Ambrosia Salad

This Creamy Ambrosia Salad is easy to make with juicy pineapples, mandarin oranges, cherries, and fruit cocktail! It's accompanied by fluffy cool whip, yogurt, marshmallows, coconut flakes, and chopped pecans!

Prep Time15

Total Time15

Course: Salad, Side Dish

Cuisine: American

Servings: people

Calories: 295kcal

Author: Stephanie

Ingredients

20 oz. pineapple chunks drained and patted dry
15 oz. mandarin oranges drained and patted dry
15 oz. fruit cocktail drained and patted dry
10 oz. maraschino cherries drained and patted dry
6 oz. vanilla yogurt full fat. See notes
1 cup mini marshmallows
½ cup sweetened coconut flakes
8 oz. cool whip thawed
1/3 cup chopped pecans optional

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Use paper towels to remove excess from the fruit so that the texture remains creamy (vs. watery).
Set aside a few mandarin oranges, cherries, coconut flakes, and nuts to decorate the top of the salad.
Add salad ingredients to a large bowl and use a silicone spatula to gently combine. Transfer to a serving dish and top with reserved fruit, coconut flakes, and nuts.
Serve immediately or refrigerate until ready to serve.

Notes

Pro Tips:

Be sure to use paper towels to remove as much moisture from the fruit as possible so that the consistency remains creamy and not watery.
Coconut Flakes: Feel free to toast the coconut flakes in a skillet over medium for a few minutes to add more depth of flavor! Stir frequently and watch them closely.
Yogurt: 1/2 cup sour cream + 1 tsp. vanilla extract can be used instead of yogurt if needed or preferred.
Mint: Fresh mint makes a beautiful garnish to this dish!
Feel free to add a little cottage cheese to the mix as well!
Make Ahead: Feel free to make this dish hours ahead of time and store in an airtight container until ready to serve. It can also be stored overnight until ready to serve.
Ambrosia: This word comes from Greek mythology and translates to "the food of the Gods". It implies that the food is delicious and life giving, providing eternal youth or immortality. (Wouldn't that be nice!?)

Storage

Store in an airtight container and refrigerate for up to 3 days. (Leftovers don't freeze well.)

Nutritional information is an estimate and is per serving. This recipe has 8 servings.

Nutrition

Recipe Source: TheCozyCook.com - For pro tips, step-by-step photos, storage information, and to save it to your account, visit https://framework-keystone.live/ambrosia-salad/%3C/strong%3E%3C/p%3E%3C/div%3E%3C/div%3E%3Cscript%3Ewindow.wprm_recipes = {"recipe-57449":{"type":"food","name":"Ambrosia Salad","slug":"wprm-ambrosia-salad","image_url":"https:\/\/thecozycook.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/Ambrosia-Salad-f.jpg","rating":{"count":4,"total":20,"average":5,"type":{"comment":4,"no_comment":0,"user":0},"user":0},"ingredients":[{"uid":0,"amount":"20","unit":"oz.","name":"pineapple chunks","notes":"drained and patted dry","converted":{"2":{"amount":"20","unit":"oz.","unit_id":12936}},"unit_id":12936,"id":13757,"conversion_item_snapshot":{"amount":"20","unit":"oz.","timestamp":1778512448000},"type":"ingredient","unit_systems":{"unit-system-1":{"amount":"20","unit":"oz.","unitParsed":"oz."},"unit-system-2":{"amount":"20","unit":"oz.","unitParsed":"oz."}}},{"uid":1,"amount":"15","unit":"oz.","name":"mandarin oranges","notes":"drained and patted dry","converted":{"2":{"amount":"15","unit":"oz.","unit_id":12936}},"unit_id":12936,"id":13569,"conversion_item_snapshot":{"amount":"15","unit":"oz.","timestamp":1778512448000},"type":"ingredient","unit_systems":{"unit-system-1":{"amount":"15","unit":"oz.","unitParsed":"oz."},"unit-system-2":{"amount":"15","unit":"oz.","unitParsed":"oz."}}},{"uid":2,"amount":"15","unit":"oz.","name":"fruit cocktail","notes":"drained and patted dry","converted":{"2":{"amount":"15","unit":"oz.","unit_id":12936}},"unit_id":12936,"id":13998,"conversion_item_snapshot":{"amount":"15","unit":"oz.","timestamp":1778512448000},"type":"ingredient","unit_systems":{"unit-system-1":{"amount":"15","unit":"oz.","unitParsed":"oz."},"unit-system-2":{"amount":"15","unit":"oz.","unitParsed":"oz."}}},{"uid":3,"amount":"10","unit":"oz.","name":"maraschino cherries","notes":"drained and patted dry","converted":{"2":{"amount":"10","unit":"oz.","unit_id":12936}},"unit_id":12936,"id":6444,"conversion_item_snapshot":{"amount":"10","unit":"oz.","timestamp":1778512448000},"type":"ingredient","unit_systems":{"unit-system-1":{"amount":"10","unit":"oz.","unitParsed":"oz."},"unit-system-2":{"amount":"10","unit":"oz.","unitParsed":"oz."}}},{"uid":4,"amount":"6","unit":"oz.","name":"vanilla yogurt","notes":"full fat. 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