Is it a side salad or a dessert salad? It’s either! Watergate Salad breaks all the rules. It’s a crazy delicious concoction of pistachio pudding, Cool Whip, pineapple, and marshmallows. This retro dessert is both fun and tasty.
Set some pistachio-favored dessert salad out at your next Potluck and watch it disappear. It’s also a great salad to include for your Easter Meal.
Most people either grew up with Watergate Salad or they don’t know what in tarnation it is. If you grew up in the south, you probably had a grandmother who made it for every special occasion or church luncheon. Watergate Salad was originally developed by Kraft under the name Pineapple Pistachio Delight in 1975 when they first introduced pistachio pudding.
The pistachio pudding gives it its characteristic mint green color and a good bit of its flavor. It is affectionately known as “Green Stuff” to many people.
If you’ve never had Watergate Salad, be prepared. It has a wild and crazy texture with tons of contrasts. The cool whip makes it a little airy and light, but there are small chunks of pineapple and a crunch from the pecans, giving your teeth a little something to sink into. And of course the marshmallows really stand out with their completely distinct soft but a little chewy texture. Once your senses get over the craziness of it all, you’ll discover that it is really quite delicious.
Watergate Salad is a dessert salad that tends to be appealing any time of year. Its light texture lends itself to the warm weather months, but throw a cherry on top and you have a perfectly festive red and green treat for Christmas. And of course its pastel color is fantastically fitting for Easter.
Try These Other Pistachio Flavored Desserts:
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Watergate Salad
Ingredients
- 2 (8-ounce) cans crushed pineapple in juice,, undrained
- 1 (3.4-ounce) package pistachio instant pudding
- 1 (8-ounce) tub frozen whipped topping,, thawed
- 1 cup miniature marshmallows
- 1/2 cup toasted pecans,, chopped
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, stir together the full contents of the pineapple cans and the pudding mix until smooth.
- Fold in whipped topping and marshmallows. Cover and refrigerate at least 1 hour.
- Sprinkle pecans on top before serving.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Originally published April 8, 2014.
Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links.
My mother used to make this! It’s fantastic! Very 1970s. (I was in high school during the Watergate scandal.)
There was also a cake – recipe card in Mother’s recipe box – that I loved. Just delicious!
I think that pistachio pudding is so good. (Not everyone agrees.)
Maybe it was invented in the 1970s.
Some recipes really bring back memories don’t they? An old church cookbook I have has a recipe for Watergate Cake that my grandfather submitted (he was the cook in the family). I’ve been waiting for a special occasion to make it 🙂
Some recipes call for drained pineapple,,do I drain the cans before blending with jello?
I do not drain the pineapple Betty.
We make this with 1 1/2 cups of cottage cheese instead of marshmellows. Because my daughter is allergic to nuts I sometimes make it with cheesecake flavored pudding instead of pistachio and add a can of mandrin oranges (drained). Its all good!
Cheesecake pudding sounds like a delicious alternative Beth! I will have to try that. And adding cottage cheese instead of marshmallows adds so much protein. Great idea 🙂
If you substituted the cheesecake flavor and used the pineapple, I wonder if you could add coconut instead of marshmallows?
I do and it tastes great!
I totally grew up with this and LOVED it, but we called it something different, I can’ even remember what it was. Regardless, this looks SO yummy and totally takes me back.
What a gorgeous salad! This is my kind of salad, my friend 😉
Thank you Monet 🙂
I have never had (or heard of!) watergate salad before! But I am smitten with that pretty green color! Pistachio anything is such a favorite of mine!
I am pretty sure I would LOVE this fun & retro salad.
Gimme all the green stuff! it’s Easter! yay! 🙂
I’ve heard of ambrosia salad but this is definitely new to me. I love learning about regional foods and new things in general. I didn’t even know there was instant pistachio pudding out there either! So much to learn. This would be a pretty dish to set out for Easter.
Oh my goodness this recipe takes me back! I have not had one of these since childhood, it will make the perfect Easter dessert for sure! Plus it’s sounds really easy to prepare!
I have never had such dessert before! It sounds like a very delicious combination of flavors!
It really is quite the combination of flavors Medeja 🙂