Strawberry Pineapple Ambrosia Salad
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Strawberry Pineapple Ambrosia Salad is a vintage recipe made modern with the addition of fresh strawberries and pineapple. It’s cool, creamy, tangy, and the perfect addition to the summer potluck table!
I love desserts that I can justify calling a salad and this Strawberry Pineapple Ambrosia salad is no exception! When I’m at a potluck I always wonder if I should leave the fruity salads off my plate until I’m ready for dessert, but I usually can’t wait. I mean it is called a salad, after all. I guess I can just be grateful that I live in a world where dessert salads exist.
Hey guys, it’s Heather from Heather Likes Food and I’m a new contributor here at TSRI. I’m so excited to share some of my favorite recipes with you each month. Simple, delicious food is my love language and I hope it’s yours too!
Strawberry Pineapple Ambrosia Salad
This Strawberry Pineapple Ambrosia Salad is studded with fresh strawberries and pineapple that takes this vintage salad to a whole new level. I absolutely love the contrast that the fresh fruit adds!
It also has mandarin oranges, crushed pineapple, shredded coconut, cool whip, sour cream and marshmallows! If you think marshmallows don’t belong in salads, think again! They add a texture you can’t find anywhere else and I think you’ll love it. Some of my favorite marshmallow salads (outside of this Ambrosia salad) are Raspberry Oreo Fluff and Cranberry Fluff Salad.
Helpful Tips to make Strawberry Pineapple Ambrosia Salad:
- Make sure to drain the mandarin oranges and crushed pineapple really well. I like to place them in a colander first thing and let them drain over a bowl until I’m ready. Getting as much juice drained off of them as you can will ensure a nice, fluffy salad that isn’t bogged down with extra juice.
- Use full-fat Cool Whip and Sour Cream. Fresh pineapple has an enzyme in it that breaks down certain foods like fat free cool whip and sour cream. If used, these fat free products will curdle and not have the same texture as their full-fat friends.
- Mix gently. Mandarin oranges are particularly fragile and while still tasty, the salad won’t look as pretty if the oranges are broken up.
- You can substitute homemade whipped cream for the cool whip. Combine heavy cream, 1/4 cup powdered sugar and 1 teaspoon vanilla extract. Beat with an electric mixer until stiff peaks form.
What you will need to make Strawberry Pineapple Ambrosia Salad:
- Mesh Colander – Draining the canned fruit well is essential to a nice, fluffy salad and a good colander will make short work of that.
- Silicone Spatula – A sturdy silicone spatula will make mixing this salad thoroughly and gently a breeze.
- Pineapple Corer/Peeler- We eat a lot of fresh pineapple in my house and I love this little gadget! It makes cutting a pineapple so quick and easy!
Enjoy!
With love from our simple kitchen to yours.
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Check out more of our favorite fruit salad recipes:
Strawberry Banana Cheesecake Salad
Snickers Caramel Apple Cheesecake Salad
Peach Cobbler Cheesecake Salad
Red, White and Blue Cheesecake Salad
Strawberry Pineapple Ambrosia Salad
Ingredients
- 8 ounces full fat cool whip
- 1/2 cup full fat sour cream
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 20 ounces crushed pineapple, well drained
- 1/2 cup sweetened shredded coconut
- 2 cups fresh strawberries, quartered
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 2 cups fresh pineapple, peeled, cored and cut into bite-sized pieces
- 11 ounces mandarin oranges, well drained
- 10 ounces mini marshmallows
Instructions
- In a large bowl whisk together cool whip, sour cream, vanilla extract and lemon juice. Fold in crushed pineapple and coconut until well combined.
- In a small bowl combine strawberries with sugar and allow to sit for 5 minutes. Drain off excess liquid and add strawberries to the salad.
- Add and fold fresh pineapple, mandarin oranges and marshmallows into the bowl, mixing until all ingredients are combined.
- Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour before serving.
Nutrition
All nutritional information is based on third party calculations and is only an estimate. Each recipe’s nutritional value will vary depending on the ingredients used, measuring methods, and portion sizes.
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This is exactly how my daddy taught me to make ambosia salad when I was 12 years old, EXCEPT for three items: 1, he never used strawberries (which I will now add to mine) 2. he added bananas (the slices dipped in lemon juice to keep them from turning brown) and 3. we also had seedless grapes in ours. This looks so luscious and your photogaphy makes my mouth just water! You can almost taste the succulent sweeteness of the strawberries! Way to Go! Bravissimo!
Thanks so much missingtx78! Enjoy and let us know how it goes!
This was so tasty. A very sweet, tangy, and summer style flavor!