Ambrosia Salad with Cool Whip Recipe

This Ambrosia Salad recipe with Cool Whip is a deliciously creamy fruit salad packed with juicy mandarin oranges & maraschino cherries, tropical mini marshmallows, sweetened coconut and pineapple! Ambrosia fruit salad is great for holidays, picnics, and more.

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Ambrosia Salad Recipe with Cool Whip

Why choose between dessert and fruit? Why not have both? Growing up, one of my favorite desserts was Chinese fruit cake… which is exactly what this Ambrosia Salad with cool whip recipe tastes like! It’s such a great balance between creamy/sweet/fruit goodness, with a creamy coating wrapped around marshmallows, pineapples, oranges, cherries, and coconut.

Everyone will love this Ambrosia fruit salad recipe. It’s not too sweet, but sweet enough to satisfy, like Christmas fruit salad and sweeter Snickers Salad.

What is Ambrosia Salad?

Ambrosia salad is creamy fruit salad that’s popular in the Midwest and made with Cool Whip or whipped cream, and typical fruit cocktail ingredients including oranges, canned pineapples, and cherries. It’s a sweet dessert salad that’s served cold and includes marshmallows and sweetened coconut.

Watergate Salad vs Ambrosia Salad

The difference between watergate salad vs ambrosia salad lies in the nuts, the color, and the coconut. Watergate salad is green and made with pistachio-flavored pudding and nuts, while ambrosia salad is white with lots of coconut and typically no nuts (although you can choose to add them).

Ambrosia Fruit Salad Ingredients

• Cool Whip: you can use any other frozen whipped topping
• Yogurt: I like to use vanilla yogurt for the subtly sweet, yet still tangy taste that helps to soften the sweetness of this recipe
• Coconut: shredded and sweetened is best
• Mandarin oranges: make sure to drain these well before adding to avoid messy salad!
• Pineapple: use tidbits for sweet, juicy flavor spread throughout the ambrosia fruit salad that’s not too chunky, like in pineapple casserole
• Cherries: Maraschino cherries are best and exude the yummy flavors of fruit cocktail
• Marshmallows: mini fruit-flavored marshmallow taste good and are colorful and pretty!

How to Make Ambrosia Salad with Cool Whip

Ambrosia salad with cool whip recipe can be made in 3 easy steps. The result is creamy and sweet fruit salad goodness.

1. In a large bowl, stir together Cool Whip and yogurt.

2. Fold in coconut, mandarin oranges, pineapples, cherries, and marshmallows.

3. Cover the bowl and chill for 1 hour. Serve pineapple ambrosia salad. Try serving with Christmas salad. Enjoy!

How Long is Ambrosia Salad Good For?

You might be wondering if you can make ambrosia salad the night before. The answer is yes, you can! Ambrosia salad lasts in the refrigerator for about 3 days.

Can You Freeze Ambrosia Salad?

I don’t recommend freezing ambrosia salad. If you do, store it in an airtight, freezer-friendly container for 1-2 months. Serve frozen, as thawing it will cause a gloppy, watery and separated mess (blame the frozen fruit).

Tools You Need

• Large Mixing Bowl with Lid – great for keeping this dessert salad fresh
• Measuring Cups & Spoons Set
• Dessert Bowls – so pretty for serving banana pudding or ambrosia fruit salad

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