Ambrosia fruit salad is the perfect mix of pineapple, mandarin oranges, coconut, cherries, grapes, and marshmallows in a creamy dressing. It is a vintage classic for good reason. It’s fruity, fun, and delicious!

White serving bowl filled with creamy ambrosia fruit salad, ready to be served.

If you are looking for a fruit filled snack or simple dessert, Ambrosia salad fits the bill. It is pretty, easy to make, and, of course, tasty.

I have been working my way through a collection of vintage fruit salad recipes. It all started with my great-grandma’s frozen fruit salad.

I have the best time reading comments about how that recipe evokes memories of so many people’s grandmas. And there have been a lot of fun variations suggested over the years.

So, I thought it was time for me to make a non-frozen version. While that recipe isn’t quite a frozen Ambrosia, it’s close.

I made sure to add plenty of maraschino cherries and a little bit of the juice to give this a pink hue sort of like that one. Who doesn’t love a tasty pink fruit salad?!

I know I will take a pink salad any day of the week. Especially if it is fruity and delicious like this one.

Ingredients including pineapple, oranges, grapes, cherries, pecans, coconut, sour cream, marshmallows, and whipped topping ready to be made into ambrosia.

Big glass mixing bowl filled with ambrosia fruit salad, ready to chill.

And we know I love getting to call sweet things a salad. That makes it acceptable at any time of day.

So whip up this Ambrosia salad for a simple summer treat, or make some for holiday meals. It would be a pretty addition to your Easter meal or a fun addition to your Christmas menu.

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Variations of Ambrosia Salad

Of all of the old-fashioned fluff style fruit salads, Ambrosia seems to be the one with the most variation. It seems each grandma had her own way of making it.

Some used cottage cheese. Others use vanilla pudding or even mayonnaise.

I use whipped topping mixed with sour cream. It adds great texture and the tangy sour cream helps cut the sweetness.

Small fruit bowls filled with ambrosia showing fruit and marshmallows coated in a light pink fluffy dressing.

Spoonful of ambrosia fruit salad with orange section, pineapple and cherries in a sweet pink dressing ready to eat.

You could use fresh whipped cream if you want. Yogurt would be a great substitute for the sour cream too.

Plus, you can easily use different fruits or nuts. But they all seem to have at least some fruit, coconut, marshmallows, and a creamy base.

For extra fruity flavor and color, use the pastel mini marshmallows. We just happened to have the regular ones on hand, so that’s what we used.

You can certainly eat it as a dessert, but we like to use the word salad as an excuse to eat it as a side dish. It really is an all-purpose recipe.

Storage

Any leftover fruit salad can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. If you freeze the salad, enjoy it from frozen. Thawing the salad will affect the texture.

White serving bowl filled with fruit salad with fluffy pink dressing.

4.93 from 14 ratings

Ambrosia Salad

Author: Carlee

Servings: Servings

Prep: 10

Cook: 0

Additional Time 1

Total: 1 10

Ingredients

Instructions

In large mixing bowl, stir together cool whip and sour cream. If desired, add 2 Tablespoons of the juice from the marashino cherries to give it a pink color.
8 oz. Cool Whip, ½ cup sour cream
Drain the remaining juice off the cherries. Cut the cherries and the grapes in half.
10 oz. maraschino cherries, 1 cup grapes
Stir everything into the Cool Whip mixture.
11 oz. mandarin oranges, 20 oz. pineapple chunks, 1 cup coconut flakes, 2 cups mini marshmallows, ¾ cup chopped pecans
Cover and refrigerate for at least an hour.
Serve cold and store leftovers in the fridge.