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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.
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.
Love this recipe. I am asked to make this recipe at every family event.
I’ve always loved this! I don’t like Cool Whip- it tastes like Crisco to me. So I use stabilized whipped cream, but I omit the sugar, since the fruit is so sweet. And I include green grapes, just because they’re so good!
An excellent traditional Ambrosia Salad recipe. Delicious!!!
My family has always used a small package of pudding mix blended with 1 cp milk in place of yogurt. The thick pudding mixed with cool whip and fruit makes it creamier and not runny. I use sugar free vanilla or cheesecake flavor.
Ambrosia is my kids all time favorite I make on the holidays as it was mine growing up. My grandma made the sour cream version with the mini marshmallows, I use cool whip
Ambrosia was my favorite my grandmother made every Christmas and Easter. She made the version with mini marshmallows and sour cream
Well my sister is simply obsessed with ambrosia salad & never makes it for some odd reason. Since the family is coming to my apt this holiday season, I figured I’d surprise the woman with one because I’m a nice baby sister lol. I placed sieves over bowls, drained all the cans and then dumped the fruit into each sieve to make sure they were completely drained, and voila; it came out perfect, not runny or thin at all. Confession: I’ve never had ambrosia because I’m not a big fan of marshmallows; however, I might just have to go for it this year. Thanks SO much for the recipe; I’ll be keeping it in my repertoire.
My daughter asked if I’d ever made ambrosia salad. Had to think backwards and then I realized back in the day we called it 7 cup salad.
I should have used greek yogurt! It’s a little too thin. I’m chilling it overnight to have for Thanksgiving! It’s was a special request by my husband, so I think he’ll enjoy it even if it doesn’t thicken up very much. Thanks for sharing the recipe!