A colorful blend of fresh cranberries, fluffy mini marshmallows, crunchy nuts, and juicy pineapple in one salad. We love making Millionaire Cranberry Salad for Thanksgiving, Christmas, and special occasions.
Especially if we want to wow our guests with an extra fantastic dish.
It is almost like Ambrosia Salad but with a few substitutions and add-ons. Oh, and in terms of flavor, it’s nothing like Ambrosia; it’s better!
Although some people find those ingredients uncommon to mix in one dish, the sweet and tart combination simply "works" in this recipe. And no cool whip or cream cheese is needed!
Colorful salads are totally my jam. From Mediterranean Cucumber Salad, Chickpea Salad to Cucumber Strawberry Salad - those readers' favorites have been our go-to salads for any occasion.
Ingredients
- Yogurt - You can use sour cream with at least 20% fat as a substitute. Cool Whip works too, but it will change the texture and add more calories.
- Pineapple - It's best to use plain, no-sugar-added canned pineapple, but fresh pineapple is good too. You can also swap it for sweet fruits like mandarin oranges, apples, or bananas. We sometimes add grapes instead or along with the pineapple.
- The More Fruit, the Merrier - Cranberries are the star of this dish, combined with orange juice and a hint of cinnamon. Their tangy flavor balances the sweetness. You can also use mixed berries, blueberries, lingonberries, blackcurrants, or red currants if you can find them. Fresh is best, but frozen works too since we're making a sauce.
- Coconut - This adds a refreshing tropical touch, but you can leave it out if you want.
- Crunchy Nuts - Pecans, walnuts, or almonds give a nice crunch and balance the sweetness with their bitter flavor.
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How To Make It
This recipe has become one of our favorite desserts on our holiday menu. It's different, fluffy, and creamy with sweet and fruity flavors.
Make the homemade Cranberry sauce. Combine cranberries, sugar, orange juice, and cinnamon in a medium saucepan.
Bring to a boil, reduce heat and let simmer for 12 minutes. Let the mixture cool completely. The sauce will thicken upon cooling).
In a large bowl, add yogurt, juicy pineapple, marshmallows, walnuts, and coconut.
Pour in the cooled cranberry mixture (only about 1 ½ cups) and mix to combine. Let sit for 3 hours in the fridge.
In the end, you’ll have some extra cranberry sauce, which you can use for pancakes, waffles, and cereals.
Serve the salad any time of year, especially popular for Potlucks, and during the holiday season, with roasted turkey and at Christmas dinners.
It's the perfect dish from the traditional classics, with a twist.
Tips
- It’s a great meal prep - it takes only 15 minutes to whip up and some chill time. This is perfect because you’ll have enough time for casual entertaining and enjoying eating dinner.
- We like to complete any festive dinner with this fruit dessert salad (which it actually is) but I know some folks just like to serve this as a side dish together with the main course. This is however not my vibe at all and I would still call it a dessert salad.
- Chilling time is necessary. It helps the soft marshmallows to increase in size and absorb the sauce. After cooling the salad becomes fluffy and more delicious. Just don’t ‘’over chill’’ this.
- I like to keep the cranberries whole for this creamy cranberry salad, but you can puree the sauce once it’s cooked in a food processor or an immersion blender. If you gonna puree this, use more cranberries or reduce the orange juice so the sauce is not too runny in the end.
- Related: leftover turkey wraps, leftover turkey shepherd's pie.
Freezing And Storing Instructions
- This salad is easy to make ahead and a good candidate for meal prep. You’ll need to combine all the ingredients and let them chill for 3 hours before ready to serve. Don’t skip this step, this is what makes this salad remarkable.
- Properly sealed and stored his salad will be good in the fridge for 1-2 days.
- No freezing is recommended. Fruit and creamy dressing just don’t freeze well. Fruit will become soggy, the flavor will be off and yogurt become runny.
More Cranberry & Thanksgiving Recipes
For more festive recipes be sure to take a look at our Christmas recipes.
Easy Dessert Recipes
We also love making these chewy delicious gluten free chocolate chip cookies with peppermint during holidays.
ALL DESSERT recipes.
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Millionaire Cranberry Salad Recipe
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INGREDIENTS
For Salad
- 2 cups plain greek yogurt
- 2 cups canned pineapple
- 2 cups mini marshmallows, I used tri-color
- 1 cup walnuts chopped, or pecans, almonds
- 2 cups coconut flakes
For Cranberry Sauce
- 3 cups fresh cranberries
- ¾ cup sugar
- 1 cup orange juice
- ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
INSTRUCTIONS
- Homemade Cranberry sauce. In a medium saucepan, combine cranberries, sugar, orange juice and cinnamon. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and let simmer 12 minutes. Let the mixture cool completely. The sauce will thicken upon cooling).
- In a large bowl add yogurt, juicy pineapple, marshmallows, nuts, coconut. Pour in the cooled cranberry mixture (only about 1 ½ cups) and mix to combine. Let sit 3 hours in the fridge.
- In the end you’ll be left with some extra cranberry sauce which you can use for pancakes, waffles, and cereals.
- Serve the salad any time of year but it's more commonly enjoyed during the holiday season, at Christmas dinners. It's the perfect dish from the traditional classics, with a twist.
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NUTRITION
Note: Nutrition information is estimated and varies based on the products used.
Full Nutrition Disclaimer can be found here.
Julia | The Yummy Bowl
Delicious creamy and fruity holiday cranberry salad.