Pistachio Salad Recipe

Pistachio Salad is a creamy fruit salad made with Jello pudding mix, Cool Whip, crushed pineapple and mini marshmallows. An easy recipe and a family favorite dessert salad perfect for holidays and family gatherings.

Easy pistachio salad is super simple to make, and it only consists of 4 ingredients, or 5, if you decide to add nuts. The original recipe for Watergate Salad called for chopped almonds or walnuts. But my kids hate nuts in their food, so I leave them out.

You may know this vintage Jello salad recipe as Pistachio Pineapple Delight, Pistachio Fluff salad, Green Goop or Green Stuff. Bonus points if you know why it’s called Watergate salad!

Like Strawberry Jello Salad and Orange Jello Salad, I got this retro recipe from my grandma’s collection — This easy dessert salad was super popular in the 70’s. As I recall, pistachio fluff fruit salad was usually reserved for holiday dinners, church potluck dinners or parties. I don’t think we ever had it as part of an ordinary dinner.

The first time I made Watergate Salad for my family, my kids almost didn’t try it. But, they loved it, and my youngest daughter insists on making it herself for holidays and St. Patrick’s Day. And sometimes, just because!

Ingredients

You only need a few simple ingredients to make this pistachio salad recipe. They should be easy to find in your grocery store.

• Jello pudding mix — instant pudding mix, generic is fine
• Crushed pineapple — a can of crushed pineapple, not pineapple chunks. Don’t drain — you need the pineapple juice, as well
• Mini Marshmallows — makes this pistachio fluff even fluffier!
• Cool Whip — make sure it is thawed!

How to Make Pistachio Fruit Salad (Watergate Salad)

First, you combine crushed pineapple and a small box of instant pistachio pudding mix in a large bowl

This looks pretty wild, and you can see that the ingredients gave off kind of a weird glow. 

But remember, this is from the 70’s. So, I suppose that’s normal, right?!

Then, you mix a small container of whipped topping into the pineapple mixture, using a rubber spatula. And, the weird yellowish-green color disappears!

If you want more of a crunch, go ahead and add some nuts. But, I think I’m going to agree with the kiddos on this recipe and say that it’s fine without the nuts.

Finally, you fold some mini marshmallows into the pudding mixture. And that’s all, folks — you’re done!

Traditionally, you use regular marshmallows. But, we think the fun-colored fruity marshmallows make this fluffy dessert salad extra fun.

Fluffy pistachio salad is one of those recipes that instantly takes you back. After one bite, you’ll be thinking, Yes — I remember this!

Recipe Variations

Like most mid-century recipes, every family has their own version of old fashioned pistachio salad. Top it off with maraschino cherries, use sour cream or cottage cheese instead of Cool Whip.

Stir in shredded coconut or add cream cheese instead of marshmallows. Pistachio fruit salad tastes great with mandarin oranges. The possibilities are endless here!

We like to make pistachio pudding salad with pastel marshmallows in the spring!

How to Store Pistachio Salad

Store this pistachio delight in the refrigerator. Cover the serving bowl with plastic wrap or transfer to an airtight container.

It keeps for about 4 days when covered in the fridge.

You can make pistachio salad up to a day in advance or an hour before serving. It just needs time to set and cool down.

FAQ

I hope you enjoy this old fashioned pistachio fluff salad as much as we do. It’s a great recipe for any holiday meal or family event. If you try this green fluff salad, please leave a star rating and/or comment.

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This post was originally published in 2016 and updated in 2023.