Ambrosia Salad is a classic potluck dessert that your family will absolutely adore! The best part? This ambrosia fruit salad recipe tastes even better the next day!

Ambrosia Salad

Y’all know how much I adore my old-fashioned potluck recipes! Whether it’s my pistachio fluff, this creamy grape salad, or our amazing broccoli salad, I just LOVE easy recipes that remind me of the dishes that my grandma used to make.

This delicious ambrosia salad is no exception. I can remember eating variations on this dish at family gatherings as a kid, and it was a staple at our annual family reunions.

If you love the flavors in this ambrosia salad, don’t miss my ambrosia muffins!

One of the things I really like about ambrosia salad is that it isn’t too sweet. It’s cool, creamy, and delicious with bursts of fruity flavor and a little crunch.

Of course, I am a huge fan of coconut in desserts. After all, my favorite dessert of ALL TIME are these to-die-for coconut magic bars.

How to Make Ambrosia Salad

When you’re ready to whip up your own tasty bowl of ambrosia salad, here are the ingredients you’ll need to have on hand:

• 1 15-oz. can mandarin orange segments, drained
• 1 15-oz. can crushed pineapple, well drained
• 1 6-oz. jar maraschino cherries, rinsed and sliced in half
• 1 cup sweetened coconut
• ½ cup pecans, chopped
• ½ cup sour cream
• ½ cup whipped topping
• 1 cup mini marshmallows

The instructions for making the recipe really couldn’t be any easier. Don’t you love no-brainer recipes? All you need to do is dump all of the prepared items into a biggish bowl, and fold it all together.

Speaking of dump-recipes, don’t miss my popular cherry dump cake!

Now, remember, you’re going to want to put your ambrosia salad in the refrigerator to cool for about 4 hours or up to overnight. The recipe really needs this time to reach it’s full, flavorful potential.

For this reason, I like mixing my ambrosia salad in a bowl with a lid. These mixing bowls with lids are fantastic if you’re shopping for a set!

Using any old bowl and covering with plastic wrap works just fine, too. :)

Ambrosia Fruit Salad

Here’s a fun twist on our classic ambrosia salad recipe. Instead of using mandarin oranges and maraschino cherries, you can actually just use a can of fruit cocktail. This twist will add even more color and flavor to your ambrosia salad. My kids really love this recipe when I make it using the fruit cocktail!

My kids have an obsession with maraschino cherries, so even if I make this recipe using the can of fruit cocktail I always add extra cherries for them.

Don’t like nuts? Just leave them out. My ambrosia salad with Cool Whip doesn’t suffer at all without them.

Versatility is really one of the things that I love most about old family recipes like this yummy ambrosia salad. You can easily swap ingredients to suit your family’s preferences!

Have you ever made this classic ambrosia salad before? I’d love to hear how you fix your ambrosia salad recipe in the comments below. I always learn so much from you guys!

More Easy Dessert Recipes

• Peanut Butter Pie
• Earthquake Cake
• Shoo Fly Pie
• Ginger Cookies
• Blueberry Zucchini Bread

Continue to Content

Ambrosia Salad

Yield: 8-10 servings

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 10 minutes

Additional Time: 4 hours

Total Time: 4 hours 20 minutes

Cool, creamy, and delicious, this ambrosia salad recipe is always a hit with family and friends.

Print

Ingredients

• 1 15-oz. can mandarin orange segments, drained
• 1 15-oz. can crushed pineapple, well drained
• 1 6-oz. jar maraschino cherries, rinsed and sliced in half
• 1 cup sweetened coconut
• ½ cup pecans, chopped
• ½ cup sour cream
• ½ cup whipped topping
• 1 cup mini marshmallows

Instructions

1. In a large bowl stir together all ingredients.
2. Refrigerate 4-6 hours or overnight.

Nutrition Information:

Amount Per Serving: Calories: 145Saturated Fat: 0gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 0mgCarbohydrates: 0gFiber: 0gSugar: 0gProtein: 0g