Ambrosia Fruit Salad

Ambrosia salad inside a glass bowl with a white spatula in it.

Ambrosia Salad is a creamy & fluffy fruit salad recipe with pineapple, mandarin, oranges, cherries, in a homemade whipped cream and vanilla yogurt base. Sweetened with powdered sugar, coconut flakes, and marshmallows.

Course Salad, Side Dish

Cuisine American

Keyword ambrosia fruit salad, ambrosia salad

Prep Time 15

Cook Time 0

Fridge Time 2

Total Time 2 15

Servings

Calories 309kcal

Author Jessica - Together as Family

Ingredients

1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
3 tablespoons powdered sugar
1/2 cup vanilla yogurt (or a 5.3 oz container)
1 cup sweetened coconut flakes
zest of 1 lemon (optional)
2 cups mini marshmallows
1/3 cup unsalted pistachios OR chopped pecans
1 can (15 oz) mandarin oranges (drained well)
1 jar (12 oz) stemless maraschino cherries (drained, dried, and cut in half)
1 cup pineapple chunks

Instructions

Pour the heavy whipping cream into a large mixing bowl and add the powdered sugar. With an electric hand mixer beat on low speed, increasing speed as needed, until stiff peaks form.
* This takes about 3-4 minutes
Gently stir in the vanilla yogurt, coconut flakes, and lemon zest with a wooden spoon or spatula until mixed well.
* If you don't want the long texture of the coconut flakes, put the 1 cup of coconut flakes into a food processor or chopper and pulse until they are in smaller pieces. I do this.
Stir in the mini marshmallows and pistachios (or pecans) and mix until combined.
Add the mandarin oranges, maraschino cherries, and pineapple chunks. Stir to combine.
Cover the bowl with a lid or plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours before serving. Serve chilled.

Notes

Lemon Zest : This helps balance out the sweetness but it is optional. The flavor of the lemon zest can be too much for some people. When you are zesting the lemon, be sure that you are only barely zesting the top layer. If you zest too far into the skin the taste will be very bitter and unpleasant. I don't always use the lemon zest.

Sweetened Coconut Flakes : Make sure you are using sweetened coconut flakes as it helps sweeten up the salad. My family does not like the long texture of the coconut flakes so I throw the 1 cup of flakes into a food processor and pulse/chop them until they are in smaller pieces. This is totally optional.

Yogurt : You can substitute with vanilla Greek yogurt but I don't recommend it. The Greek yogurt makes the salad sour tasting and just not pleasant. If measuring from a larger container, you will need 1/2 cup of vanilla yogurt.

Fruit Tip : Drain the juice from the jar and then pat the cherries with a paper towel to ensure that they are dry. I do this same thing with the mandarin oranges. You just want to make sure that there is no extra liquid/water when you pour the fruit into the bowl.

Pineapple : Instead of freshly chopped pineapple, you can use 1 can (15 oz) of crushed pineapple or 1 can (15 oz) pineapple tidbits in its place. Make sure that the pineapple is drained well before adding it into the bowl.

Marshmallows : Use white mini marshmallows or try using the pastel colored fruit mini marshmallows. Kids love the colored fruit marshmallows!

Nutrition