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Ambrosia Salad is a creamy fruit salad loaded with pineapple, mandarin oranges, coconut and miniature fruit-flavored marshmallows.
You guys, December is seriously flying by. My to-do list is a mile long and just seems to keep increasing.
But for some reason, I’m really not that stressed out about the holidays.
Maybe because 30 people won’t be crammed in our house and there aren’t any games to plan or menus to coordinate. While I have all the feelings about Christmas 2020, it’s sort of refreshing not to feel the stress creeping in.
But that’s pretty much how I’m feeling in the moment. Ask me again in a few days and I’ll probably be all kinds of sad eating Oreos dipped in peanut butter, or hopped on cold brew wrapping gifts at midnight. Who really knows?
One thing I do know is that this simple Ambrosia Salad is one of my fave dishes during the holidays and it’s still happening even if our typical Christmas dinner is not.
Also, don’t @ me about this not being a salad. I get it. There’s no lettuce, but there’s a bunch of stuff tossed together in a bowl and that’s salad enough for me.
WHAT IS AMBROSIA SALAD?
Today’s recipe for Ambrosia Salad is a bit of a throwback.
I fondly remember my Nana making Ambrosia for pretty much every church function.
There are lots of different variations of Ambrosia and it seems like every grandmother had her own version. I’ve seen versions of this recipe that use cottage cheese, some that use sour cream or vanilla pudding, some leave out the nuts.
But all of the versions seem to include citrus fruit, coconut, and a creamy and tangy base.
Some could argue that this “salad” is really more of a dessert. But like my Cranberry Fluff, I am happy to eat this alongside some savory side dishes any day!
WHAT’S IN MY VERSION OF THIS CLASSIC RECIPE?
Even though we have my Nana’s recipes for Pumpkin Roll and Pumpkin Crunch Cake, my family has long since lost her exact Ambrosia Salad recipe.
Naturally, I had to get to the bottom of this. So I decided to start tossing ingredients into a bowl until the salad tasted similar to Nana’s.
And with a little tweaking, I most definitely succeeded!
My version includes:
- Frozen whipped topping
- Vanilla yogurt
- Shredded sweetened coconut
- Canned mandarin oranges
- Pineapple tidbits or crushed pineapple
- Maraschino cherries
- Chopped pecans
- Mini fruit-flavored marshmallows
While you could totally use mini white marshmallows, I really like the added color and flavor that the fruit-flavored marshmallows add to the recipe.
You could also try making this with homemade Cool Whip, but I don’t know for sure how well it would work. If you try it, I’d love to hear about it!
HOW TO MAKE MY EASY AMBROSIA
This is one of those recipes that’s so easy, anyone could make it!
Start by stirring together the thawed whipped topping and the vanilla yogurt.
Using a spatula, carefully fold all of the remaining ingredients into the yogurt mixture. Do this gently so that you don’t break up the fruit or smash the marshmallows too much.
Let the salad chill in the refrigerator for several hours before serving and you’re done!
Since this needs to chill before serving, it’s a great recipe to make ahead. I would say you could make it as early as the night before you plan to serve it.
If you’re feeling fancy, garnish the bowl with some additional maraschino cherries. Or just dig in with a spoon. I won’t blame you either way!
Ambrosia Salad
Equipment
Ingredients
- 8 ounces frozen whipped topping thawed
- ½ cup vanilla yogurt
- 1 cup shredded sweetened coconut
- 11 ounces canned mandarin oranges drained
- 8 ounces canned pineapple tidbits or crushed pineapple drained
- 1 cup maraschino cherries drained
- ½ cup chopped pecans optional
- 1 ½ cups mini fruit-flavored marshmallows
Instructions
- In a large bowl, stir together the whipped topping and yogurt.
- Using a rubber spatula, carefully fold remaining ingredients into whipped topping.
- Chill before serving.
Video
Notes
- If you are not a fan of mainstream frozen whipped topping, you can find all-natural alternatives at Whole Foods or try using stabilized whipped cream.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
I make my grandmother’s recipe . She always made a custard then folded in heavy whipped cream , she also put green grapes cut in quarters , back then 50s and 60s she had to remove the seeds . The custard was folded in to the pineapple, green grapes red cherrys , coconut , mandarin oranges. This one of my favorite desserts .
@John Downen, can you break down the recipe in order of making it. Thanks
@John Downen, I’m from Australia and we tried Ambrosia salad at a Christmas lunch (during one of our visits with friends in the US one year) and loved it! We don’t have ‘cool whip’ here, so I was thinking of just whipping some cream, but making some custard and folding in whipped cream sounds a lot better!
I grew up in the 50’s with my mom always having this for dessert at Christmas served in fancy glass cordial stems. I remember helping her make it and because we had a very diabetic family, she used fresh sectioned oranges, cut apples, coconut and some kind of filler…probably sour cream…plus mini marshmallows. As much as I like the taste of maraschino cherries, I have always been a purist and don’t use any kind dyed or preserved food. I will try to find some dye-free or dried cherries and I get my marshmallows from Whole Foods. I have my mom’s recipe somewhere and found this great thread bringing all the memories and now want to reproduce it for my four young grandchildren. I must say the carb count listed here is ridiculously high, and since I am a Type 1 diabetic, I will use all fresh fruit with the marshmallows having the only added sugar and unsweetened coconut. The mandarins sound fun too.
So happy to hear that this recipe brought back sweet memories for you. Definitely let me know how it turns out with your tweaks. Happy Holidays to you and yours!
-Jamie
OMG! This has always been my favorite since I was …well, since I can remember. My grandmother ALWAYS prepared it for Christmas and Thanksgiving day. I literally thought about it all year and cpuld not wait for the holidays! It was my fav as a kid and still is. My grandma passed away some years ago but we honor her by always making this recipe. Her version had no nuts and no yogurt/sour cream. Instead she used cream cheese and Cool Whip m. Some of her versions were just Cream Cheese (leave some of the fruit juices in for incredible flavor!) We used white marshmallows for Thanksgiving and colored foe Xmas (tree lights. .lol. That’s what she’d say). Anyway, thanks so much for sharing. Memories are wonderful!! Especially now that I have grandkids and they love this, too!!
I make mine a little different, you can see as follows:
Mandarin oranges, crushed pineapple, cherries
Cool whip coconut chopped walnuts chocolate chips, mini marshmallows
I cook the juices down with 1/2 stick of butter and 1/4 cup of flour to make paste, then I add juices and an egg cook until thickens like jelly.
I preside to cook pasta (very little pasta like mini stars) until tender, don’t over cook. Drain pasta and let cool after juice mixture is cool you can add to pasta with the fruits.
Refrigerate overnight then add coconut walnuts, choc chips and marshmallow
My mom always moved miracle whip with the cool whip. But it sounds great with the yogurt, too!
That is super interesting! I love Miracle Whip in tuna and egg salad. :)
This is awesome!! I am a child of the 80s so this was at every holiday and family gathering! My mom’s recipe was sponsored by the Thank you brand pudding in a can so that is what she used instead of yogurt. Can’t find that anymore so we substitute instant vanilla pudding but I am interested in trying the yogurt!! Also, the colored marshmallows are a nice touch! My kids actually asked for this at Thanksgiving this year!
So great with vanilla pudding too!
This is fabulous! I made it with vegan cool whip, yogurt, and marshmallows. It was just as fabulous the day after!
So glad to hear you enjoyed it!
This looks the closest I have found to my grandma’s ambrosia. Looking forward to giving this a try this holiday season
The Ambrosia salad looks and sounds like it should be a desert instead of a salad. I am attending a coop diner party this Thursday and was looking for something simple yet delicious, I think I have found my dish!
This diner party is seven single guys who know so little about what happens in the kitchen, other than grilling steaks, microwaving noodles from a styrofoam container or where to find the beer!
We are self taught chiefs (I use the term lightly), who find recipes that sound good, good for you, cook them and share with each other. We have tasted recipes that are not only good, but would fix for a date (a real date).
I have joined your group for recipes and will be trying different foods. I hope to report back that my choices turn out edible and that I won’t be single forever (not kidding)! And help my buds to find healthy relationships, too!
Thanks, Ciao!
Jimm
Thanks so much for stopping by, Jimm! I appreciate you taking the time to comment. Happy Baking!
-Jamie
The recipe I have used for a ton of years uses a medium container of sour cream not frozen whipped cream & yogurt. This salad is already sweet enough with the marshmallows, sweetened coconut & fruit. I use one can of fruit cocktail with the juice & add what I like as another fruit, pineapple & mandarin oranges. You can add cherries too but the sour cream is the bomb & doesn’t make it sour!
Thanks so much for stopping by, Carol! I appreciate you taking the time to comment. Happy Baking!
-Jamie