Traditional Ambrosia Fruit Salad is sweet and creamy with sour cream and whipped topping: loaded with pineapple, cherries, mandarin oranges, marshmallows, and coconut.
This classic ambrosia salad is a crowd-pleasing favorite that's perfect for potlucks, family gatherings, and holiday celebrations. With just 10 minutes of prep time, it's the easiest fruit salad to make when you're short on time but still want something delicious and nostalgic. Filled with sweet, creamy, and fruity goodness, it's no wonder this old-fashioned ambrosia salad recipe disappears fast at every get-together!
🔍 Quick Look: Traditional Ambrosia Fruit Salad
- Ready in: 4 Hours, 10 minutes
- Servings: 16
- Calories: ~142 kcal per serving
- Main Ingredients: Mandarin oranges, pineapple, maraschino cherries, shredded coconut, fruit mini-marshmallows, sour cream, and whipped topping.
- Elements of Taste: Sweet, Cool, & Creamy
- Cook Method: Combine & Chill
- Difficulty: Easy, perfect for beginner cooks
- Why You'll Love It: Sweet fruit, coconut, and mini-marshmallows are folded into a creamy not too sweet dressing - refreshing, flavorful, and perfect for a dessert or side dish.
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Jump to:
- 🔍 Quick Look: Traditional Ambrosia Fruit Salad
- What is Ambrosia?
- Why You'll Love My Ambrosia Fruit Salad
- 4 Reasons Why This Traditional Ambrosia Fruit Salad is an All-Time Favorite
- Ambrosia Fruit Salad Ingredients
- Substitutions
- How to Make this Ambrosia Fruit Salad
- My Top Tips
- Make-Ahead and Storage
- More Fruit Desserts You'll Love
- 📖 Recipe
- 💬 Comments
What is Ambrosia?
In classic literature, Ambrosia was food or drink that bestowed immortality and was only consumed by the Greek gods. Various texts say it was a food and others infer it was a drink.
In modern use ambrosia means anything delicious and typically refers to a fruit salad that includes coconut and might include a dairy base, topping, sauce, or pudding.
Ambrosia fruit salads are known by many names, which include "Heavenly Hash", "Creamy Fruit Salad, and "Cool Whip Fruit Salad".
Why You'll Love My Ambrosia Fruit Salad
Ambrosia can be too sweet. So my version contains sour cream to make the fluffy dressing less sweet.
I also prefer to make this ambrosia with fruit-flavored pastel mini marshmallows. They are so pretty and add another layer of fruit flavors. But if you can't find them at the store, you can use plain mini marshmallows.
Just like fluff salads, some people call this a "salad" and others insist it is a dessert. One thing is certain: it is delicious and is perfect for any time, from Sunday suppers to festive celebrations and holidays. Its pastel colors and tropical flavors are what make it irresistible.
Like my Mandarin Orange Fluff, this ambrosia salad pairs well with almost any menu but is especially good with salty foods like glazed baked ham and spicy foods like beefy enchiladas.
So, let's cook!
4 Reasons Why This Traditional Ambrosia Fruit Salad is an All-Time Favorite
- Quick and Easy No-Cook Recipe.
- It's Made in One Bowl.
- The Ingredients are Available Year-Round.
- It Can Be Made Ahead.
Ambrosia Fruit Salad Ingredients
Here's what you need to make this creamy Ambrosia Fruit Salad:
- Whipped Topping - thawed frozen topping (Cool Whip) works well in this recipe. If you do not care to use frozen whipped topping there are non-dairy options available or you can use stabilized whipped cream.
- Sour Cream - rich and creamy sour cream brings a needed tartness to keep the salad from becoming too sweet.
- Maraschino Cherries - Do not use dried, candied, or glacé cherries. A 12-ounce jar of drained maraschino cherries will yield 1 cup of cherries
- Pineapple Tidbits - Canned or fresh are both delicious. The 20 ounce can which is commonly available today yields approximately 1-⅔ cups of drained pineapple tidbits. You can use this smaller amount of pineapple or add more of another fruit. Please see "My Top Tips" for how.
- Mandarin Orange Segments - Canned is more convenient and economical.
- Pastel Mini Marshmallows - These are typically fruit-flavored which adds another subtle layer of flavoring as well as being pretty!
- Shredded Sweetened Coconut - I have used the famous name brand and the store brands and both work well in this recipe.
Please see the recipe card for quantities.
Substitutions
- Substitute vanilla yogurt, Miracle Whip Salad Dressing, or cottage cheese for the sour cream.
- Substitute small or halved seedless grapes for the mini marshmallows.
- Substitute canned fruit cocktail plus any fruit you have on hand, like a chopped apple and a sliced banana, for the pineapple, cherries, and mandarin oranges.
- Substitute seasonal fresh fruit for the mandarin oranges. Strawberries and bananas are a great combination. Just toss the fresh fruit with the juice from the canned pineapple to keep it from browning (drain well before adding to the whipped topping and sour cream).
How to Make this Ambrosia Fruit Salad
- Combine. In a large bowl, mix together the whipped topping and the sour cream.
- Fold. Gently fold in the mandarin oranges, pineapple tidbits, pastel mini marshmallows, maraschino cherries, and shredded coconut.
- Chill. Refrigerate in a covered container for 4 hours and up to overnight to allow the flavors to meld and marry. If desired, garnish the ambrosia salad with more maraschino cherries and shredded coconut.
My Top Tips
♡ Drain all of the fruit well before adding it to the whipped topping and sour cream. I actually like to drain the fruit and then spread it onto paper towels to remove excess liquid. This keeps the salad from becoming soggy.
♡ If you are slightly short of any one of the fruit ingredients, you can make up the difference with any one of the other ingredients except the whipped topping and sour cream. The goal is to have a combined 8 cups of fruit, marshmallow, and coconut to 2 cups of dressing.
Make-Ahead and Storage
- Make-Ahead. Ambrosia Fruit salad is always best made ahead. You can make it in the morning to serve in the afternoon or the day before serving.
- Storage. Store any leftover salad in a sealed container in the refrigerator. This Ambrosia Salad will keep for 3 to 4 days.
More Fruit Desserts You'll Love
♡ Did you love this Ambrosia Salad recipe? Please leave a star rating and a comment. Thanks for visiting!
📖 Recipe
Traditional Ambrosia Fruit Salad
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Ingredients
- 1 Cup Frozen Whipped Topping, Thawed (Cool Whip)
- 1 Cup Sour Cream
- 2 Cups Mandarin Oranges, Drained
- 2 Cups Pineapple Tidbits, Drained
- 2 Cups Pastel Mini Marshmallows
- 1 Cup Maraschino Cherries, Drained
- 1 Cup Sweetened Shredded Coconut
Instructions
- Combine. In a large bowl, mix together the whipped topping and the sour cream.1 Cup Frozen Whipped Topping, 1 Cup Sour Cream
- Fold. Gently fold in the mandarin oranges, pineapple tidbits, pastel mini marshmallows, maraschino cherries, and shredded coconut.2 Cups Mandarin Oranges, 2 Cups Pineapple Tidbits, 2 Cups Pastel Mini Marshmallows, 1 Cup Maraschino Cherries, 1 Cup Sweetened Shredded Coconut
- Chill. Refrigerate in a covered container for 4 hours and up to overnight to allow the flavors to meld and marry. If desired, garnish the ambrosia salad with more maraschino cherries and shredded coconut.
Notes
Nutrition
Per 1 serving. All nutritional information on this site is an estimate. Your results may vary.
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