Ambrosia salad in a clear glass bowl in front of a white and brown towel all on a wooden surface (with logo overlay)

Ambrosia Salad + Friendsgiving

Make delicious Ambrosia Salad for an appetizer or dessert this holiday season. Use 3 easy ingredients for something guests will want again and again.

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Thanksgiving is a wonderful time for gathering with family and friends. This year (originally posted in 2019) we did a “Friendsgiving” dinner with our Dinner Club friends and it was such a fun time! We decided we would all bring something unique to our family traditions. My unique food item was Ambrosia Salad. My family has had it with both Thanksgiving and Christmas dinner for as long as I can remember!

I called my grandma to get the recipe from her. She could only remember part of it since my mom is the one who has made it for so many years now. So I had to call her. But, of course, it’s one of those recipes that is done just by looks, not with any set amounts. As I prepared it, I measured everything out to make it easier for upcoming years, and for you!

The recipe calls for sour cream, but you won’t taste it. It’s such a small amount, just enough to hold everything together. You don’t want too much, so start small. After refrigerating, if there isn’t enough, add a small amount and stir it in.

Leftovers can be refrigerated for about a day. After that, the marshmallows start to break down.

Friendsgiving

I have been to one Friendsgiving prior to this, and that was back in college. You know, back when most of us didn’t really know how to cook?! This year was so much different. We had a total of 21 people here, including 8 kids. We had so much delicious food! I snapped a few photos on my phone to share with you all. They aren’t styled and they aren’t the best, but we were all too hungry for that!

I made a few of the “staples” too. I baked some biscuits and made a brown-sugar glazed ham. My family usually has ham since most of us don’t care for turkey.

All of the main dish food from our friendsgiving celebration

I made two of the desserts, including the ambrosia salad that I mentioned earlier. We also made some Slow Cooker Bread Pudding and Justin found a recipe for a dairy-free whiskey sauce. One of my good friends, who is part of our dinner club, has a severe dairy allergy. It’s always fun to try to find ways to substitute things to make them dairy-free for her. It also makes me try new things!

Ambrosia Salad Step by Step

Ingredients

  • 30 oz fruit cocktail
  • 2 cups mini marshmallows
  • 1 tbsp sour cream
Large stainless steel bowl with drained fruit cocktail next to a medium stainless steel bowl with mini marshmallows and a small stainless steel bowl with sour cream all on a wooden surface

Preparation

Drain the syrup from the fruit cocktail. I used a mesh strainer over a bowl to do this.

Pour the fruit cocktail, mini marshmallows, and sour cream in a large mixing bowl. Gently fold everything together.

Stainless steel bowl with fruit cocktail, marshmallows, and sour cream mixed together all on a wooden surface

Refrigerate for a few hours. Gently stir one more time before serving chilled.

Ambrosia salad in a clear glass bowl in front of a white and brown towel all on a wooden surface (vertical)

Recipe

Originally Published On: November 27, 2019

Updated On: July 31, 2023

Ambrosia salad in a clear glass bowl in front of a white and brown towel all on a wooden surface

Ambrosia Salad

Make delicious Ambrosia Salad for an appetizer or dessert this holiday season. Use 3 easy ingredients for something guests will want again and again.
Prep Time 5 minutes
Chilling Time 2 hours
Total Time 2 hours 5 minutes
Course:
Dessert
Cuisine:
American
Keyword:
fruit
|
fruit cocktail
|
marshmallow
Servings: 4 cups
5 from 3 votes

Ingredients

  • 30 oz fruit cocktail
  • 2 cups mini marshmallows
  • 1 tbsp sour cream

Instructions

  • Drain the fruit cocktail
  • Pour all ingredients into a large mixing bowl
  • Gently fold together
  • Refrigerate at least 2 hours, until cold
  • Gently stir and serve chilled
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Nutrition Facts
Ambrosia Salad
Amount Per Serving (0.5 cups)
Calories 103 Calories from Fat 9
% Daily Value*
Fat 1g2%
Saturated Fat 1g5%
Cholesterol 1mg0%
Sodium 18mg1%
Potassium 95mg3%
Carbohydrates 26g9%
Fiber 1g4%
Sugar 22g24%
Protein 1g2%
Vitamin A 230IU5%
Vitamin C 2mg2%
Calcium 8mg1%
Iron 1mg6%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

All nutritional information is based on third-party calculations and should be considered estimates. Actual nutrition content will vary based on brands used, measuring methods, portion sizes, and more.

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22 thoughts on “Ambrosia Salad + Friendsgiving”

  1. Sour cream really does help hold it together. I like ambrosia salad! I haven’t had it for awhile though, maybe I’ll whip up a batch over here.

  2. I’ve never had Ambrosia salad! This year, I want to try all new recipes for Thanksgiving because it will be just e and my kids. Adding this to the list!

    1. That’s an awesome idea! My family has made this for Thanksgiving and Christmas for as long as I can remember. We have it as a side, but it’s almost more of a dessert.

  3. Ambrosia salad isn’t really a thing in the UK, but it sounds super interesting, esp as a traditional holiday food x

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