This recipe starts with a bag of fresh cranberries. The cranberries are chopped, then mixed with sugar. The cranberries need to sit in the sugar for at least 3 hours to temper some of the natural tart flavor of the berries.
When the cranberries are ready, pineapple, marshmallows, chopped pecans, shredded coconut and diced apples get added to the mix. The final step is to add whipped topping as a dressing, then you’re ready to eat. I like to decorate my finished salad with more cranberries, marshmallows and fruit, but that’s an optional step.
TIPS FOR CRANBERRY SALAD
- I use a food processor to chop my cranberries. You can also roughly chop them with a knife or even use a blender.
- Don’t want to use whipped topping? You can use lightly sweetened freshly whipped cream instead, or vanilla yogurt.
- I typically use Granny Smith apples because they add a nice crunch and I like the color contrast of the green apples against the red cranberries. That being said, feel free to use your favorite variety of apple. Other great varieties include Pink Lady or Honeycrisp.
- You can use fresh or canned pineapple for this salad, either will work just fine.
- Sometimes I substitute diced mandarin oranges for pineapple for a different take on this dish.
- Don’t like pecans? Omit them altogether, or try walnuts or sliced almonds instead.
- This salad can be made up to 8 hours before you plan to serve it.
HOW DO YOU MAKE CRANBERRY SALAD WITH JELLO?
There are a couple of different types of cranberry salad. While this is a creamy salad, a Jello salad is also a very popular option.
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