This orange fluff salad is a vintage recipe that combines whipped topping, sour cream , Orange Jell-o , mandarin oranges, pineapple and marshmallows for the fluff. This comes from a time of when fluff salads were king and there are so many variations of this recipe out there . My Aunt used to put cottage cheese instead of sour cream but this is the way we had it at my house, but we all put marshmallows giving it the “fluff”. This was on our tables at all of our summer cookouts all the way to the holidays. We always had this orange fluff at Easter while we had Watergate Salad at Thanksgiving and Christmas. I am not sure why , I don’t make the rules , LOL.
My mother was a kid in the 1950-60’s , the hay day of the Jell-o salads . Her favorite fluff salads we had as kids as well. She isn’t a fan of cottage cheese so we never had these salads this way except when we went to her sisters house. I personally like them both ways . You need very little equipment or skills to make this , so it is perfect for beginners.
What you will need to make Orange Fluff Salad
- Orange Jell-O -This gives flavor and helps firm the sauce
- Whipped Topping – This provides the little more sweetness in the sauce
- Sour Cream – This gives a contrast in flavor and helps this from being overly sweet (Some people use Cottage Cheese)
- Crushed Pineapple-This is optional but all fluff salads have bits of pineapple , it ‘s the rule lol
- Mandarin Oranges – You can’t have orange salad without Oranges
- Mini Marshmallows – marshmallows absorb all of the goodness and is the fluff in fluff salads
Additional items needed
- Mixing bowl -with or without a lid
- Rubber Spatula
- Plastic wrap
Optional Add ins:
- Shredded Coconut
- Pecans
- Wal-nuts
- cherries
- Replace sour cream with cottage cheese
Let’s make some salad !!
Mix together the whipped topping , sour cream and orange Jell-o. Blend until the Jell-o is dissolved then fold in the drained crushed pineapple .
Fold in the drained mandarin oranges.
Now mix in the min marshmallows.
Cover and chill at least 4 hours but it is even better to sit over night .
Add a few orange wedges to the top and serve.
If you like this recipe you will love these
Orange Fluff Salad
This orange fluff salad is a vintage recipe that combines whipped topping , Orange Jell-o , mandarin oranges, pineapple and marshmallows .
- 8 oz Cool Whip
- 16 oz Sour Cream (see notes )
- 3 oz Orange Jell-O
- 8 oz Crushed Pineapple (Drained )
- 15 oz Mandarin Oranges (Drained -optional reserve a fee for the top)
- 2 cups mini marshmallows
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Mix together the cool whip and sour cream
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Add the orange jell-o and mix until the powder is dissolved
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Mix in crushed pineapple
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Mix in the mandarin oranges
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Fold in Mini Marshmallows
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Cover and chill at least 4 hours but best overnight
The sour cream can be replaced with cottage cheese. It sounds strange but it is so good if you like cottage cheese.. This version with the sour cream pleases most people .
I have also used an instant vanilla pudding in this and it gives it a vanilla cream flavor.
Add in options
- Nuts
- cherries
- shredded coconut
I have not had orange fluff in ages and your recipe was every big as delicious as I remember!!
It’s an oldie but a goodie !!
I am drooling. Never made an orange Fluff Salad ever. Combination of oranges , pineapple and Marshmellow sounds unique. A must try dish for the season. Thanks
My kids this is the best way to eat “salad” because it’s stuffed with tons of marshmallows. I love it because it gets them to eat their fruit without complaint. Thank you for the great idea!
This was a simple way to use canned pineapples and oranges I had sitting around forever. Topped with shredded coconut and a little bit of dried cherries, it was fantastic!
I have never tasted this kind of salad before, but it looks so good and tasty!
I am going to try this at home. Thank you!
I hope you like it Amy.
This is a favorite recipe! My kids especially loved the marshmallows. Definitely making it again!
Yay!! Kid approved is always a good thing .
I’m in love with this salad. This is the first time I have heard about it, but I want to try it and make it for my Easter brunch. Thanks for the inspiration.
It is perfect for Easter , I hope you enjoy it .
Now THIS is the kind of salad I can get behind! This was such a hit in my kitchen last night, thank you so much for sharing this recipe 🙂
HAHA, I am glad it was a hit.
Never had orange fluff salad, so glad I made it over the weekend as my little niece came over and she was so happy to dig in.
I’m from the midwest so I always ate this growing up! It was fun to recreate it at home!
I wonder if I could do it with strawberries or peaches…
I have made fluff salads so many different ways . Changing the jello and the fruit to flavors that go together is acceptable . This is a great base recipe .