My mother-in-law was making this salad when I got married 48 years ago. It has always been on our holiday table.
This is a recipe that my grandmother has made for 40+ years. Here are some helpful hints to make it even better. Start in the morning of the day before you want to serve. Crush the cranberries and mix with 1 1/2 cups sugar (my grandmother uses 2!! which is a bit much so I use 1 1/2) Mix together and let it rest all day. Drain the juice out at the end of the day and put it back in the fridge. Day of: Drain again, add marshmallows, a big can of crushed pineapple, and 2 cups red seedless grapes, halved. Then right before you want to serve whip the cream and add 1 cup whipped cream to the salad!! This makes it aaaaaaa-mazing!!
Read MoreThis is a recipe that my grandmother has made for 40+ years. Here are some helpful hints to make it even better. Start in the morning of the day before you want to serve. Crush the cranberries and mix with 1 1/2 cups sugar (my grandmother uses 2!! which is a bit much so I use 1 1/2) Mix together and let it rest all day. Drain the juice out at the end of the day and put it back in the fridge. Day of: Drain again, add marshmallows, a big can of crushed pineapple, and 2 cups red seedless grapes, halved. Then right before you want to serve whip the cream and add 1 cup whipped cream to the salad!! This makes it aaaaaaa-mazing!!
My Women's Club made this to serve at a luncheon given for a Holiday House Tour. We made the following changes in the recipe to save a little work and expense, and found that the result did not suffer at all. We used 1 10 oz. bag mini marshmellows per recipe and 4 c. coolwhip instead of whipped cream. The recipe doubles, or triples well. We used a 1/2 c. scoop to serve and the salad kept its shape nicely.
I've never had raw cranberries and was skeptical but this recipe is very yummy tasting. Everyone really enjoyed it at Thanksgiving last year and it's been requested for this year as well. Very tart and sweet at the same time. I'll make this any day instead of boring jello salad.
Much to my dismay, I was asked to bring something *cranberry* to Thanksgiving dinner...visions of canned gelled cranberry and Jello molds danced through my head. I came here and searched and located this promising recipe, but I was still skeptical. However, it is wonderful! Easy to make and tastes great. A great way to add cranberries to the holiday meal. My mom has already requested this be an annual staple at our Thanksgiving table. THANKS! The only changes I made were to use fat free Cool Whip in place of the heavy cream and I added sliced almonds.
My mom made this all while we were growing up and I can't get enough of it. I HAVE to make it every TG and Christmas now. I never chilled all mine separately though. I blend the cranberries in a bleder with the sugar then mix everything and chill for an hour plus. We also always added chopped walnuts. I'm not a marshmallow fan so now that I make my own I leave those out and it is still delicious!
I tweaked this a lot, but I adored what I came up with in the end. I used 2 cups of ground fresh cranberries, a large can of crushed pineapple, and a large strained jar of mini mandarin oranges. I let it soak in 1 1/2 cups sugar for several hours, straining the juice as necessary. I also used whole mini marshmallows, and flavored my whipping cream with a toss of powdered sugar and some vanilla extract. The result was the perfect combination of tart and sweet. I loved it, and it went over well at Christmas. Will definitely make this again, five stars!
I doubled recipe. Used my food processer for grinding the cranberries. Really easy and yummy. My kids call this sparkle salad. I will make again. Might be good with either chopped pecans or walnuts also. I bet would be really pretty, if you put in mold and froze & slice & serve. I'm gonna try that sometime.
We love this version of cranberry salad. My mothers family has made this for as long as I can remember--only with the substitution of halved green grapes and pecan pieces for the marshmallows and pineapple. Be careful no to puree the cranberries!!
This recipe has been in my family for YEARS. I remember my grandmother making this when I was a kid for all the holiday dinners and It was alway's my favorite. Now I make it for my own family and it's still my favorite! The only thing I do different is use miniature marshmallows. It saves time and I don't have to mess with quartering large ones. Thank you for sharing!
AMAZING! I made the fast version. Used Cool Whip. I put the cranberries and sugar in a food chopper. Mixed that with pineapple and marshmellows in a bowl and folded the tub of cool whip in! Let it chill for a 3 hours or so and it got RAVE reviews!!!
a HUGE hit at thanksgiving a couple years ago!! It all got eaten and people wanted more! Now I make this instead of regular cranberry dishes
I thought this tasted pretty good. I don't normally care for recipes that require long waiting/sitting times, but it was for Thanksgiving anyhow where there is always plenty of food. I liked the idea of using actual fruit to flavor it instead of instant flavored puddings. I also liked that it used heavy cream instead of non-dairy whipped topping which makes these desserts normally too sweet. TY
I got my recipe from my mother. Like another reviewer I use halved green grapes, chopped peeled apple, and walnuts. I also use mini marshmallows. My recipe mixes the cranberries, a pinch of salt,sugar and marshmallows in refrigerator overnight. Any way you mix this it's wonderful, versatile, and beautiful served in a crystal bowl.
Loved this...I did a variation and added grapes rather than pineapple. Everyone loved it, and we're not really marshmallow people. We liked the crunch of the berries. If I hadn't had someone with nut allergies, nuts would go in too. I doubled the recipe because we had such a large thanksgiving group. I couldn't wait to take the rest home and eat it myself. This is a simple, excellent holiday keeper.
I had cranberries I needed to use and came across this recipe. This recipe is so good. I did make a couple of changes. I used lite Cool Whip and a whole bag of mini marshmallows. It was so good. The next time I make it I am going to put in some chopped pecans. Went perfect in my Thanksgiving menu.
I was so glad to find this recipe, because my Mom's memory isn't very reliable these days. This salad has been a holiday tradition in our family for as long as I can remember. Ours doesn't look this creamy and "pink", though, because we chop the cranberries fairly coarsely. I know my mother's version used Dream Whip, but I'm substituting Cool Whip. And a must-add ingredient for our family is at least a cup of chopped pecans or pecan pieces. This is the ONLY dish with marshmallows I ever eat. Good stuff!
If you havent tried this salad, you should! It is one that our family has been using for years!
This is fantastic. I used the mini marshmallows - much easier than cutting the large ones. I had pineapple tidbits, so I used that instead of crushed and it was great. Will definitely make again. I liked much better than the jello types of cranberry salad. Great to take to a big group - it fills a large bowl.
Delicious. Even if you don't let the flavors blend together, this salad is a keeper.
I don't even like marshmallow salads and I LOVE this one! I get compliments on it every time I make it. Can't believe it has been reviewed by so few people. I follow the directions exactly...it's easy to make and always good.
This was very yummy and easy to make. I chopped the cranberries in my small food chopper--I think that was the part that was holding me back, but it turned out great!
Took this salad to church for community Thanksgiving dinner. It was the first salad to go. I made the cranberries the day before and put the drained crushed pineapple in with it. I did not drain the juice off the cranberry/pineapple mixture but put a bag of mini marshmallows in the salad and left the marshmallows absorb the juice and they puffed up and held the juice. Just before serving, I blended an 8 oz. tub of cool-whip in. It was really delicious. Kids especially love this as it is almost a dessert.
Easy to make and great to take to a pot luck!! I added a cup of chopped pecans for a change and LOVED IT!! People complimented on the flavor, texture of the salad and presentation to the Thanksgiving buffet!!! This will be a traditional salad that I will take again to a potluck!!!
I spun the cranberries through my baby food processor. I used pineapple tidbits because it was all I had. Very good. Never had fresh cranberries like this before. Will make again but with less marshmallow.
I used this recipe for years with the mini marshmellows, but I also add 1 c. chopped pecans. I've had people that do not like cranberries at all eat this (before they knew what it was) and loved it.
Very tasty - just sweet enough and an interesting color and texture to add to the holiday table. Hard to eat a lot, so expect leftovers!
This recipe received rave reviews at Thanksgiving and I was asked to make it again for two Christmas dinners!
his is an easy and great tasting recipe. Will make this in the summer for family get togethers too!
I first made this 5 years ago and it has been requested every year by my extended family at holidays. Delicious!! Wonderful alternative to jello salad.
