Classic Ambrosia Salad Recipe
Is Ambrosia a side dish or dessert? Does it really matter? ... Because no matter how you choose to enjoy it, classic Ambrosia Salad is just plain good. With its creamy mix of mini marshmallows, whipped topping, coconut, and fruit it's just one of those dishes that's loved by all.
So I'm curious - In your family, is Ambrosia Salad considered a side dish or dessert?
Because in our family we just can't quite seem to agree on that question.
Growing up in my family, we always considered Ambrosia Salad a side dish. It was served alongside the main meal, kind of like a fruit salad. In fact, I remember one of my favorite meals as a kid was Mom's Beef Stroganoff Casserole ... which was always, without fail, served up with a big bowl of 5-Cup Ambrosia Fruit Salad as a side.
But in my husband's family, it was a different story. To them, Ambrosia ... and any other form of the various fluff salads ... was decidedly a dessert. They didn't dig in to Ambrosia's fruity-sweet deliciousness until the main meal was over.
Is Ambrosia a side dish or dessert? Does it really matter? ... Because no matter how you choose to enjoy it, classic Ambrosia Salad is just plain good.
Now that I'm in charge of the meals for my own family, I don't specify what type of dish Ambrosia is or dictate when it's supposed to be eaten - I kind of leave that up to each of us to decide.
You want to eat it as a side dish alongside the main meal? - Sure, go for it! Rather save it for dessert? - No problem. That's fine, too.
But one thing's for sure ... No matter when you decide to enjoy it, Ambrosia's just plain good.
And one other thing's for sure, too ... this classic Ambrosia Salad recipe truly couldn't be much easier to make. Combine that fact with everyone's love for it, and it's a perfect dish to make for a potluck, Easter, Thanksgiving, or any everyday dinner.
The classic Ambrosia Salad recipe includes a combination of mandarin oranges, pineapple, and maraschino cherries as the traditional fruits.
To mix up a batch, drain all the fruits very well and mix them with mini marshmallows, a little bit of sour cream, and a whole lot of Cool Whip whipped topping. Then refrigerate everything for a few hours before serving, and that's all there is to it.
Super easy, right?
The classic Ambrosia Salad recipe includes a combination of mandarin oranges, pineapple, and maraschino cherries as the traditional fruits.
When preparing the ingredients, it is pretty important to make sure the fruits are very well drained. Leaving too much liquid or moisture in with the fruits will cause the finished Ambrosia to become soupy.
To get out as much moisture as possible, after I've drained the fruits I sometimes even blot them with a paper towel to absorb any liquid left on the surface.
For the pineapple, you can use any type you'd like - chunks, or crushed, or whatever.
I like to use pineapple tidbits the best because of their size. Tidbits just seem like a nice size to bite into. Pineapple chunks seem a little too big to me, and crushed pineapple seems to just disappear into Ambrosia's creamy mixture.
But any type will work just fine for the salad's flavor.
And I guess I say, does it really matter?
Because no matter how you choose to enjoy it, Ambrosia is just plain good. With its creamy mix of mini marshmallows, whipped topping, coconut, and fruit it just seems to be loved by all. And really, that's what truly matters!
Thank you for stopping by . We'd love to have you back soon!
Yield: 8-10 Servings
Classic Ambrosia Salad
Is Ambrosia a side dish or dessert? Does it really matter? ... Because no matter how you choose to enjoy it, classic Ambrosia Salad is just plain good. With its creamy mix of mini marshmallows, whipped topping, coconut, and fruit it's just one of those dishes that's loved by all.
prep time: 15 Mcook time: total time: 15 M
ingredients:
- 1 (15 oz.) can mandarin oranges, drained
- 1 (20 oz.) can pineapple tidbits, drained
- 1 (10 oz.) jar maraschino cherries, drained
- 1/2 c. sweetened flaked coconut
- 1 ½ c. mini marshmallows
- 1/2 c. sour cream
- 1 (8 oz.) container Cool Whip
instructions:
How to cook Classic Ambrosia Salad
- Drain mandarin oranges, pineapple, and maraschino cherries very well. Pat cherries dry with a paper towel. Cut cherries in half.
- In a bowl, mix together pineapple, coconut, halved cherries, and mini marshmallows until combined. Gently fold in mandarin oranges (they’ll break up easily, so be gentle).
- In a small bowl, stir together sour cream and Cool Whip until just combined. Gently fold into fruit mixture.
- Chill at least 2 hours or overnight before serving.
You might also enjoy these other creamy fruit salad favorites:
Affiliate links are included in this post. I receive a small amount of compensation for anything purchased from these links,at Amazon.com
at no additional cost to you.
at no additional cost to you.Read more..