Grandma’s easy ambrosia salad is a creamy fruit salad made with whipped cream cheese, coconut, pineapple, mandarin oranges and marshmallows. It’s a family favorite!
Grandma’s Ambrosia Salad
Easy ambrosia salad is a classic dessert like pineapple upside down cake that’s perfect for holiday gatherings! It’s a sweet, creamy dessert salad made with pineapple, mandarin oranges, shredded coconut, mini marshmallows, and whipped cream cheese.
This ambrosia salad is a family recipe that’s very nostalgic to me. It came from my Grandma (along with my homemade caramels and divinity candy recipe) and now my kid’s love it too!
It’s just as refreshing as my honey lime fruit salad but like my watergate salad recipe could pass for a side dish or fluffy dessert!
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Easy to make. With only 6 ingredients and 5 minutes prep time, this salad is so simple and the pastel colors are so festive especially in spring!
- A holiday classic. Like cranberry salad and strawberry pretzel salad it’s family favorite that has been served for years at Easter, Christmas or Mother’s Day.
Ingredient Notes
All you need are a few simple ingredients to make this delicious ambrosia salad recipe!
- Cream cheese: This is the base of the fruit salad that adds a creamy texture.
- Mandarin oranges: Drain the mandarin orange slices so they doesn’t water the salad down.
- Pineapple: I like to use a combination of pineapple tidbits and crushed pineapple (drain as much juice as you can).
- Mini marshmallows: Love the sweetness these add. Fruit-flavored marshmallows are fun and festive!
- Coconut: This could be omitted if you don’t love it, but I enjoy the flavor and texture it adds.
How to Make Ambrosia Salad
- Mix. Whip the cream cheese in a large bowl using a handheld electric mixer or stand mixer.
- Add. Then fold in the drained fruit, marshmallows and coconut.
- Chill. Cover and let chill in the fridge for at least 1 hour prior to serving.
- Serve. Serve as a salad, side dish or dessert.
Tips and Variations
- Softened cream cheese. Be sure to soften your cream cheese so it whips easily without any lumps.
- Drain fruit. Drain your canned fruit really well otherwise the 5 cup salad will be too watery and runny.
- Combine gently. I like to use a spatula to fold in the fruit and marshmallows so they stay intact and don’t break and get mushy.
- For a lighter version, substitute 8 ounces homemade Cool whip or whipped cream with 6 ounces Greek yogurt or sour cream. I like to use vanilla yogurt.
- For a 7 cup fruit salad, fold in as many maraschino cherries as you’d like.
- Don’t skip chilling the salad. Ambrosia salad with cream cheese is best made ahead so be patient while the flavors meld together for at least an hour or two.
Make Ahead
One of the main questions I get about this classic ambrosia recipe is if you can make it a day ahead. The answer is yes!
It needs to chill in the refrigerator before serving anyways, so that the salad forms and the flavors marinate together. If making a day ahead, I would just drain some of the liquid the next day and stir very well before serving.
Other fruity recipes we love include salad with mandarin oranges and mandarin orange pretzel parfait! This fruit dip recipe is great to include on a fruit platter.
More Fruit Salad Recipes
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Ambrosia Salad Recipe
Video
Ingredients
- 2 (8-ounce) packages cream cheese , softened
- 2 (11-ounce) can mandarin oranges , drained
- 1 (20-ounce) can pineapple tid bits , drained
- 1 (20-ounce) can crushed pineapple , drained
- 2-3 cups mini marshmallows
- 1 cup shredded coconut
Instructions
- Whip cream cheese. In a large bowl, whip 2 – 8 ounce packages softened cream cheese until light and fluffy with an electric mixer.
- Fold in fruit and coconut. Using a rubber spatula, fold in 2 – 11 ounce drained mandarin oranges, 1- 20 once can drained pineapple, 2-3 cups mini marshmallows, and 1 cup shredded coconut.
- Chill. Cover with plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator at least 1 hour before serving.
Notes
- Can substitute 1 block cream cheese with sour cream if preferred.
- To add a crunch, mix in some chopped nuts.
- When in season add fresh peaches or berries.
- Add in some orange zest for an extra boost of fresh flavor.
- If you love cherries, feel free to fold in some maraschino cherries.
Nutrition
Nutrition provided is an estimate. It will vary based on specific ingredients used.
Did you make this recipe? Don’t forget to give it a star rating below!
Categorized as: American, Desserts, Fruit Desserts, Fruit Salad, No-Bake, Salads, Vegetarian
Jamielyn Nye is the founder and recipe creator at I Heart Naptime. She is the author of the I Heart Naptime Cookbook and shares easy family-friendly recipes and desserts for every occasion.
Oh this was delicious! Super easy to make and everyone at the party (that I took it to) raved about it!
Love this fruit salad! So easy to make and tastes amazing.
Wow, even my picky son loved this! I was shocked, he asked for seconds! We grew up eating this all the time.
Wow, even my picky son loved this! I was shocked, he asked for seconds!
This was aa staple in my family even before I was born (1969). My grandma would make this for Thanksgiving (used the white mini marshmallows) and Christmas (used colored mini marshmallows to represent the xmas lights). I still make this today. My grandma would either use cream cheese only but sometimes she used both creamcheese and cool whip (she wasn’t a fan but the kids were!). Everything else is spot on. This waa the recipe. It was the one thing I looked forward to. Even over pie! Lol. Thank you for this one. My gramms’s gone but not her love of cooking and specially this simple but beloved recipe. 💜
This recipe brings lots of memories to me as well. I’m so glad to hear it does for you!
Yummy!! This is my kind of fruit salad! :)
This recipe is a big time favorite of ours, thank you!
I forgot to add my rating. Definitely five stars!
So yummy! I took this to a Christmas party, and was told it was the best out of all of them there. This definitely will be my go-to recipe when I need to make ambrosia salad!
Loved this ambrosia salad
Love this recipe and salad!!!!!
What wouldn’t estimate the serving size to be for the given measurements? Should recipe be doubled for a pot luck setting?
Thanks for sharing.. looking forward to making!
Hi Lorena! It should serve 8-10 people!
Tried this earlier but it didn’t look as good as yours. Anyways, it tastes really great.
I always just throw a few marshmallows and coconut on the top for presentation! I’m glad you tried it! :)
Almost like yogurt, looks delicious!
Loved this with added peaches
Agree!!! We luke ours with chopped mango too.
Mmmm that sounds delicious! I’m going to have to give that a try next time!
My oldest daughter is allergic to pineapple so we have to add different fruit.
Do you drain the cans of fruit? It doesn’t appear as though you do. Thank you!
You can drain all the cans of fruit! Also, if you want to add a little bit of pineapple juice to the cream cheese, it will make it a little more smooth!