A spoonful of Snickers apple salad should give you a crisp piece of apple, a chewy bit of candy bar, and enough vanilla cream to pull them together. Granny Smith apples bring the tart bite you get from a caramel apple. A Honeycrisp adds a little sweetness and red color, and a drizzle of caramel settles into the dips on top.
The dressing starts with instant vanilla pudding and cold milk. It thickens as you whisk, then softens into a fluffy cream when you fold in the whipped topping. It clings to the apples so you can leave a neat scoop beside a slice of pie on the same plate.
Set aside about 20 minutes to make it and an hour to chill it. A single batch serves about 10 as a potluck dessert. You can mix it in the bowl you plan to take with you, then add the caramel and the last handful of chopped candy when you’re ready to serve.
What You’ll Need
- 1 box (3.4 ounces) instant vanilla pudding mix
- 1 cup cold whole milk
- 1 tub (8 ounces) frozen whipped topping, thawed in the refrigerator
- 5 cups unpeeled apples, cut into ½-inch pieces (about 4 medium apples, preferably 3 Granny Smith and 1 Honeycrisp)
- 4 full-size Snickers bars (1.86 ounces each), cut into roughly ½-inch pieces and divided
- ¼ cup caramel dessert sauce
Start with a 4-quart mixing bowl and a whisk. You’ll also need a flexible spatula, measuring cups, a cutting board, and a sharp knife. A bowl with a fitted lid can go straight from the refrigerator into the cooler. Keep a small covered container on hand for the candy you’ll scatter over the top.
Choosing Apples for a Creamy Caramel Apple Salad
The pudding, topping, and candy are all sweet, so start with fruit that has enough tang to come through the cream. Granny Smith is a dependable choice. Its firm flesh gives you a clean bite even after the diced fruit has spent an hour in the refrigerator under a generous coating of dressing.
Honeycrisp works well for the red apple because it’s juicy and firm. Pink Lady is another good choice if you want some red peel and a little more tartness. Feel the fruit before you buy it and choose apples that are firm from the stem down. If you’re working through apples from the fruit bowl, trim any small bruised spots before measuring the pieces.
Leave the peels on for color and a bit of texture. On a large apple, the skin can feel thick where it curves over the shoulder. If that bothers you, peel the apples before chopping and measure the five cups afterward. A loose measure is enough. Drop the pieces into the cup as you cut them and stop when the last cup reaches the rim. The size of the fruit can vary quite a bit, so let the cup measure guide you at the cutting board.
A Few Details About the Pudding, Candy, and Caramel
Look for instant vanilla pudding in the small 3.4-ounce box. The mix thickens in cold milk, and one cup gives the dressing enough body to coat the apples once the whipped topping goes in. Use milk straight from the fridge. The pudding will look distinctly thick on its own, with a soft line left by the whisk.
Move the frozen whipped topping to the refrigerator in time for the center to thaw. If you’re starting with a tub from the freezer, moving it the night before is convenient. Press a spoon lightly into the middle of the tub when you’re ready. It should give evenly from edge to center. You can use Cool Whip or an equivalent frozen whipped topping, measured by the 8-ounce weight on the tub.
For leftover fun-size bars, reach for a kitchen scale and weigh out about 7½ ounces of unwrapped candy. When you set aside the garnish, look for pieces with their cut sides intact. Set them face up on the salad so you can see the stripes of nougat and caramel. If your kitchen is warm and the caramel sticks to the blade, cool the bars briefly in the refrigerator before cutting.
Choose a caramel dessert sauce that falls off a spoon in a slow ribbon. Thick caramel can sit in sticky blobs that pull the cream along when you serve. A refrigerated sauce may loosen after a few minutes on the counter. Spoon the measured amount into a small cup to let it soften while you set out the salad.
How to Make Snickers Apple Salad
- Wash the apples and chop the candy. Rinse the whole apples under running water and dry them with a clean towel. Set them aside whole for now. Unwrap the candy bars and set each one flat on the board. Cut the bars lengthwise, then slice across them to make roughly ½-inch pieces. Transfer ¼ cup of chopped candy to a small covered container for serving.
- Whisk the pudding. Pour the cold milk into the mixing bowl and sprinkle in the pudding mix as you whisk. Whisk for about 2 minutes, sweeping around the bottom and sides as the mixture thickens. Lift the whisk to check it. The pudding should drip back slowly and leave a brief trail across the surface. Give it another minute or two to stand if needed.
- Fold in the whipped topping. Add about half the tub and sweep the spatula down the side of the bowl, under the pudding, and back up through the middle. Turn the bowl and repeat until the mixture loosens. Fold in the second half, stopping when the cream looks even and you’ve picked up the denser pudding near the bottom.
- Dice the apples. Cut each apple into quarters. Set a quarter on a flat cut side and trim off the strip containing the core and seeds. Cut the quarter into ½-inch slices, then cut the slices into sticks and across into cubes. Aim for pieces that let you get apple, candy, and dressing on the same spoon. Measure five cups.
- Coat the apples and candy. Tip the apples and the larger portion of the chopped Snickers into the dressing. Fold slowly from the bottom until the cut sides of the fruit have a thin coat of cream. Pull the spatula through the center once to catch any candy that settled at the bottom. Cover and refrigerate for 1 hour. Refrigerate the reserved candy separately.
- Finish the salad just before serving. If you’re using a serving bowl, transfer the cold salad and leave a few soft ridges on top as you smooth it with the back of a spoon. Scatter the reserved pieces of candy over the surface. Drizzle the ¼ cup of caramel back and forth in thin lines, reaching the edges of the bowl so the first few scoops get some too. Serve cold.
When the Dressing Needs a Little Help
Small lumps in the pudding. Check along the bottom curve of the bowl where dry powder can collect. While the pudding is still on its own, scrape that area with the spatula and whisk again. For a stubborn lump, smear it against the side of the bowl with the back of the spatula, then work it into the pudding. It’s easier to do this while you can still see exactly where the lumps are.
White streaks when you fold. A little difference in color is normal halfway through. White blobs after folding often come from a part of the topping that’s still very cold. Press a small soft lump against the bowl with the spatula and fold it back through the cream. If the topping is still frozen in the tub, give it more time in the refrigerator before using it.
A thin dressing. Check the milk measure if the pudding still pours freely after a short rest. If too much milk went in and the apples are still on the board, mixing a fresh base is the simplest fix. For a bowl that’s already assembled, refrigerate it for the full hour and see how it scoops. A softer batch also works served cold in small cups, where each portion can hold a little extra dressing.
How Far Ahead Can You Make It?
The night before, thaw the topping in the refrigerator and chop the candy. Store the pieces in a covered container in the fridge, with the garnish portion in its own container if you have room. Wash and dry the apples, then refrigerate them whole. That leaves the whisking, chopping, and folding for the day you plan to serve the salad.
Once the apples are diced, fold them into the cream promptly. The freshly cut surfaces start to darken when they’re exposed to air. Making the dressing first lets you move the fruit straight from the cutting board to the bowl. If you’re interrupted while chopping, slip the pieces you’ve already cut into the dressing, then cover and refrigerate the bowl until you can finish.
For a 4 p.m. dessert table and a short drive, starting around 2 p.m. gives the salad time to chill before you leave. You’ll be able to pack the covered bowl around 3:20 p.m. and do the topping at your destination. On a busy morning you can also assemble it several hours in advance and keep it refrigerated until you leave. The apples are at their crunchiest on the day you cut them.
If the refrigerator is full, divide the finished batch between two shallow lidded containers while it chills. They’re easier to fit next to a baking dish or a stack of drinks, and you can spoon the two portions into one serving bowl when you arrive. Pack the caramel in a small screw-top jar so it stays off the cooler lid and out of the salad until you can pour it.
Portioning the Salad for a Crowd
For about 20 dessert servings, make two batches. Set out two mixing bowls and measure each pudding base separately. A 4-quart bowl gives you room to bring the spatula all the way up from the bottom of a single batch, so the fruit and chunks of candy get coated evenly. Dice and measure the apples for each bowl once its dressing is ready. The second batch can go straight into the refrigerator alongside the first.
For a dessert table with several choices, 6-ounce cups make good tasting portions. Fill each cup with roughly ½ cup of chilled salad, leaving room for a few pieces of candy and a little caramel. Give the bowl a gentle turn with the spatula after filling the first few cups so the last ones get their share of apples. Spoon the toppings over the cups just before they go out. Short cups and teaspoons make it easy to reach an apple piece at the bottom.
Packing and Serving It at a Potluck
Chill the bowl completely before packing it. Carry it in an insulated cooler with ice or frozen gel packs and keep it at 40°F or colder. A separate cooler for drinks is handy on warm days, when people will be opening it often. Set the covered salad in the host’s refrigerator if there’s a wait before dessert.
For a buffet, a wide bowl gives you room to spread the candy and caramel so they reach more spoonfuls. A broad serving spoon also lets people scoop through the fruit and down into the cream in one motion. If you’re serving outside, nest the bowl in a larger bowl of ice. Keep the ice around the sides of the bowl and below the rim. Drain meltwater and replenish the ice as needed.
If the bowl is out without temperature control, refrigerate it within 2 hours, or within 1 hour above 90°F. Discard salad that’s been out longer. For a long open house, put out a smaller bowl and keep the next portion chilled until you need it. That also gives you a fresh surface for drizzling the remaining caramel.
Original Snickers bars contain peanuts, milk, egg, and soy. For a shared table, write those on the dish label and keep the ingredient packages handy for anyone who needs to check the full labels. Give the salad its own serving spoon so it can stay with the bowl.
Storing Leftovers
Refrigerate leftovers promptly in a covered container at 40°F or below and use them within 2 days of making the salad.
As the salad sits, the apples may release a little juice and the caramel will streak the cream if you stir it. Fold once or twice from the bottom if you want to bring a small amount of separated liquid back into the dressing. Serve directly from the refrigerator. Freezing can leave the apples soft and the dressing watery after thawing, so plan to enjoy the rest chilled.
Three Ways to Change the Flavor
Butterscotch pudding. Whisk a 3.4-ounce box of instant butterscotch pudding into the cold milk for more caramel-like flavor throughout the bowl. This is especially good with all Granny Smith apples, which bring plenty of tartness to the sweeter-tasting dressing.
Apples and grapes. Use 4 cups diced apples and 1 cup halved seedless grapes. Wash and dry the grapes before you halve them, then fold them in with the apples. Green grapes tuck into the bowl almost unnoticed until you catch a juicy one with a piece of chocolate. Red grapes show up nicely alongside green apples.
Salted caramel. Use ¼ cup of pourable salted caramel dessert sauce for a finishing drizzle with a savory edge. Spread it over the top in a few passes so the salt and caramel reach each scoop. If you’re plating dessert in little cups, spoon the cold salad into the cups first and drizzle each one at the table.
Using Homemade Whipped Cream
If you’re serving the salad the same day, you can use freshly whipped cream for the dressing. Beat 1 cup cold heavy whipping cream with 2 tablespoons powdered sugar. When you lift the beaters, the tips of the cream should hold their shape. Stop there while the cream is still smooth. Fold the full amount into the thickened pudding in two additions in place of the tub of topping.
Give the assembled salad its hour in the refrigerator and serve it that day. Homemade whipped cream can lose some volume as it sits, so this version is a good fit when you can mix the salad closer to serving time.
Snickers Apple Salad (Creamy Caramel Apple Salad)
Equipment
- 4-quart mixing bowl with a lid or cover
- Whisk and flexible spatula
- Cutting board and sharp knife
- measuring cups
- Small covered container
- Serving bowl and spoon, if serving separately
Ingredients
- 1 box 3.4 ounces instant vanilla pudding mix
- 1 cup cold whole milk
- 1 tub 8 ounces frozen whipped topping, thawed in the refrigerator
- 5 cups unpeeled apples cut into ½-inch pieces (about 4 medium apples, preferably 3 Granny Smith and 1 Honeycrisp)
- 4 full-size Snickers bars 1.86 ounces each, cut into roughly ½-inch pieces and divided
- ¼ cup caramel dessert sauce
Instructions
- Rinse and dry the whole apples. Cut the Snickers into roughly ½-inch pieces and set aside ¼ cup of the chopped candy in a covered container.
- Whisk the cold milk and instant pudding mix in a 4-quart bowl for about 2 minutes, until thickened.
- Fold in the thawed whipped topping in two additions until the dressing is smooth and even.
- Core and cut the apples into ½-inch pieces. Measure 5 cups and fold them into the dressing with the rest of the chopped candy.
- Cover and refrigerate the salad for 1 hour. Refrigerate the reserved candy separately.
- Scatter the reserved ¼ cup chopped candy over the chilled salad, drizzle with the ¼ cup caramel sauce, and serve cold.
Notes
- Thaw the whipped topping in the refrigerator before starting. About 7½ ounces of unwrapped fun-size Snickers can replace the four full-size bars.
- Keep the salad at 40°F or colder for transport and refrigerate leftovers in a covered container for up to 2 days. Discard salad left out for over 2 hours, or over 1 hour above 90°F.
- Original Snickers bars contain peanuts, milk, egg, and soy.
