Published: December 19, 2024 · Updated: December 14, 2025 by Cindy Gibbs

This White Christmas Salad is made with pineapple, whipping cream, marshmallows, and maraschino cherries, and it’s light and delicious!  It’s the perfect dessert to serve with a holiday meal. 

White Christmas Salad.

If you’re looking for a light and not too sweet side for your holiday ham, this is it. It’s so good, you’ll think you’re eating dessert instead of a dinner side, but that’s okay. Call it what you want. You’ll love it!!

When I grew up this salad made a special appearance at every Christmas dinner, right beside the ham.  My mom always called this recipe White Pineapple Salad, but I decided to rename it White Christmas Salad.  I guess because our family reserved it for a special occasion such as Christmas.  It’s a great complement to ham and delicious enough to eat by itself as dessert. 

There are so many heavy and sweet foods during the holidays, but this salad is light and not overly sweet.  It’s just right!  The secret to enjoying the full flavors of this salad is making it the day before you plan to serve it. That way, the flavors have time to meld together.  You won’t believe how simple it is to make.

White Christmas Salad.

How To Make

  • Combine the reserved pineapple juice, marshmallows, and cornstarch in a medium saucepan.
  • Heat over medium heat, while stirring constantly, until the marshmallows have melted. Remove from heat and place in a freezer to cool completely.
  • Pour the whipping cream into a large mixing bowl. Using an electric mixer, whisk on low speed, gradually turning to high speed and whisk until the whipping cream forms stiff peaks.
  • Add the cooled marshmallow mixture, pineapple tidbits, and cherries and fold in gently.

You might also like Cranberry Strawberry Salad.

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White Christmas Salad.

White Christmas Salad

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  • Author: Cindy Gibbs
  • Prep Time: 10 Minutes
  • Cook Time: 5 Minutes
  • Total Time: 15 minutes
  • Yield: 10 Servings 1x
  • Category: Salads
  • Method: Cook
  • Cuisine: American
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Description

This light and fluffy salad is not overly sweet and is a perfect side to have with your Christmas ham.

Ingredients

Units Scale
  • 1 can, 20 ounces, pineapple tidbits in juice, drain and reserve juice
  • 2 cups miniature marshmallows or 24 large
  • 2 teaspoons cornstarch
  • 2 small jars, 10 ounces each, Maraschino cherries, red or green, well drained. Reserve a few to garnish the top
  • 1 pint or 2 cups Heavy whipping cream
 
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Instructions

  1. Combine the reserved pineapple juice, marshmallows, and cornstarch in a medium saucepan. Heat over medium heat, while stirring constantly, until the marshmallows have melted. Remove from heat and place in a freezer to cool completely.
  2. Pour the whipping cream into a large mixing bowl. Using an electric mixer, whisk on low speed, gradually turning to high speed and whisk until the whipping cream forms stiff peaks.
  3. Add the cooled marshmallow mixture, pineapple tidbits, and cherries and fold in gently. Spoon into a serving bowl. Garnish the top with the reserved cherries.
  4. Refrigerate overnight before serving.  The flavors are much better the day after this salad is made.
  5. Refrigerate leftovers.