Cranberry Fluff Salad

(3)

Sweet, tart, and delightfully creamy.

Hands On Time:
15 mins
Chill Time:
4 hrs
Total Time:
4 hrs 15 mins
Servings:
8
Yield:
(serving size: 1 cup)

At any Southern get-together, whether it be a casual Sunday dinner or festive holiday feast, there is a place for a retro fluff salad, and this recipe for cranberry salad is guaranteed to liven up any spread.

Made with simple ingredients and super easy to prep, this vintage-inspired recipe is sweet, tart, creamy, and studded with crunchy pecans for a well-rounded flavor to top off any meal—because in true Southern fashion, we don't always save these delicacies for after dinner is finished, instead plopping a hearty scoop right next to the green bean casserole.

Every ingredient for this cranberry salad is easy to find, especially considering you can use fresh or thawed frozen cranberries from the grocery store. Just a few more staples—cream cheese, heavy whipping cream, seedless red grapes, and mini marshmallows—you're set with a fruity, fluffy treat that even the kids will love.

Serve up this Cranberry Fluff Salad at Thanksgiving, Christmas, and come summertime, too. 

Cranberry Fluff Salad

Antonis Achilleos; Prop Stylist: Christina Daley; Food Stylist: Emily Nabors Hall

Ingredients

  • 12 ounces fresh or thawed frozen cranberries (about 4 cups)

  • 3/4 cup granulated sugar

  • 3 cups miniature marshmallows (from 1 [10-oz.] pkg.)

  • 4 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature

  • 2 cups heavy whipping cream

  • 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

  • 1 cup chopped toasted pecans

  • 1 cup red seedless grapes, halved

Directions

  1. Pulse cranberries in a food processor until finely chopped with some coarse pieces remaining, about 6 to 8 pulses.

    cranberries in food processor

    Antonis Achilleos; Prop Stylist: Christina Daley; Food Stylist: Emily Nabors Hall

    Transfer to a large bowl, and stir in sugar and marshmallows. Cover and chill 4 hours or up to overnight.

    marshmallows in cranberry

    Antonis Achilleos; Prop Stylist: Christina Daley; Food Stylist: Emily Nabors Hall

  2. Beat cream cheese with a stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment on medium speed until creamy and free of lumps, about 1 to 2 minutes, stopping to scrape down sides as needed. Add 1 cup heavy cream, and continue beating until mixture starts to thicken, about 2 minutes. Add remaining 1 cup cream, and continue beating until soft peaks form, about 2 minutes.

    whipped cream cheese fluff

    Antonis Achilleos; Prop Stylist: Christina Daley; Food Stylist: Emily Nabors Hall

  3. Fold cream mixture into cranberry mixture, and stir in salt, pecans, and grapes. Serve immediately, or cover and chill up to 3 days.

    cranberry fluff being mixed

    Antonis Achilleos; Prop Stylist: Christina Daley; Food Stylist: Emily Nabors Hall

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