Cranberry Strawberry Salad
The flavors of tart cranberries and sweet strawberries married together, topped with a topping made of fresh whipped cream, marshmallows, and cream cheese, makes this Cranberry Strawberry Salad the perfect side to serve with your Turkey Dinner.
This delicious salad has been in our family for years. There hasn’t been a Thanksgiving in the past 50 plus years when this salad hasn’t been sitting beside the turkey.
It’s made with a combination of whole berry cranberry sauce and sweet strawberries, and the creamy topping is made of cream cheese, whipping cream and mini marshmallows. There are also some finely chopped pecans hidden in the mix. Our family loves the crunchiness they add, but they can be omitted if desired.
This is such a delicious salad, that you might be tempted to eat it as dessert with a hot cup of coffee, instead of as a side.
My husband, Don, was used to eating cranberry sauce from a can. It was frozen, then sliced and served. For the longest time, he wouldn’t try this Cranberry Strawberry Salad. Once he finally tried it, he insisted that I make it for Thanksgiving.
Salad Ingredients
- 1 can, 14 ounce, cranberry sauce with whole cranberries
- 3 small boxes, 3 ounces, strawberry jello
- 1 large carton, 16 ounce, frozen sliced sweetened or unsweetened strawberries, thawed and drained well
- 2 1/2 cups hot water
The Cranberry sauce, strawberries, nuts, strawberry jello, and hot water get mixed together and poured into a 9 x 13 dish and refrigerated overnight.
Topping Ingredients
- 1 package, 8 ounces, cream cheese, softened
- 1 small carton, 8 ounces, whipping cream
- 1 cup miniature marshmallows
- Finely chopped pecans for garnish, optional
The cream cheese gets cut into cubes and added to a bowl with the marshmallows, then the whipping cream gets poured over them. The mixture gets refrigerated overnight. The next day, the mixture gets whipped together with a mixer.
The next day…
The topping gets spread over the filling and nuts are sprinkled all over the top. You can omit if you like, but we love the added crunch to this salad.
Frequently asked questions
How should I store leftovers?
Store covered for up to 4 days. I don’t recommend freezing this salad. It will become watery once thawed.
How far ahead can I make this recipe?
You can make this recipe up to 2 days in advance. As stated below, it should be prepped the day before anyway. It’s a cinch to finish the next day.
What should I serve with this Cranberry Strawberry Salad?
This salad can be served anytime of year, but it is the perfect side to go with your Thanksgiving turkey. I have more sides listed below that go great along side this salad.
More sides you might like…
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Cranberry Strawberry Salad
- Prep Time: 30
- Total Time: 30
- Yield: 12 large servings 1x
- Category: desserts/salads
- Method: refrigerate
Description
The flavors of tart cranberries and sweet strawberries married together, topped with a wonderful fresh whipped cream, marshmallow and cream cheese topping, makes this the perfect salad to serve with your Turkey Dinner.
Ingredients
For the Salad
- 1 can, 14 ounce, cranberry sauce with whole cranberries
- 3 small boxes, 3 ounces, strawberry jello
- 1 large carton, 16 ounce, frozen sliced sweetened or unsweetened strawberries, thawed and drained well
- 2 1/2 cups hot water
- 1/2 cup finely chopped pecans
For the Topping
- 1 package, 8 ounces, cream cheese
- 1 small carton, 8 ounces, whipping cream
- 1 cup miniature marshmallows
- Finely chopped pecans for garnish, optional
Instructions
For the Salad
- Make sure the strawberries are well drained. Mash the strawberries with a potato masher.
- Mix together the cranberry sauce, jello, strawberries, hot water and the pecans. Pour into a 9 x 13 dish, or any similar size dish, and place in the refrigerator overnight to allow mixture to set up.
For the Topping
- Cut the cream cheese into small pieces. Place the cream cheese and the marshmallows in a medium size bowl. Pour the whipping cream over the cream cheese and marshmallows. Place the bowl in a refrigerator overnight.
- The next day, remove the jelled salad and the bowl with the whipping cream, cream cheese and marshmallows from the refrigerator. Using a mixer, whip the cream cheese, marshmallows and whipping cream mixture together until it is smooth and thick.
- Spread the mixture over top of the cranberry strawberry salad. Sprinkle pecans over the top.
- Refrigerate until ready to serve.
Notes
- This recipe can also be made in two 8 x 8 dishes instead of one 9 x 13.
- Walnuts can be used in place of the pecans.
- The water in this recipe has been adjusted from 3 cups to 2 1/2 cups, to allow for any juice remaining in the strawberries.
- I don’t recommend freezing this salad, as it will probably become watery.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 12
Can this be made with all strawberries? Or a different fruit other than cranberries? I’m wanting to make this for a springtime dessert. Thank you!
Hi Ruth, I can’t honestly answer that since I have not actually tried different fruit. I suppose you could since there is already jello in the recipe to maintain its thickness.
This reminds me of the jello we have at Thanksgiving and Christmas. It has been passed down from my husband’s grandmother for almost 70 years. Her version uses raspberry Jello, crushed pineapple and port wine!
In your notes you say the water has been adjusted to 2 1/2 cups of water but the recipe says 7 1/2 cups. Also, 9 boxes of Jello? Could you verify all the ingredient amounts, please. I’m interested in making this for holiday meals. Thank you!
Good Morning, I believe you’ve accidentally clicked on the scale at the top of the recipe. It shows the amounts if you want to double or triple the recipe. It appears you’ve clicked on the 3X.
Do you use real whipping cream or can you use Cool whip. This recipe sounds so good.
Hi Linda, I recommend real heavy whipping cream. It’s much better with whipping cream.
Down here in the South we line the pan (9×13 or 2 8 inch pans) with waxed paper and grease the paper with butter. Press 2cups crushed pretzels onto the greased paper and then cover with your recipe. If there are nut allergies involved simply substitute some crushed pretzels for the pecans.
Rarely have leftovers after the first day!
Great recipe and really good. Thanks for sharing.
Hi Richard, I’m so glad you liked it. 🙂