Snickers Salad is one of the best dessert salad recipes ever! This easy recipe uses vanilla pudding, green apples, Cool Whip, caramel, and loads of Snickers bars.

Salad for dessert? Yes, please! I’m a huge fan of dessert salads. In fact, I already have several recipes in my recipe box. This Cherry Salad is super popular.

Do you serve it as a dessert or a side dish? That’s up to you. I like to enjoy it as dessert at the end of a meal.

Snickers Caramel Apple Salad, also known as candy bar salad, is made with basic, easy-to-find ingredients and takes minutes to prepare. It’s perfect for a potluck or party because you don’t have to spend too much time prepping it. And everyone loves it! Who can resist the yummy Snickers sweetness?

It’s very rich and can serve a larger group of people. Leftovers are great, too, if you make it for your family and can’t eat it all in one sitting. I’ve even caught my partner sneaking out in the middle of the night to the fridge to grab himself a bowl of it.

Ingredients

The full printable recipe card with measurements and instructions is found at the bottom of the post.

To make this Snickers dessert, you’ll need these ingredients.

Vanilla instant pudding mix: You’ll just use the powder in the package. There is no need to prepare the pudding itself.
2% or whole milk
Cool Whip – You can make your own homemade Cool Whip if you can’t find it in stores.
Granny Smith apples – These apples are on the tart side, so they help balance out the sweetness of the other ingredients.
Snickers bars – Leftover Snickers bars from Halloween work great for this salad!
Caramel sauce – Buy the caramel sauce for ice cream sundaes or make your own caramel sauce if you like.

How to Make Snickers Salad

Follow along to learn how to make Snickers Salad!

Step One: Stir the vanilla pudding mix and milk in a large bowl. Fold in the Cool Whip.

The vanilla pudding, milk and Cool Whip mixed in a bowl.

Step Two: Add the Granny Smith apples and Snickers bars and gently mix them in the pudding mix.

Mixing the apples and chocolate in the bowl.

Step Three: Scoop the dipping into a serving bowl and top with caramel sauce. Serve chilled.

Where Did It Originate?

Snickers Salad is popular in Iowa, USA, as a potluck and party dish.

It was also included in a 1989 Betty Crocker cookbook and many church cookbooks.

Variations

Change up this candy bar salad to make it your own. Some ideas of ingredients to include are:

Grapes
Sliced bananas
Crushed pineapple
Cream cheese
Marshmallow fluff
Mini marshmallows
Chocolate chips
Toffee bits
Salted caramel chips
Chocolate sauce
Butterscotch sauce
Peanuts
Crushed pretzels

A bowl of the recipe on a metal baking pan.

Can You Make Ahead?

I recommend making it the same day you’re planning to serve it. It’s best enjoyed within a few hours of preparing it.

And yes, you can eat it right away. If you don’t serve it right away, cover and chill it in the fridge. It’s best served cold.

What are the Best Apples to Use?

I recommend using Granny Smith apples. They are tart and keep their crunch. You want something with tartness, so it helps to balance the sweetness.

I’ve also seen people use Red Delicious apples and Cortland apples.

How to Store

If you have leftovers, store them in the fridge for up to 2 days. The apples may make the sauce a little watery, but give it a quick stir, and that should help. It will still taste yummy.

Dessert Salad Recipes

Craving more dessert salads?

Caramel Apple Recipes

If it’s caramel apple you’re craving, I’ve also got you covered.

Caramel Apple Pie Crescents (air fryer recipe)
Caramel Apple Grilled Cheese Sandwich
Caramel Apple Cookies
Caramel Apple Cupcakes
Caramel Apple Dump Cake
Caramel Apple Pizza

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4.44 from 106 votes