Looking for an easy fluff salad recipe to add to your dessert table? This Banana Split Fluff Salad is a creamy fruit salad loaded with all your favorite banana split toppings. Stir everything into one bowl, and it’s ready to go. Bring a bowl of the best dessert salad and a Banana Split Bundt Cake to your next picnic and watch everyone devour the sweet goodness.
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Now this is how I like to eat my salad. Anything loaded with fruit, nuts, marshmallows, and chocolate has to be a good thing. Yes, you read that right. This easy fruit fluff salad has chocolate in it.
By the way, if you love chocolate, you definitely need to check out this Rocky Road Fluff Salad! It’s a dream dessert for chocolate lovers!
Now I know what you are thinking. There is no way this bowl of goodness should be called salad. Well, technically this is more like a dessert because it has pudding and marshmallows in it. But hey, if I call it fruit salad then I can eat a second helping, right?
My mother-in-law makes a pistachio fluff salad that I absolutely love. You probably have had this same fluff salad at church potlucks or barbecues. Jello salads and ambrosia salads have been staple dessert salads over the years at many church functions we have been to.
The other day I was totally craving one of these easy fluff salads! But since this is me we are talking about, you know I got a wild and crazy idea to change it up some! Ever since I made this Banana Split Brownie Pie, I am always looking for ways to turn things into banana split desserts!
I was rummaging in one of my dessert cupboards trying to find some fun ingredients that needed used up. Banana pudding, walnuts, and marshmallows were all shoved in there together. As soon as I saw them, I headed over to cupboard number 2 for the chocolate chips, cherries, and crushed pineapple. All the classic banana split flavors were about to happen in this easy fluff salad.
We won’t talk about how many cupboards my baking stuff has taken over.
Lucky for me, the bananas on the counter were still bright yellow, so I grabbed a few of those to include in the fluff salad. We go through so many bananas in our house, so it varies what color the bananas are going to be. Ripe bananas meant this banana fluff pudding mixture could happen right away.
Some days those bananas are green, some days yellow, and then some days the brown ones sit there until I the urge to make a batch of these yummy Double Chocolate Banana Muffins.
How to make a Banana Split Fluff Salad:
- Stir the pudding into the pineapple in a large mixing bowl. Do not drain the can of pineapple because the juice will help the pudding thicken up.
- Fold in an entire container of Cool Whip with a spatula. Yes, I said Cool Whip. By now, you know I’m partial to that white stuff. We all like to eat it by the spoonfuls. Try a frozen scoop with peanut butter. Yup, it’s amazing!
- Gently stir in marshmallows, walnuts, banana slices, mini chocolate chips, and maraschino cherries. Feel free to change up the banana split toppings to include the ones you like or don’t like.
- Refrigerate the dessert salad for at least an hour for the flavors to thicken and meld together. Plus, this gives the marshmallows time to soften and become soft fluffy bites in your mouth.
Creamy pudding, crunchy nuts & chocolate chips, and juicy fruit all in one bowl! Dang it, now I’m craving another bowl of this Banana Split Fluff Salad! Time to whip another banana fluff pudding dessert.
More easy no bake desserts that you may enjoy this summer:
- The ripe bananas on my counter would like to become this No Bake Banana Dream Dessert from Crazy for Crust. It looks so yummy.
- This Strawberry Shortcake Fluff Salad from Inside BruCrew Life is a fun dessert for spring and summer parties or picnics!
- I love anything s’mores so this S’mores Eclair Cake from Princess Pinky Girl is calling my name.
- These easy No Bake Oreo Truffles from Fifteen Spatulas are a treat we make all the time. Love them!
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Watch how to make this easy Banana Split Fluff Salad recipe:
This Banana Split Fluff Salad is an easy fruit salad loaded with all your favorite banana split toppings. Stir everything into one bowl, and it's ready to go.
Ingredients
- 1 - 3.4 ounce box instant banana pudding
- 1 - 20 ounce can crushed pineapple (do not drain)
- 1 - 8 ounce container Cool Whip
- 1 cup mini marshmallows
- 1/2 cup finely chopped walnuts + 2 Tablespoons for garnish
- 1/3 cup mini chocolate chips
- 2 ripe bananas, sliced
- 2 - 10 ounce jars maraschino cherries, halved
Instructions
- Stir together the pudding mix and pineapple until dissolved and thickened.
- Fold in the Cool Whip with a spatula.
- Gently stir in the marshmallows, nuts, chocolate chips, bananas, and cherries.
- Refrigerate at least 1 hour to chill. Makes about 8 cups salad.
Notes
*Stir in the bananas right before serving. Or dip the banana slices in lemon juice to keep them from browning too quickly.
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Lisa Gavazzoni says
Please don’t crucify me , I was wondering if there was something I could substitute for the banana I would like to make these to put in shooter glasses for a wedding however I don’t want Brown bananas Is there something else that could be used I know it wouldn’t be called the banana split…lol… it just looks so good!!
Jocelyn says
You could just leave the banana chunks out. How early are you going to fill the glasses? If you are doing it the same day as the wedding, the bananas shouldn’t start turning brown. Mine was fine for the first day or two, then they started to brown a little. Or you could make this pretty pink version. https://insidebrucrewlife.com/2015/07/strawberry-shortcake-fluff-salad/
Lisa Nagle says
My mom made a fruit salad similar to this every holiday, and we have continued this tradition! Instead of chocolate chips, we use chopped dates, and diced apples. We don’t use pudding and in place of cool whip we use whipped heavy cream with a little sugar to sweeten it, YUMMY!
Jocelyn says
Your mom’s fruit salad sounds delicious too!! I love the date and apple combo!!!
Cheryl Jones says
Just made it and it is a hit with my teenager. Way to go!