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This recipe was a staple in my grandmother’s traditional Southern kitchen. Our classic ambrosia salad recipe is a tasty fluff salad that is packed with pineapple, sweet mandarin oranges, crunchy coconut and miniature marshmallows. The simple ingredients are mixed together with a creamy dressing, making this heavenly salad a delicious and refreshing choice for a perfect side dish this summer.
This simple homemade treat comes together quick and easy. Check out this Watergate salad and pistachio salad for other fun vintage fluff salad recipes we all love. You might also like to make this Banana Pudding.
AMBROSIA SALAD INGREDIENTS
You will need:
- 8 ounces cream cheese room temperature
- 8-ounce container whipped topping
- 1 15-ounce can of mandarin oranges, drained
- 1 20-ounce can of crushed pineapple drained
- 1 12-ounce jar of maraschino cherries, drained and cut in half (plus more for garnish)
- 1 cup mini marshmallows
- 1 cup shredded coconut flakes
- chopped walnuts (optional, for garnish)
SUBSTITUTIONS AND ADDITIONS
NUTS: If your family doesn’t like the walnuts, they can be left off. You could also replace them with slivered almonds or another nut depending on your preference.
WHIPPED TOPPING: If you would prefer to use homemade whipped cream in this easy fruit salad, check out our recipe here.
CREAM CHEESE: In place of the cream cheese, you could opt to use vanilla yogurt or plain greek yogurt and your dressing will still be nice and creamy.
FRUIT: If you prefer, you could add a can of fruit cocktail for a different variety of fruit in your salad.
MARSHMALLOWS: You can choose to use white miniature marshmallows or, make your salad extra fun with rainbow mini marshmallows.
HOW TO MAKE THIS AMBROSIA SALAD RECIPE
STEP ONE: In a large bowl, cream the cream cheese on low until smooth.
PRO TIP: Make sure your cream cheese is room temperature so that you don’t end up with any lumps in your cream mixture.
STEP TWO: Add the whipped topping, a third at a time, mixing on low speed.
STEP THREE: Stir in mandarin orange slices, pineapple, cherries, coconut and marshmallows.
PRO TIP: Stir all of the ingredients together carefully as you don’t want to break apart the fruit pieces.
STEP FOUR: Spoon into serving bowl and garnish with chopped walnuts and cherries if desired.
PRO TIP: If you have the time, allow this salad to chill for several hours in the fridge. This will allow the flavors to mingle together in your salad.
HOW TO SERVE
This easy salad is refreshing and light, perfect for a simple side dish during the summer months. It would be yummy as part of a grilled meal such as grilled tilapia, grilled salmon or grilled chicken. It is also a popular salad to be found on a holiday dinner table or other special occasions.
You can opt to serve this as a dessert or on the side of the main course. Serve with our iced tea, raspberry iced tea, sweet peach iced tea, or our southern strawberry sweet tea on the side for a refreshing beverage.
STORAGE
IN THE FRIDGE: If you don’t eat all the creamy fruit salad in one serving, just scoop into an airtight container and store in the fridge. It’ll last for a few days.
IN THE FREEZER: We do not recommend freezing this easy dessert. Neither the marshmallows or the creamy dressing will do very well in the freezer.
This ambrosia fruit salad recipe is a classic salad and the delicious, fresh fruit flavors are hard to resist. It is light, fluffy and flavorful with the unique mix of colorful fruit, marshmallows, and whipped topping. And those cherries! Make it to enjoy with your family soon… you won’t be disappointed.
FAQ
This classic salad can be stored in the refrigerator in an airtight container for a few days.
This delicious fruit salad is flexible and you can easy add other fruits. Red or green grapes would be a perfect choice for this recipe.
You can certainly omit the coconut from this salad without it being missed.
MORE RECIPES YOU’LL LOVE
Ambrosia Salad
Ingredients
- 8 ounces cream cheese room temp
- 8 ounce container whipped topping
- 1 15-ounce can mandarin oranges drained
- 1 20-ounce can crushed pineapple drained
- 1 12-ounce jar maraschino cherries drained and cut in half (plus more for garnish)
- 1 cup marshmallows
- 1 cup shredded coconut
- chopped walnuts for garnish
Instructions
- In a large bowl, cream the cream cheese on low until smooth.
- Add the whipped topping, a third at a time, mixing on low speed.
- Stir in oranges, pineapple, cherries, coconut and marshmallows.
- Spoon into serving bowl and garnish with chopped walnuts and cherries if desired.
This Ambrosia salad is the best I have ever had!
It is simple to make. My family enjoyed this Ambrosia salad!
My kids are always happy when I make them Ambrosia salad. May have something to do with the mini marshmallows in it 😉
this is the best ambrosia salad i’ve ever had!
I bought some pre-made Ambrosia salad because I was craving some. It was not very good. I made this recipe and WOW what a difference! My family loves it. Will definitely make this again.