Cherry Fluff Salad Recipe: How to Make This Easy Dessert 🍒

This cherry fluff salad recipe is an easy and delicious side dish that is perfect for summer BBQ and potlucks. So light and fluffy, you won’t be able to resist! It’s the kind of classic recipe that shows up at every potluck dinner, family reunion, and holiday dinners table for a good reason — it’s ah-mazing.

We’re digging into the archives today, going all the way back to 2013 with this cherry fluff salad, also known as cherry cheesecake fluff, cherry cool whip salad, or just plain old pink fluff depending on who’s bringing it to Sunday dinners at your house.

Those of you who visit often know that I’ve been working to update my old posts. For the most part, this is about the photography, cleaning up some of the graphics, and re-writing unclear instructions. But occasionally I come across a recipe that needs a complete overhaul from start to finish.

Like this one. For some reason, it’s been wildly popular on Pinterest and social media over the years (original recipe is still at the bottom of the post). But in all honesty, it was a poor recipe. I threw it together in a hurry for a client, and I’m embarrassed to say, didn’t really give it my best effort. Maybe we were moving for the zillionth time. Maybe Emma was cutting teeth and keeping us up all night. Who knows?

But the bottom line is that it didn’t get my best effort and the recipe was seriously lacking.

Why This Cherry Fluff Salad Recipe Is A Family Favorite

Given its high visibility on my site, I really wanted to do right by my readers and produce THE BEST cherry fluff salad recipe that is humanly possible to make. And by golly, I think I did it. This easy cherry fluff salad has earned its spot as a true family favorite in our house, and I bet it’ll become one in yours too.

After fiddling around with my favorite cheesecake dip recipe, and piecing together a few other fluff recipes I found scattered across the internet, I am confident that this is the best darn cherry fluff dessert salad you will ever dig your spoon into! It’s a classic ambrosia salad cousin, minus the mandarin oranges and pineapple chunks, but just as crave-worthy.

It is light and fluffy and has a spot-on cherry cheesecake flavor. Plus, those cherry swirls and peeps of red are just so pretty — it’s basically a vintage cherry pie salad in dessert-salad form, and it never fails to disappear fast at family gatherings.

An Easy Recipe With A Handful Of Simple Ingredients

And soooooooooooooo easy to make. This is genuinely one of those simple recipes that comes together with a handful of simple ingredients you can grab in one quick grocery store run. Let’s take a quick walk through:

Cream cheese + sugar. Beat these guys up until smooth and creamy and all cheesecake-like — the first step to that dreamy pink stuff texture we’re going for.

Next: whipped topping brings the fluff to the party. You can absolutely use lite Cool Whip if you’re watching things (hi, fellow Weight Watchers friends 👋), and honestly you won’t notice a difference in that popular Cool Whip dessert texture.

And then: a cup of mini marshmallows and a can of cherry pie filling get folded right in.

Give everything a good stir in a large bowl (so that you still have some cherry swirls) and chill so those marshmallows get nice and soft and fluffy. This easy dump-and-stir method is what makes it such a perfect make-ahead recipe — just cover it and pop it in the fridge until you’re ready.

Perfect For Potlucks, Sunday Dinners, And Special Occasions

And that’s it! Easy breezy and a perfect side dish for any hot summer day or hot summer night gathering. Bring it to your next potluck side dish rotation, a baby shower, a family reunion, or even Valentine’s Day or Mother’s Day brunch — that pink color makes it feel festive no matter the occasion. It’s genuinely a great dessert for special occasions when you need something quick but impressive.

Some folks like to swap in fresh cherries or maraschino cherries for extra cherry juice flavor, and if you’ve got a sweet tooth, feel free to add a little sweetened condensed milk, sour cream, or even cottage cheese for extra tang, similar to how frog eye salad or classic dessert salads get their creamy base. Some cooks even swirl in pistachio fluff or a scoop of vanilla ice cream for a chiffon dessert vibe. However you make it, this cherry salad keeps beautifully in an airtight container in the fridge and honestly tastes even better the next day, once those flavors have had time to mingle at room temperature or chilled.

Whether you call it cherry angel salad, cherry pie fluff, sugar salad, or just “that pink stuff,” this dessert recipe has earned its spot among the most popular fluff salads across the United States, especially during the start of summer and all through the summer months. Enjoy!

Original 2013 Recipe>>>

Ingredients:

• 21 ounce canned cherry pie filling
• 1/2 of a 3.45 ounce instant pudding mix, cheesecake flavor
• 16 ounces Cool Whip
• 10 ounces miniature marshmallows

Directions:

1. In a large bowl, mix the cherry pie filling and the instant pudding mix (remember, only half the package) until the pudding mix is dissolved. Fold in the cool whip.
2. Mix in the miniature marshmallows until marshmallows are completely coated.
3. Cover and chill for about an hour before serving.

Cherry Cheesecake Fluff

Yield: 6-8

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Cherry Cheesecake fluff is and easy and delicious side dish that is perfect for summer BBQ and potlucks. So light and fluffy, you won't be able to resist!

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Ingredients

• 8 ounces cream cheese, softened
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 8 ounces Cool Whip
• 1 cup miniature marshmallows
• 21 ounces Lucky Leaf Cherry Pie Filling

Instructions

Beat together the cream cheese and sugar until smooth, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.

Mix in the Cool Whip.

Fold in the marshmallows and cherry pie filling. Chill until ready to serve.