Fruit salad fluff with cool whip, a delicious dessert side dish that you can make ahead this holiday season. Full flavors with chunks of banana, mandarin oranges and pineapples, the fun mini marshmallows brings it all together for a perfect kid friendly and family favorite fruit salad side dish.
Fruit Salad Fluff with Cool Whip
Ready for another amazing fluff salad recipe? These light as air fluff salads make a wonderful sweet side dish perfect for the holidays but also for fun picnics and dishes you need to feed a crowd. Made in mere minutes, you can almost stuff any fruit and cool whip together to make a super fun and sweet way to chow down on a recipe favorite.
This fluff salad is one we invented this weekend and just LOVE how it turned out. Totally full of fruit and folded with colored marshmallows, it rides the line with a traditional fruit salad with a bit of surprise in the banana pudding over the vanilla pudding.
To get started, you need the following ingredients. For full measurements, head to the bottom of the post to grab a free printable version of this recipe.
- very well drained mandarin oranges
- chilled cool whip (not frozen)
- Banana Heat and Serve Pudding that is made already
- pineapple tidbits
very well drained - mini colored (fruit) marshmallows or white mini marshmallows
- walnuts or pecan pieces (optional)
- 1 cut up fresh banana into chunks
very well drainedNOTE: This Salad needs TIME to fluff up! It has pudding in it and that has to thicken and fluff the marshmallows.
RELATED RECIPES: Watergate Salad Recipe and Ambrosia Salad Recipe
Prepping Pudding for Fluff Salads
Before making most fluff salads you need to prepare the pudding base.
Buy a “heat and serve” pudding, which is simply your heated up milk and pudding and is ready in minutes. Even though the pudding is ready to heat and serve, its always best to let your pudding cool at least 20 minutes before making your fruit fluff salad. An overheated pudding can melt down your cool whip, requiring a longer set time in the fridge. If I make my pudding the same day, I typically throw it in the freezer to get cold faster.
You can alter the pudding flavor to create any kind you want! This recipe uses banana pudding, but vanilla or Oreo is really popular as well.
How to make Fruit Fluff Salad
Combine 1 cup (box) of banana pudding that has been made and cooled (per box instructions) and 8 oz of chilled cool whip and fold together.
Add drained fruit (full can if you want, but I used half a can), one cut up fresh banana, and half a bag of mini fruit or regular white mini marshmallows to the bowl and gently fold until all combined.
Optionally, top with crushed walnuts or pecan pieces.
Fluff salad gets fluffier in the fridge, so this makes a great overnight make ahead side dish for Thanksgiving.
Fluff Salad Recipes
Make a fluff salad fruit tray! These dessert salads are inexpensive to make, full of flavor, and make a fun spread if you do more than one.
- Apple Pie Fluff Salad
- Watergate Salad
- Ambrosia Salad
- Tropical Fruit salad with Honey
- Hawaiian Cheesecake Salad
Fruit Salad Fluff with Cool Whip
Ingredients
- 1/2 to 1 full can of drained mandarin oranges
- 8 oz chilled cool whip
- 1 box of Banana Heat and Serve Pudding made
- 1/2 can to 1 full can of pineapple tidbits drained
- 1/2 bag of mini colored fruit marshmallows
- optional: walnuts or pecans
- 1 cut up banana into chunks
Instructions
- Prep the Pudding
- Before making most fluff salads you need to prepare the pudding base. Prepare based on the box.
- You can buy a "heat and serve" pudding, which is simply your heated up milk and pudding and is ready in minutes. It can be made on the stove or the microwave. Even though the pudding is ready to heat and serve, its always best to let your pudding cool atleast 20 minutes before making your fruit fluff salad. Popping it in the freezer can help cool it faster. An overheated pudding can melt down your cool whip, requiring a longer set time in the fridge.
Combine the Fruit Salad Fluff- Combine 1 cup of banana pudding and 8 oz of chilled cool whip and fold together with a spatula.
- Add drained fruit (half can up to the full can, depends on how much fruit you want), one cut up fresh banana, and half a bag of mini marshmallows to the bowl and gently fold until all combined. Make sure your fruit is drained well and not watery.
- Can eat immediately OR place in fridge for 4 hours or overnight for a fluffier salad.
- Top with nuts like Pecan pieces or walnuts prior to serving.
Video
Notes
Nutritional information is an automated estimate and provided to you as a courtesy. You should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe using your preferred nutrition calculator or app.
Nutrition
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Comments & Reviews
Joi says
Quote: but if you like a crunch like old fashioned Watergate, you can top with crushed walnuts or pecans
What is old fashioned Watergate?? Never heard of it as a dish.
Trisha says
Its a marshmallowy pudding dessert salad. Here is our recipe, my grandma made it EVERY holiday (and still does) https://www.saltysidedish.com/watergate-salad/
Kelly says
Should’ve followed my gut. All other fluff salads, you simply mix the DRY pudding into the cool whip. Followed this recipe which states to make the pudding first( directions on box). Did NOT turn out like other fluff recipes. Too runny. Not fluffy. I advise you to just mix the dry pudding into the cool whip I’d you want a fluff salad.
Trisha says
hi Kelly! This fluff salad has to sit in a fridge, typically overnight, to fluff up the marshmallows properly. You can mix the pudding into cool whip versus making it, but its just a different kind of salad. I will remake again to make sure I didnt mess up any instructions, but all of my fluff salads I note that they are overnight day before and then serve. If you are trying to serve immediately, you probably would want to cut out the extra moisture. Ill report back after I remake!