My Favorite Ambrosia Salad Recipe

Name: My Favorite Ambrosia Salad Recipe
Yield: 8 servings
Ingredients: 1 20- ounce can pineapple tidbits; 1 15- ounce can Mandarin oranges; 1 cup maraschino cherries (drained); 1 cup heavy whipping cream; 1 tablespoon sugar; 1/2 teaspoon vanilla; 1/2 cup light sour cream; 1 cup shredded (sweetened coconut); 3/4 cup pecans (chopped); 3 cups mini marshmallows; 1 cup green grapes (halved)

This classic fruit salad is one of my favorite family holiday recipes because nobody can pass up its tropical fruit and marshmallows bathed in tangy whipped sour cream.

“You’re REALLY going to put that on the blog?” my man questioned. “Really?”

Yes, REALLY.

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We each have our holiday favorite dishes. He has his creamed corn. I have my Ambrosia salad.

These are the recipes that if missed on the holiday table cause pain and agony. Even if just for ourselves, because it simply wouldn’t be the same without them.

My grandma made this creamy fruit salad recipe every Thanksgiving. I think my Aunt Jill and I—and maybe my little sister Holly because she’d eat pretty much anything that was sweet—were pretty much the only ones who actually ever ate it. Although I do distinctly remember my mom adding a dollop to her plate nestled next to the cranberry sauce, even though she may deny it now.

But as the years went on, and the realization that the Ambrosia likers were in a deep decline, it disappeared from the serving table.

Well guess what peeps? It’s baaaaaaaaaack.

I’ve planned on adding this recipe to the blog ever since I started the blog. But I’d always second guess myself.

It’s not healthy enough.

It’s not Pinterest-worthy enough.

Who’s gonna want to look at a salad with canned fruit and marshmallows bathed in a creamy slather of deliciousness?

Me. That’s who.

About the Recipe

This recipe is partly based on my sweet salad memories, and the recipe my mom had written down on the recipe card I copied and have been hauling around for 20 years.

For some reason my grandma’s called only for sour cream. But over the years, the salads I’ve sampled other than our holiday favorite seem to have a fluffier component. That’s why I folded in a sweetened whip cream.

And that’s why there are only two other essential parts to this recipe.

One is to be sure to drain the canned fruit, really, really well so it doesn’t create a puddle of watery cream. You’ll also want to be sure to rinse your cherries well or you’ll have red streaks through your salad. Not that there’s anything wrong with that…

The second part is to fold your whip cream and sour cream together in stages so the heavier sour cream doesn’t flatten the fluffy whip of the cream. I usually do this step 1/3 at a time.

And just like all of the crock-pot recipes, and all of the casserole recipes, and all of the other recipes I’ve second guessed myself on whether to share from my handwritten, dog-eared recipe book full of old-school family classics, the return to this recipe and a whole lot more family favorites has begun.

And I welcome them all with open arms.

And guess what? You’re about to, too.

If you make this recipe, please let me know! Leave a comment below or take a photo and tag me on Instagram with #foodiecrusheats.

3.82 from 11 votes