Cherry Cheesecake Fluff

Stressful times mean indulging the sweet tooth with some comfort food, and we’ve been on a bit of a fruit fluff salad kick lately.

While I have issues with this delicious dessert being referred to as a “salad” - or as a side dish! - these fluffy salads are a great no bake dessert option to make when a sweet craving hits. Very, very low effort, simple dessert.

That said, they definitely tend to be a crowd favorite

The one I was most familiar with, growing up, was Ambrosia salad - basically fruit salad with marshmallows and other stuff added.

My husband was more about the Watergate Salad - AKA pistachio fluff salad.

You can whip up an easy dessert salad in just minutes, and watch it disappear at a backyard BBQ, family gatherings, baby showers, or even holiday dinners. With the right choice of ingredients, you could whip one up that would even be perfect for Christmas dinner!

So far, I’ve only shared two of our fluff recipes - Banana Split Fluff Salad, and Pina Colada Fluff Salad.

Each is an easy recipe that turns out a delicious dessert with very little effort.

Today, I’m sharing our cherry cheesecake fluff recipe.

It’s a great recipe - just a few ingredients, maybe 5 minutes of work... and it really does taste like cherry cheesecake!

It’s the first time I worked cream cheese into a fluff salad recipe, we’ll definitely be playing around more with that idea in the future.

Anyway, enough rambling, let’s look at what you’ll need to have for your own cherry fluff salad!

Ingredients

This recipe uses really simple ingredients, you shouldn’t have any trouble finding what you need in any grocery store.

A few ingredient notes for you:

Cool Whip

I always use plain Cool Whip frozen whipped topping, just thawed a bit in the fridge before using.

If you’re in the USA, you’ll use the 8 oz container, if you’re in Canada it’s the 1 L container.

Theoretically, you could use Stabilized Whipped Cream, but - to be honest - whenever I’m in the mood to throw together a dessert salad, I’m usually in too lazy of a mood to bother!

Milk

Use whatever kind of milk you like. We usually end up using unsweetened almond milk, as it’s what we have on hand.

Instant Pudding

First off, be sure you’re actually using a small box of instant pudding mix - NOT the “cook and serve” type,

I generally use instant vanilla pudding mix, as it’s what we have easy access to.

If you’re able to get your hands on some of the Cheesecake Instant Pudding Mix, use that!

Pie Filling

As a cherry cheesecake fluff, obviously you’re going to want to use cherry pie filling here.

That said, why stop at cherry? Blueberry pie filling would make a fantastic blueberry cheesecake fluff salad! Go with what you like!

Everything Else

Rounding out this recipe, you will need:

Miniature Marshmallows
Cream Cheese
Lemon Juice
Salt

... nothing else to add, here. Like I said - very simple recipe!

How to Make Cherry Cheesecake Fluff Salad

The full recipe for this easy fluff salad is in the printable recipe card at the end of this post. Here is the visual walk through with step-by-step photos.

In a large bowl, beat the block of cream cheese until smooth. You want to use softened cream cheese for this - room temperature or warmer. As far as beating it, I like to use an electric mixer.

Add the milk and the lemon juice - a little at a time - beating until smooth.

Add the pudding mix and salt, beat once again until smooth.

Using a wooden spoon or rubber spatula, stir the cherry pie filling into the cream cheese mixture until well combined.

Scoop the Cool Whip into the bowl, stir well to break it up and fully combine it into the cherry cheesecake mixture.

Cover with plastic wrap - or store in an airtight container.

For best results, chill for at least 2 hours before serving. Garnish with more whipped topping, maraschino cherries, or Graham Crackers, if you like!

Leftover salad should be kept in the fridge, and are best served within 3 days or so.

More Gluten-Free Dessert Recipes!

Looking for even more fantastic gluten-free desserts that *everyone* will love? Look no further!

Chocolate Fondue
Deviled Strawberries
Easy Gluten Free Brownies
Gluten-Free Brandied Apple Crisp
Gluten Free Butter Tart Bars
Gluten-Free Buttertarts
Gluten Free Doughnut Holes
Gluten-Free Earl Grey Pie
Gluten Free Fruitcake
Gluten-Free Lemon Bars
Gluten Free Maple Pumpkin Pie
Gluten-Free Nanaimo Bar Brownies
Gluten Free Puffed Rice Bars
Gluten-Free Pumpkin Spice Mini Doughnuts
Gluten Free Raspberry Bars
Gluten-Free Schmoo Torte
Gluten Free Sticky Toffee Pudding
Pina Colada Fluff Salad

Also, be sure to check out our collection of Gluten Free Cookie Recipes!