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ambrosia salad recipe with cool whip

ambrosia salad recipe with cool whip

ambrosia salad recipe with cool whip

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Salad

A salad is a dish consisting of mixed, mostly natural ingredients with at least one raw ingredient. They are often dressed, and typically served at room temperature or chilled, though some can be served warm.

Garden salads use a base of leafy greens such as lettuce, arugula/rocket, kale or spinach; they are common enough that the word salad alone often refers specifically to garden salads. Other types include bean salad, tuna salad, fattoush, Greek salad (vegetable-based, but without leafy greens), and sōmen salad (a noodle-based salad).

Salads may be served at any point during a meal:

  • Appetizer salads—light, smaller-portion salads served as the first course of the meal
  • Side salads—to accompany the main course as a side dish; examples include potato salad and coleslaw
  • Main course salads—usually containing a portion of one or more high-protein foods, such as meat, fish, eggs, legumes, or cheese
  • Dessert salads—sweet salads containing fruit, gelatin, sweeteners or whipped cream

When a sauce is used to flavor a salad, it is generally called a salad dressing; most salad dressings are based on either a mixture of oil and vinegar or a creamy dairy base.

EASY COOL WHIP AMBROSIA RECIPE

This Cool Whip Ambrosia Salad recipe is about as quick and easy as they come. If you have 5 minutes and 6 ingredients, you can mix up this simple but super delicious low-calorie dessert.

ambrosia salad recipe with cool whip
ambrosia salad recipe with cool whip

I FOUND THE BEST RECIPE.

I was flipping through my Mom’s old cookbooks yesterday, just looking for something sweet to make. And in between her Better Homes & Gardens and her Joy of Cooking, I found these thin spiral-bound cookbooks. They were dog-eared little recipe collections put together in the 1980s by the members of my Mom’s Women’s Club.

What is Ambrosia Salad?

Ambrosia literally translates to “food of the gods”. In today’s recipe, that means a mixture of whipped cream, sour cream, marshmallows, pineapple, maraschino cherries, and mandarin oranges. And sometimes coconut.

Why is it called Ambrosia?

It was known as the food of the gods because the ingredients used to be so hard to come by. Ever noticed the pineapple motifs in woodwork from centuries past? They used to be much-coveted fruits brought from warmer climes. So a dessert involving pineapple was quite a treat for mere mortals.

Is Ambrosia really a salad?

A dessert made from Cool Whip and marshmallows doesn’t really come to mind when you hear the word salad. So let’s just put it in air quotes. Today I’m going to share my recipe for Cool Whip Ambrosia “Fruit Salad”. But let’s not kid ourselves that it isn’t a marshmallow salad.

What is the difference between Ambrosia Salad and Watergate Salad?

These are both retro salads, and they have almost exactly the same ingredients, so it’s easy to get them mixed up. But the Watergate Salad is a lovely minty green and involves pistachio pudding mix, and Ambrosia Marshmallow Salad does not.

INGREDIENTS

  • Cool Whip
  • Mini Marshmallows
  • Pineapple Tidbits
  • Mandarin Oranges
  • Maraschino Cherries
  • Sour Cream or Plain Greek Yogurt

instructions

Step 1.  Using a colander or sieve, drain as much of the liquid from the oranges, cherries, and pineapple as you can.  Keep the oranges separate from the other fruit because you are going to mix them in last.
Step 2.  In a large bowl, mix together Cool Whip and sour cream.  Mix in food coloring if you are using it.
Step 3.  Carefully fold in the marshmallows, pineapples, and cherries.  Fold in mandarin oranges last because they are the most delicate and prone to fall apart.
Step 4.  Chill in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours before serving.

QUICK TIPS AND TRICKS

  • You can swap the sour cream with plain yogurt if you’d like. I’ve tried making the “salad” both ways and couldn’t taste any difference between the two.
  • You can use fruit flavored marshmallows for some added color and flavor.
  • You can also add 2-3 drops of red or green food color to give it a nice pale pastel look. Just stir the food coloring in after you mix together the Cool Whip and sour cream.
  • I put sweetened shredded coconut on the optional add in list, but many people see coconut as one of the main ingredients. So if you are on Team Coconut, you can add in ½ cup of coconut along with the marshmallows and fruit for a little added texture. Or you can just sprinkle a little shredded coconut on top as a garnish.
  • You can add in chopped pecans or walnuts if you’d like. Just use ½ cup of one or the other.
  • And the elephant in the room: the canned fruit.  You are free to use fresh fruit if you like, but in this one instance, canned fruit might even taste better.  The juices mix with the whipped topping when it sits in the fridge, and make it extra yummy.  But the following fruits will work in this salad: strawberries, bananas, blueberries, grapes, and apples.
  • This really is the best Ambrosia Salad recipe to bring to get-togethers (not to brag).  It makes a great side dish at Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner and you will be the toast of any potluck dinner. I bring this to family dinners and am always the belle of the ball
ambrosia salad recipe with cool whip
ambrosia salad recipe with cool whip

Cool Whip Ambrosia Salad

Ingredients needed

Cool Whip – Why Cool Whip? It adds a nice layer of sweetness and creaminess to this ambrosia. You can use original or lite.

Sour Cream – You don’t taste the sour cream in this at all. It really helps cut some of the sweetness of the fruit and whipped topping. If you just don’t like sour cream, feel free to replace it with yogurt or Greek yogurt.

Maraschino cherries – Drain off all of the juice. If they are large, cut them in half.

Pineapple tidbits – I like using the tidbits because they are smaller but you can substitute with pineapple chunks. Just make sure to drain of the juice.

Mini marshmallows – Mini marshmallows work really well in the ambrosia salad. To add more color and fun, try using the multi-colored mini marshmallows. If you only have larger marshmallows, you can cut them in half or even quarters.

Shredded coconut – Sweetened shredded coconut is used for this recipe. If you really don’t like coconut, feel free to leave it out.

Nuts – This is optional. You can use chopped pecans, walnuts or even pistachios.

How to make Cool Whip Ambrosia Salad

This recipe can be made in under 10 minutes which makes it perfect for a quick dessert or side. All it takes is

  1. Stir together Cool Whip and sour cream until combined.
  2. If you have large cherries, I recommend cutting them in half. It makes it easier to eat. Make sure all of the fruit is drained. Stir in cherries, pineapple, oranges, and nuts if you are using them.
  3. Stir in shredded coconut and mini marshmallows.
  4. You can serve immediately but I really recommend covering the bowl and letting it chill in the refrigerator for at least an hour, even better if it can sit overnight.

WHAT IS CLASSIC AMBROSIA SALAD?

Classic ambrosia salad is often up to the maker, from J-ello and sour cream additives to the original pistachio and Watergate salad feel, its an old fashioned salad rooted in huge pot lucks that you would find at your church.

A traditional Southern holiday dish, I love ambrosia mainly because of the creamy Cool Whip. And it’s true that Ambrosia “salad” is more of a dessert than a salad but I try to convince myself the fruits make it “healthy.” (P.S. It’s not meant to be healthy).

Also, in this simple Ambrosia fruit salad recipe, I leave the traditional plain whipped topping in the recipe, but I have also used the Birthday Cake Cool Whip (as shown in the video) and its SO GOOD!!

So if you see flavored cool whips out due to the season, feel free to branch out on that. The birthday cake cool whip is slightly pink too which is a lot of fun and gives a soft pink hue to the dessert.

ambrosia salad recipe with cool whip
ambrosia salad recipe with cool whip

RECIPE VARIATIONS AND SUBSTITUTIONS

  • Instead of canned mandarin oranges you can use 1 cup of segmented fresh oranges like Cuties, Clementine, or Mandarin. Once segmented, cut them into ½-inch pieces.
  • You can also use fresh pineapple cut into ½-inch pieces instead of the canned pineapple. You will need about 1  ¼ cup of the cut up pineapple.

Do you taste the sour cream in ambrosia salad?

The answer is no. You really don’t. It does cut the overall sweetness so you don’t break a tooth – ha. But you don’t taste it as a separate ingredient.

Do I have to use coconut?

No. You can leave the shredded coconut out if you absolutely can’t stand coconut but it is a traditional ingredient in ambrosia.

Can I use sugar free options?

There are natural sugars in the fruits themselves. However, if you want to cut the sugar then try to find the canned fruit that is packed in sugar-free juice. You can also buy sugar free whipped topping.

Thank you for staying with this post “ambrosia salad recipe with cool whip” until the end.

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