Ambrosia Salad

by Sabrina Snyder

Last Update:

23 Comments

5 from 8 votes
12 servings
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 0 minutes
Refrigerate 30 minutes
Total Time 40 minutes
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Ambrosia Salad is a classic no-bake nostalgic dessert. A sweet festive treat that never goes out of style. Perfect for holidays and potlucks!

Creamy old fashioned fruit salads like Ambrosia never go out of style! For more classic Fruit Desserts that are perfect for any potluck or holiday get-together, try Grape Salad and Frog Eye Salad (Acini de Pepe Salad).

Sabrina’s Ambrosia Salad Recipe

Ambrosia Salad is a sweet fruit salad that started in the United States in the 1800s. It’s a dish that’s named after the food of the gods in Greek mythology. You’ll find ambrosia commonly served in the south around Christmas, made with both whipped cream and cool whip. My version has a really quick prep time, then just needs 30 minutes to chill. So, it’s great to pull out when you have guests coming over.

Recipe Card

Dinner, then Dessert

Ambrosia Salad Recipe

Ambrosia Salad is a classic no-bake nostalgic dessert. A sweet festive treat that never goes out of style. Perfect for holidays and potlucks!
Yield 12 servings
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 0 minutes
Total Time 40 minutes
Course Dessert
Cuisine American
Author Sabrina Snyder
salad in white bowl ready to serve
PrintRate

Ingredients
 

  • 1 cup heavy cream , very cold
  • 2 tablespoons powdered sugar
  • 1/4 cup sour cream
  • 6 cups rainbow mini marshmallows
  • 2 cups sweetened shredded coconut
  • 1 cup canned mandarin oranges , drained
  • 1 cup maraschino cherries , rinsed and dried
  • 1 cup pineapple tidbits , drained
  • 1 cup green grapes , cut in half

Instructions

  • Whip the heavy cream and powdered sugar until it forms into whipped cream then fold in the sour cream.
  • Fold in the marshmallows, coconut, mandarin oranges, cherries, grapes and pineapple tidbits.
  • Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes before serving.

Video

Notes

Note: click on times in the instructions to start a kitchen timer while cooking.

Nutrition

Calories: 296kcal | Carbohydrates: 45g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 14g | Saturated Fat: 10g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.4g | Monounsaturated Fat: 2g | Cholesterol: 25mg | Sodium: 68mg | Potassium: 151mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 37g | Vitamin A: 555IU | Vitamin C: 8mg | Calcium: 38mg | Iron: 1mg

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Chef’s Note

When working with whipped cream you need to be mindful of storing and serving. If you want something more stable to keep out longer, swap for store-bought Cool Whip, which can stay out for up to 2 hours without melting.

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About this Recipe

Ambrosia Salad is a quick and easy dessert or side, made with pieces of fruit and shredded coconut folded into whipped cream and sour cream. It’s sweet, fluffy, and ready in only minutes. This creamy, light, and sweet fruit salad recipe is also perfect to make for potlucks and holidays.

Can this be made ahead of time?

This salad tastes the best when it’s served cold, so it’s perfect for making the night before and refrigerating until you’re ready to serve. If you want to make this salad ahead of time, make the whipped cream and freeze it or use store-bought Cool Whip instead for a quicker preparation. Then when you’re ready, defrost in the refrigerator, and add the fruit pieces right before serving.

Recipe Tips & Tricks

  • If left sitting, maraschino cherries will turn the whipped cream red. If you’re making this fruit salad the day before, add them right before serving.
  • Do not over-mix the salad, or the dressing will deflate.
  • Refrigerate this salad for a total time of two hours, and serve it cold, so all of the flavors have a chance to come together. You can serve this right after assembly but it may not have the firmness and flavor you’re looking for.

Pairing Suggestions

This light and fluffy salad is perfect for enjoying all year long. Pair it along side of Grilled Chicken with more sides like Easy Pasta Salad and Creamy Cucumber Salad for a fun family potluck. You can also serve it during the holidays with your favorite crowd-pleasing main courses like Baked Ham, Garlic Prime Rib, or Slow Roasted Overnight Turkey.

How to Store

  • Serve: Do not leave salad out for more than 2 hours, the whipped cream dressing may start to melt after 30 minutes, so it is best served fresh out of the refrigerator.
  • Store: Leftovers can last in the refrigerator for 2-3 days in a tightly sealed container.
  • Freeze: Once fully prepared you should not freeze and defrost this salad because the ingredients will release water as they defrost and this will cause the whipped cream dressing to break. You can, however, freeze it in a baking dish, wrapped tightly. Then use an ice cream scoop and eat it as a frozen dessert.

Frequent Questions

Can I make Ambrosia Salad with Cool Whip?

Absolutely! You can use cool whip instead of the whipped cream if that’s what you have.

How do I make homemade marshmallows?

Try making this recipe with Homemade Marshmallows, cut into small pieces similar in size to store-bought mini marshmallows.

Can I use fruit cocktail?

Certainly, you can use fresh fruit, or store-bought fruit cocktail for a faster version.

Variations

  • Fruit: Different ambrosia recipes call for different types of fruit. Try mango, strawberry, kiwi, or banana. You can also use regular oranges instead of mandarin orange. You can use canned pineapple tidbits, crushed pineapple, or cut up fresh pineapple for this salad. If you’re using canned pineapple, make sure to drain it first.
  • Cream Cheese: Mix this salad with half whipped cream or cool whip and half cream cheese for a more indulgent dessert.
  • Yogurt: Make this recipe healthier by using Greek yogurt instead of sour cream, or light cool whip instead of whipped cream.
  • Nuts: Top ambrosia with chopped nuts for decoration. I recommend pecans, pistachios, walnuts, or cashews.

More Amazing Holiday Salads

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These photos were used in a previous version of this post:

Finished salad piled in bowl with cherry on top.
Collage of finished salad with cherry on top in cup and bowl
Finished salad piled in shallow white bowl.
Side of fruit and marshmallow salad in a serving bowl
Dessert salad in a small glass cup
Collage of finished salad in bowls and cups.

About the Author: Sabrina Snyder

Sabrina is a professionally trained Private Chef of over 10 years with ServSafe Manager certification in food safety. She creates all the recipes here on Dinner, then Dessert, fueled in no small part by her love for bacon.

Sabrina Snyder is a professionally trained personal and private chef of over 10 years who is the creator and developer of all the recipes on Dinner, then Dessert.

She is also the author of the cookbook Dinner, then Dessert – Satisfying Meals Using Only 3, 5 or 7 Ingredients, published by Harper Collins.

She started Dinner, then Dessert as a business in her office as a lunch service for her coworkers who admired her lunches before going to culinary school and becoming a full time personal chef and private chef.

As a personal chef Sabrina would cook for families one day a week and cook their entire week of dinners. All grocery shopping, cooking and cleaning was done along with instructions on reheating. As a private chef she cooked for private parties and cooked in family homes in the evenings for families on a nightly basis after working as a personal chef during the day.

Sabrina has been certified as a ServSafe Manager since 2007 and was a longstanding member of the USPCA Personal Chef Association including being on the board of the Washington DC Chapter of Chefs in the US Personal Chef Association when they won Chapter of the year.

As a member of the community of food website creators Sabrina Snyder has spoken at many conferences regarding her experiences as a food writer including the Indulge Food Conference, Everything Food Conference, Haven Food Conference and IACP Annual Food Professionals Conference.

Sabrina lives with her family in sunny California.

See more posts by Sabrina

Dinner, then Dessert, Inc. owns the copyright on all images and text and does not allow for its original recipes and pictures to be reproduced anywhere other than at this site unless authorization is given. Read my disclosure and copyright policy. This post may contain affiliate links.

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Comments

  1. One of the few recipes for Ambrosia Salad that actually look exactly what I’d like to eat. I don’t like a lot of weird stuff in my Ambrosia Salad. I don’t want peanuts nor peas nor anything like that. Also, the top part of the page (one of the blocks) is making this page have a huge right-width. In Chrome, it is scrolling over & over & over to the right side. So something might have been damaged in your HTML pairings.

    Reply

  3. Thank you for a wonderful and easy recipe. I used a little different fruit because if what I had at home. We love the whipping cream, powdered sugar and sour cream combination with the marshmallow and fruit. Great tasting!

    Reply

  4. Thank you! The great thing about this is that it’s easy! I forgot an ingredient and it didn’t affect it to add it later!

    Reply

          2. Yes, the recipe calls for whipped cream (or cool whip) and sour cream.