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!
Click HERE to save recipe to Pinterest!
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.
I created a fun little group on facebook and I’d love for you to join in! It’s a place where you can share YOUR favorite recipes, ask questions, and see what’s new with Shugary Sweets (so that you never miss a new recipe)! If you’d like to check it out, you can request to join HERE.
Connect with Shugary Sweets!
Be sure to follow me on my social media, so you never miss a post!
Facebook | Twitter | Pinterest | instagram
Love this easy recipe? Here are a few other delicious ideas:
- Cherry Dump Salad
- 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:
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 oz each) JELL-O Instant Pistachio pudding mix
- 1 can (20 oz) crushed pineapple
- 16 oz Cool Whip, thawed
- 1 bag (10 oz) 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.
*Today’s recipe for Pistachio Fluff Salad was originally published on Shugary Sweets on May 7, 2015.
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!
Is there something else to put in besides the marshmallows or it wouldn’t work without them?
It’s fine without marshmallows 🙂
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
It looked so delicious, I will try your recipe someday
Waldorf salad has apples, grapes, and mayonnaise. This is Watergate salad, named around the time of the Watergate scandal in Washington-whether it had any connection, I don’t know. We never added the nuts, as there are already pistachios in there. I swear this has been at every potluck dinner I’ve been to since 1975!
My recipe for this is called Watergate salad.
It is called “Waldorf Salad” and the recipe is on the side of the Jello brand pistachio pudding box. It’s an old recipe but still a good one. You can also add nuts, flaked coconut or sprinkles to brighten it up.
Is there anyway to use something more natural than Cool Whip. Could this be made with real whipped cream? I hate all the artificial ingredients and Cool Whip.
I saw this on Pinterest and remember my mom making this when I was little, and so I made it for my 5 kids. It was just as good as I remember it being and my kids loved it too! Thanks for sharing the recipe! :-))
We call it “Booger Salad”???? Delicious regardless what it is called. Classy here in Canada…
Booger Salad 🙂 OMG!!!
Can this be made with real whipped cream instead of cool whip? Love your site!
Can you use light Cool Whip for the pistachio fluff or will that make it more watery?
Nope, you can totally use it! I’ve done that many times 🙂
Oops, I left out the chopped pecans!!
We make something similar but it is called Watergate Salad. 1 sm. container sm. curd cottage cheese, drained,
1 box instant pistachio pudding,
1 can crushed pineapple, drained, 1/2 bag (or more) miniature marshmallows,
1 (9 oz.) container Cool Whip, thawed
Sprinkle the dry pudding mix over the cottage cheese in a large mixing bowl. Stir together, until the cottage cheese looks green. Drain the crushed a pineapple, a bit, and stir it into the pudding-cottage cheese mixture. Fold in the marshmallows, and last of all, gently fold in the Cool Whip.
Refrigerate overnight. It is SO yummy!!
This sounds wonderful!
Love this salad. So easy to make.
I accidently got pineapple chunks instead of crushed pineapple, is the juice what really matters?? I don’t want to mess it up, doing it for mother’s day. Please help lol, thank you.
It will still be amazing, as long as the can size is the same 🙂
I trippled the recipe because I’m making it for a large group. The only thing I did differently is only added 2 containers of cool whip to keep the color more green and it turned out great!
I use fruit flavored marshmallows and add flaked coconut
Do I drain the can of pineapple first or just pour the whole can with liquid in there? Thanks!
I know this as Watergate Salad too. It’s at every potluck in the south. I’m in Georgia. I’m wondering what I can substitute for the pineapple w/juice? My boyfriend swears he’s had it without because he doesn’t like canned pineapple. Since you have to mix the pudding with the juice first I need something else. Learned the hard way that pudding and cool whip alone does not work. Any suggestions?
I’ve heard of people making this with canned pie filling or canned mandarin oranges 🙂
I’m wondering if you can make it with the more recent flavor of “watermelon jello?” And if so, could you add bits of watermelon ( squeezing out the excess watermelon liquid)?
If you try it, be sure to stop by and let us know if it works!!
I’ve known it as Watergate salad. I’ve made it several times in the past and the nuts usually come from the pistachio pudding. (Hence the name pistachio) You can do a search for the name Watergate Salad and you’ll find information about some of the origins.
There are also other variations with other pudding mixes and added fruits to make it into different types, e.g. Cherry Fluff. I urge everybody to play around with the puddings and fruits and come up with your own variations.
Do you make the pist pudding according to the directions on the box and then mix it with the crushed pineapple or do you just put the pudding powder mixed with crushed pineapple
Nope, just add the powder mix!
Everyone I’ve known since the 1970s calls it Watergate Salad. My recipe calls for chopped toasted pecans or walnuts.
It would not be a holiday in my family without, what my Grandma, Mom, Aunts & Uncles call, Watergate Salad and what my kids call “green salad” We do add the nuts (and no cherries). I grew up in the midwest where this kind of thing is normal but moved to MA where it isn’t. After many years living here my MA family is now requesting this ‘salad’ too!
I have made this for years. Its called ‘Watergate Salad’. I use Kraft’s pastel FunMallows instead of white. All the flavors mingled together makes this so delicious and a pretty party dish!
I’ve had it with the colored mallows too…so yummy!!
Try it with sugar free pudding mixes, also s/f cool-whip, eating like a diabetic.
Is there anything that can be subbed for the sweetened milk? My husband is diabetic
Really this whole recipe is probably too much sugar for a diabetic. You might be better off looking at a lower sugar website 🙂
Wow! I’m loving the color of this fluffy pistachio salad! I love the consistency of its thickness. It’s so fluffy and refreshing. I love it!
My mother has made this for years but she’d put it in a ready made graham cracker pie crust (minus the marshmallows ) so good!
This looks like the next dessert recipe that I will make all the time. So simple and delicious = )
THIS is my kinda salad! Looks wonderful!
I remember this salad well from my pre-diabetic days. I now realize it’s not a salad at all but a dessert instead. It can be a silent killer for the diabetic.
Well, I would hope a diabetic would know that pudding mix, cool whip and marshmallows are not part of their diet 😉
We called it Watergate Salad and we add nuts to it. It’s so refreshing and great for a cook out.
Oh my goodness! I learned this in “Foods Class” in about 1982. I loved it! I will have to make this for my kids. Thanks for posting!
haha!! Everyone has a story about this recipe 🙂
Can you believe that I’ve never made Fluff Salad before. I know, I know I am living in a vacuum. Hehe. So gonna make this when its hot outside. It looks like the perfect for this lazy days. PS have a wonderful vacay! Hope you great time and get to relax and be with the family!! Hugs!
I grew up calling the Waldorf Salad, haven’t had it in years. Use to love it!
I have never tried any kind of fluff or dump salad… so I haven’t been living yet! Ahh! This one is on my “to cook” list for sure!
I must be living under a rock. I’ve never tried this! And I love pistachio pudding mix, and marshmallows, and so really, it’s time. This looks great!
I have to try this ASAP!
This is so fun! My kids {and I} would love this!
Best way to eat your greens right there 😉 I adore all the different fluff salads and have been having fun jazzing them up for different picnics! But one of my favorites is the pistachio…I need to make that one again soon!!!
You are definitely the queen of fluff. BWAHAHAHAHA 🙂 Love you!!
When I was little I called it “green stuff”. I just adored it and didn’t know what it was called. I haven’t made it in years. I have got to make it again very soon. Yours looks so goergeous and tasty.