Ambrosia Pie has all of the goodness of Ambrosia Salad, tucked into a tasty graham cracker crust to be served for dessert! This no bake pie is perfect for spring parties and potlucks, and it is also a great dessert for any night of the week since it requires just a few minutes of prep! 
©SpendWithPennies.com
Ambrosia Pie is every bit as decadent as it sounds! This pretty no bake pie recipe turns a classic side dish into deliciously simple dessert! All of the flavors we love in ambrosia salad are piled high into a graham cracker crust!
Ambrosia Salad is something we always had on our turkey dinner table which as a kid I always thought was awesome. It’s was kind of like being allowed to have dessert for dinner. Once I had my own family, we have always enjoyed either Ambrosia Salad or Cranberry Millionaire Salad with turkey dinner and then it occurred to me, since everyone loves it so much, why not make it into a dessert. Loaded with coconut, pineapple, oranges and marshmallows it was already practically a dessert anyhow.
I love this recipe in a graham crust but if you prefer a flaky crust, by all means, you can use your favorite recipe or even a store bought crust which you can bake and cool before filling! In fact, I have made this with a shortbread crust to rave reviews too!You’ll want to ensure you don’t drain your pineapple, you need the liquid to mix with the pudding!
The pie is pretty spectacular is as, but if you add pecans or maraschino cherries to your ambrosia salad, they can also go into this recipe too. Just be sure to drain your cherries well and fold them in at the end. I prefer to use sour cream in this recipe, but I have also made it with Greek yogurt and it was equally delicious. Be sure to use sweetened coconut flakes, they add sweetness needed to offset the tartness of the sour cream (or Greek yogurt).
Mandarin Oranges are great in dessert salads (which really aren’t salads at all) and in no bake fluff recipes like this one. Keep in mind that the mandarin oranges are fragile; fold them in at the end of the recipe and be gentle to help them keep their shape! After refrigerating the pie, top it with whipped cream if desired before serving!
This Ambrosia Pie recipe comes together quickly and is just as easily devoured! The hardest part is to be patient enough to let it chill! Oh, and one more quick note about the “refrigerate 4 hours” part. If you’re really in a pinch, you can refrigerate for less time, but the results will be a softer pie since the marshmallows don’t soak in any of the liquid.
Ambrosia Pie
Ingredients
- 1 premade graham crust
- 2 cans 8 oz crushed pineapple, undrained
- 1 package 6 servings size instant vanilla pudding mix
- 1 cup sour cream
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 cup flaked sweetened coconut
- 1 cup mini marshmallows
- 1 cup canned mandarin oranges
- Whipped cream for decorating optional
Instructions
- Combine crushed pineapple, vanilla pudding mix, sour cream and lemon juice until well mixed.
- Stir in marshmallows and coconut. Gently fold in oranges.
- Spoon into graham crust, cover and refrigerate 4 hours or overnight.
- Decorate and serve.
Nutrition Information
Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and brands of ingredients used.
Course Dessert
Cuisine American© SpendWithPennies.com. Content and photographs are copyright protected. Sharing of this recipe is both encouraged and appreciated. Copying and/or pasting full recipes to any social media is strictly prohibited. Please view my photo use policy here.
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Thanks Karen!
I made this ambrosia pie for my card club tomorrow night. OMG. The best and easiest pie I have ever made. Can’t wait to serve it.
PS I made two of them so I can have some for my family.
I’m so glad this pie was a hit, I hope your card club loves it too!
Closest thing to graham crackers in Australia, is granita biscuits. They work very well – taste is very similar. However, I’m an American living in Australia, and I miss graham crackers!!
Thank you for sharing Grace. Graham crackers are great for baking, that’s for sure!
Would you double the recipe for a 9×13 pan?
If you wanted to use a 9×13 I think double should work.
It is great! The ladies at my card group said it is a hit!
I had to double it and it really came out great.
So happy to hear that Connie!
What would you suggest as a substitute for the coconut?
You can try adding extra chopped nuts.
I can’t wait to try this out! My church has church wide holiday meals where everyone brings a side dish or dessert. There are trifles galore, brownies, cookies, but NOTHING like this! I grew up with ambrosia at Christmas morning brunch. My mama peeled grapefruits, oranges, used the jar cherries, bag coconut, added sliced bananas. I wonder if I can put small pieces of banana in the pie?
I think banana sounds like a yummy addition!
The pineapple is 2 cans (8oz)…is that 8 oz total or 2 cans of 8oz equaling 16 oz.
This would be a total of 16oz., 8oz per can.
Quick and easy and a huge hit.
I couldn’t find a 6 serving pudding so I bought two 4 serving boxes. Would it ruin the recipe if I but it all in or should I only put in half of the second package?
I would only use half, it might be too overpowering to use the extra.
I live in New Zealand. What is graham crust??? We don’t have such a thing. What is an alternative please? Thanks, Leanne
Well, I don’t know what kind of “sweet crackers” you might have in Australia, but “graham crackers” are a sweet(ish) brown cracker, made w/ a flour that no doubt isn’t milled as hard as white flour, (IOW, still has some bran, etc.) and this cracker is sweet enough to be eaten straight up. Do you have any kind of dry/crispy, bran flour, sweet cookies, or as I believe y’all call them, “biscuits”. ;-) Then you can crumble those, mix the crumbs w/ some melted butter/margarine, and some white sugar (or perhaps brown sugar to darken your choice of cookie/biscuit?) and mix it until it’s crumbly, and kind of dry-ish, and then press it into a pie pan and up the sides. When it’s all told, it’s just a darkish, sweetened cracker that you mix, crumble together and press into a pie pan, maybe even just on the bottom of a 13″x9″ pan/glass dish (33.02cm by 22.86cm for you), except that this sounds like it might need the side crust to keep it intact until it hits your plate!
I hope this helps, if anyone can explain it better, please do!
Thanks Christine….oh by the way….New Zealand is not Australia lol…New Zealand is much smaller and beautiful! :D
can you use light sour cream or does it need to be full fat sour cream
You can use either!
How much sour cream do you put in?
1 cup as listed in the recipe.
My sister told me about this recipe.I like all the ingredients. I am going to make it for sure
This was easy and tasty! I did not have mandarin oranges so substituted canned pie cherries on top wih whippedtopping. Wow!
Do you make the pudding as directed on the box before mixing in pineapple and coconut?
You do not make the pudding, just use the powder from the box.
Drain the oranges?
Yes, you’ll want to drain the can of oranges.
These looked so good and simple to make
Trying this this weekend.
This pie was a huge hit at our house! Thanks so much!
I am so glad your family enjoyed the recipe!