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Ambrosia Salad
Ambrosia Salad is a creamy fruit salad packed with tropical flavors. This classic recipe is filled with mandarin oranges, pineapples, cherries, and marshmallows.
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Ambrosia Salad is an easy dessert salad that’s loaded with pineapple, mandarin oranges, coconut, and miniature marshmallows. This refreshingly light and sweet treat is made in just one bowl and is a perfect dessert recipe to serve for family meals or special occasions.
If you love classic fruit salad desserts you’ll want to make Jello Salad, Watergate Salad, and Snickers Salad.
Ambrosia Salad Ingredients
You will need:
- 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
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 oranges, 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
A welcome treat at family gatherings, summer picnics, or holiday meals, Ambrosia Salad is a sweet choice for a side dish or as a dessert. It goes perfectly with almost any main dish and you can enjoy a serving with a refreshing glass of raspberry iced tea on the side.
Storage
IN THE FRIDGE: If you don’t eat all the creamy fruit salad in one serving, just scoop it into an airtight container and store it 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.
Ambrosia Salad is a lusciously creamy fruit salad packed with tropical flavors. A classic for a reason, ambrosia literally means ‘the food of the gods,’ so no wonder this recipe is enjoyed by kids and adults. Filled with mandarin oranges, pineapples, cherries, coconut, and marshmallows, watch as this sweet salad gets eaten up fast.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I store ambrosia salad?
This classic salad can be stored in the refrigerator in an airtight container for a few days.
Can I add other fruit to this ambrosia salad recipe?
This delicious fruit salad is flexible and you can easily add other fruits. Red or green grapes would be a perfect choice for this recipe.
Can I leave out the coconut?
You can certainly omit the coconut from this salad without it being missed.
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Ambrosia Salad
Ambrosia Salad is a creamy fruit salad packed with tropical flavors. This classic recipe is filled with mandarin oranges, pineapples, cherries, and marshmallows.
Ingredients
- 8 ounces cream cheese room temp
- 8 ounces whipped topping
- 15 ounces mandarin oranges drained
- 20 ounces crushed pineapple drained
- 12 ounces 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.
Notes
- Make sure your cream cheese is room temperature so that you don’t end up with any lumps in your cream mixture.
- Stir all of the ingredients together carefully as you don’t want to break apart the fruit pieces.
- 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.
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