An easy, sweet side dish that you can throw together in 5 minutes, this Cranberry Salad is perfect for the Thanksgiving table. It’s sweet and tart and tastes like the holidays!
Looking for more sweet salads? Try this Snickers Salad, this Apple Pomegranate Salad, this Ambrosia Salad, or this Strawberry Pretzel Salad.
Also known as Cranberry Fluff, this cranberry salad has graced our Thanksgiving table for as long as I can remember. It’s one of those salads – like the Snicker’s Salad – that tastes more like dessert than an actual side dish. But hey – any excuse to have dessert on our plate next to the turkey is a good excuse, right?
Thanksgiving just isn’t Thanksgiving without this salad. The great thing about this salad is that it literally takes 5 minutes to stir together, and you can stick it in the freezer ahead of time.
It’s the easiest addition to your holiday table, and if your family is like mine, there won’t be any left when the meal is over!
Ingredients
All you need are 6 simple ingredients for this Cranberry Salad:
- Sweetened Condensed Milk: Make sure you are not using evaporated milk.
- Lemon Juice: You want to use freshly squeezed lemon juice. The bottled juice will not taste the same here.
- Whole Berry Cranberry Sauce: I have only ever used canned cranberry sauce for this recipe. Make sure you are using whole berry sauce, not jellied cranberry sauce.
- Crushed Pineapple: Make sure to drain this before adding, otherwise it is too wet. You won’t need the juice for this recipe, so I usually save it to add to smoothies.
- Chopped Nuts: These are optional, but I like the extra texture. I prefer pecans, but walnuts would work, as well.
- Frozen Whipped Topping: AKA Cool whip. There are a few other brands out there, but I have only tried cool whip. You could also use freshly whipped cream with a little bit of powdered sugar added. You’ll need about 1 1/2 cups of cream if you go this route.
How to Make Cranberry Salad
STEP 1: Add the sweetened condensed milk to a large bowl. Stir in the lemon juice.
STEP 2: Add the cranberry sauce, drained pineapple, and nuts.
STEP 3: Stir this all well to combine.
STEP 4: Add the whipped topping. Fold the whipped topping in, only mixing until it is fully combined. Freeze for 20 minutes before serving.
Tips and Tricks
- If you aren’t eating this right away, store it in the freezer. If you are serving it the same day, bring it out of the freezer 30-45 minutes beforehand to soften slightly. If you are making it the day before, you may want to give it a little extra time to thaw so that it is scoop able.
- For more sweetness, feel free to add in mini marshmallows.
- You can also store this in the refrigerator, but I prefer it a little frozen.
More Favorite Thanksgiving Recipes
The BEST Sweet Potato Casserole
Lion House Rolls Dinner Rolls
Apple Cranberry and Sausage Dressing
Sour Cream Apple Pie
Sparkling Cranberry Punch
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Cranberry Salad
Ingredients
- 1 (14 oz) can can sweetened condensed milk
- 1/4 cup lemon juice
- 1 (14 oz) can whole berry cranberry sauce
- 1 (20 oz) can crushed pineapple drained
- 1/2 cup chopped nuts*
- 1 (8 oz) container frozen whipped topping thawed
Instructions
- In a large bowl, stir together the sweetened condensed milk and lemon juice.1 (14 oz) can can sweetened condensed milk, 1/4 cup lemon juice
- Add in the cranberries, pineapple and nuts.1 (14 oz) can whole berry cranberry sauce, 1 (20 oz) can crushed pineapple, 1/2 cup chopped nuts*
- Fold in the whipped topping.1 (8 oz) container frozen whipped topping
- Freeze for 20 minutes before serving.
Lori @ A Bright and Beautiful Life says
This sounds delicious.
Emily says
The only thing better that can improve this salad is using pretzels to eat it. Oh. My. Gawd.
grace says
this looks completely fun and fluffy! the cranberries i had yesterday were tasty, but i fear they wouldn’t hold a candle to this. bookmarked for next year…er, week. 🙂
Roxana GreenGirl {A little bit of everything} says
I have to say, I’m glad you decided to stick with the old same traditional recipes. If you had tried a new one maybe I would have never found out about this refreshing cranberry salad. Thanks for sharing.
Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours
camie says
Thanks for the idea! I just made it and put it into the freezer. My kids enjoyed licking the bowl and spoons.
Katrina says
Aww yeah, such a classic salad!
Kristy says
I’ve never seen this before. It looks really good! 🙂
Joanne says
I’ve never had this before but with those rock star ingredients (sweetened condensed milk?!?!?) it must be amazing.
Averie @ Love Veggies and Yoga says
my mom makes things like this and like snickers salad, too!
sweetened cond milk AND a container of Cool Whip…oh yes, this would be great 🙂
Rachel @ Baked by Rachel says
OMG yes please!! I love cranberries. I bet this would be a fantastic topping on pie as well.
Kim says
I LOVE the looks of this and am pinning it…..maybe for next year. I’d love to make it on Thursday but I really don’t know if I want to go back and fight the crowds at the store again. Looks delicious!
CHERYL says
hello* im so excited to try this cranberry reciepe on my family it looks so delicious thanksgiving here we come!!! god bless happy turkey day all*
Kalyn says
This sounds perfect for Thanksgiving!
Bev Weidner says
I usually shy away from dishes like this, but you make me want to cuddle with it.
Angie@Angiesrecipes says
Never had anything like this…..this is a really special and delectable for the holiday meal.
Colleen @ What's Baking in the Barbershop?! says
This dish is very similar to one of the sides my family has been having for years! I have always thought it’s more like dessert too, but it definitely belongs on the dinner table at Thanksgiving. 🙂 Have a great holiday!