Ambrosia Salad is one of those iconic desserts that the Southern Population thrives on at Picnics, Potlucks, Holidays, and Family Functions. Ambrosia is lovingly Made from sweet, pillowy marshmallows, heavy cream, sour cream, coconut flakes, plump juicy grapes, maraschino cherries, delicious juicy tropical fruits, and toasted pecans.
There are many beautiful variations of this famous Southern dessert called “Ambrosia Salad“ that we love to make. They run from very plain and straightforward to stuffed full of fruit and nut goodies. Today I am happily sharing my most requested, Kicked up Summer Version of Ambrosia Salad. It’s so amazing and refreshing; it’s ridiculous!
This amazingly deliciously kicked-up Summer version of Ambrosia Salad contains an addition of fruit-flavored marshmallows, sweet plump white, and red table grapes. The flavor of those sweet table grapes really shines through on this recipe with the fruit-flavored marshmallows. Trust me, it’s a whole new level of fantastic tasting dessert combined with all the classic flavors of Iconic Ambrosia Salad.
For those of you that have yet to have what I call Classic Southern Ambrosia, the ingredients are a little different. More understandable, simple, and to the point. To give you a better idea, I had added a list of ingredients I use to make my Mama’s version that she made when we were children, and I still prepare for the Christmas Holidays.
PS. You can also find the recipe and instructions on the blog for Southern-Style Ambrosia by using the search bar on the right side of my blog.
What I love about this Ambrosia Salad recipe is you can take a few shortcuts when making it if you don’t have time or the fresh resources on hand. As you know, I try to make things as easy as possible for you when I can do so. I would rather you experience a recipe than never make it due to it being too dramatic. I know we Bloggers get out of hand sometimes with our ingredient lists and time-consuming methods.
How to save time with this Ambrosia Salad recipe:
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Use canned (drained) pineapple tidbits or chunks in real fruit juices instead of fresh pineapple.
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Use canned (drained) Mandarin orange segments in real fruit juices.
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Use Redi- Whip whipped cream instead of making Homemade Whipped Cream.
Question: Will my Ambrosia Salad still taste exactly like yours if I make these changes? Answer: To be 100% honest, it will not taste exactly like mine. However, it will still turn out to be an amazing dessert. Fresh and Homemade is always better.
Ingredient List
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One and 1/2 cups of Heavy Cream
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Two tablespoons of Sugar
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Six ounces of Sour Cream
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Ten-ounces of Fruit Flavored Marshmallows (1 bag)
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One cup Sweetened coconut flakes
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Six Mandarin oranges, peeled, segmented, and sliced or 2-10- ounce cans drained
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Two cups Chopped fresh pineapple or 2-cups drained pineapple tidbits, drained
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Twelve-white table grapes, halved or whole
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Twelve- red tables grapes, halved or whole
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One cup toasted chopped pecans or walnuts if preferred
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3/4 cup of well-drained maraschino cherries
Ambrosia Salad
Ingredients
- 1½ cups Heavy Cream
- 2 tablespoons Sugar
- 6 ounces Sour Cream * may use Greek Plain Yogurt
- 10- ounces- Fruit Flavored Marshmallows * 1 bag
- 1 cup Sweetened Coconut Flakes
- 6 Mandarin Oranges, peeled, segmented * or 2-10- ounce cans, well drained
- 2 cups Fresh Pineapple, chopped * or 1 - 20- ounce can of pineapple chunks
- 12 White table grapes whole or halved
- 12 Red table grapes whole or halved
- 1 cup Toasted Pecans chopped
- ¾ cup Maraschino Cherries well drained
Instructions
- Place the cream and sugar into a cold bowl of a stand mixer with the whisk attachment and whip the cream and sugar until stiff peaks are formed. Add the sour cream and whisk to combine the ingredients..
- Next, add marshmallows, coconut flakes, Mandarin oranges, fresh pineapple, red and white table grapes, toasted pecans, and well-drained Maraschino cherries to the bowl and gently fold until all ingredients are combined.
- Chill for 2 hours before serving.
Time saver Ideas:
- Use canned (drained) pineapple tidbits or chunks in real fruit juices instead of fresh pineapple
- Use canned (drained) Mandarin orange segments in real fruit juices
- Use Redi- Whip whipped cream instead of making Homemade Whipped Cream
Notes
Nutrition
Don’t forget to use the Pin and Print Options to Save the Recipe for Later!
21 Comments
Cookilicious
July 29, 2019 at 12:26 pmThis reminds me of fruit salad my mom used to make.
hmccallum
August 20, 2021 at 1:29 pmCOOKILICIOUS- Thank you so much!