Last updated on July 5th, 2024 at 12:25 am
This 5 Minute Pink Fluff Salad has only 4 ingredients. Pair that with no cooking and you have yourself a quick and easy dessert. It tastes great too.
Easy brunch recipe that kids and adults will enjoy. Light and refreshing dessert. Today, we’re diving into a family favorite that’s been gracing holiday tables and potluck spreads for decades. Say hello to a delightful concoction that proves you don’t need a lot of time to create something utterly delicious.
Some people call this pink stuff or sunshine salad. No matter what you call it, we love it. I love that it takes just a few minutes to make.
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Four Ingredient No Cook Dessert
This fresh dessert truly does have just four ingredients. Combine basic ingredients; cottage cheese, a packet of flavored gelatin (today I used Strawberry), fruit (can be fresh fruit, canned fruit, or frozen fruit), and whipped topping (cool whip).
For this Pink Strawberry Fluff Salad, I used gorgeous strawberries and they really add bites of tart, fresh fruit in the sweet creamy salad.
What is the difference in pink fluff and ambrosia salad?
Often, people call this type of dessert an ambrosia salad. That recipe often includes crushed pineapple, sweetened coconut, pecans, mandarin oranges, cool whip, and yogurt. However, we simplified this recipe and the whole family loves this version.
There are so many ways to make this fluff salad. This Easy Orange Fluff Salad includes coconut. To make blue fluff, substitute Blue Raspberry or Berry Blue Jell-O for the raspberry gelatin.
Unexpected Quests? No Problem!
Pull this quick dessert/salad together when you have unexpected guests to feed.
Use your pantry and freezer.
We live in farming country and today was the day we were bailing hay. These are always extra busy days. In the morning, I made some potato salad in anticipation of the meal after the last load of hay was stacked. This is the potato salad I made today, the gang gobbled it up. If you like pickle relish in your potato salad, this is another one of our family favorites.
Fresh, Frozen, Whole or Sliced Strawberries
Did you notice the frozen strawberries in the photo? Yes, I did not have any fresh on hand, so I dug into my well-stocked freezer. By the time we ate the dessert, they were thawed and delicious. BTW, I also had the whipped topping in the freezer. I did thaw that in the microwave quickly before making the recipe.
Since I was in a hurry and needed to get back outside, this was the perfect dessert to make. From start to finish, it truly took me 5 minutes. Add another 5 minutes to do a quick photo shoot and I was done.
We all need delicious and quick recipes like this in our go-to recipe box for our busy days.
No-Bake Dessert Salad
Since it is a no-bake, no-cook fruit dessert salad, you can easily make it a day before your event or dinner. If you happen to have fresh berries on hand, that would make a lovely garnish for each serving.
This pink fluff can be served in a larger serving dish to allow guests to serve themselves. However, this also makes a pretty presentation in fancy dessert cups. It only takes minutes to fill the them. Then just pop them into the refrigerator and you are ready for serving your guests.
Make Ahead Fruit Dessert
While you can make this one day in advance, I would not make it more than one day in advance as it will become a little watery.
Recipe Options
While I made this with strawberry gelatin and strawberries today, it would be wonderful with a wide variety of combinations.
- Fresh dark cherries paired with cherry gelatin (there are two versions of the cherry gelatin; one is cherry, the other is dark cherry – yum)
- Oranges with the rind off and sliced or Mandarin oranges paired with orange gelatin
- Raspberries (red or black) paired with the raspberry gelatin
- Peaches paired with the peach gelatin
- There is an island pineapple gelatin that would be lovely with pineapple. However, if you use pineapple, make sure to drain well as it could make this salad watery
The varieties and pairings of flavored gelatin and fruits; canned, fresh, or frozen are plentiful. Try out a few and see what your family enjoys best.
This quick 5 minute pink fluff salad is fresh and light. Just perfect for a dessert on hot summer days.
5 Minute Pink Fluff Salad
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Kitchen Essentials
Ingredients
- 24 Ounces Cottage Cheese 1 container
- 3.0 Ounces strawberry gelatin 1 box (or any other flavor you choose)
- 2-3 Cups Strawberries
- 8 Ounces Whipped Topping 1 container, thawed
text ingredients
Instructions
- In a mixing bowl, stir together the whipped topping and strawberry gelatin.
- Make sure to stir well to dissolve all of the gelatin powder.
- Add the cottage cheese to the mixture.
- Add the strawberries and stir them in.
- Either spoon into serving dish or individual serving cups. Refrigerate the Pink Strawberry Fluff Salad until serving and garnish with additional strawberries if desired.
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Can I use fresh whipped cream?
While I’m a fan of homemade whipped cream; however, it tends to go flat over time. Therefore, I do not recommend it for this recipe as the texture will not be as fluffy. You can use low fat whipped topping of you prefer.
Can I use low fat cottage cheese?
Yes any type of cottage cheese will work for this recipe, low fat, full fat, small curd, or large curd all work.
Can I make pink salad without cottage cheese?
Yes, there are two variations on strawberry fluff. One version is this recipe with cottage cheese. the other uses marshmallows, often accompanied by crushed pineapple, and vanilla pudding. Our family prefers this version with the cottage cheese.
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I hope that you liked this recipe. If you are looking for more ideas on what to make, here are a few other recipes that you may enjoy.
You can find Victoria crocheting, quilting, and creating recipes. She has cooked in restaurants for over 20 years, including many larger parties. She learned to crochet when she was just 11 years old and has been crocheting ever since; over 50 years now. Over 40 years ago, she loved her first class in sewing and continues to hone her skills in quilting. Many have enjoyed the handmade gifts over the years. In her professional career, she has worked in management in a wide variety of businesses including higher education as a dean of a division. All the while attending college part-time to achieve her doctorate in higher education with an emphasis in e-learning.