Strawberry Jello Fluff Salad

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Questions & Reviews

1. Kris says:

   AHHH! No! Strawberry Jello! Pregnant moment.
2. Anne says:

   Have you ever tried making this with chocolate pudding?
3. Cyd says:

   We haven’t tried it with chocolate pudding, but it would work fine. Make sure the pudding is not instant, it has to be Cook N Serve Pudding.
4. Sue Watson says:

   I am making this tomorrow for a Red Hats event. Can I make the puddings up and store in fridge tonight or should I do it right before adding cool whip and fruit?
   Thanks
5. Cyd says:

   Hi Sue. Make up the pudding and jello mixture and put it in a bowl covered with plastic wrap. Place in the fridge overnight. Then the next morning or right before your event, mix the mixture that has set up and then add the rest of the ingredients. It’s really an easy recipe that tastes so delicious! Hope this helps.
6. Rachael says:

   Is the cool whip to be thawed?
7. Cyd says:

   Yes, your cool whip cannot be frozen. We just thaw it in the fridge overnight or for a few hours.
8. Jessica says:

   This looks yummy! Any chamce it can sit for only 3 hours? The kids want it tonight. Lol Thanks!
9. Cyd says:

   When we have this strawberry jello fluff salad for dinner, we make it in the morning. The first step where you refrigerate it is very important, and needs to be set pretty firm. This is one of our absolute favorites. We like it with orange jello and mandarin oranges too!
10. Kelly says:

    I added crushed pineapple and maraschino cherry. Very tasty
11. Deborah says:

    I made this yesterday and after chilling the Jello mixture for 6 hours it was like rubber! It took forever to get it creamy. I used the box sizes as listed in the recipe and 2 cups water. Is this correct? I followed the entire recipe. It turned out pretty good in the end but was a darker pink than the photo, also was hard to get off the serving spoon. I’m wondering if I should have used more water or maybe the smaller boxes of Jello???
12. Cyd says:

    After refrigerating the jello, pudding and water mixture that you bring to a boil, it becomes very solid. We just beat it with a hand mixer for only about 1 minute. Then add in the cool whip and mix together well. Then fold in all of the fruit. It is a thicker type of jello salad. I’m sure you could add 3 cups of water instead of 2 and it will still work fine.
13. Amanda says:

    I just made this and was thinking mine was awfully pink and thick too, then I looked back at the recipe and it’s 16 Oz of cool whip, I had only used one normal tub which is 8 Oz. Back to the store I go!
14. Charlene says:

    I made this for about 15 people. Everybody loved it, and there was none left! So easy, and so good!!
15. Carrie says:

    Just double checking. You don’t cook the pudding separate. The 2 cups of water is cooked WITH the box of jello and box of pudding together. Correct? Making this for my grandsons at Thanksgiving. Thanks so much!
16. Cyd says:

    That is correct. And the pudding has to be Cook N Serve – not instant. I’m making it for Thanksgiving and using raspberry jello and fresh raspberries. It’s amazing too! Have a great Thanksgiving.
17. Desiree Zaugg says:

    I made this last night and it’s still kinda runny. Could it be because i only used 8 oz of cool whip?
18. Cyd says:

    You mix together the cook n serve pudding, jello and water until it boils. That is what your refrigerate overnight or for 6 hours. It becomes very thick. Then you beat it and fold in the cool whip, marshmallows and fruit. It should be a pretty thick jello salad. Hope this helps.
19. Glo says:

    Can’t you use 16oz of real whipped cream instead of cool whip? I hate that stuff, feels like I’m eating shaving cream…
20. Cyd says:

    I did some research for you on subbing real whipped cream in some recipes for Cool Whip. It does not always work out well.
    A recipe that calls for frozen whipped topping in the recipe, will be more difficult to substitute. The reason frozen whipped topping is used in a dessert is to create a fluffy texture. Homemade whipped cream won’t create the same consistency, and your dessert may end up being a flop.

    If you would like to avoid frozen whipped topping, then you’ll need to stabilize your whipped cream. To stabilize, simply add a tablespoon of cornstarch to every cup of cream. This will help your whipped cream keep its shape.
21. Nancy says:

    YUM!
22. Can B. says:

    Would it be possible to use frozen fruit or should it be thawed first?
23. Cyd says:

    We have used the frozen fruit and thawed it first. You will want to drain off any liquid after it thaws so that it doesn’t turn your jello salad runny. Fresh fruit works the best in this recipe.
24. Olivis says:

    Is there a way I can make with instant pudding?
25. Cyd says:

    This recipe is for cook n serve pudding. But here is one we have for instant pudding. You could easily substitute another jello flavor and add fruit.
    https://www.sixsistersstuff.com/recipe/2011/06/5-minute-pistachio-salad/
26. Tanya Scharinger says:

    I just purchased the large cook and serve vanilla Jell-O brand pudding and the box is 1.6oz. your recipe calls for 4.6oz, I am reading that correct?! That seems like a ton!. And the box of strawberry jello is .6oz and you have 6 oz listed. Help!
27. Melissa says:

    It was awesome . Sooo tasty whole family LOVED it !!!
28. Cyd says:

    The big box of cook n serve pudding is 4.6 ounces https://amzn.to/2pYwr55
    The big box of strawberry jello is 6 ounces https://amzn.to/2GLPBFE
    I’m not sure what jello you purchased. But these are the packages we use when making this jello salad. You can easily cut this salad recipe in half.
29. Cindy says:

    Can I make it today and leave it for tomorrow night. Will it hold up until then.
30. Cyd says:

    Just do the first 3 steps this evening and leave it in the fridge overnight. Then tomorrow (or maybe 2-3 hours before serving) beat the stiffened jello mixture and follow the rest of the directions. Then it will still be fresh before serving. The bananas tend to go brown. We have saved leftovers for the next day, but it does get a little runny and not so good. You could even do the first 3 steps early in the morning if you were serving this in the evening.
31. Pam says:

    I have made this several times in the past year with different combinations. I also have used the standard size pudding and jello, reduced the water to 2 cups and the Cool Whip to the 8 oz size with a good result. Beating the set jello mixture until somewhat fluffy seems to be where some are having their problems. Mine holds up fine if made in advance too. I just gently stir it to absorb liquids. More marshmallows could be added if needed. It is a very pretty salad . Tried strawberry/vanilla, strawberry/chocolate, orange/vanilla with mandarin oranges, lime/vanilla with pineapple, pineapple/vanilla with pineapple. Will report on any other flavors I mix. I don’t add bananas always either.
32. Pam says:

    Is it possible you have the sugar free? Those are much lighter.
33. Julie says:

    At what point do u gently stir it to absorb liquids?
34. Cyd says:

    Sometimes after sitting overnight, some moisture collects at the bottom of the bowl. Give it a stir and everything is all mixed together well and it looks amazing.
35. Shelby says:

    Can I just say thank you for posting a YouTube video about this, I was confused by adding both pudding and jello in the water and the video cleared it up completely
36. Kay says:

    Can sugar-free pudding and Jello be used?
37. Cyd says:

    Hi Kay. We have not made this recipe using sugar free pudding or sugar free jello, so not sure how it would turn out.
38. Tara Floch says:

    I put it in my deep freeze to speed up the process.
39. Chris says:

    I used regular pudding & sugar free jello. It turned out great. Everyone loved it.
40. Casey Aldrin says:

    It calls for 3 cups water not 2. perhaps that is why yours is so rubbery.
41. Joan says:

    I made this amazing recipe and was able to serve it inside 2hrs!
    I had forgotten that I committed to bringing a jello fluff to a party.
    I didn’t panic.
    I improvised n stayed calm. I chose orange jello, with mandarin oranges (drained),1 cup coconut.
    I did used the large box jello, and the vanilla cook n serve pudding boiled with 2 cups hot water and added 2 pkgs Knox unflavored gelatin.
    Then after dissolving, I added the additional cup very cold water.
    I covered this mixture and put outdoors, -10`C or 14`F. It set up thick quickly… Like inside 40mins.
    Then i whipped it, added only 8 of thawed Cool Whip (I mistakenly bought the smaller size), then folded in oranges, and coconut. It was firm and beautiful and nearly gone by the end of the party. Everyone loved it.
42. Cyd says:

    Hi Joan. So glad it worked out great and that you really could serve it in 2 hours if needed! 🙂 Have a great day!!
43. Brittany says:

    Is there a fruit that can be substituted for banana that you have found is delicious in it? I am not super into bananas in my food.

    Thanks!
44. Cyd says:

    You could add in more strawberries and just leave the bananas out all together.
45. Lisa says:

    How many servings would you say this is?
46. Lisa says:

    Nevermind. I should have read everything before asking. Lol. I see it says 12.
47. Frank says:

    Can you freeze any if this for a later date
48. Cyd says:

    This salad will not freeze well.
49. Lisa says:

    The recipe calls for 3 cups of water but down on the comments some people are saying 2 so???? Hopefully mine is not ruined by doing 3.
50. Cyd says:

    If you use the big box of pudding and jello – it’s 3 cups. If you use the smaller box of jello and pudding- it’s 2 cups. Hope this helps.
51. Debbie says:

    Can you double this recipe?
52. Cyd says:

    This recipe can be easily doubled. Just make sure your bowl is big enough.
53. Joyce Desrosier```````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````` says:

    can this recipe be cut in half for a smaller crowd?““““““““““““““““
54. Cyd says:

    Yes, you can definitely cut this recipe in half.
55. Kari says:

    FYI: I’ve made this several times with sugar free/fat free pudding and jello. It turns out great every time and has become a family favorite!
56. Cyd says:

    Thanks Kari. This is so good to know!
57. Carolyn says:

    Hi, just wondering is this recipe okay for diabetic people to eat and enjoy?
58. Cyd says:

    This recipe has jello and pudding. So you would need to make that call.
59. Kevin says:

    Now I’m seeing why my heated mixture left clumps and couldn’t fully dissolve… I had used INSTANT pudding. I for the life of me could NOT see anything in all the stores stating COOK&SERVE. So, I believed it was a packaging change, and bought what was available. I just now took another look at my box in the trash… instant, in small print. I’m hoping it sets well in 6 hours. 🙁
60. Kevin says:

    Update: everything settled firmly. The lumps from the INSTANT pudding that settled on the bottom are nonexistent after blending. 🙂
61. Cyd says:

    We have a hard time finding the smaller boxes of cook and serve pudding at our stores. So we buy the big one and just use half of it. Sorry you grabbed instant pudding!
62. John says:

    Hi, I was thinking that I’d like to try this with lime Jell-o, but I’m not sure what fruit might go along with that. Does anyone have any suggestions? Thanks.
63. Cyd says:

    Pineapple, bananas, and the marshmallows go great with Lime jello.
64. Heather Chlupsa says:

    How long do you wait after removing it from heat to put it in bowl ?
65. Cyd says:

    We put it in right after it came off the stove top. But you could easily wait 10-15 minutes.
66. Beth says:

    Just follow the recipe… it doesn’t have to be that hard!
67. Anabel says:

    Can I use instant pudding?
68. Amanda says:

    Made today for the 1st time. Used sugar free pudding and sugar free jello to cut the carbohydrates way down. Turned out great. Then I dipped a pretzel in it. OMG the sweet and the salty is so amazing. You must try it.
69. Amanda says:

    Made today for the 1st time. Used sugar free pudding and sugar free jello to cut the carbohydrates way down. Turned out great. Then I dipped a pretzel in it. OMG the sweet and the salty is so amazing. You must try it.
70. Cyd says:

    No, it needs to be cook and serve pudding.
71. Janice says:

    I can’t find the big box of vanilla cook & serve pudding anywhere, can I use 2 small boxes?
72. Cyd says:

    The big box is 4.6 ounces. So just buy 2 small boxes and try to measure out close to 4.6 ounces as possible. I hope this helps.
73. Kelly says:

    The written instructions say to use 16 ounces of cool whip but in the video, you say 8 ounces of cool whip. Everything else is the same. Which is it, 8 or 16? Thank you.
74. Momma Cyd says:

    It should be 16 ounces of Cool Whip. If you use the small box of Jello and the small box of pudding, you can use 2 cups of water and and 8 ounces container of Cool Whip.
75. Kelly says:

    Great! Thank you.
76. wendy says:

    I sub vanilla or plain low fat Greek yogurt for the cool whip. It is not as fluffy, of course, but very creamy and oh so yummy!
77. Sue says:

    The recipe says 8 ounce Cool Whip, but in some of the comments they say 16 ounces. Which is correct? Thanks
78. Camille Beckstrand says:

    So sorry about that! You will need 16 ounces of Cool Whip. Have a great Thanksgiving!
79. Amy Woodard says:

    Anyone else feel like 16 oz. of cool
    Whip is too much???
80. Jess says:

    Do you think for texture and to combine sweet and salty you could do crushed salted pretzels, butter, sugar combo…let it set up in the fridge, then break into pieces and add to this salad? Thanks!
81. Mira says:

    I literally thought this was ice cream, so you can see how good it is.
82. Momma Cyd says:

    Sounds delicious! Let us know how it turns out!
83. Sue Schaetz says:

    Cannot wait to try this, looks delicious! Includes all of my favorite ingredients too. I noticed some people had trouble finding things in stores. Walmart usually stock everything I need. Stock up when you see them, they will keep quite a while.
84. Becky White says:

    Watergate salad is my usual “go to” for a light side/dessert but I think I,e found a new go to!
85. Kim Adams says:

    My mother-in-law makes this and I make it a lot and use sugar free every time and out turns out great!
86. Terrie S says:

    This is amazing!!! I made it for our 4th of July dinner and we all loved it! I was so glad I read the other reviews though. I bought one cool whip. The recipe calls for 16 oz of cool whip, so you’ll need 2 of the regular size. I will add this recipe to my family dinner menu! YUMMMM!!!!
87. Sue Hale says:

    If I make this on Tuesday will it hold for the final step in Thursday afternoon? Trying to prepare early for Thanksgiving
88. Momma Cyd says:

    You can do the first step where you add the jello, pudding mix and boiling water and then refrigerate until set up. But for the mixing part and adding the fruit and Cool Whip – I would wait until Wednesday night or Thursday morning. Add the bananas last!
89. Heather says:

    I put halved grapes instead of the bananas and it turned out great
90. Martha says:

    I love this dish!! I added 1 can mandarin oranges, drained, 1 can pineapple tidbits, drained and little coconut. It is fabulous. I purchased by mistake the strawberry banana pudding and didn’t add bananas. It was perfect. I’m having a party with around 50 guests and I’m sure it will be a huge success. Thanks for publishing this recipe.
91. Renee M. says:

    I made this Recipe without bananas and added pinapples and cocunut and pecans.- It turned out wonderful!!!! I try to adjust where I can and this recipe was Yummy!! I am asked every day are you making that strawberry Salad Stuff? My Kids and Hubby give it 5 stars!!!!!
92. Pam Carey says:

    This has become my go to dish to take to potlucks! Everyone loves it!
93. Sharon Proctor says:

    How many servings were used in the nutritional information?
94. Momma Cyd says:

    We usually get about 12 servings from this Jello. If there are a lot of kids it will go farther.
95. Irene Wheeldon says:

    We do a similar recipe. We use a small box of jello, a large container of cottage cheese, an 8 oz Cool Whip, and a fruit. So orange jello and mandarin oranges; strawberry jello and strawberries; raspberry jello and raspberries for examples. Mix the dry jello with the Cottage cheese, then add the Cool whip and fruit. Chill for several hours. Delicious and refreshing.
96. Donna says:

    I have made this for a couple of years and your recipe called for 8 oz cool whip. Know recipe says 16oz cool whip. I’ve always used the 8oz . What is right way??
97. Momma Cyd says:

    If using the small jello and small pudding mix, use the 8-ounce cool whip. If you use the big Jello and big pudding mix box, you’ll use the 16 ounce cool whip. If using the big boxes, you will need 3 cups water vs 2 cups with the smaller boxes.
98. Melissa Thornton says:

    As others have said, this is my new go-to potluck recipe! If the side dish table is looking thin, it can go there. If the dessert table is thin, boom- there it goes :D. I might try a fall version with cranberry jello and drained mandarins. Thanks for the great recipe!
99. ShaNae says:

    I do love this recipe, but can it be halved?
100. ShaNae says:

     Haha I have made this so many times and then went back and reread the article and it says how to half it. Happy Thanksgiving.
101. Boni says:

     This recipe is always a hit. I usually make day of and sub blueberries for bananas. I want to have for lunch tomorrow, will it hold up if I make a day ahead?
102. Kylie says:

     Such a great, easy recipe! Made this for Thanksgiving and it was a hit!
103. Cm says:

     Are you supposed to make the jello and the pudding as directed on the box then add 3 additional cups od water. Or only 3 cups od water to the powder of the jello and the pudding only
104. Bobbi @ Six Sisters says:

     Step one says to whisk together pudding mix, Jello mix, and water – so you’ll just add the 3 cups of water to the powder mixes in a saucepan. I hope this helps
105. Catherine says:

     When you cut this recipe in half do you have the water?
106. Bobbi @ Six Sisters says:

     Yes you would want to cut everything in half including the water
107. Linda Sagstetter says:

     made this recipe 5x in 2 months for different affairs because it was so well liked.
108. Deb Mar says:

     I made this. I’m trying to recapture my childhood through food maybe, jello was the “it” way back. My version did not fluff up. I don’t think I boiled it long enough. It was still tasty but not fluffy. I’m not going to make it again but only because I have hundreds of recipes I want to get through before I’m too old. Some of them include jello. I’ll be sure to make sure it boils longer. 🙃
109. Sue McAllister says:

     Can you use frozen strawberries?
110. Bobbi @ Six Sisters says:

     You can use frozen strawberries that have been defrosted. They will be more liquidy so try to pat them dry as much as you can and be aware the texture may come out a little more liquidy
111. Victoria R says:

     Yes I love this quick easy recipe and it was so good my kids loved it
112. Donna Garza says:

     My family loves this I made it one time for Thanksgiving ,now I have to make it every holiday 😁