This Ambrosia Salad recipe is an old family favorite. Sweet and refreshing, this side dish (or dessert) needs just a handful of ingredients.
This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our disclosure policy.
What is Ambrosia Salad?
Ambrosia means ‘food of the gods’, and this version is a family favorite. While it’s called a salad, ambrosia salad is more like a light, creamy dessert that often makes an appearance as a side dish during the holidays. This version has pineapple, coconut, mandarin oranges, and mini marshmallows all folded together in a sweet, creamy base.
Holly’s Recipe Highlights
- Flavor: Sweet, tangy, tropical, and creamy all in one spoonful!
- Skill Level: So easy, also called 5 cup salad, it needs just five ingredients and 5 minutes of prep.
- Swaps: Swap sour cream for Greek yogurt or change up the fruit to your liking.
- Serving Suggestions: It’s potluck perfect since it’s best made ahead of time.
Ingredient Notes
- Yogurt/Sour Cream: Our family has always used sour cream, which is sweetened by the marshmallows, for a creamy tang. Replace it with plain or vanilla Greek yogurt for a sweeter flavor.
- Marshmallows: Use miniature marshmallows to add sweetness and fluff. Use fruit-flavored marshmallows to add extra color!
- Fruit: My grandma always used coconut shreds, canned mandarin oranges, and pineapple chunks. Drain the fruit well to prevent the salad from becoming watery, and be gentle with the mandarin oranges to prevent them from breaking apart.
Variations
- Add Fruit: Mix in chopped maraschino cherries, fresh bananas, grapes, kiwi, or strawberries. Or try swapping the pineapple for peaches.
- Add Nuts: Stir in some chopped nuts like walnuts or pecans for crunch.
How to Make Ambrosia Salad
- Combine all ingredients (full recipe below), folding in the mandarins last.
- Chill for 4 hours or overnight before serving.
More Dessert Salads
Did your family love this Ambrosia Salad? Leave a rating and a comment below!
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 cup sour cream or plain or vanilla yogurt
- 1 cup miniature marshmallows fruit flavored or white
- 1 cup sweetened coconut flakes
- 1 cup pineapple tidbits well drained
- 1 cup mandarin oranges well drained
Instructions
- In a large bowl, add sour cream, marshmallows, coconut, and pineapple tidbits. Stir until combined.
- Gently fold in mandarin oranges.
- Refrigerate for at least 4 hours or overnight. Serve chilled.
Video
Notes
- Make ahead to allow the flavors to blend and to soften the marshmallows.
- Be sure to drain all fruit well to prevent the dish from being watery.
- Mandarin oranges are fragile and break easily, so gently fold them in last.
- Greek, plain, or vanilla yogurt can serve as the base. I prefer sour cream, which is sweetened by the coconut and marshmallows.
Nutrition Information
Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and brands of ingredients used.
Course Dessert, Salad, Side Dish
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.
Awesome recipes can not Waite to try them
Thank you Crcilia, I’m sure that you’ll find plenty of recipes that you’ll love!
I know there’s recipes out there where use a pkg. Of dry orange Jello. Do you think I could do that here ?
Hi Denise, we have only made this recipe as listed. If you try adding the dry orange jello let us know how it turns out.
Cottage cheese, orange jello, Cool whip and crushed pineapple and mandarin oranges. Delish.
I remember my mother making this for all the family get togethers. Maybe it’s a Canadian thing, but she would make it with freshly whipped cream and cottage cheese. Never had to add any sugar to the cream since it all came from the fruit and marshmallows. Finding out that it’s most commonly made with sour cream was a surprise to me! lol
That is interesting Ann! But still sounds so yummy.
I don’t see the printed recipe. I wanted to take it to the store to buy the ingredients. Maybe I am just missing it? I have to find another now to print out.
Hi Debbie, you can scroll to the bottom of the page or select the jump to recipe button at the top and select print recipe! Enjoy!
Grew up in Alabama-always had ambrosia at Thanksgiving & Christmas… Your recipe is great! Reminds me of Grandma’s… THANK YOU FOR A FANTASTIC RECIPE!
?? CAN I FREEZE AMBROSIA??
Please respond as soon as possible
Also, can pears peaches (canned or fresh) be added?
THANK YOU!
We always had this for holidays too Kathy! You can absolutely add canned peaches or pears (drain well first).
Although I haven’t tried freezing it, dairy doesn’t always hold up well in the freezer. I would not recommend freezing it. Enjoy!
It is fascinating that in different parts of the United States Ambrosia is different things. Here in the South it can be this you’ve made, always with whipped, sweetened cream/sour cream and canned fruits, or it is a winter holiday treat like the one our mom made: sweetened whipped cream filled with intense flavors of chopped nuts, dried fruits, especially dates and raisins, flaked coconut, and combined with fresh fruits that would be available in the winter and “special” back in the Depression: oranges, apples, bananas, clementines, grapes. It wasn’t Thanksgiving or Christmas without it! She’s gone now, and I can’t have all the sugar and heavy cream. But we really miss it.
So nice to hear the story of your mom’s special dish. Thank you for sharing BonJon. It’s very true that ambrosia is easily changed up, and always delicious!
Ambrosia is MUCH better made with fresh navel oranges instead of canned. Simply peel and section them before adding to the salad.
I’ve had ambrosia my whole life and have never heard of using fresh oranges, I bet it is amazing!! Thank you for sharing Sandy!
That’s how my mom made it. With Fresh oranges. It was s good. Sprinkled coconut on top. Added a couple red cherries
Yummy, you’re mom’s recipe sounds so good.
i
My husband loves this, however he doesn’t like sour cream. Does the cream hide or can I substitute it with something else?
The sour cream becomes sweeter but you can substitute yogurt or Greek yogurt.
We make ours by mixing equal parts of sour cream and cool whip – it hides the sour cream, but keeps the creamy texture
Try vanilla yogurt or whipped cream/cool whip.
Can I make this a few days ahead of time?
If you make it more than a day ahead, it may separate a little, so give it a stir before serving. Enjoy, Tracy!
we had something similar here just different tinned fruits/fresh fruits, the original was 2 cans (790ml each )fruit cocktail drained( we used the very cherry), 1 can pineapple tidbits ( 8oz) drained, 1 can mandarin orange segments ( 4oz), 1 cup sour cream, 1cup coconut and 1-2cups mini marshmallows. lately I have been adding fresh fruits ( strawberries, grapes or other seasonal fruit, just tried it with cantaloupe )
Sounds delicious Aliza!
I’m with Carol, Cool Whip is so unhealthy yet I had such a hard time finding a ambrosia type recipe without it, so discouraging! I was on the verge of adding it anyway but I’m glad I didn’t. I made this and it was delish! Ok, I used half sour cream, half cottage cheese- slight modification but still no Cool Whip and still yum! Thank you for sharing your recipe. Cool Whip be gone!
I can fruit cocktail, well drained, sour cream to taste (whip cream too sweet) & mini marshmallows. My mother made this since I was a child 80 years ago.
Thank you for sharing Gobbi. Enjoy!
I love this version made with sour cream instead of cool whip. (Cool whip is so nasty when you look at the ingredients) Plus cool whip makes it so sweet with all the sugar from the fruit, coconut and marshmallows it is more like a dessert. I have substituted in 1/2 cream cheese with sour cream, in a pinch when I dont have quite enough sour cream. I have also made fresh whipped cream with my mixer and heavy whipping cream if I dont have sour cream, and dont feel like going to the store. Sometimes I like 1/2 sour cream and 1/2 whipped cream, it makes it so decadent.
Love love it..perfect for holidaays..but make more often..thanks
Mom’s favorite at all gatherings. Now that she’s gone, I make it all the time but double the recipe. We love it!!
I have been making ambrosia for years. I leave out the coconut.
There’s no cool whip listed. How much cool whip?
This recipe doesn’t contain Cool Whip.
I would like to pin thes recipes ???
You can hover any of the photos to pin the recipe. You can repin this recipe here: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/95349717091146658/
I use fruit coctail
Great idea!
I do not like coconut. What can I use instead of coconut?
You can replace it with 1/2 cup walnuts or pecans.