Piña Colada Fluff

This Piña Colada Fluff recipe is incredibly bright in flavor and full of tidbits of pineapple! You’ll love this piña colada salad that comes together in minutes with just a handful of simple ingredients. Made with maraschino cherries, cream cheese, and Cool Whip, this tropical pineapple cheesecake salad is the perfect addition to any meal. 

Piña Colada Fluff

Do you ever just get an intense craving for something oh, so tropical and sweet? The perfect addition to summer potlucks, BBQs, parties, and picnics, this coconut fluff recipe is really just filled with delicious flavors and it comes together in a jiffy! Don’t forget about my other pineapple fluff recipe that has pretzels mixed with it, yum. 

The combination of pineapple and coconut just brings you back to sitting on a beach and enjoying the warm sunshine. That’s exactly what this piña colada fluff is: a bowl of sunshine. 

Why You’re Going to Love this Piña Colada Dessert

• So easy to make with just a handful of simple ingredients. This fluff recipe quickly comes together! 
• Perfect for feeding a crowd for baby or wedding showers, luncheons, and so much more. 
• Great to make ahead- simply make it a day in advance and place it in the refrigerator until ready to serve.

Ingredients Needed for Piña Colada Salad

Cream cheese- You’ll want to make sure your cream cheese is softened to room temperature. Feel free to use reduced-fat. 
Sugar- Granulated sugar is what you will need for this piña colada fluff.
Coconut extract- Coconut extract can be found at your local baking store or in the baking aisle at the grocery store! You can even find it on Amazon.
Pineapple- Both crushed and pineapple tidbits are needed for this recipe. So you’ll need a can of crushed pineapple and a separate can of tidbits.
Coconut cream instant pudding mix- Make sure to get the small box! This can be found next to the baking section at the grocery store.
Flaked coconut- Sweetened flaked coconut is what I used for this recipe, but even unsweetened coconut could work.
Cool Whip- The container of Cool Whip needs to be thawed before using it!
Marshmallows- I like to use miniature marshmallows in this recipe for extra texture and fluff.
Cherries- Maraschino cherries are drained and halved to add a sweet compliment to this recipe.

How do you make Piña Colada Fluff Salad?

For the full steps, scroll down to the recipe card.

Beat the cream cheese: First, beat the cream cheese, extract, and sugar until fluffy.

Combine the pineapple: Combine crushed pineapple, pudding mix, and coconut together. 

Cool Whip: Fold in the Cool Whip.

Stir in cream cheese: Then, stir in the cream cheese mixture.

Add the pineapple: Next, fold in the drained pineapple tidbits and marshmallows. Finally, fold in the cherries.

Serve: Then, chill until ready to serve.

Tips

• After halving the cherries, set them on a paper towel to remove the juice so the salad doesn’t appear streaky.
• You could substitute vanilla extract for coconut extract if you don’t have any. You will just not have as intense of a coconut flavor.
• Fresh pineapple will work in this recipe, however, if it doesn’t produce enough juice, you’ll need to add some pineapple juice. 
• Make sure to thaw the Cool Whip prior to trying to use it in this recipe, or else it just won’t work.

Best Pot Luck Salad

Fluff salads are like a magnet. Everyone is drawn to them. So anytime you are asked to “bring a salad,” know that you can’t go wrong with this recipe!

I like to call sweet salads like this dessert salads. They can double for both courses. 

Other delicious Fluff Salad Recipes

• Pineapple Pretzel Fluff (pictured above)
• Cranberry Fluff
• Orange Fluff
• Strawberry Cheesecake Salad
• Summer Fruit Salad
• Honey Lemon Fruit Salad

Cheers to Piña Colada Fluff! The salad is like sunshine in a bowl! 

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5 from 6 votes

Print Recipe

Pina Colada Fluff

Pineapple, coconut marshmallow fluff - it's like a dream. A dessert salad that is full of tropical flavors of the islands.

Prep Time10 minutes mins

Total Time10 minutes mins

Cuisine: American

Servings: 10

Author: Michaela Kenkel

Equipment

• Rubber Spatulas 
• Glass Batter Bowl
• Watkins Coconut Extract 

Cook ModePrevent your screen from going dark

Ingredients

• 4 ounces cream cheese softened
• ¼ cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon coconut extract
• 1 20 ounce can crushed pineapple, undrained
• 1 3/4 ounce package instant coconut cream pudding mix
• ½ cup sweetened flaked coconut
• 1 8 ounce container Cool Whip, thawed
• 1 20 ounce can pineapple tidbits, well-drained
• 2 ½ cups miniature marshmallows
• ½ cup maraschino cherries drained, halved

Instructions

• Beat cream cheese, extract and sugar until fluffy.
• In a large bowl, combine crushed pineapple (with juice), pudding mix, and coconut together. Mix until combined.
• Fold in Cool Whip.
• Stir in cream cheese mixture into pudding mixture.
• Fold in drained pineapple tidbits and marshmallows. Finally, fold in **halved maraschino cherries. (** see notes)
• Chill until ready to serve.
  
  

Notes

**after halving the cherries, set them on a paper towel to remove the juice so
that the salad doesn’t look streaky.