The best Ambrosia Salad recipe is made with pineapple, mandarin oranges, yogurt, mini marshmallows, coconut and whipped cream. This easy side dish has a delicious tropical sweetness and is always a crowd favorite!
What's not to love about fluffy desserts that can pass as a “salad” side dish, like this Frog Eye Salad or cranberry fluff salad we serve at Thanksgiving and Christmas?
I particularly love Ambrosia Salad during spring time, Easter or Mother's Day celebrations because the soft pastel colors are so fun. Many recipes for ambrosia salad use cool whip, but if you've followed my blog at all, you know I would never use cool whip when I could substitute fresh whipped cream. The taste is so much better!
How to Make Ambrosia Salad:
Whipped Cream: Add whipping cream to a large bowl or stand mixer and beat with electric beaters for 1-2 minutes. Slowly add powdered sugar and continue beating until stiff peaks form. Fold in yogurt.
Add Fruit: Drain canned fruits very well, then add remaining ingredients to a large serving bowl.
Chill and Serve: Fold in whipped cream mixture. Chill this easy ambrosia salad for at least 30 minutes before serving.
Make Ahead Instructions:
This classic Ambrosia Salad recipe can be made several hours or up to 1 day ahead of time, but for best results, leave the marshmallows out and stir them in just before serving.
Consider trying these Fruit Salads:
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Recipe
Ambrosia Fruit Salad
Ingredients
- 1 cup heavy whipping cream
- 1/4 cup powdered sugar
- 1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt , or vanilla
- 1 cup shredded sweetened coconut
- 11 ounce can mandarin oranges , drained
- 8 ounce can pineapple tidbits , drained
- 1 cup maraschino cherries , drained
- 1 1/2 cups mini fruit-flavored marshmallows
- Other optional fruit salad add-ins: chopped pecans , sliced bananas, chopped apples
Instructions
- Add whipping cream to a large bowl or stand mixer and beat with electric beaters for 1-2 minutes. Slowly add powdered sugar and continue beating until stiff peaks form. Fold in yogurt.
- Drain canned fruits very well, then add remaining ingredients to a large serving bowl.
- Fold in whipped cream mixture. Chill for at least 30 minutes before serving.
Notes
Nutrition
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I originally shared this recipe March 2017. Updated March 2021 and April 2023.
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I loved this recipe growing up but have struggled to find a great recipe since I lost ours. I stumbled upon this one and it is a keeper for sure! Will be making regularly at holiday parties.
We also made Ambrosia salad when I was young. We often used pineapple, and sour cream instead of whipped cream, while omitting the added sugar. It was sweet enough with the shredded coconut but we did add some juices from the canned fruit. It tastes better when it sits for a while to let those flavors blend. Give it a good stir and enjoy.
This is how I make it also. I sometimes add walnuts to my portion!
I made this with the exact measurements given but modified a couple of the ingredients since I did not have the ones listed. It turned out fabulous. I substituted the cream with Cool Whip, used the white marshmallows, used fresh mandarin orange slices and added chopped pecans. We had guests over and everyone raved. It is easy, different, fresh and just super delicious. This is a keeper. Thank you.
Excellent! Much better with vanilla Greek yogurt than with sour cream as in other recipes. Wasn’t sure if the fresh whipped cream would break down and become runny after a day or two (I knew we’d have leftovers), so used an 8 ounce tub of cool whip (just over 2 cups). Recipe is very forgiving on quantities. Had 15 oz of mandarin oranges, so I used it all. Store was out of tidbit pineapple, so bought crushed and squeezed out the juice. Made it the day before it was needed and added the marshmallows right away and still perfectly fine. This is a keeper! Thank you!
As a kid, my friend’s mom made this and it was delicious. I was excited to try making it and the first bite took me right back to those best memories of summer get-togethers. So happy to have this recipe!
Super easy and quick to make. A yummy salad. I made it for Easter, and the family enjoyed it. Will definitely make it again.
Can you use Cool Whip instead of whipping cream? And still use the yougurt?
Thanks for sharing I
Can you double the ambrosia recipe for 16 people instead of 8 ?
yes!
This was a great example for my culinary class. Thank you, Taste Better from Scratch. This was an amazing experience to read this. I loved every second of this. This has truly changed my life. Once again, thank you.
Great recipe.
This has become a staple in our house for special occasions. The kids always request it. We made this for Easter and will be making again for Mother’s Day. I love how easy it is to put together and it’s just a fun, beautiful dish to have on the table. We love it!
You need to put the fruit and all the juices over the mini marshmallows. Then put that in the refrigerator for 24 hours. The salad is called 24 hour salad. Take that out of the refrigerator and fold in the whipped cream. Return to the refrigerator for a chill. Serve.
So the juices are never drained off?