Airy and lightly sweet, this Pistachio Fluff Recipe with pineapple is a beautiful and easy retro no bake dessert. Made with pistachio pudding, pineapples, and Cool Whip, this watergate salad recipe is a delight!
Why You’ll Love This Watergate Salad Recipe
- Cool & Lightly Sweet: The perfect airy dessert that’s not too sweet for a summer picnic, Easter dinner, and more!
- Easy Recipe: Stir a few ingredients together and fold in toppings. It’s really that quick!
- Crowd-Pleasing No Bake Dessert: Everyone loves this no-cook pistachio fluff, just like Oreo fluff and pineapple fluff.
Pistachio Fluff Recipe with Pineapple
What is it about a cool, creamy dessert that just hits all of the yummy buttons? This Pistachio fluff recipe with pineapple, aka Watergate Salad, is one of my faves because everyone loves it. It’s easy to make, lightly sweet, so fluffy and packed with yummy pistachio pudding, creamy Cool Whip, and your favorite add-ins, like pecans and marshmallows!
Served in these adorable dessert bowls (which my mom literally gets so excited about), this airy Jello pistachio fluff recipe is so pretty to serve and fun to top! Everyone will love this fluff at cookouts, family get-togethers, Easter (along with bunny bait, Peeps s’mores dip and birds nest cookies), and more!
Watergate Salad vs Ambrosia
The difference between watergate salad vs ambrosia salad comes from the ingredients, as they are both no bake fluff desserts made with Cool Whip. Watergate salad is made with pudding while ambrosia is not. Watergate salad is green and pistachio flavored, while ambrosia salad has a vanilla base. Ambrosia salad is made with lots of fruits: mandarin oranges, pineapple, and maraschino cherries, while watergate is made with just pineapples.
Pistachio Fluff Fruit Salad Ingredients
- Pineapple – use canned, crushed pineapples and be sure to keep the juices—we need it to hydrate the instant pudding mix!
- Pudding mix – use instant pistachio pudding mix. We’re gonna make this pistachio fluff dessert recipe quick by skipping cooking.
- Marshmallows – mini marshmallows are best so they help create texture, but don’t look goofy!
- Pecans – or other nuts. Choose what you’d like and use 1/2 cup to go light on the nuts, or 1 cup for extra crunch.
- Cool Whip – thaw at room temperature so it’s easy to fold into the watergate salad.
How to Make Pistachio Fluff
Learn how to make watergate salad aka the best pistachio fluff recipe in just 3 easy steps. The result is cool, creamy, fluff dessert goodness!
- Stir together pineapple, pineapple juices, and instant pistachio pudding mix in a large bowl.
- Fold in marshmallow and nuts, then Cool Whip.
- Chill pistachio fluff dessert in the refrigerator for about 1 hour. Serve in charming old-fashioned dessert bowls with a dollop of Cool Whip and a maraschino cherry on top. Enjoy!
How Long is Pistachio Fluff Good For?
Pistachio fluff is good for approximately 3 days in the refrigerator. However, this recipe for pistachio fluff tastes best about 1 hour after chilling in the fridge and being eaten that night, just like banana pudding.
Variations
- Watergate salad with coconut: swap half (or all) of the nuts with shredded sweetened coconut
- Watergate salad without marshmallows: swap the mini marshmallows with more nuts or coconut
- No Pistachio Fluff? Swap the pistachio pudding with your favorite flavor, like vanilla or cherry.
- Skip the pudding and make ambrosia salad instead.
For more delicious recipe ideas like old fashioned watergate salad, follow us on TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest. If you’ve tried this recipe, take a pic and tag us on Instagram using #beamingbaker. We can’t wait to see it! Sending you all my love and maybe even a dove, xo Demeter ❤️
More Dessert Fluff Recipes
You’ll love my dessert fluff salads like grape salad and snickers salad. For Easter, try my carrot cake cupcakes with cream cheese frosting.
Prevent your screen from going dark
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In a large bowl, stir together pineapple with juices and instant pudding mix.
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Fold in marshmallows and nuts. Fold in Cool Whip.
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Chill in refrigerator for 1 hour before serving. Serve in dessert bowls with a dollop of Cool Whip and a cherry on top. Enjoy!
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- Storing Instructions: Store Pistachio Fluff (Watergate salad) in an airtight container for 3 days, maximum, in the refrigerator.
- Freezing Instructions: You can freeze Watergate salad if you plan to thaw it only slightly (a full thaw will yield a separate, watery mess). Store in an airtight, freezer-friendly container for 1-2 months and serve frozen (eat it like a frozen dessert).
