Our Cranberry Fluff Salad recipe is made with fresh cranberries, sweetened with crushed pineapple and loaded with fluffy marshmallows. It's a holiday tradition everyone looks forward to.
This may be my favorite side for Thanksgiving, it's right up there with Thanksgiving Stuffing, Homemade Rolls, my favorite Turkey, and easy Lemon Cream Pie!
Cranberry Fluff is the unsophisticated salad adults love as much as kids.
Cranberry Fluff is the unsophisticated salad adults love as much as kids.It's such an old-fashioned mid-western tradition to serve fluffy dessert “salads” like this at parties, but it's a holiday tradition I secretly love (it wouldn't be Easter without our Ambrosia or Frog eye salad!). We've been making this one for decades, but after trying Mel's version a few years ago, with a little cream cheese added for stability, that's now our go-to method. It's a bright spot on the table with all of our other favorite side dishes.
Only 6 Ingredients Needed:
How to make Cranberry Fluff Salad:
Combine: Blend cranberries in a food processor until chopped, but not mushy. Pour into a large bowl, add sugar and pineapple and mix well. Cover and refrigerate for at least an hour, then drain some (not all) of the juice.
Add Cream: Beat the cream cheese until smooth then pour in the heavy cream and whip until stiff peaks form. Fold into the cranberry salad. Stir in marshmallows. Cover cranberry fluff salad and refrigerate for several hours or overnight.
More Side Dishes to Try:
- Ambrosia Salad
- Chicken Pasta Salad
- Jello Fruit Salad
- Corn Casserole
- Poutine
- 7-Layer Dip
- Buttermilk Cornbread
- Baked Potato Salad
- Cheesy Breadsticks
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Recipe
Cranberry Fluff Salad
Ingredients
- 12 ounce package fresh cranberries
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 8 ounce can crushed pineapple , undrained
- 2 cups mini marshmallows
- 4 ounces cream cheese , softened
- 2 cups heavy whipping cream
Instructions
- Chop Cranberries: Add the cranberries to a food processor and pulse until they are finely chopped, but not mushy.
- Marinate: Pour the cranberries into a large bowl. Stir in the sugar and pineapple and mix well. Cover and refrigerate for one hour or longer.
- Whip Cream: In a medium bowl, beat the cream cheese until smooth. Pour in the cream and whip until stiff peaks form
- Combine: Drain some of the juice from the cranberry mixture. Fold the whipped cream mixture into the salad. Fold in marshmallows.
- Chill in the refrigerate for 3-4 hours (or overnight), before serving.
Notes
Nutrition
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I originally shared this recipe November 2015. Updated November 2019 and November 2024.
Recipe from my Grandma, with cream cheese idea adapted from Mel's Kitchen Cafe.
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This was SO GOOD and SO easy! Everyone LOVED it. Will be a new staple for sure!
Can I freeze this?
I wouldn’t recommend freezing Cranberry Fluff Salad. The whipped cream and marshmallows won’t hold up well when frozen and thawed. the texture would get watery and separated when it defrosts 😕
Am I crazy? This will be the third year making this as it is very good. But it’s impossible to get true stiff peaks without sugar, no? Merely creaming the cream cheese and adding HWC won’t get you stiff peaks? So what texture should I be looking for? Each year I give up trying to get stiff peaks and it still turns out good but I’m wondering what I’m missing.
You’re not crazy at all. The cream won’t whip to true stiff peaks once the cream cheese is mixed in. You’re just looking for it to get thick, fluffy, and lighter in texture. As long as it’s creamy and holds together, you’re right where you need to be.
If you can’t find fresh cranberries, is can cranberries?
Canned cranberry sauce won’t work. it’s already cooked and sweetened, so the texture and flavor would be off. Use frozen cranberries instead! They work perfectly and don’t even need to be thawed first. Just pulse them in the food processor like you would fresh ones.
How much is one serving?
This recipe serves 6, so the best way to figure out the amount for 1 serving is to weigh it and divide it by 6.
Yes, but is one serving like a portion on a dinner plate or a bowl? In the picture it shows it in cups, so if I’m serving it at thanksgiving for 11 people should I double it or triple it? Or will that be way too much? I want a little leftovers but not too much.
Its a portion on a dinner plate. So the recipe serves 6, so I would double it.
Is there something I could use instead of pineapples (I’m allergic)? Would I be okay to just leave it out?
You can leave it out, no problem. Or swap in grapes or mandarin oranges if those work for you.
Can I forgo the marshmallows and put in pecans instead?? No one likes marshmallows in our family.
Yes you can swap that out!
Thank You!!