Watergate Salad

This easy Watergate Salad is a simple side dish or dessert for parties and everyday meals.  Crushed pineapple, pistachio pudding, marshmallows and Cool Whip mix together for a classic dessert salad in less than 5 minutes!

If you like this traditional recipe you may also enjoy Cottage Cheese Salad with Pineapple and Overnight Salad.

Watergate Salad Recipe

With just four ingredients that have a good shelf life the Watergate Salad recipe ingredients are easy to keep on hand.  The funmallows are my kid’s favorite part of this recipe. 

The kids like to grab a couple hand fulls of colorful mini marshmallows in between stirring.  One handful to eat and one handful to sprinkle on top! Regular mini marshmallows can be used too.

Another simple dessert salad they like to help me make is our Classic Cookie Salad. Of course they snack on broken pieces of Fudge Stripe Cookies when making this one.

When I was growing up on the farm we had pigs and cows.  Many of the animals lived in barns that were bedded with bales of straw.  The cattle eat bales of hay.  So each summer we made a lot of bales of hay and straw. 

To get baling done my dad would hire as many responsible, hard-working high school boys as he could find.  My mom would help in the fields and then come in and make lunch with a herd of farm hands on her heels.  This Watergate Salad is one of her go-to recipes when there’s a crowd to feed in a short amount of time. This recipe is so fast to mix up and it’s a light and refreshing treat on a hot summer day.

My grandma was known to mix up a 7 Up Jello Salad or Cherry Coke Jello Salad that take a couple hours to set-up. Where the farm help ate a good meal was guaranteed as part of the gig!

Watergate Salad Ingredients

• 20 ounce can crushed pineapple
• Small box of instant pistachio pudding
• Mini marshmallows – we like using Funmallows
• Whipped topping
• Pecans or walnuts are optional

How to Make Watergate Salad

1.  Pour undrained pineapple into a mixing bowl.  Then sprinkle pudding mix on top and stir.
2. Add remaining ingredients and stir by hand. Chill for an hour before serving.

Can I Make This Salad the Night Before?

Yes, watergate salad can be mixed up the night before and stored in an airtirght container in the refrigerator.

Watergate salad is best eaten within 2 – 3 for the best consistency and flavor distribution.

Unfortunately watergate salad does not freeze well.

Other Easy Dessert Recipes:

• Raspberry Crumb Cake Bars
• Pineapple Pretzel Salad
• Blackberry Jam Cake
• Chocolate Chip Zucchini Cake
• Orange Delight

Here’s another family favorite recipe that works great as a snack, appetizer, side dish or dessert:  Easy Cinnamon Fruit Dip!  We hope you enjoy these recipes as much as we do!

Printable Watergate Salad Recipe