Old-Fashioned Ambrosia Salad Recipe

We're taking you back in time with this recipe for old-fashioned ambrosia salad. Some of you may be scratching your head saying, I know I've heard of it but, what is it again? Ambrosia salad is probably not what you picture when you hear the word salad. It's actually a creamy fruit salad with added sweetness from whipped cream and a little unexpected crunch from shredded coconut.

Recipe developer Miriam Hahn brings us this recipe and says, "This is a great recipe if you want to add a traditional dish to a brunch or dinner menu that is very refreshing and easy to make." The name ambrosia is actually a reference to Greek gods, but nowadays, it's a pretty traditional holiday dish in the South. It's really no wonder that such a fun, sweet dessert is fit for both gods and mortals, so do be sure to add this ambrosia salad to your holiday table!

We are mainly headed down the canned goods aisle for this one. You will need a can of crushed pineapple (one of many uses for canned pineapple), mandarin oranges, maraschino cherries, shredded coconut, and mini marshmallows. Then grab some sour cream and whipped topping in the cold section. That's all you need to whip up this fabulous dessert. If you want to make it a little healthier, you can use fresh, pitted cherries and light whipped cream. Hahn says, "You can even make this recipe dairy-free by using dairy-free sour cream and coconut whipped cream." She goes on to say, "If you prefer larger bites of pineapple, you can swap the crushed pineapple for chunks."

To make this simple recipe we first need to drain the fruit — too much liquid will make this salad runny. Hahn says, "I usually give the fruit a rinse also. Sometimes canned fruit is packed in heavy-syrup and there is enough 'sweet' going on without that. After rinsing, I let the fruit drain in a colander in the sink for a few minutes to get rid of any final drips."

Back in the day, things were simple and this step couldn't be simpler than this. Combine the ingredients in a large bowl. Start with the fruit, then the coconut, and then the marshmallows. Once that is mixed well, fold in the sour cream and whipped cream.

Your work is done. Now you just need to cover the bowl and place it in the fridge to chill. Hahn says to chill it for at least an hour and it will be good to go. This is definitely a make-ahead salad which keeps well in the fridge for up to 5 days.

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Ambrosia salad is certainly a unique dish in the American culinary canon, but not so unique as to not have some regional variations. Watergate salad is one that can easily get confused with ambrosia salad since both recipes involve pineapple, marshmallows, and whipped cream. Both have creamy textures and an unusual, pastel aesthetic.

From there, the differences begin to show. For one, Watergate salad is made with pistachio flavored Jell-O pudding as its base and includes chopped pecans, so the flavor profile leans more to the nutty side while still providing some citric fruitiness with the pineapple. In terms of fruit: Ambrosia salad includes cherries, mandarin oranges, and coconut in the mix, Watergate salad only has the pineapple. 

All of this combines to make each salad its own beast, but the similarities in terms of texture, presentation, and flavor profile mark these two late-20th century American recipes as siblings in some sense. Which one do you prefer?

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