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    Home » Appetizers & Sides » Ambrosia Fruit Salad

    Ambrosia Fruit Salad

    Published: Mar 11, 2022 by Jennie · This post may contain affiliate links

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     It's my favorite kind of salad! Full of fruit and covered in cool whip, this Easy Ambrosia Fruit Salad is a must try! This is a summer staple that everyone will love!

    Ambrosia Fruit Salad in white bowl topped with cherries

    Where does Ambrosia come from?

    When the salad is filled with fruit and marshmallows then coated in creamy cool whip, well that's a salad anyone would love to eat!

    The name "Ambrosia" comes from the ancient Greeks as the name of the food that the gods ate and was unable to be eaten by mortals. Well, this recipe is amazing, and anyone can definitely enjoy it and love!

    This Easy Ambrosia Fruit Salad is a must try and a winner with the entire family. We love it as a treat and it's the perfect sweet side for the holidays. And this dish is a typical Southern Recipe, but you can make it anywhere in the world and enjoy it!

    How to make an Ambrosia Fruit Salad:

    Prepare your fruits by draining them and letting them dry. Slowly mix in the dry ingredients, and then mix in the sour cream and cool whip. Chill before serving.

    Ingredients:

    For this recipe, I used canned fruits with the juice drained. In this Ambrosia Fruit Salad, I used the following:

    • Mandarin oranges
    • Pineapples
    • Cherries
    • Coconut Flakes
    • Marshmallows
    • Cool whip
    • Sour Cream

    ingredients for the ambrosia fruit salad

    Directions:

    Step One: Drain all canned fruits and place in a large mixing bowl. 

    • Tip: You can use a colander or lay out some paper towels to ensure the fruit is as dry as possible before mixing in the other ingredients if you want.

    fruit for ambrosia in a metal bowl

    Step two: Add mini marshmallows and coconut flakes. 

    adding marshmallows and coconut to the fruit

     Step three: Gently fold in cool whip and sour cream until well combined. I like to serve mine chilled.

    adding cool whip and sour cream to the ambrosia in a metal bowl

    How long can you keep Ambrosia?

    Typically, this type of "salad" needs to be eaten pretty quickly. Ideally, you want to only keep this refrigerated for about 3 days. After 3 days, I would recommend discarding it.

    • Tip - One way to help extend this salad is to make sure your fruits are drained and dried as best as possible before mixing together. You do not want to bring any excess liquid to this party!

    Do I have to use coconut in the ambrosia?

    While coconut is one of the main ingredients in a classic ambrosia, if you do not want to add coconut that is no problem at all! Coconut does add texture to the recipe, but if you don't use it the ambrosia will still taste great!

    closeup of ambrosia in a white bowl

    Try some of my other fruit and fluff salads:

    Fruit Salad - I love summer foods. The fresh fruits and all things grilled. This Fruit Salad is so simple to make and the perfect summer side dish.

    Orange Fluff - This Orange Fluff is the perfect light dessert. Made with mandarin oranges, marshmallows, orange Jell-o and an ingredient you would not expect this dessert tastes like an orange creamsicle!

    Cranberry Fluff - This Cranberry Fluff is loaded with fruit, crunchy pecans, and sweet marshmallows. It's the perfect treat and sweet side dish.

    closeup of ambrosia with cherries on top

    If you tried this recipe or any of my recipes I would love to hear from you, leave me a comment below. You can also connect with me on FACEBOOK, INSTAGRAM, PINTEREST, and YOUTUBE.

    I would love for you to follow along and discover more amazing recipes.

    Show me what you are making, tag us, or use hashtag #TDOARH


     

    Ambrosia Fruit Salad

    Easy Ambrosia Fruit Salad

    Jennie Duncan
    It's my favorite kind of salad! Full of fruit and covered in cool whip, this Easy Ambrosia Fruit Salad is a must try! This is a summer staple that everyone will love!
    Print Recipe Pin Recipe
    Prep Time 10 mins
    Total Time 10 mins
    Course Dessert, Side Dish
    Cuisine American
    Servings 10 servings
    Calories 223 kcal

    Ingredients
      

    • 11 oz Mandarin oranges
    • 20 oz Crushed pineapple
    • 10 oz Maraschino cherries
    • 2 cups Mini marshmallows
    • 1 cup Sweetened coconut flakes
    • 8 oz Cool whip
    • ½ cup Sour cream

    Instructions
     

    • Drain all canned fruits and place in a large mixing bowl. Add mini marshmallows and coconut flakes.
    • Gently fold in cool whip and sour cream until well combined.

    Notes

    How long can you keep Ambrosia?

    Typically this type of "salad" needs to be eaten pretty quickly. Ideally, you want to only keep this refrigerated for about 3 days. After 3 days, I would recommend discarding it.
    • Tip - One way to help extend this salad is to make sure your fruits are drained and dried as best as possible before mixing together. You do not want to bring any excess liquid to this party!

    Nutrition

    Serving: 1cupCalories: 223kcalCarbohydrates: 43gProtein: 1gFat: 6gSaturated Fat: 4gCholesterol: 9mgSodium: 60mgPotassium: 199mgFiber: 3gSugar: 35gVitamin A: 365IUVitamin C: 13.8mgCalcium: 73mgIron: 0.5mg
    Keyword Ambrosia, Easy Ambrosia Fruit Salad
    Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!
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    Comments

    1. Aw

      February 22, 2021 at 9:38 am

      I accidentally added a cup of sour cream.. now what?

      Reply
    2. Lori S

      July 05, 2020 at 10:12 pm

      This ambrosia salad was delicious! I’ve always made it with pineapple chunks before. The crushed pineapple gave it a much better texture — it wasn’t watery at all. This is now my go-to ambrosia recipe!

      Reply
      • Jennie

        July 07, 2020 at 1:38 pm

        So glad to hear this! I love this ambrosia as well!

        Reply
    3. Brooklyn

      April 10, 2020 at 10:52 pm

      Would it be possible to substitute yoplait yogurt for the sour cream ?

      Reply
      • Jennie

        April 16, 2020 at 3:07 pm

        Yeah that would work!

        Reply
    4. Jacki Z

      February 29, 2020 at 4:08 pm

      This is a family favorite! We add chopped pecans to ours, and usually bypass the marshmallows. There are so many fun ways to play with this dessert.

      Reply
    5. Carol

      December 21, 2019 at 2:35 am

      This is a great recipe. I like it better using sour cream with a little bit of cool whip. Maybe not the whole 8 ounces. It is VERY yummy, but it can be too sweet with the marshmallows, cool whip the sugar on the coconut and all the fruits, plus the cherries that are not really a fruit once they all all the sugar and dye in them. I have even substituted cream cheese one year when I couldn't find the cool whip at the last minute. It was good and cream and not so sweet. I have also made home made whip cream with heavy cream and a pinch of sugar. That was a splendid version of it too. I think its best to make the night before so the marshmallows can melt a little bit. And it lets all of the flavors blend.

      My great aunt used to slice the cherries and put it them on the top so that it didn't make the salad pink. When you dug it you still got the cherries and it didn't have the overpowering cherry juice, and artificial cherry flavor. I like to lay some of the oranges, ion the top for decoration. If you lay them on the top they are part of your salad they dont get all broken up. Thanks for publishing this. Sometimes I want to know the base recipe even though I grew up on this. Eyeballing the ingredients did not always work out well.

      Reply
    6. Lyndsey

      November 28, 2019 at 1:22 am

      This is so good. I’m making it for my second time tomorrow for Thanksgiving. People...if you weren’t the one making/reading this recipe, then you’d never know there was sour cream in it. I don’t like sour cream either, but it tastes amazing in this! You can’t tell it’s sour cream! IT just makes it richer and creamier! Don’t be afraid to get out of your comfort zone. The mandarin oranges also taste great in it, and I’m not the biggest fan of oranges either! They are way better than your average orange. Everyone at my work tried this when I made it last year, and even the pickiest of eaters absolutely loved it and couldn’t stop telling me how good it was.

      Reply
    7. Flower

      February 13, 2019 at 9:56 am

      Don't like Sour Cream!! AND U used oranges!!
      Throat Doc said NO cirrus - so I'll NOT B doing
      This U ever!! But it sounded Yummy till got
      2 the Sour Cream & Oranges too😞😳😥👎
      BUT crap do happen too!!f

      Reply
      • Jennie

        February 13, 2019 at 10:14 pm

        You could always skip the orange and sour cream! Maybe add another fruit you enjoy. Hope you try other recipes, thanks for letting me know.

        Reply
    8. supervizor

      January 22, 2018 at 6:56 am

      Cool piece of content. Check out my site too

      Reply
    9. Janice

      July 22, 2017 at 7:28 pm

      Hi!! I'm excited about this recipe but can you tell me if it is ok to make a day ahead or will it get too loose?

      thanks so much!!

      Janice

      Reply
      • Jennie

        July 23, 2017 at 3:43 pm

        It could get a little watery if sitting for to long. We always eat leftovers of it a day or two later and just drain any water. But you could mix the fruit and in the morning drain it well then add the rest. Hope you enjoy the recipe! =)

        Reply
    10. Ashley

      March 03, 2017 at 7:36 am

      I LOVE this stuff! Both my mom and grandmother would make it! I don't think I have their recipe, so I will for sure be using this one!

      Ashley @ A Cute Angle

      Reply
      • Jennie

        March 03, 2017 at 12:17 pm

        IT's so yummy!! Thanks Ashley for coming by!! Hope your doing well!

        Reply

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    Hi, I'm Jennie! I'm a busy mom of three and I love cooking and sharing easy recipes. From slow cooker meals to casseroles all my recipes are simple to make and ones the entire family will love.

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