• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
House Full of Monkeys
  • Home
  • Recipes
    • Main Dishes
    • Side Dishes
    • Appetizers
    • Desserts
    • Drinks and Smoothies
    • Recipe Index
  • Home and Garden
  • Crafts
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter
menu icon
go to homepage
  • Recipes
  • Home & Garden
  • Crafts
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter
  • subscribe
    search icon
    Homepage link
    • Recipes
    • Home & Garden
    • Crafts
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter
  • ×

    Home » Recipes » Side Dishes

    Cherry Fluff Salad

    Jump Print
    5 from 2 votes
    Cherry Fluff Salad

    Do you love the taste of cherries, but lack time to bake an entire cherry pie? Then this dessert is right up your alley! Cherry fluff salad combines the delicious flavor of cherries with Cool Whip, pineapples, and nuts for a delightful treat.

    Cherry Fluff Salad

    I've written before about how much I like dishes that can do double-duty as either a side dish or a dessert, such as my Strawberry Pretzel Salad. This is another one of those dishes! Because of its versatility, this Cherry Pie Fluff recipe is perfect for a large gathering, such as family reunions and pot luck dinners, where people can choose if they want to eat it with their meal or after.

    Jump to:
    • Ingredients
    • Instructions
    • How to Serve
    • 📋 Recipe

    This dish is also known as cherry pie salad, cherry pie dessert, cherry Watergate salad, and simply cherry fluff.

    Ingredients

    Cherry pie dessert is a fruit-lover's dream, as it includes both cherries (in the form of cherry pie filling) and pineapple. The condensed milk and marshmallows add extra sweetness, and the chopped pecans add a delicious nutty crunch.

    Cherry Fluff Salad Ingredients

    And, of course, the "fluff" comes from Cool Whip brand whipped topping.

    The different ingredients complement each other and make a delicious and pretty pink dessert salad.

    Instructions

    This is such a quick and easy recipe to prepare. It involves no cooking, just a small amount of prep and a little refrigeration time.

    The preparation includes chopping the pecans and draining the crushed pineapple.

    I like to use a food chopper for chopping up the pecans. I'm pretty clumsy sometimes and if I don't have to use a nice on something hard to cut, I won't. Plus, it can be helpful to take out my frustrations with the chopper!!! You only need to roughly chop up the pecans. You don't want to grind them to dust.

    Cherry Pie Salad

    With the canned pineapple, you want to drain out (and discard) as much of the liquid as you can. The soupier you leave the pineapple, the soupier your cherry pie fluff will be. Too much liquid detracts from the fluffiness! I use a spoon to even press out some of the liquid, which gets out even more than gravity does by itself.

    After you've chopped the pecans and drained the pineapple, you simply combine all the ingredients in a big bowl and stir to combine. If you prefer you can take this in steps: do the cherry pie filling and condensed milk first then add everything else. It makes it easier to get a consistent result.

    After mixing, put the cherry pie salad into a Tupperware / Rubbermaid type of container (or any airtight container of your choice) and place it in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes. Then you can serve it, or it will keep in the fridge for several days.

    Cherry Fluff Salad Recipe

    How to Serve

    This cherry fluff recipe is light and fruity, so it works well in hot weather, as long as it's not too hot that the Cool Whip melts. Also, by "light", I'm referring to the texture. This is definitely not low in calories!

    But if you're having a picnic, barbecue, or pool party, this is perfect.

    It also goes well with a Thanksgiving dinner spread, especially for people who don't like cranberries. Cherries have a similar flavor as cranberries, in that they're fruity but tart. Of course, the sweetened condensed milk and Cool Whip offset the tartness, making it a nice blend that goes well next to turkey.

    If you enjoyed this recipe please let me know by leaving a comment below. For more delicious dessert recipes, click here.

    📋 Recipe

    Cherry Fluff Salad

    Cherry Fluff Salad

    5 from 2 votes
    Prep Time: 15 minutes
    Refrigeration Time: 30 minutes
    Total Time: 45 minutes
    Author: Susan
    Calories: 357kcal
    Servings: 12 people
    Print Pin Rate
    Get the classic taste of cherry pie with a fraction of the effort. This 6-ingredient dessert tastes just as good, and it works equally well as a dessert or a side dish.

    Equipment

    • 1 Large bowl
    • 1 food chopper (or a kitchen knife)

    Ingredients

    • 1 can cherry pie filling 20 ounces
    • 1 can crushed pineapple 20 ounces
    • 8 ounces Cool Whip whipped topping thawed
    • 10 ounces mini marshmallows
    • 1 can sweetened condensed milk 14 ounces
    • 1 cup coarsely chopped pecans

    Instructions

    • Open can of crush pineapple and drain as much of the liquid as possible. Discard liquid.
    • Coarsely chop pecans using a knife or food chopper.
    • Combine cherry pie filling, pineapples, and condensed milk in a bowl.
      Step Photo - Combine Cherry Pie Filling, Pineapples, and Condensed Milk
    • Fold in marshmallows, Cool Whip, and pecans.
      Step Photo - Fold in Cool Whip, Marshmallows, and Pecans
    • Transfer to a large airtight container and refrigerate for 30 minutes or longer.
    • Serve as a side dish or dessert.

    Notes

    • If you are allergic to nuts or simply don't like them, you can omit the pecans. 
    • Keeps for several days in the refrigerator
    • Perfect for family gatherings and pot luck dinners

    Nutrition

    Calories: 357kcal | Carbohydrates: 64g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 10g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 5g | Cholesterol: 14mg | Sodium: 84mg | Potassium: 292mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 42g | Vitamin A: 251IU | Vitamin C: 7mg | Calcium: 134mg | Iron: 1mg

    Filed Under: Desserts, Side Dishes April 4, 2022 by Susan Petracco 1 Comment

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Martha Daniels

      September 04, 2022 at 1:23 am

      5 stars
      Love this

      Reply

    Leave a Reply Cancel reply

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

    Recipe Rating




    This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

    Primary Sidebar

    E-mail Newsletter

    Subscribe to my newsletter for new recipes!

    Recipe Categories

    • Main Dishes
    • Side Dishes
    • Appetizers
    • Desserts
    • Drinks and Smoothies
    • Breakfast

    About Me

    Hi! I'm Susan and I love to create things. At work I make websites, and at home I make everything else. Thanks for checking out my blog. Read More…

    Footer

    ↑ back to top

    Pages

    • Blog
    • Contact Me

    Stay in Touch

    • Email Newsletter
    • Twitter
    • Facebook
    • Instagram

    Policies

    • Privacy Policy
    • Cookie Policy

    As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. This costs you nothing, so please consider using them. It helps me continue to develop recipes and write about my projects, while offering this site for free!


    Copyright 2023 House Full of Monkeys, All Rights Reserved.

    2 shares