Easy Strawberry Fluff Salad
When I went to college, I was blessed to have some incredible friends. You know those ones that just get you. The ones who love you not only despite your quirks but because of them. My freshman year I was in a group of classes that had the same 50 people in all of those classes. And during the first week of class, I found my people. Or I should say, we found each other. We studied together, we hung out together, and we just fit together. We all had our own friends outside of the group as well but that small group of Shea, Paul, Nikki, and me — that’s the group I always think of first when I think of my freshman year. One of my favorite moments from freshman year was Easter. It was the first time I’d ever been away from home for Easter and eating in the dorm cafeteria for Easter dinner just didn’t seem right. I shouldn’t have worried because my friend Shea invited our entire little group of friends to his family’s house for Easter dinner. We are strawberry fluff, played some Easter games, and had a great time. That was the first of many Easters I spent at his house, including a handful of Easters when Shea wasn’t even there. His family was my away from home family and treated me like someone who belonged rather than a guest. While the Easter activities we did over the years for Easter at Shea’s house, one thing has stayed the same – his mom always made me what they called strawberry schlop. It was their recipe first but she was kind enough to share it with me. They call it schlop, other people call it strawberry fluff salad – I just call it delicious.
Strawberry Fluff Ingredients
You’ll quickly see why you could enjoy this as a side or a dessert based on these ingredients! You likely already have everything at home but if not, you can find all of these at your local grocery store!
8 oz cream cheese – take it out of the refrigerator about an hour before making this so it’s nice and soft1/2 cup sugar – good ole white sugar12 oz crushed pineapple – drain this before adding into the recipe2 bananas – dice them up nice and small so they are the same size as the other ingredients12 oz frozen strawberries – okay so this part matters, get the pre-sliced kind so you don’t have to deal with slicing them yourself.12 oz cool whip – don’t try to use regular whipped cream, it won’t be the same! 1 1/4 cup chopped pecans – these add the nice crunch to the strawberry fluff. If you have someone who can’t do nuts, you can leave them out, but they make a big difference!1/2 cup fresh strawberries – these are in addition to the frozen strawberries, dice them up nice and small\
How to Make Strawberry Fluff Salad
This is one of the easiest Easter side dishes you’ll ever make but the instructions and order are important so make sure to read carefully! And read the recipe card that has even more details on how to make these! If you’re more a visual person, you can watch the video below to see how it’s made as well!
1 – Beat the cream cheese and sugar.
This is why it’s so important that your cream cheese is soft. If you try to beat the cream cheese and sugar together and the cream cheese is still right out of the fridge cold, they’re not going to cream together the same way. So soften that cream cheese!
2 – Add the fruit and pecans.
Add in the frozen strawberries, pineapple, banana, and chopped pecans. Stir until it’s all mixed around and well combined.
3 – Whip it up.
Add your Cool Whip and whip it until the texture is soft and fluffy. Hence the name, strawberry fluff!
4 – Chill.
Put the strawberry fluff in the fridge and allow it to chill until you’re ready to serve, ideally at least 30 minutes. If you need to serve immediately, it’ll be fine – just better if chilled!
5 – Serve with garnishes.
Top the strawberry fluff salad with the leftover chopped pecans and diced fresh strawberry for garnish. You can either serve it in a big bowl and let people serve it themselves or serve them in individual trifle dishes or bowls if you’d rather if be more of a dessert.
Can you freeze strawberry fluff?
I don’t recommend freezing strawberry fluff if you want the same texture. It can be stored in the fridge in an airtight container up to five days (but you’ll probably eat it before then!). If you want to have it later, I recommend just making up another batch instead. And if you have leftovers to freeze, maybe just try enjoying them with a little strawberry poke cake instead!
Other Yummy Side Dishes
Twice baked boursin potatoesCoconut rice in rice cookerEasy mashed potatoesCauliflower pureeFruit salsaBest ever strawberry spinach saladSweet corn puree
Don’t forget to pin this strawberry fluff salad for later!
