Cranberry Fluff Salad Recipe (Quick and Easy)

This easy Cranberry Fluff Salad is the perfect holiday side dish! Everyone loves this Cool Whip Salad that’s part dessert and part salad!

Cranberry Fluff Salad

Remember a few days ago when I mentioned sharing all the cranberry recipes possible over the next few weeks? So here is another one. LOL!

I love a good dessert salad. Dessert salads are the perfect mix of fruit, Cool Whip, and the holidays. I know I will get a lot of eyerolls for calling this a salad, but it has fruit, and it is the holidays, so let’s all go with it in the spirit of the season.

This Cranberry Fluff with Cool Whip can be kept simple or jazzed up with additional mix-ins. It is one of those salads you can customize to your preferences.

If you can plan to refrigerate it overnight, the salad will be even pinker, and the flavors will have time to meld together in this fruit salad. Whether you call this a side dish or dessert, I hope you call it delicious!We serve this for Christmas and Thanksgiving dinner along with Green Bean Casserole, Creamed Corn Casserole, Cranberry Sauce, and Funeral Potatoes.

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Ingredients

Here is a quick overview of the simple ingredients for making an epic Cranberry Fluff! The printable recipe card at the bottom of the post includes specific measurements and step-by-step instructions.

• Cranberries
• Sugar
• Mini Marshmallows
• Crushed Pineapple
• Cool Whip Frozen Whipped Topping

Optional Add-Ins: Pineapple Chunks, Shredded Coconut, Chopped Pecans, Chopped Apple Pieces, Chopped Walnuts, Sour Cream, or Mandarin Oranges

Cranberries - I made this recipe with fresh cranberries that I chopped in the food processor. This recipe can easily be made with frozen cranberries that have thawed.

Pineapple - I like the texture of crushed pineapple in this cranberry fluff. If you want bigger pieces of pineapple you can toss in pineapple chunks.

Cool Whip - We make this with Cool Whip instead of whipped cream. Cool Whip does a great job of maintaining the fluffiness even when it is served the next day. Heavy whipping cream can deflate and not give the same texture. Check out all of our cool whip recipes.

Equipment Needed

• Food Processor: if you are using fresh cranberries and need to cut them down. You can cut them in a blender if you don't have a food processor.
• Large Bowl with a Cover: Let the finished dish rest in the refrigerator for a few hours at a minimum.
• Spatula

How to make Cranberry Fluff Salad

I've included complete instructions in the printable recipe card at the bottom of the post, but here's a quick version.

Step 1 - Clean fresh cranberries, remove any stems or random mushy bits you find.

Add cranberries in a food processor and pulse or chop in a blender until in pieces but not mushy.

Step 2  - Add chopped cranberries and sugar in a bowl and let sit for 30-60 minutes to give the cranberries time to release their juices.

Step 3 - Add crushed pineapple to the bowl and mix together.

Step 4 - Add Cool Whip to the bowl and gently fold everything together.

Step 5 - Add in marshmallows and gently mix then into the cool whip mixture

Step 6 - Cover and chill in the refrigerator for a minimum of 2 hours but can sit overnight.

Preparation and Storage

Make-Ahead: This Cranberry Fluff Salad is make-ahead-friendly! While it’s ready to serve after two hours in the fridge, we like refrigerating it overnight for a pink color that pops.

Storage: Refrigerate any leftovers in an airtight container and enjoy them within three days.

Freezing/How to Freeze: We don’t recommend freezing this holiday dessert salad. Pineapple naturally contains a lot of water, which may cause the Cool Whip to separate and change the dish’s texture when you thaw it.

Recipe Variations

Substitutions:

I made this recipe with fresh cranberries chopped in the food processor. You can easily make it with frozen, thawed cranberries.

I like the texture of crushed pineapple in this Cranberry Fluff. You can toss in pineapple chunks if you want larger pineapple pieces.

Some recipes call for cream cheese to make the fluff salad even creamier. You can also add in red grapes for more fruit.

Vegetarian Option: Replace the mini marshmallows with a vegetarian alternative to make this recipe vegetarian. Many grocery store brands contain gelatin, an animal-derived ingredient.

Vegan Option: In addition to the guidance for vegetarians, vegans should use a dairy-free alternative to Cool Whip to make this dish vegan.

Gluten-Free: This sweet side dish is gluten-free if you use gluten-free marshmallows. Cool Whip is gluten-free.

Smaller Serving Size + Larger Group/More Servings: The written recipe makes eight servings. Scale it up or down to your desired yield.

Sugar-Free: The written recipe contains 46 grams of sugar per serving, with some naturally occurring in the fruit. Replace the white sugar and mini marshmallows with sugar-free alternatives, check that your canned pineapple has no sugar added, and use Cool Whip Zero Sugar to make it sugar-free.

Tips for the Best Cranberry Fluff

• We make this with Cool Whip instead of whipped cream. Cool Whip does a great job maintaining the fluffiness even when serving this sweet holiday salad the next day. Heavy whipping cream can deflate and not give the same texture. Check out all of our Cool Whip recipes!
• You can prepare this Cranberry Salad to your favorite flavors and textures. Add chopped pecans or walnuts for more crunch and extra pineapple or apple chunks for more fruit.
• The longer this fluff salad sits in the fridge, the pinker it will become, which shows off the cranberry color.

What to Serve with Cranberry Fluff

This pretty-in-pink Cranberry Fluff Salad would be a fantastic part of any holiday dessert platter! Here are some menu pairing suggestions to make it part of a festive feast for sharing with friends and family.

Sides: Brown Sugar Bacon Wrapped Smokies, Cheddar Bay Sausage Balls, Cheesy Green Beans, Cranberry Sauce, Sweet Potato Casserole with Canned Yams, Creamed Corn Casserole, Campbell's Green Bean Casserole, CrockPot Scalloped Potatoes & Ham, Homemade Cranberry Sauce

Main Dishes: Eggnog French Toast, Tater Tot Breakfast Casserole, Ham & Cheese Crescent Roll, CrockPot Turkey, CrockPot Ham, CrockPot Cranberry Barbecue Meatballs, Bourbon Baked Ham, CrockPot Orange Glazed Ham, CrockPot Coke Glazed Ham

Desserts: Eggnog Cookies, Sugared Cranberries, 4 Ingredient Christmas Crack, Reindeer Chow, Grinch Bark, No Bake Church Window Cookies, Eggnog Cake with Eggnog Glaze, No Bake Eggnog Pie, Snowball Cookies, Snow Ice Cream, Black Forest Cupcakes

Drinks: Broken Down Golf Cart Shot, Baileys Hot Chocolate, Grinch Jello Shots, Fireball Jello Shots, Cherry Bomb Shot, Cranberry Mimosa, Eggnog Coffee, Peppermint Patty Shot, Polar Bear Shot, Boozy Grinch Drink, Three Wise Men Shot, Maple Old Fashioned Cocktail

When to Serve

• Thanksgiving
• Holiday Party
• Christmas Dinner

Great Salad Recipes

Ambrosia Salad

Cranberry Orange Relish

Hawaiian Mac Salad

Broccoli Bacon Salad

Kidney Bean Salad

Traditional 7-Layer Salad

Kale and Apple Potato Salad 

Do you love recipes? Check out our copycat recipes, dessert recipes, and our CrockPot Recipes.

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