This Cranberry Salad recipe is one of those easy holiday side dishes that people go CRAZY for! It’s always a crowd favorite and it’s creamy, sweet and delicious!
Did your Grandma ever make this Cranberry Salad for Thanksgiving? Or maybe another relative? This is kind of an old-school recipe that I secretly really, really love.
I sometimes pretend I’m too good for the fluff, marshamallow “salads” (why do we call them that?!) but really I absolutly love them. It’s like eating dessert during your meal, but we all pretend it’s totally normal. 
This Cranberry Fluff Salad was a staple at our Thanksgiving. I tried this recipe on Mel’s Kitchen Cafe, which is the same recipe I’ve always used except that she added cream cheese to help stabilize the whipped cream. And it makes the dish that much creamier and more delicious.
This is just about the easiest holiday side dish to throw together and it’s always a crowd favorite! A
A few tips for this recipe:
Make sure to refrigerate it for several hours (or overnight) before serving to allow it to set up.
Make sure to beat the whipped cream to very stiff peaks.
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Cranberry Fluff Salad is an easy holiday side dish that's always a crowd favorite! It's creamy, sweet and delicious!
- 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
- Add the cranberries to a food processor and pulse until they are well chopped, but not mushy.
Pour the cranberries into a large bowl. Stir in the sugar and pineapple and mix well. Cover and refrigerate for an hour or longer. Drain most of the juice.
- In a medium bowl, beat the cream cheese until smooth. Pour in the cream and whip until stiff peaks form. Fold the creamy mixture into the salad. Fold in marshmallows.
- Cover and refrigerate for several hours or overnight.
Recipe Video
Tips for this recipe are listed in the post above!
Have you tried this recipe?!
RATE and COMMENT below! I would love to hear your experience.
Judy Westmoreland says
Pictures look delicious. Can’t wait to make the cranberry fluff and then eat it.
Pat says
can you use cool whip instead of whipping cream?
Lauren Allen says
Hi Pat, you could definitely use cool whip instead. (I just like the taste of fresh whipped cream better). Hope you enjoy it!
Julie says
You’re pouring the heavy cream over the beaten cream cheese and then whipping it into peaks? Not whipping it in a separate bowl? Thanks!
Lauren Allen says
Hi Julie, That’s right! You could whip it separately if you want, but you’ll save doing dishes this way and it works the same 🙂
Amie says
How long will this last in refrigerator ?
Lauren Allen says
It should be great for 2-3 days in the fridge 🙂
Holly says
My boyfriend accidentally bought dried cranberries. Should I go out and buy fresh cranberries or try the recipe using what I have?
Lauren Allen says
Hi Holly, the recipe wont work very well with dried cranberries–the taste and texture would be off…
colleen says
Hello Lauren,
Thank you for sharing this recipe! I need to serve 22 people a 4oz. sample size of this salad. Will one batch be enough?
Lauren Allen says
Hi Colleen, If we were to say 4oz was about 1/2 cup, this recipe will make about 20 (1/2 cup) 4 oz servings. So it would be cutting it a little bit close…. You could always 1 and 1/2 the recipe. Good luck–I hope everyone loves it!
colleen says
That is extremely helpful, Lauren. I greatly appreciate your response and recommendation.
Nancy Hill says
I have made this recipe for probably 25 years and it is a family favorite! Interestingly my recipe does not have the word ‘fluff’ in the title! I use the old school hand crank grinder to grind the cranberries. We have issues in our family with lactose intolerance so I substitute the whipping cream with cool whip. Obviously adding cream cheese would also be a no no for us. I know these days people are moving to natural products but when there are issues with said products you have to improvise in order to keep making a favorite cranberry salad. A lot of people have varying degrees of lactose intolerance so cool whip provides an option that allows you to make this tasty salad. It works great and tastes just fine.
jan says
Step 1 says to process until the cranberries are mushy? Really? Mushy??
Lauren Allen says
Hi Jan, sorry for the typo–the cranberries should be well chopped, but “not” mushy!
Julie says
I am making this salad for the first time ever. I have ALWAYS made the wonderful Watergate salad. But, after 30 years I wanted to try something new. I hope I do it right! Lol. Can’t WAIT to try it.
Lauren Allen says
Thanks Julie! I hope you love it as much as we do!
Julie says
Looks amazing! There are so many cranberry fluff recipes. But this one just looked and sounds like the best.
Diane says
Loved this recipe!
Salma says
-hi Looks great! could I used other berries than cranberries?
Lauren Allen says
Hi Salma, that should work fine..I would just make sure to drain some of the juice if you’re using a juicy fruit (like berries)
Emily says
Do you think it would be possible to make this with raspberries instead of cranberries? We loved this recipe so much, and my husband Loves raspberries.
Lauren Allen says
Hi Emily, I think that could be really yummy! I would leave out the sugar completely, and don’t mix the raspberries and the pineapple or they will get mushy. Drain off some of the juice from the pineapple. Beat the cream cheese and whipped cream together (I’d also add a 2-3 tablespoons of powdered sugar here, to sweeten the whipped cream) and then fold in the pineapple, raspberries and marshmallows. I’d love to hear how it turns out!
Heather Larson says
If I do not have food processor could I just chop the cranberries by hand with a knife? Also draining the juice, how do you know how much to drain? Thanks
Lauren Allen says
Yes, you can definitely chop them by hand. Drain all the juice you can from them. Hope you enjoy it!
Heather Larson says
so after allowing the cranberries, pineapple and sugar set for an hour you drain the juice from this mixture?
Grace says
I made this a few years ago and now have to have it at every holiday function. Always the hit of the party!
Kim Uhler Miller Gardner says
I made this for our family Thanksgiving dinner – it was delicious and very easy to make!!
Lauren Allen says
Thanks so much for sharing! It’s one my favorites at Thanksgiving and I’m so happy you liked it!
SueK says
Thank you for this great recipe. I made it for Thanksgiving and it was such a hit that I am making again for Christmas Eve.
Lauren Allen says
That’s what I love to hear! Thanks so much for sharing and for following TBFS 🙂 Hope you have a wonderful holiday!
colleen says
I have made this recipe about three times since Thanksgiving for different events.
It is easy and has been a BIG hit every time. Thanks so much for a recipe Keeper!
Adriann says
I had some cranberries in the freezer from thanksgiving. Can I use thawed cranberries. I noticed they are not as firm as when they were fresh. Thanks!
Lauren Allen says
Hi Adriann, I’m bet they would still work fine 🙂 . Just be sure to drain them really well.
tracy sarrach miller says
do you cook the cranberries first or just use them fresh not cooked straight from the package??
Lauren Allen says
You don’t cook them–just raw from the bag 🙂