With just 5 minutes of prep, this Southern ambrosia salad recipe is an easy side dish or festive dessert that’s perfect for the holidays. It’s truly the best fruit salad to go with a ham dinner!
Table of Contents
If you love a sweet and creamy fruit salad, be sure to try this mandarin orange salad, a classic Watergate salad, grape salad, pink salad, cherry fluff salad, and this pink ambrosia salad (“pink stuff”), too!
We make this a lot. We omit the coconut (personal preference) and use red seedless grapes instead of cherries. It’s my favorite holiday dessert.
– Samantha
This 6-cup ambrosia salad is the perfect companion for a holiday ham dinner, or a lovely contrast to savory turkey and stuffing. With fruit, marshmallows, and coconut, it’s even sweet enough for a dessert buffet. The easy 5-minute recipe is also proof that a dish doesn’t need to be fancy, time-consuming, expensive, or difficult in order to make it memorable. My grandmother prepared the treat for her daughters, my mom made it for me, and I will continue to make it for my own children!
How to Make 6-Cup Ambrosia Salad
There’s no baking or cooking required! Just stir together equal amounts of the six ingredients and your salad is ready to serve. You’ll find detailed measurements and instructions in the recipe card below, but here’s the overview:
- Drain all of the fruit really well so that you don’t have a watery fruit salad.
- Gently fold together all of the ingredients in a large bowl so that you don’t smash the cherries and oranges.
- Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve. That’s it! See? Five minutes and you’re done!
Serving Suggestions
Pair this classic ambrosia salad recipe with a Virginia brown sugar baked ham, a bourbon-glazed ham, a bourbon glazed ham, a baked ham and cheese omelet for brunch, this garlic and herb roast turkey breast, a Crock Pot turkey tenderloin, the best grilled hamburgers, and our Christmas favorite — Southern Bbourbon-glazed beef tenderloin.
Preparation and Storage Tips
- Make Ahead: you can prepare this salad up to 24 hours in advance. I find that the ambrosia is best, however, when enjoyed within 4-6 hours of preparation. The fruit releases liquid as it sits, so the sour cream dressing becomes thinner the longer that it stays in your refrigerator.
- How to Store: The fruit salad will stay fresh in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days.
- I don’t recommend freezing this salad, because the sour cream may “break” when thawed and the fruit and marshmallows will have an odd, mushy texture.
Did you make this recipe?
If you enjoyed this recipe, please leave a comment with a 5-star review at the bottom of the post. Thank you!
Ambrosia Salad
Ingredients
- 1 cup crushed pineapple, drained
- 1 cup miniature marshmallows
- 1 cup mandarin oranges, drained
- 1 cup maraschino cherries, drained
- 1 cup shredded coconut
- 1 cup sour cream
Instructions
- In a large bowl, gently stir together all of the ingredients. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.
Notes
Nutrition
Recipe Variations
- I like the rich creaminess of a full-fat sour cream, but you can also substitute with low-fat sour cream for a lighter option. As an alternative, try making your ambrosia salad with yogurt (if you do this, I would recommend a plain, whole milk Greek-style yogurt).
- Try other fruit, such as grapes or fresh berries.
- Add chopped nuts, such as pecans, walnuts, almonds, pistachios, or hazelnuts.
- To serve a larger group, double all of the ingredients.
More Fruit Salad Recipes to Try
Honey Lemon Fruit Salad Dressing
15 minutes mins
Cranberry Jello Salad
5 hours hrs 10 minutes mins
Cranberry Fluff {Just 5 Minutes!}
5 minutes mins
This recipe was originally published in December, 2016. It was updated in November, 2024.
What a pretty salad, Blair! I’ve never tried this before, but I have seen it at parties and get togethers. Sounds like your Aunt is a wonderful woman and makes a delicious salad. What a fun treat for the holidays!
Thanks so much, Gayle! 🙂
This looks amazing, Blair. I’ve had something like this before, but I think it was made with Cool-Whip, which is something we just don’t eat. I think I’ll have to try to make this, since it has sour cream. Gorgeous pictures, too, BTW.
Thanks, Treasure! No Cool Whip necessary here! 🙂 I think you’ll love this combo!
My Mother
Made A Different Version of the Ambrosia Salad
Her Recipe Used
Whipped Cream Instead
Of Sour Cream
It Also Was Called
Snow Pudding
Only Difference Was
Whipped Cream
I love that — “Snow Pudding!” I should start calling it that, too. 🙂 I bet your mother’s recipe was totally delicious. You can’t go wrong with whipped cream!
If I use yogurt instead like you mentioned, how much would it be?
Hi, Jeremy! If you use yogurt, it would be an equal substitute for the sour cream — so you’ll need 1 cup. Just make sure that you use full-fat plain Greek-style yogurt so that it has a similar texture and flavor. Regular yogurt will give you a very thin, runny dressing. Hope you enjoy!
I am totally intrigued by this combination! I’ve never had an ambrosia salad and it almost seems like a dessert. Do you eat it with savoury food like a waldorf salad? (that’s another one that confuses my brain, haha!)
We make this a lot. We omit the coconut (personal preference) and use red seedless grapes instead of cherries. It’s my favorite holiday dessert.
Your version sounds equally delicious, Samantha! Thanks for sharing those modifications!
I have made this salad in the past but instead of sour cream, I used yogurt. My only issue is it’s running. I drain the fruit but it still gives off a lot of liquid. I’m not sure what to do.
Hi, Aluna! I’m not sure — did you use Greek yogurt or regular yogurt? You definitely want to use either sour cream or a thick Greek yogurt. Regular yogurt would be too runny. And make sure that the fruit is really well drained.
If you’ve done both of those things, I’m not sure what else to suggest. The salad shouldn’t be runny if it’s recently prepared. I find that as it sits in the refrigerator it releases more liquids, but if it’s only been about a day or so, a good stir fixes that for the most part. 🙂
Why would anyone want to change a great recipe ike this, if someone is kind enough to share it then make up your own but dont try to change it. Instead make up your own and post it.
We HATE coconut o used chopped hazelnuts. Great choice worked really well!
Awesome! I’m glad that you found a good substitute, Heather!
One year I made it with no syrup fruit cocktail and it was truly too sour for the family.
Hi Blair, my husband loves ambrosia salad. Did you use sweetened or unsweetened coconut?
Thanks, and all of your pics are wonderful!
Mary
Hi Mary! Thank you so much. Either will work for this recipe, depending on how sweet you like it.
We hope you enjoy!