Who remembers this Watergate salad? Pistachio Fluff is a retro dessert made with crushed pineapple, instant pudding mix, and whipped topping. This delicious Jello salad recipe comes together in minutes and is the perfect side dish for any occasion.
Love dessert salad? You will enjoy this orange fluff salad and this banana split fluff too.
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Growing up, I remember a bowl of this green fluff being a staple at every church potluck or holiday dinner we went to. It is a classic recipe that has been around since the 70's and goes by many different names.
Maybe you have had it and heard it called pistachio dessert, Watergate salad, green goop, or pistachio pudding salad. It doesn't matter what name you call it, as long as you call it delicious and amazing!
Why You'll Love This Pistachio Fluff Recipe
- Takes less than 5 minutes to stir together the light and fluffy mixture.
- Great side dish or dessert for potlucks, picnics, or Christmas dinners.
- Made with 5 simple, easy to find ingredients.
What is Pistachio Fluff?
It is a Jello salad that is made with instant pistachio pudding, crushed pineapple, and Cool Whip. The fluff salad is a common side dish in most Midwest states, although we always had it at church dinners in the Northeast too.
Most fluff recipes will call for nuts and marshmallows to be added to the dessert salad. I have also seen variations with mandarin oranges, fruit cocktail, pistachios, or cottage cheese.
Ingredient List
This is an old school recipe, and everyone likes to make it in different ways. We prefer to make our fluff salad using these 5 ingredients.
- Instant Pistachio Pudding Mix: This instant pudding mix gives the fluff salad its green color and pistachio flavor.
- Crushed Pineapple: Look for canned pineapple labeled 100% juice. It is very important that you do NOT drain the pineapple!!!
- Cool Whip: Adds the light, fluffy texture you know and love in fluff desserts. You can also use 3 cups of this whipped cream with powdered sugar in place of the whipped topping.
- Nuts: Any chopped nut will work in this pistachio dessert, but we prefer to use pecans.
- Marshmallows: Feel free to use white or pastel marshmallows. I love the soft texture that they get after sitting in the pudding salad for a little while.
Fun Variations
- Add mixins. Stir in shredded coconut, chopped pistachios, halved maraschino cherries, or drained mandarin oranges. I love adding the cherries when we serve pistachio fluff salad at Christmas because they give the salad a great red-and-green color.
- Skip the pineapple and use 1 cup 2% milk or 2 cups small-curd cottage cheese in place of the pineapple and juice.
- Make it sugar-free! Use a sugar-free pudding mix and sugar-free Cool Whip. Leave the marshmallows out.
Buy an extra box of instant pistachio pudding and make this pistachio bread to serve with your dessert salad.
How To Make Pistachio Fluff
I love making this pistachio fluff salad because it seriously comes together in minutes. All you do is stir, chill, and devour. It's a great last minute recipe to make because of how quickly you can make it.
- Mix together the whole can of crushed pineapple, including the juice, with the pudding mix in a large bowl.
- Gently fold in the Cool Whip until no white streaks remain.
- Add the chopped pecans and mini marshmallows and stir gently.
- Refrigerate for at least one hour, so it can thicken and the flavors can deepen.
- Add more nuts to the top before serving.
Storing
For the best texture, refrigerate the fluff salad for at least one hour before serving. This allows the pistachio salad to thicken and gives the marshmallows time to soften. This is a great recipe to make 1 day ahead of time because it needs time to chill.
Keep the pistachio fluff salad in a tightly covered bowl in the refrigerator for 2-3 days. It will start to get a little bit runny the longer it sits. Give it a good stir before eating.
BruCrew Tips
- Do NOT drain the crushed pineapple because the juice is what activates the instant pudding mix.
- Toast the nuts before adding them to the fluff salad. It gives them a nuttier flavor that is amazing.
- Chill the fluff dessert in the fridge for at least an hour before serving. It really is best when completely chilled and thickened.
- If you are serving it for a church event or picnic, double the recipe. This recipe always disappears in a hurry.
- Serve it in a large bowl for picnics or in individual cups for dinner parties.
Other Fluff Salads
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Recipe
Pistachio Fluff Recipe
Who remembers this Watergate salad? Pistachio Fluff is a retro dessert made with crushed pineapple, instant pudding mix, and whipped topping. This delicious Jello salad recipe comes together in minutes and is the perfect side dish for any occasion.
Ingredients
- 1 - 3.4 ounce box instant pistachio pudding mix
- 1 - 20 ounce can crushed pineapple in juice
- 1 - 8 ounce container Cool Whip, thawed
- 2 cups miniature marshmallows
- ½ cup chopped pecans
Instructions
- Mix together the pineapple with juice and instant pudding mix.
- Fold in all of the Cool Whip gently.
- Stir in the marshmallows and nuts.
- Chill in the refrigerator at least 1 hour before serving.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 12 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 260Total Fat: 11gSaturated Fat: 5gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 5gCholesterol: 1mgSodium: 136mgCarbohydrates: 40gFiber: 1gSugar: 32gProtein: 2g
Nutrition facts are an estimate and are not guaranteed to be accurate. If you need special diet advice, please see a registered dietician.
Patricia Schenck says
Your Pistachio Fluff sounds really good, but we also do a PISTACHIO Fluff as more of a dessert. It is awesome , uses Ritz crackers as the shell and vanilla icecream as an in-gredient in the fluff part.