Ambrosia Salad

Growing up we always had Ambrosia Salad on the holiday table. Potlucks, barbecues, family get-togethers, ambrosia salad is just one of those desserts that everyone likes and someone always brings!

Another one we love from grandma’s holiday table is this Watergate Salad! Such a mainstay.

Vintage Ambrosia Salad Dessert Recipe

There are different versions, some with sour cream, some without, some with cream cheese, and so on. As long as there are lots of maraschino cherries, I’m there. This popular no-bake dessert is a quick and easy bring along that you can whip up in a short amount of time.

If you’re looking for an easy yet extremely satisfying dessert that everyone is bound to enjoy, then this Ambrosia Salad is the one for you! Packed with mandarin oranges, pineapple tidbits, fruit cocktail, marshmallow, maraschino cherries, and a simple Jell-O pudding this dessert has all the flavorful punches you’re craving!

YOU MIGHT LIKE THIS TOO: Grandma’s Cherry Fluff

Ingredients for Ambrosia Salad

• 1 (29-ounce) can fruit cocktail, drained
• 1 (8-ounce) can pineapple tidbits, drained
• 1 (11-ounce) can mandarin oranges, drained
• 1/2 cup maraschino cherries, drained and rinsed
• 1 (1-ounce) box cheesecake flavor Sugar-Free Jell-O pudding
• 4 ounces sour cream
• 16-ounce container Cool Whip
• 1 cup miniature marshmallows

Helpful Kitchen Tools

• Pretty dessert dishes aren’t a deal breaker, but they’re so fun and look so nice on the table! Simple bowls or cups from your cabinet will work just fine. We often use paper or plastic bowls for parties!
• Every cook, amateur and experienced alike should have a set of measuring cups. They are absolutely essential in cooking and baking and are inexpensive.
• Something I’ve learned is that you need a separate set of mixing bowls aside from the bowls you use to serve. When you only have a couple in the cabinet you’ll be constantly washing dishes so you can use it to serve in.

Making Ambrosia Salad

1. Make sure you drain all the fruit. If your fruit was packed in syrup, definitely rinse it in cold water and drain again.
2. First combine the fruit cocktail, pineapple, mandarin oranges and cherries in a large bowl.
3. Sprinkle the fruit with cheesecake flavored pudding mix and stir to coat everything.

1. Next add in the sour cream and the Cool Whip and stir well.

1. Fold in the miniature marshmallows and chill in the refrigerator for at least one hour before serving.

What can I substitute?

Fruit

Instead of using canned fruit cocktail, you can use all fresh fruit of you prefer. Fruit cocktail usually includes peaches, pears, grapes, pineapple, and cherries. The benefit of canned fruit is that it’s soft and you don’t have to worry about making sure the fruit you purchase is perfectly ripened.

Ambrosia is usually made up of fruit cocktail, pineapple (fresh or canned), mandarin oranges or fresh orange segments, flaked coconut and quite often maraschino cherries as well. I’ve also heard of mixing in strawberries, grapes, bananas and blueberries.

Topping

While we use powdered pudding mix, Cool Whip and sour cream, there are variations of ambrosia salad that use cottage cheese, cream cheese, yogurt and even mayonnaise. You can also substitute the Cool Whip with fresh whipped cream.

Why is it called Ambrosia?

We’re not entirely sure, but we are guessing it’s a play off of the term used in Greek mythology that describes “food of the Gods”. Apparently, someone in the late 19th century, when Ambrosia Salad originated, felt it was worthy of the title!

Enjoy this yummy colorful no-bake dessert, I’m sure there will be no leftovers!:)

For more vintage recipes, be sure to check out the recipes below:

• Vintage Watergate Salad
• Wacky Cake
• Vintage Square Dance Party Cake
• June in January Cake
• 1963 Homemade White Bread
• Vintage Lazy Daisy Cake

This post was originally published on this blog on May 25, 2014.