Ambrosia Salad (2024)

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?

Ambrosia Salad (1)

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.

Ambrosia Salad (2)

Add Fruit: Drain canned fruits very well, then add remaining ingredients to a large serving bowl.

Ambrosia Salad (3)

Chill and Serve: Fold in whipped cream mixture. Chill this easy ambrosia salad for at least 30 minutes before serving.

Ambrosia Salad (4)

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 Salad (5)

5 from 731 votes

Ambrosia Fruit Salad

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!

Course Appetizer, Salad, Side Dish

Cuisine American

Servings 8

Calories 236

Cost 5

Prep 15 minutes mins

Total 15 minutes mins

Save Recipe

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

Make Ahead Instructions: Ambrosia Salad 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.

Nutrition

Calories: 236kcalCarbohydrates: 41gProtein: 3gFat: 8gSaturated Fat: 6gPolyunsaturated Fat: 0.3gMonounsaturated Fat: 1gTrans Fat: 0.001gCholesterol: 11mgSodium: 62mgPotassium: 208mgFiber: 3gSugar: 36gVitamin A: 425IUVitamin C: 14mgCalcium: 84mgIron: 1mg

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I originally shared this recipe March 2017. Updated March 2021 and April 2023.

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About The Author

Ambrosia Salad (10)

Lauren Allen

Welcome! I’m Lauren, a mom of four and lover of good food. Here you’ll find easy recipes and weeknight meal ideas made with real ingredients, with step-by-step photos and videos.

Ambrosia Salad (2024)

FAQs

Ambrosia Salad? ›

Ambrosia Fruit Salad

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 is ambrosia salad made of? ›

Ambrosia Fruit Salad

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 is the difference between ambrosia and watergate? ›

Watergate has a nutty, sweet flavor from the pistachio flavoring while ambrosia features a prominent coconut flavor. Another dead giveaway is the signature minty green color of a Watergate salad that comes courtesy of the pistachio pudding blend while ambrosia salad has a white color.

Why do people eat ambrosia salad? ›

The once hard-to-find ingredients were considered luxurious and exotic. The salad was a treat reserved for holidays and other special occasions, and named “ambrosia” after the food of the Greek and Roman gods.

What is ambrosia from? ›

The word “ambrosia” means delicious or fragrant. Ambrosia was also the magical fruit of the gods in ancient Greek mythology. The gods on Mount Olympus ate ambrosia to maintain immortality and without it, they became weak. In Homer's Iliad, the gods bathed in ambrosia and used it as perfume.

Is ambrosia good for you? ›

They're also brimming with vitamins, such as vitamin C, which bolsters the immune system and keeps skin healthy. Eating Ambrosia apples is not just a treat for the taste buds but a boon for well-being.

What is the most popular salad in America? ›

What Is the Most Popular Salad Served in the U.S.?
  • Greek Salad. A salad consisting of tomatoes, cucumbers, onion, feta cheese, and olives, typically seasoned with salt, pepper, oregano, and olive oil. ...
  • Caesar Salad. ...
  • Potato Salad. ...
  • Spinach Salad. ...
  • Caprese Salad. ...
  • Cobb Salad. ...
  • Waldorf Salad. ...
  • Fruit Salad.

Why is it called a Watergate salad? ›

Syndicated household advice columnists Anne Adams and Nan Nash-Cummings, in their "Anne & Nan" column of October 9, 1997, reported that name came from the similar "Watergate Cake" (which shares most of the same ingredients): "The recipes came out during the Watergate scandal.

Is Ambrosia a Midwest thing? ›

Ambrosia is an American variety of fruit salad originating in the Southern United States. Most ambrosia recipes contain canned (often sweetened) or fresh pineapple, canned mandarin orange slices or fresh orange sections, miniature marshmallows, and coconut.

Why is it called Watergate? ›

The name "Watergate" comes from the hotel in Washington, D.C. where the first crime and break in took place, and is often associated with political scandals.

Who invented the ambrosia salad? ›

In 1867, Maria Massey Barringer of Concord, North Carolina, provided a recipe in her “Dixie Cookery; or, How I Managed My Table for Twelve Years." She counseled readers to stick to fresh grated coconut, sweetened with a little sugar in alternating layers with pulped oranges.

What does ambrosia taste like? ›

Its flavor is best described as refreshing with floral notes and a pleasant crisp, fine-grained flesh. It's very sweet with very little acidity. Ambrosia is an apple that naturally doesn't brown quickly after being sliced, making it perfect for snacks or salads. You can cook with it too!

What is ambrosia in England? ›

Ambrosia is a brand of food products in the United Kingdom. Its original product was a dried milk powder for infants, but it is now mostly known for its custard and rice pudding.

What is the drug ambrosia? ›

Ambrosia is a raw social drug that moderately boosts mood and recreation at relatively low risk of addiction. It can only be traded or harvested from ambrosia bushes that only spawn in ambrosia sprout events, but cannot be grown by the player. Ambrosia does spoil if not refrigerated.

What does ambrosia mean in the Bible? ›

Ambrosia means a thing giving immortality, hence the food. of gods. It. corresponds exactly to. the fruit of the tree.

How to make ambrosia percy jackson? ›

Put the sour cream into the bowl and gently mix it until soft. Add the whipped topping and gently mix it into the sour cream until you have a smooth base for your ambrosia. Drain the liquid out of the mandarin oranges and the cherries; then add the fruit into the bowl. Mix in the bananas and coconut flakes.

What is ambrosia in culinary? ›

: a dessert made of oranges and shredded coconut.

How to make ambrosia in The Sims 4? ›

You need a death flower, an angelfish, and a potion of youth. If you have Realm of Magic, you can sometimes get the first two ingredients from the magic shop (the Potion Ingredients stall in Caster's Alley). If not, read on... Death flower: You need to graft a pomegranate with an orchid.

What is a fancy name for a fruit salad? ›

A fruit salad is sometimes known as a fruit co*cktail (often connoting a canned product), or fruit cup (when served in a small container). There are many types of fruit salad, ranging from the basic (no nuts, marshmallows, or dressing) to the moderately sweet (Waldorf salad) to the sweet (ambrosia salad).

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