This light and fluffy raspberry fluff is the jello salad that everyone loves! Made with just 6 ingredients (including water), it’s the make-ahead dessert that is perfect for summer bbq’s and potlucks!
Raspberry fluff jello salad is a classic summer dessert here in the Midwest, and one that is completely customizable! As a natural make-ahead dessert, it’s cool and creamy texture is a favorite for both kids an adults!
I keep trying to get in the warm weather spirit and the weather here just keeps letting me down lol. Here in Ohio we had near 70 degree temperatures the other day, then snow the next day. I still have no idea how to dress the kids for school!
One thing I can always get in the mood for is a good old-fashioned jello salad. Have you had one before? There’s nothing “salad”-y about them, but they’re SO good!
This raspberry fluff is a nod to my family… since my mother makes something similar with pineapple (different ingredients, but also called fluff), and my mother in law makes something similar with all kinds of fruit. This jello salad is a lot like the one she makes, but I’m not sure if it’s exact or not.
WHAT IS JELLO SALAD
It’s confusing because with a name like “salad”, you wouldn’t think it would be a dessert right? Also a lot of people think of jello salad as the ring of colorful jiggly jello that is made in a mold. Around here that’s referred to as a jello mold, and doesn’t have the same ingredients as jello salad. This type of fluff/jello salad is made with jello, pudding, tapioca, fruit and cool whip.
HOW DO YOU MAKE JELLO SALAD
It’s a natural make-ahead recipe, so the night before you want to serve it, bring some water to a boil. Turn off the heat, then stir in one small box each (3 oz size) of vanilla pudding, tapioca, and raspberry jello. Whisk until it thickens, then pour into a container to chill overnight. Before serving, stir in fruit and cool whip and keep chilled until ready to eat.
CAN I MAKE JELLO SALAD WITH OTHER FRUIT FLAVORS
Absolutely!! I chose raspberry because it’s my son’s favorite fruit, but you could do this with just about any fruit you’d like. Just make sure to match the jello flavor with the fruit… so strawberry jello and strawberries, orange jello with mandarin oranges, etc.
WHAT ABOUT JELLO SALAD WITH COTTAGE CHEESE
That’s another great variation! The great part about using cottage cheese is that the recipe doesn’t need to be made the night before, so it’s perfect for when you are in a time crunch. Here’s how you make it:
- 16 oz container of small curd cottage cheese
- 3 oz box of raspberry jello
- 1 1/2 cups fresh raspberries
- 8 oz container of cool whip
Mix together the cottage cheese and jello, then stir in raspberries. Gently fold in the cool whip… if you whip it and stir it too vigorously, all the lovely cloud-like texture will be gone and you’ll end up with a soupy dessert. Chill about an hour.
Whatever part of the country or world you’re in, if you make something similar, let me know in the comments! I’d love to see how wide-spread this jello salad dessert is.
Even if it sounds totally weird to you, you should give it a try. The cloud-like texture is absolutely mouthwatering!
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Ingredients
- 3 cups water
- 3 oz package instant vanilla pudding
- 3 oz package instant, or cook and serve tapioca pudding
- 3 oz package raspberry jello
- 8 - 12 oz frozen whipped topping, thawed (cool whip)
- 1 pint fresh raspberries, plus extra for topping
Instructions
- In a saucepan, bring water to a boil. Whisk in pudding mixes and jello. Return to a boil, stirring constantly, and boil for 1 minute. Remove from the heat, pour into a container, and cool completely.
- Refrigerate jello mixture for several hours or overnight. Gently fold in cool whip and raspberries, being careful not to stir to vigorously. Keep refrigerated until ready to eat.
- Top with additional raspberries and serve.
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Nutrition Disclaimer
The Chunky Chef is not a dietician or nutritionist, and any nutritional information shared is an estimate. If calorie count and other nutritional values are important to you, we recommend running the ingredients through whichever online nutritional calculator you prefer. Calories can vary quite a bit depending on which brands were used.
Jennifer Rizer says
We live in a rural area that does not have tapioca instant or cook and serve pudding. Would white chocolate pudding mix be a good substitute?
The Chunky Chef says
I’ve only tested this recipe as written. So without testing and retesting it myself, I can’t say for certain if that would work. If you do some experimenting, I’d love to know how it turns out!
Marcy says
This was really sweet for us. I added some lemon juice and it became a delicious raspberry/lemon fluff. Love how easy this was to make!
Robert Strike says
Sooooo good with the tapioca.
Judy says
Can I use whipped cream instead of Cool Whip, have family members that can’t tolerate Cool Whip?
The Chunky Chef says
I’ve only tested this recipe as written. So without testing and retesting it myself, I can’t say for certain if that would work the same (although I suspect it’ll still taste great). If you do some experimenting, I’d love to know how it turns out!
Allison says
Can you add mini marshmallows? If so, when would you add them?😊
The Chunky Chef says
I haven’t tested adding mini marshmallows, but I think they could just be stirred in at the end 🙂
Sandi says
I can’t figure out how to copy and print so I can go to the grocery store with the recipe. Help!
The Chunky Chef says
In the recipe itself (it has a big navy blue colored header with the name of the recipe), there’s a print button. Once you press that, you can print 🙂
Tracy Shamhart says
I made this recipe last night. It was delicious. It’s a quick and dump recipe that I liked about it. Have you tried making this with different jello flavor?
The Chunky Chef says
I haven’t tested it specifically, but my Mother in Law makes something very similar to this recipe with orange jello and mandarin oranges, so I think it would work well 🙂
JAY GRAHAM says
unbelievable, everyone loved it and so easy to make
mary says
cool whip is poison. There is nothing natural about it and you should not be feeding this to your children.
The Chunky Chef says
Hi Mary… well aren’t you just a peach? How about you keep your unsolicited advice to yourself. You don’t like cool whip? Great, don’t use and don’t make this recipe. It’s really that simple 😉
Rose Hoyt says
Yeah Mary.. just keep on scrolling..
If you don’t approve of cool whip then I suggest you look up a recipe that specifically says NO COOL WHIP.. LOL 😆
Joan says
What a SIMPLE recipe to follow.
I can’t WAIT to make it.
BTW I love the name for your site.
Sincerely,
Chunky New Follower!!
Norma says
Your recipe for jello fluff is easy to follow and is delicious.
Diane says
Can you use fresh raspberries?
The Chunky Chef says
Yes, this recipe calls for fresh raspberries.
M.G. says
This is delicious! It’s light. It tastes fancy. I think it would be nice in a trifle. Thanks for the recipe!
Georgia Wild says
I found an instant tapioca granulated… do I need to add anything to it? The quick prep uses sugar, one egg, whole milk and 1 tsp vanilla. I was planning to just use 3 oz of the granules and add to pudding and jello.
The Chunky Chef says
I’ve not tested this recipe using instant granulated tapioca, so I honestly can’t say for certain how to use it in this recipe. Sounds like you might need to do a bit of experimenting 🙂
Linda Schoenmann says
I have successfully substituted instant tapioca in a similar recipe and plan to do so with this recipe when I try it. For one box of tapioca pudding, I plan to use 3 Tbl. dry tapioca plus 1/3 c. sugar. I’ll let you know how it turns out after I make it, maybe tomorrow.