In this episode of In The Kitchen With Matt, I will show you how to make Ambrosia Salad. This easy fruit salad recipe is tangy and sweet and oh so delicious. It is very popular in the Southern United States. The term "ambrosia" references the food eaten by the Greek Gods. If you like fruit salad, give this recipe a try! If I can do it, you can do it. Let's get started!

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Follow the easy steps below or watch the short video tutorial or do both!

Step 1: Ingredients

Ingredients:

1 cup of sour cream (8 oz or 226g) or use something like plain yogurt or Greek yogurt.
2 cups of whipped topping (8 oz or 226g)
1 cup of mandarin oranges (16 oz)
1 cup of green or red seedless grapes (8 oz or 150g)
1 cup of sweetened coconut flakes (95g)
1 1/2 cups of fruity mini marshmallows (90g)
1 1/2 cups of pineapple tidbits (20 oz or 567g)
3/4 cup of maraschino cherries (10 oz)
1/4 cup of chopped pecans (optional)

Tools:

Large Bowl
Spatula

NOTE: All the ingredients are optional. If you don't like one of them, leave them out, or substitute it with something else. Feel free to add berries like blueberries, raspberries, strawberries, etc. The above recipe is pretty close to the original Southern Ambrosia salad as far as the types of fruit added.

Step 2: Combine That Topping

Begin by adding the sour cream and whipped topping to a large bowl and mix them together. If you don't want to use sour cream, feel free to substitute it with plain or vanilla yogurt or Greek yogurt.

You can also make homemade whipped cream and use that instead of store-bought whipped topping. This is your ambrosia salad, make it however you like. :)

Step 3: Add the Fruit and Coconut

Any fruit that comes in the liquid should be drained first. Save that juice and drink it or use it in other things. I always mix the mandarin orange juice with the pineapple juice. So yummy! The cherries will need to be drained too.

Rinse and dry the grapes if you haven't previously done so. Pull the stems off the cherries if they have them.

Now just add the fruit, marshmallows, coconut flakes, and nuts if you want to add those. There is no certain order in which you need to add them.

And don't worry about being extremely precise with the measurements. Feel free to experiment according to your tastes. Maybe you want more grapes, or less coconut, or more marshmallows, etc.

Save a few of the marschino cherries to put on the top.