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    Home » Salads

    Marshmallow Fruit Salad - The Dessert Salad

    March 27, 2024 by Karen 267 Comments

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    It seems very wrong to call anything containing several cups of marshmallows a salad, but history dictates that's exactly what this is. It's Marshmallow Salad with canned fruit; similar to ambrosia but served with the meal not as a dessert. 

    Marshmallow Salad topped with coconut and maraschino cherries in a cut glass bowl.

    I know a salad made out of marshmallow and canned fruit seems like a joke but this mixture of mini marshmallows, shredded coconut, mandarin oranges, crushed pineapple, maraschino cherries and sour cream (not Cool Whip) is serious stuff on the holiday dinner table.

    And one of those holidays will be here momentarily.

      

    UNTIL THE 4 DAY EASTER WEEKEND

    You'll note the addition of *sour cream* instead of Cool Whip which makes my recipe super classy.

    It's kind of how I made Brussels sprouts classy (edible) by tossing them in dijon mustard and honey. After deep frying them.

    For as long as I can remember, my family has served Marshmallow Salad at holiday dinners. Sometimes we'd call it Ambrosia, on occasion we'd refer to it it Sour Cream Salad.  Truth is, we really never knew what to call it, other than an embarrassment.

    We're not the fanciest people on earth, but we're fancy enough to know anything that includes marshmallows should at least be served as a dessert.  We serve it as a side dish. 

    There it sits on the table, right beside the perfectly respectable green beans and mashed potatoes; a big bowl of marshmallows, fruit and coconut winking, "Here I am, in all my tacky glory.  Caught ya lookin'!".

    Table of Contents

    • Marshmallow Fruit Salad
    • Where did it originate?
    • White or Coloured Marshmallows?
    • Marshmallow Salad (also known as White Trash Salad)

    Marshmallow Fruit Salad

    If you change it up a bit and call it a fruit salad with marshmallows it sounds almost healthy.

    Ingredients

    1. 10 oz. Can of Mandarin Oranges (drained very well)
    2. 14 oz. Can of Crushed Pineapple (drained very well)

    Speaking of pineapples, I tested out the pulling apart a pineapple hack you can see the results here.

    1. 1 cup Sour Cream
    2. ⅓ cup Maraschino Cherries (cut in half)
    Sour cream in a measuring cup.
    Maraschino cherries in a measuring cup.
    1. ¼ cup Sweetened Coconut
    2. 3 cups Mini Marshmallows (use the coloured ones for added trash)

    If marshmallow salad was a dinner guest, she'd be the sparkly, hooker-with-a heart-of-gold that your Uncle Nick brings to Easter dinner every year. An embarrassing, loud, colourfully dressed dish that you can't help but love.

    Plus it's sort of understood you don't talk about either one of them in public.

    Shredded coconut in a measuring cup.
    Colourful mini marshmallows in a measuring cup.

    Steps

    1. Add all the ingredients to a bowl.

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    Maraschino cherries, shredded coconut, mini marshmallows, sour cream, crushed pineapple and mandarin oranges in a bowl ready to fold and become marshmallow salad.

    2. Then fold everything together.  Cover it up and let set in fridge overnight.

    Folding ingredients of marshmallow salad in an ironstone bowl.

    Where did it originate?

    Ambrosia (the inspiration for marshmallow salad) was first recorded in a recipe book from 1867 called the Dixie Cookery in the Southern United States. Here's the best part. You can STILL buy the Dixie Cookery cookbook.

    Original recipe for Ambrosia in the Dixie Cookery cookbook.

    I found a copy of the entire Dixie Cookery cookbook online through the Library of Congress. The second recipe in the book starts with "Boil a calf's head".f

    I like marshmallow salad. Even though they may not admit it publicly, so does everyone else.

    Marshmallow Salad topped with coconut and maraschino cherries in a cut glass bowl.

    White or Coloured Marshmallows?

    If you make marshmallow salad with white mini marshmallows it'll look a bit more like a trifle. It tastes a little different as well because the coloured mini marshmallows are actually fruit flavoured.

    Marshmallow salad in cocktail glasses.

    But making it white and putting it in a cup classes it up a bit.

    Marshmallow Salad (also known as White Trash Salad)

    This is in no way a salad. Not even close. 
    4.61 from 51 votes
    Print Pin Rate
    Course: Dessert, Salad
    Cuisine: American
    Prep Time: 10 minutes minutes
    Servings: 15 people
    Calories: 97kcal
    Author: Karen

    Ingredients

    • 1 10 oz can mandarin oranges drained very well
    • 1 14 oz can crushed pineapple drained very well
    • 1 cup sour cream
    • ⅓ cup maraschino cherries cut in half
    • ¼ cup sweetened shredded coconut
    • 3 cups mini marshmallows

    Instructions

    • Add all the ingredients to a bowl and fold together.
    • Cover with plastic and let set in the fridge overnight.

    Nutrition

    Calories: 97kcal | Carbohydrates: 9g | Fat: 3g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Cholesterol: 7mg | Sodium: 24mg | Potassium: 26mg | Sugar: 6g | Vitamin A: 95IU | Vitamin C: 0.2mg | Calcium: 17mg | Iron: 0.1mg

    If you're looking for another dish to horrify your guests with (until they try them) whip up these bacon wraps made from bacon, condensed milk, dijon, cheese and bread. You would NEVER think those ingredients would make up anything even close to delicious but they're a favourite of everyone who's tried them.


    I'm not sure when it happened, but I've taken over the Marshmallow/Sour cream/Ambrosia Salad tradition.  It is now my job to smuggle it out of the house under the cover of ageing Tupperware, to all of our holiday dinners.   If the neighbours ask, I lie and tell them it's something a little more respectable than marshmallow salad.  Like a 3 bean salad.  Or a shrunken head.

    The good news is, this dish now officially has a name in our house.  One year it was dubbed White Trash Salad.   The name stuck quickly like Crazy glue to a hard hat.  Or sparkles to a stripper.

    Here's to strippers, hookers, marshmallows and not caring what other people do or think.  Here's to ... white trash salad.

    →Follow me on Instagram where I often make a fool of myself←

    Marshmallow Fruit Salad  - The Dessert Salad

    More Salads

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    • Fresh & Healthy Salad with Grilled Chicken
    • Easy Beet Salad
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      The Classic Coleslaw Recipe.

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    1. Marsha

      April 19, 2025 at 7:37 pm

      Love it! Making for Easter Dinner side dish. I’m telling everyone that it’s White Trash Salad!😂

      Reply
    2. Karen

      April 19, 2025 at 12:29 pm

      Thanks for the memories! We used to have this at bridal and baby showers years ago. I think I'll make it for Easter:).

      Reply
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