Ambrosia Fruit Salad

My easy ambrosia salad recipe is the perfect fruity and fluffy dish to add to the holiday table! It’s filled with mandarin oranges, pineapples, cherries, mini marshmallows, shredded coconut, and Cool Whip. Just a few simple ingredients, a bit of mixing, and some chill time is all it takes to make this sweet and creamy marshmallow fruit salad.

Ambrosia Salad with Marshmallows and Cool Whip

Ambrosia is one of those nostalgic, Southern dishes I loved growing up. We always had this creamy fruit salad on our holiday table, and I loved that I got to eat marshmallows with my meal. Now I always make a big bowl of this for Thanksgiving, but it’s perfect for Christmas and summer cookouts too.

The ingredients for this classic Ambrosia recipe are so simple! Made mostly with pantry ingredients, I can just grab canned fruit (oranges, pineapple, cherries), coconut, and marshmallows without much thought. Then a mix of yogurt and whipped topping creates the creamy, fluffy texture that holds everything together. Yum!

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One Simple Tip!

Ambrosia is the easiest fruit salad to whip up, just make sure it has plenty of chill time. Chilling it in the refrigerator gives the ingredients time to meld together, leading to the sweetest flavor!

5 from 1 vote

Ambrosia Salad Recipe

Ambrosia is a wonderfully creamy and fluffy fruit salad, made with marshmallows, coconut, and Cool Whip. It’s quick and easy to whip up as a sweet side dish.

Prep Time: 15 minutes mins

Cook Time: 0 minutes mins

Chill Time: 1 hour hr

Total Time: 1 hour hr 15 minutes mins

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Serves 8 bowls

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Ingredients

• ▢ 11 ounces canned mandarin oranges in light syrup drained (1 small can)*
• ▢ 8 ounces canned pineapple tidbits in 100% pineapple juice drained (1 small can)**
• ▢ 1 cup maraschino cherries drained and stemmed
• ▢ ½ cup vanilla yogurt
• ▢ ½ cup shredded sweetened coconut
• ▢ 2 cups fruit-flavored mini marshmallows ***
• ▢ 8 ounces whipped topping thawed if frozen (1 tub)

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Instructions

• Mix the oranges, pineapple, cherries, yogurt, and coconut in a large mixing bowl.
  11 ounces canned mandarin oranges in light syrup, 8 ounces canned pineapple tidbits in 100% pineapple juice, 1 cup maraschino cherries, ½ cup vanilla yogurt, ½ cup shredded sweetened coconut
  
• Fold in the marshmallows and whipped topping.
  2 cups fruit-flavored mini marshmallows, 8 ounces whipped topping
  
• Allow the mixture to chill in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour before serving.
  

Notes

*You can use fresh mandarin oranges and fresh pineapple in place of canned.

**You can use 2 drained 15.5-ounce cans of fruit cocktail in place of all of the fruit in this recipe.

***If you can’t find mini marshmallows, you can use kitchen scissors to cut larger marshmallows into quarters. You can use regular marshmallows (instead of fruit-flavored) if you prefer.

Tips:

• Maraschino cherries will turn your whipped topping pink. I recommend adding them right before serving to avoid this
• Ambrosia salad can be left out of the refrigerator for up to 2 hours, but I recommend serving it cold because the whipped cream dressing will start to melt after just 30 minutes. 

Storage: Store ambrosia salad in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. 

Nutrition Facts

Ambrosia Salad Recipe

Amount Per Serving (1 bowl)

Calories 214 Calories from Fat 45

% Daily Value*

Fat 5g8%

Saturated Fat 4g25%

Polyunsaturated Fat 0.2g

Monounsaturated Fat 1g

Cholesterol 5mg2%

Sodium 46mg2%

Potassium 191mg5%

Carbohydrates 41g14%

Fiber 3g13%

Sugar 33g37%

Protein 3g6%

Vitamin A 595IU12%

Vitamin C 16mg19%

Calcium 84mg8%

Iron 1mg6%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

Author: Becky Hardin

Course: Dessert, Salad

Cuisine: American

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How to Make Ambrosia Salad Step-by-Step

Prep: Gather the list of ingredients for this ambrosia fruit salad. Drain the canned oranges, pineapple tidbits, and cherries, and de-stem the cherries. If you’re using frozen Cool Whip, be sure to thaw it ahead of time.

Mix the Fruits: In a large mixing bowl, combine 11 ounces (1 small can) of drained canned mandarin oranges, 8 ounces (1 can) of canned pineapple tidbits, 1 cup of drained maraschino cherries, ½ cup of vanilla yogurt, and ½ cup shredded sweetened coconut.

Fold in the Whip: Then, fold 2 cups of mini marshmallows and 8 ounces (1 tub) of thawed Cool Whip into the fruit salad.

Chill: Allow the mixture to chill in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour before serving. The longer the better!

Serve: Ambrosia salad can be served as a sweet side dish for the holidays, a potluck dish for cookouts, or as a fluffy and fruity dessert.

How to Store

Store leftover ambrosia fruit salad in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Serve straight from the fridge. I do not recommend freezing this salad.