Creamy 6-Cup Ambrosia Fruit Salad
on Aug 29, 2019, Updated Jun 28, 2024
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This tasty and creamy 6-cup ambrosia fruit salad is the simplest thing to make and is forever a hit for kiddos and adults alike at any gathering!
This fruit salad is a classic party dish that the whole gang’s going to love and eat up! Ambrosia fruit salad has been around forever and ever, and I pray it doesn’t go anywhere anytime soon! The tart flavors of pineapple and orange with a little nutty coconut, tangy sour cream, and a sweet bite of marshmallow is pure HEAVEN in a bowl.
The best part about this salad is it comes together in almost NO time. All you do it throw your stuff in a bowl, mix it up, and call it a day. I do like refrigerating mine for a couple hours to let the flavors meld and the sour cream sweeten, but that’s not a necessary step. Plus, kids love this stuff… adults love this stuff… and that’s how you can tell an incredible party dish, don’t you agree? And it’s a terrific sidekick to other classics like Pistachio Salad and Frog Eye Salad.
Table of Contents
Why You’ll Love This Salad
- Simplicity: Recipes don’t get much more simple than this one – 6 cups of 5 ingredients, stir, and you’re done.
- Make-Ahead Convenience: You can make it hours ahead of time and pull it out of the refrigerator when you’re ready to eat.
- Crowd-Pleaser: It’s a familiar classic that everyone loves.
Ingredients
- Canned Pineapple Tidbits
- Canned Mandarin Oranges
- Shredded Sweetened Coconut
- Sour Cream
- Mini Marshmallows
See the recipe card below for full information on ingredients and quantities
Variations for 6-Cup Ambrosia Fruit Salad
There are lots of variations that our readers have shared about how they make this salad. Here are some of their ideas below:
- add diced apples (if you don’t like coconut, apples are a great alternative because of the crunch)
- add grapes (red or green) that have been halved
- add diced bananas
- add in chopped walnuts or pecans for an added crunch
- to make it sweeter, stir in a little powdered sugar – it will also offset the tartness from the sour cream
- add in a small jar of maraschino cherries
- stir in 2 tablespoons of instant lemon pudding powder for a lemon taste
- use pina colada flavored yogurt in place of the sour cream
How to Make 6-cup Ambrosia Fruit Salad
Step #1. In a large bowl, combine the pineapple, mandarin oranges, and coconut.
Step #3. Stir in the mini marshmallows.
Step #2. Add the sour cream and fold to combine.
Step #4. Refrigerate 2-3 hours then serve.
Recipe FAQs
I love keeping this fruit salad super simple with only 5 ingredients, but there are so many ways to customize and add to it! All I use is canned pineapple and mandarin oranges (both drained), shredded coconut, sour cream, and mini marshmallows, and it’s just delicious.
This salad is definitely perfect for a big gathering because it won’t last terribly long, and it makes a pretty large batch! So, you’ll want to make it when you have a sizable group to serve. I’d say it’ll last about 2, maybe 3, days in the refrigerator — just be sure to drain any excess liquid that gathers at the bottom before serving.
Ambrosia salad is fine to make the night ahead of a get-together! I like to let it sit a few hours, anyway, so the flavors can all marinate and mix together well. I wouldn’t make it more than a day ahead of time, though, or else you might be dealing with a soggy salad. (And there’s nothing sadder than a soggy salad.)
Expert Tips
- If you have the time, put the pineapple tidbits and mandarin oranges into a colander and let them hang out for a while before making the salad to help drain extra liquid.
- Mandarin oranges don’t handle a lot of stirring without falling apart so take care to fold the salad together gently. It will still taste good but it won’t be quite as pretty if the oranges fall to pieces.
- It’s a classic touch to garnish it with some maraschino cherry halves before serving.
- If canned fruit isn’t quite your style, you can substitute the same amount of fresh pineapple and orange pieces.
Did you make this recipe? Leave a ⭐️ review and share it on Instagram, Facebook, or Pinterest!
Creamy 6-Cup Ambrosia Fruit Salad
Ingredients
- 1 cup canned pineapple tidbits, drained
- 1 cup canned mandarin oranges, drained
- 1 cup shredded sweetened coconut
- 1 cup sour cream
- 2 cups mini marshmallows
Instructions
- In a large bowl, add the pineapple, orange, and coconut.
- Add the sour cream, and fold to combine.
- Add the mini marshmallows, and fold to combine.
- Refrigerate for 2 to 3 hours before serving.
Notes
- You can eat this right away, but I like to let it sit a minute. The sour cream has time to get sweet that way, and I like the softer texture of the marshmallows.
- Take care when stirring the ingredients together so that the mandarin oranges don’t fall apart.
- The fruit has lots of liquid in it so its helpful to let it drain for a while before making the salad.
- There are a ton of variations of this salad. Don’t be afraid to try some others to find your very favorite!
Nutrition
This recipe was originally published in 2012, and has been updated and rephotographed in August 2019.
I love this! Been making it for years! I use Cool Whip instead of Dream Whip like my mother used to use. I use 2 blocks of Philly cream cheese softened at room temperature to add to cool whip with a mixer. Adding coconut, mini marshmallows, mandarin oranges, and crushed pineapple. I let it chill for about five hours, then we dig in. I make a huge batch, and that doesn’t last very long maybe a day or two. We like to make this a Christmas also.
My Gram made this for Christmas Eve dinner every year….there was always a big glob of “”whipped cream” on top…..every year we eagerly dove into it…..and every year it was made with and, including the glob of white stuff on top….mayonaisse…..we never learned. It sends shivers up my spine remembering all of us kids gagging! I like your recipe better!
Eeeeeee, that’s the funniest story ever. I can’t imagine a blob of mayo with all that fruit….