Ambrosia Salad Recipe

Close up of one cup of ambrosia salad with shredded coconut flakes on top.

This easy ambrosia salad is a sweet, creamy classic made with marshmallows, pineapple, mandarin oranges, cherries, coconut, and Cool Whip. A nostalgic, crowd-pleasing side that comes together in minutes!

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Prep Time 10

Chill Time 1

Total Time 1 10

Servings to 10 servings (about 8 cups)

Calories 302kcal

Author John Kanell

Equipment

Large bowl

Ingredients

1 (8-ounce/226g) container frozen whipped topping, thawed
½ cup sour cream (120g)
1 (15-ounce/425g) can mandarin oranges, drained
1 (20-ounce/567g) can pineapple tidbits in juice, drained
1 (12-ounce/340g) jar maraschino cherries drained, stemmed, and patted dry
2 cups mini marshmallows (100g) (use fruity marshmallows for added color)
⅔ cup shredded sweetened coconut (66g)

Instructions

In a large bowl, fold together the whipped topping and sour cream. Stir in the oranges, pineapple, cherries, marshmallows, and coconut.
Refrigerate for at least 1 hour or until ready to serve. Salad can be made a day in advance (cherries may bleed some).
Garnish with additional cherries and coconut, if desired.

Notes

How to serve: Ambrosia is great as a side dish or dessert on its own! It also works very well as a topping for slices of classic pound cake, sour cream pound cake, or angel food cake.
Do I have to chill the ambrosia? You can serve it right away if you wish, but chilling it allows the creamy component of the salad to absorb flavor from the fruits. It will also set up a bit thicker when all of the ingredients are nice and cold.

Nutrition