Hey, y'all! I love old school recipes. Maybe it's because I was taught to cook by the matriarchs of my family. Maybe it's just because they are downright delicious. That said, I'm excited to bring you the recipe for my Aunt JJ's Ambrosia Salad today. It's light, fluffy, and the perfect warm weather recipe. I hope y'all love it just as much as I have my entire life!
This recipe stems from my Auntie JJ and is a part of a larger series, #CookingLikeJJ, which you can read more about here.
Ambrosia Salad: An Old-School Dessert
Frequently Asked Questions
Ambrosia salad is an old-school American dessert made with frozen whipped topping, fruit, sour cream, marshmallows, coconut, and pecans. It's delicious!
You absolutely must fully drain the fruit - that'll ensure that the salad has the correct consistency. If you want the salad sweeter, you can add sugar.
Absolutely. The pecans are optional (we just like them a lot down here in the South).
Shopping List, Ingredients: Ambrosia Salad
- frozen whipped topping
- sour cream
- shaved coconut
- mini marshmallows
- canned mandarin oranges
- fruit cocktail
- canned pineapple (chunks or crushed)
- maraschino cherries
- pecans
- sugar, optional
How To Make Ambrosia Salad
- Drain all fruit (oranges, fruit cocktail, pineapple, cherries). Chop pecans.
- In a large bowl, combine sour cream, coconut, mini marshmallows, oranges, fruit cocktail, pineapple, cherries, and pecans. Mix until well-combined. Fold in frozen whipped topping until the salad has fully incorporated.
- Taste and add sugar if you'd like it sweeter.
- Refrigerate for at least one hour prior to serving. Garnish with additional pecans + cherries, if desired.
Other Desserts You'll Love
The Recipe
Ambrosia Salad
Ingredients
- 8 oz. frozen whipped topping 1 tub
- ½ c. sour cream
- 1 c. shaved coconut
- 1 c. mini marshmallows
- 1 can mandarin oranges drained
- 1 can fruit cocktail drained
- 1 can pineapple chunks or crushed, drained
- 1 jar maraschino cherries drained
- 1 c. pecans chopped
- sugar optional
Instructions
- Drain all fruit (oranges, fruit cocktail, pineapple, cherries). Chop pecans.
- In a large bowl, combine sour cream, coconut, mini marshmallows, oranges, fruit cocktail, pineapple, cherries, and pecans. Mix until well-combined. Fold in frozen whipped topping until the salad has fully incorporated.
- Taste and add sugar if you'd like it sweeter.
- Refrigerate for at least one hour prior to serving. Garnish with additional pecans + cherries, if desired.
Nutrition
About the Series: Cooking Like JJ
My Auntie JJ was the quintessential southern woman. She was classy, tasteful, always refined; an amazing cook and hostess; and did everything that she balanced – teaching, running businesses, raising a family, and keeping an immaculate home – with ease. She is one of the main inspirations behind JCP Eats, as she was the one who taught me about timeless, southern food and entertaining. When JJ passed away, I planned this series as a way to pay homage to her 91 years here on Earth; in a way, it’s a form of mourning – in another, it seems like my final gift to her. I hope y’all will enjoy this deep dive into the culinary archives of my family + Phelps Acres Farm. While I’ll never be able to cook as good as JJ, I can only strive to cook like JJ (hence the title of the series). Learn more here.
Y’all come back now, ya hear?
My best,
JC
Keep Up With JCP Eats
Thank you so much for visiting the blog today! I’d love to keep in touch via social media. You can follow my content on Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, Tik Tok, Twitter, and LinkedIn. I also author a second website, Notable Kentucky, on which I write about all things of note in the Commonwealth of Kentucky. Read Notable Kentucky here.
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