July 6, 2022

Orchid-Buffet Strawberry Fluff Salad

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When I was a girl, my family used to go to the Orchid Buffet following church service for Sunday lunch. One of the dishes there that we all enjoyed was a pink fluffy salad. My grandma and I tried to duplicate the recipe for years–and never really found one that was quite like the Orchid-Buffet Strawberry Fluff Salad.

(Post modified on 3/30/23.)

Awhile back, I was going through grandma’s old recipe cards and books, and I was reminded of our search for this pink salad. I even found a handful of her recipe attempts. Some used dry strawberry gelatin mixed in with fruit cocktail and Cool Whip, while others used strawberry pie filling and whipped cream, or even cottage cheese.

I decided to search online and see what might show up. I came across several cooked versions that combined vanilla pudding with strawberry gelatin, which intrigued me. After a few slight changes to try to match my memory of what it should be, here is the recipe I came up with. I even tested it on my mom, but alas, perhaps too much time has passed since we ate the salad. Nonetheless, it was creamy, sweet, and pink. And it’s at least close to what we remember!

This fluffy salad is perfect for a large family gathering or a potluck dinner.

More Fluffy Salads with Whipped Topping

Ingredients for Orchid-Buffet Strawberry Fluff Salad

(See the full recipe in its entirety at the bottom of this post.)

First Part

vanilla pudding mix (not instant)
strawberry gelatin
water

Second Part

strawberry jam (optional)
crushed pineapple, drained
fresh strawberries, diced
bananas, sliced (optional)
frozen whipped topping (like Cool Whip)
miniature marshmallows

Instructions for this Recipe

First Part

Gather the first three ingredients. Using a medium saucepan, mix together the vanilla pudding mix, the strawberry gelatin, and the water. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring until dissolved.

Because you need to heat the pudding and the gelatin, you should use a cook and serve pudding mix. Do NOT use instant pudding for this recipe.

Remove from heat and transfer to a mixing bowl. When cool, cover and refrigerate for 6-8 hours (or overnight).

Second Part

Gather the remaining ingredients for this recipe on the counter or table.

Prepare the ingredients by slicing the strawberries into small pieces. If desired, dice a banana.

The addition of a sliced banana gives this salad a bit more flavor. However, this salad makes a large batch, and the added banana will not keep for more than 48 hours. If you will be using leftovers for longer than this, I do not recommend adding the banana to it.

Beat the refrigerated gelatin mixture until creamy. Stir in the strawberry jam, along with the drained crushed pineapple and the prepared strawberries and banana.

Most strawberry fluff recipes that I found do not use any strawberry jam, but I found that the addition of the jam gave a more intense strawberry flavor to the salad.

Fold in the whipped topping and the miniature marshmallows (up to 8 oz.) with a rubber spatula.

Transfer salad to a nice serving bowl. Cover and refrigerate for at least two hours before serving to allow the ingredients to meld together. This recipe will serve 10-12 people.

Refrigerate any leftovers. You may store this salad for 4-6 days.

Browse more Salad Recipes Here. View Strawberry Recipes Here.