If you grew up in the Midwest and ever went to a potluck or family reunion, you've probably met orange fluff. Mandarin oranges, orange Jello, cottage cheese and Cool Whip, all folded together into that mysterious pastel salad that shows up right next to the deviled eggs. I've had my share, but there was something that always bothered me: the texture of the cottage cheese. Those little curds were always a distraction from the smoothness of the rest of the salad.
So when I decided to make a strawberry version, I fixed that problem first. I decided to blend the cottage cheese before mixing it with the other ingredients. It only takes a minute, and it turns the texture from curdy to silky, which honestly makes a bigger difference than you'd think for something so simple.
The spirit of a fluff salad is still there: sweet and creamy, and perfectly potluck friendly. It's just dressing in strawberries and pineapple instead of oranges, and I think it holds together a little better because of the blending step.
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Ingredients Needed for Strawberry Fluff Salad
- Cottage cheese
- Strawberry Jello, regular or sugar free
- Crushed pineapple, drained well
- Cool whip
- Fresh strawberries, large
How to Make Strawberry Fluff with Cottage Cheese
Start with the cottage cheese. This step is technically optional, but not for me: use a stand blender or an immersion blender right in the mixing bowl. Blend the cottage cheese until it's smooth. This is what gets rid of the curd texture that I always found a little off-putting.
Once it's smooth, stir in the dry strawberry Jello (no water, no dissolving first). I like to use my immersion blender for this step too, but the mixture does get very thick. I usually have to default to a spoon to finish stirring it in.
I've made this using regular Jello (3oz) or the sugar free version (0.3oz) and either works fine, so you can use whatever you've got in the pantry. Just stir until no visible streaks of powder remain.
Next, add in the well-drained pineapple. The draining step is important - extra liquid will thin everything out. Then, fold in the Cool Whip. (at this point I realized a large bowl would have been a better choice for mixing!)
The final addition: fresh strawberries. Now I've seen versions of this salad that don't use a lot of fruit, and for me that's the best part! So I buy a quart of fresh strawberries and use most of them to cut up and put in the salad. It's usually about 20 large berries. I also like to reserve a few to decorate the top of the salad just for a nice presentation, but that's optional. Sometimes I just add them all in and give it a good stir!
Refrigerate the salad until it's chilled through, then give it more more stir and serve.
Serving Suggestions and Variations
This is a great make-ahead side dish for a cookout or potluck, since it needs that fridge time anyway. If you want to switch things up, this same method works with other fruit and Jello combinations, the same way the orange fluff does. I might have to try this with fresh raspberries and raspberry Jello.
You can never go wrong with a good Jello salad recipe! which is why I'm adding this to my list of Thanksgiving Jello salads ~ check it out if you'd like see even more ideas!
Storage
Keep this salad covered in the fridge, it's best within the first couple days. After that, the strawberries start to release their juice, and you'll find a bit of a soupy layer forming in the bottom of the bowl. It still tastes good, just doesn't look as pretty.
📖 Recipe
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Strawberry Fluff with Cottage Cheese
Ingredients
- 16 ounces cottage cheese
- 3 ounce strawberry Jello packet or 0.3 oz sugar free
- 8 ounces crushed pineapple drained well
- 8 ounces Cool Whip
- 20 fresh strawberries large, sliced
Instructions
- Optional: blend the cottage cheese, using a blender or an immersion blender in a bowl. This will smooth out the texture for the final fluff.16 ounces cottage cheese
- Combine the cottage cheese with the dry Jello in a bowl. Mix very well, until no streaks remain.3 ounce strawberry Jello packet
- Add the drained pineapple and mix again.8 ounces crushed pineapple
- Fold in the Cool Whip and sliced strawberries.8 ounces Cool Whip
- Refrigerate until chilled, stir again and serve. Garnish with additional strawberries as desired.20 fresh strawberries
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition values are estimates only, using online calculators. Please verify using your own data.
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