Name: Creamy Frozen Cranberry Salad Bites
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 1 h
Total time: 1 h 5 min
Cuisine: Southern
Ingredients: 3 oz softened cream cheese; 2 tbsp mayonnaise; 2 -3 tbsp sugar; 1/2 pint heavy whipping cream; 2/3 cup pineapple juice; 8 oz. drained crushed pineapple; 1 can cranberry sauce; 1/2 cup chopped pecans

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This recipe for Frozen Cranberry Salad Bites comes to the Christmas Desserts Around the World Series from a former podcast guest, Marybeth Wells. Make sure you turn into the Christmas Traditions Around the World podcast series while you make Marybeth's delicious Cranberry Frozen Salad with Pineapple.

elegant vintage silver serving tray full of pretty floral muffin liners full of pink frozen cranberry sald. image full of sugared cranberries and pink anemones

Frozen Cranberry Salad is a classic side dish for Christmas Dinner or Thanksgiving dinner! To me, this dish is a creamy dessert, but it's usually served on a holiday table as a sweet side dish.

To be honest, I'm not at all sure where the name "Frozen Cranberry Salad" came from because this creamy, sweet frozen treat can - in no way - be construed as a salad!

Make individual servings in large or small decorative muffin cups - Each serving can be eaten for dessert, as a side dish on the Thanksgiving table, or as a sweet treat with a cup of coffee.

For another delicious Thanksgiving recipe, check out this gorgeous, sweet Cranberry Thanksgiving Tea, served warm or cold. And if your tastes are more global, don't miss any of the 47 Best Christmas Desserts Around the World from The Storied Recipe community!

Closeup of half eaten frozen cranberry salad with sterling silver spoon on vintage floral china plates

Marybeth's Memories of Creamy Frozen Cranberry with Pineapple Bites

My grammy was a very proper, conservative, strict southern belle and cooked very traditional southern recipes only from recipe cards and cookbooks that she either got from her mother or out of readers digest/similar publications. I never made this recipe with her in her kitchen because she was dead serious about no one, especially kids, being in the kitchen while she cooked.

The first time I actually made this recipe, it was with my mom (who obviously doesn't mind if I'm in the kitchen) in her kitchen.

They're very nostalgic and I love them as a small bite of something festive not only for dessert but with coffee in the morning (I'm a sucker for cold/hot combinations).

I now live in my Grandparents old home, so I make these in this kitchen for any guests that I have.
Marybeth Wells

You can find Marybeth's original recipe for Cranberry Frozen Salad on her website, LivingWells.

festive silver tray full of shiny mini muffin liners with creamy cranberry pineapple frozen salad topped with pretty sugared cranberries

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elegant paper cup of frozen cranberry salad torn open to reveal the cramy frozen texture and pretty pink color of frozen cranberry salad

Ingredients & Variations

Using only simple ingredients makes this the perfect side dish to make quickly at the busiest time of year!

Softened cream cheese & Mayonnaise:

You can replace both of these together with 1/4 cup sour cream)

Sugar: This recipe calls for just a few tablespoons. There is already so much in the cranberry sauce and pineapple juice.

Heavy whipping cream:

Replace heavy whipping cream with an 8oz tub of Cool Whip (or generic frozen whipped topping). Consider omitting the sugar if you do this, as Cool Whip is sweetened.

Whole cranberry sauce: Buy your own (that's what I did) or make your own cranberry sauce from fresh cranberries using Simply Recipes super easy recipe

Canned, crushed pineapple and pineapple juice: You will not be able to drain enough juice from the can to

Pecans: You can replace these with walnuts

More Add-ins: Some people also add in coconut & mini marshmallows

More fruit:

For a frozen fruit salad, use the same recipe, but add strawberries and/or other berries like blueberries and blackberries

sugared cranberries, chopped pecans, and tiny frozen cranberry salad bites arranged on a dark green backdrop

To Serve

This is the fun part! Although the salad is made of basic ingredients, it can look so elegant and appetizing, depending on how you present it. Here are a few options:

Serve in muffin cups, small and large:

They will be easiest to fill if you put the cups in a muffin tin first.
Use about 1/4 cup for the large muffin cups and a heaping tablespoon for the mini cups
Here are elegant floral paper cup muffin liners, like the ones I chose in the images.
Here are mini metallic foil cupcake liners that I show in other images.
The mini muffin cups are super cute, but keep in mind that they defrost quite quickly. If you're serving these for a longer party, definitely choose the larger cups

To garnish the salad during cranberry season, make sugared cranberries with fresh whole cranberries using this recipe from Natasha's kitchen.

You can also make this salad in a loaf pan lined in plastic wrap. Once frozen, simply turn the salad out and slice.

Molded Salad Recipe: Make the salad in a bundt pan or mold (again, lined, to turn out easily once frozen.)

Cranberry Fluff Salad - This takes a very similar recipe, but simply don't freeze it. Instead, just refrigerate in an elegant cut-glass bowl or decorative small bowls.

overhead shot of delicate vintage floral saucers containing an elegant paper cup of frozen cranberry salad garnished with frozen sugared cranberries

Equipment

A Blender or Food Processor will make this job much easier if you want a smooth mixture without large chunks of cranberry or pecans

Storage

Since you'll freeze these, you can make them quite far in advance. Just be sure that you put the cups in a Ziplock bag or carefully cover your pans or molds.
Take the regular-sized cups out about 20 minutes before serving, if fully frozen.
The mini cups should only be removed from the freezer immediately before serving.

overhead red and green photo of frozen cranberry salad in muffin tins garnished with frozen cranberries and surrounded by anemones, pecans, and more sugared cranberries

Connect with Marybeth Wells

Website: livingwells.co

Instagram: @livingwells_

Instagram Book Club: @thereadingwells

Listen: More Holiday Episodes

More Thanksgiving Recipes

More Christmas Desserts Around the World

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