Easy, 4 ingredient Pistachio Fluff Salad, also known simply as Pistachio Salad! Best served with friends and family, this recipe makes a great potluck dish!
Love easy desserts? Our Ambrosia Salad could easily be a side dish too. Or try our cranberry fluff salad!
You are living in a vacuum my friends, if you haven’t yet tried this Pistachio Fluff Salad.
Some people call it simply Pistachio Salad, Pistachio Dump Salad, Pistachio Pudding Salad or Watergate Salad. Or Green Fluff. Or just the Green Goop.
Whatever you call it, it’s a huge hit at all our family holiday parties and potlucks.
Pistachio Fluff Salad is seriously only 4 ingredients (5 if you count the cherries on top)! I know many people add extra nuts to theirs, but not us. Occasionally I’ll swap out the mini white marshmallows and use the fruity, colored mini marshmallows instead.
Any party is a great time to whip up a batch of this pistachio salad. I know I keep calling this a salad when it clearly is more like a dessert. But after all, Mom always said to eat your greens, haha!!
What Is Pistachio Salad
If you’ve never had Pistachio Fluff Salad, you might still be wondering, “What is pistachio salad?”
Pistachio Fluff Salad is pistachio pudding mixed with crushed pineapple and Cool Whip. Mini marshmallows get folded in and it is garnished with maraschino cherries.
Like I said, some people like to fold chopped nuts in as well, but we stick with just the marshmallows in our family.
The result is light, fluffy, sweet and crave-worthy. This is a green food that everyone will want to eat!
The hardest part of this Pistachio Fluff Salad recipe is giving everything time to mingle. Allowing it to thicken up. You can make it the night before, or whip it up at least 4 hours in advance, making it perfect for holiday gatherings.
If you don’t want to put the cherries on top, you can toss them into the mix. This also makes a beautiful Christmas side dish or dessert with the red cherries and green pudding mixture!
How To Make Pistachio Salad
With only 4 ingredients, Pistachio Fluff Salad is as easy to make as you’d expect.
In a large bowl, combine your two boxes of instant pistachio pudding mix with your can of crushed pineapple. Do not drain the pineapple. Mix this together with a wooden spoon until the pudding mix is blended with the juice from the pineapple.
Add in the Cool Whip and mini marshmallows.
If you want to add in some chopped walnuts or pecans (like in a Watergate salad), go ahead and do so now.
Cover the Pistachio Fluff Salad and refrigerate 4 hours, or overnight. Serve with maraschino cherries as a garnish. Or, if desired, add the cherries into the fluff right before serving. ENJOY.
So, tell me, have you eaten pistachio salad before? Do you love it as much as I do?
Looking to use pudding mix in more recipes? Adding a box of pudding to cookies creates the most amazing, soft and chewy, Chocolate Chip Pudding Cookies.
More Salad and Sides
- Frozen Cranberry Salad
- Taffy Apple Salad
- Shrimp Pasta Salad
- Chicken Salad Recipe
- Cucumber Salad
- Roasted Corn Salad
- Egg Salad
- Potato Salad
- Pretzel Salad
Pistachio Fluff Salad
Easy, 4 ingredient, Pistachio Fluff Salad recipe! Best served with friends and family, makes a great potluck dish!
Ingredients
- 2 boxes (3.4 ounce each) JELL-O Instant Pistachio pudding mix
- 1 can (20 ounce) crushed pineapple
- 16 ounce Cool Whip, thawed
- 1 bag (10 ounce) mini marshmallows
- maraschino cherries, for garnish
Instructions
- In a large bowl, combine pudding mix with crushed pineapple. Mix with a wooden spoon until pudding mix is blended with pineapple liquids.
- Add in Cool Whip and mini marshmallows. Cover and refrigerate 4 hours, or overnight. Serve with maraschino cherries as a garnish. Or, if desired, add cherries to fluff right before serving. ENJOY.
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
12Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 142Total Fat: 10gSaturated Fat: 8gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 1gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 23mgCarbohydrates: 13gFiber: 0gSugar: 12gProtein: 1g
*Nutrition facts are an estimate and not guaranteed to be accurate. Please see a registered dietitian for special diet advice.
Easy, 4 ingredient Pistachio Fluff Salad, also known simply as Pistachio Salad! Best served with friends and family, this recipe makes a great potluck dish!
My family and I enjoy this recipe so much. It is simple enough that kids are able to follow the instructions and prepare a great dish!
I made this and it was not good. People took a bit out of curiosity, but it basics all got thrown out on Thanksgiving. The artificially sweet pistachio pudding taste was overwhelming, but I just read a bunch of other blogs saying it’s only supposed to be one box of pudding. Wondering if that would be more successful.
I. Always add 8 oz. of cottage cheese to cut down on the sweetness.
My grandma used to do that too…but I couldn’t handle the texture, LOL
It came out too thick and sticky, not fluffy. Can I add something to fix it?
I usually use only one box of pudding and usually no marshmallows. Using more or less Cool Whip would also be an easy fix. Have made it for many years … also known as Watergate Salad.
What do you use insteas of marahmellows? Because watergate salad still calls for marshmellows.
Save the juice from the pineapple. You can use it to mix in to get the creamy texture desired . Add slowly and fold in.
How many adults does this feed?
It’s very sweet, and can go a long way! I bring it to large potlucks so it’s hard to tell for sure, but minimum I would say 12 (most likely though you can double that number)!
can this be cut in half for just 2 people
You might not want to cut in half its SO good, you’ll both eat it😉😁
Do you make the pudding or just use 2 boxes of the powder?
Just the dry mix!
We make this for every holiday meal. In our family it is a tradition to eat it as a side not dessert. My friends think I’m crazy.
Definitely how to eat it!
Does it have to be cool whip or can you add your own homemade whip cream?
Can I add phill cream cheese to it
Yes, I have added 8 oz. of cream cheese to help cut down the sweetness, OR, I have also added 8 oz. of cottage cheese for the same purpose as cutting down the sweetness.
?Do you use crushed pineapple in heavy syrup or juice
I use in juice 🙂
How long is it good for in a fridge?
Just a couple of days!
Is there something else to put in besides the marshmallows or it wouldn’t work without them?
It’s fine without marshmallows 🙂
We’ve used small curd cottage cheese when we don’t want it as sweet. 16 oz container
Love this but have a granson who is allergic to pistachios, is there a fluff salad with another kind of pudding?
I read a post where someone used cheesecake pudding with strawberries. Said it was delicious.
We called it pistachio salad and it’s definitely a tradition! But I never put the marshmallows in it until right before I serve it! I can’t handle soggy marshmallows! ??♀️ For all the other texture eaters out there, you’re welcome !?
I made the “green stuff” my nephew calls it for years. I use the pudding, cool whip, crushed pineapple and juice and drain fruit cocktail. I saw a suggestion using colored miniature marshmallows7 instead of white…that looks interesting.
This was great! I added shredded coconut to it.
I love this…we always called it Ambrosia, and add shredded coconut, as well. With or without the nuts.
very good