!
PEACHES!!!
This looks so yummy and it would be perfect for the Summer Series I’m doing in June “30 Days of Summer”. I’d love for you to consider joining us for the series! You could submit this post or even write a new one. The rules are simple:
* Select a Date in June
* Select a Topic related to Summer
* Have the post written in html with pictures and emailed to Megin by due date (5 days prior to post date)
* Link back to your own Blog
It’s that simple! Please let me know if you’d like to join us and I’ll let you know what dates I have open.
~ Megin of VMG206 (vmg 20-6 at gmail)
yummy. we have mixed both pineapple adn orange together but i never thought seperate.. cool.. OFf topic, the spoons pictured are great. what brand are they?
Wow, this looks easy and so yummy! Can't wait to try it. Thanks for sharing at the #HomeMattersParty 🙂
This looks so yummy. I am saving this recipe.
Thanks for sharing at Wake Up Wednesday.
Bev
Cant wait to try. How about peaches?
I make a fruit salad:
1 can of Crushed Pineapple w/it's juice
1 can of Fruit Cocktail, drained
1 can of Mandarin Oranges, drained
1 package Instant Vanilla pudding mix
8oz tub of Cool Whip
2 handfuls of Mini Marshmallows
In a bowl mix it all together with a spoon. Chill for an hour before serving.
Wow! This sounds SO yummy! Thanks so much for sharing your recipe, I can't wait to give that a try!
I substitute pistachio pudding ...
That’s exactly how I make mine!
I love this delicious and each 3 ingredient Mandarin Orange dessert for Mother's Day. Thanks for sharing with Foodie Friends Friday this weekend. Pinned and sharing.
Try using the cheesecake flavored instant pudding
Yum! That sounds like a fantastic idea!
Those treats look amazing! My kids will think I'm SuperMom when I make these! Thank you for sharing!
Easy and looks so yummy.
This looks really good. 🙂 I am pinning....
This looks like something my kids would LOVE! Im going to have to make some of these.
These both look really good, I am going to check and see if instant pudding is gluten free, if so, i am all in!!!
That looks super easy to make, and uber delicious too. I bet my kids would be happy if I served this one up. Pinning it.
Thanks so much Rosey, you're always so sweet! 😉
That looks super yummy! I'm printing out the recipe now so I can make it sometime soon.
Thanks so much Terra! Let me know if you likey?
im obsessed with the pineapple one and can't wait to try the mandarin orange one now.
I'm sooo happy that you like the pineapple one! The mandarin orange one was a nice change.. I would say maybe just slightly less sweet! Let me know if you like it too!
I have fresh mandarin oranges
how can I use this.
I like this - talk about easy!
thanks for the recipe
Thanks so much Barbara! Sooo easy & I have to admit pretty delish and satisfying too! 😉 Thanks for stopping by! Always love to see you here!