Holiday Ambrosia Salad

14 Reviews

Prep: 15 min
Cook: 15 min
Ready In: 8 hr 30 min

“My Mom would make this every Thanksgiving and Christmas, and it has been a family favorite for three generations. The dressing is gently cooked, and the salad so light you can serve it anytime.” - by Dad

Ingredients

8 ounces uncooked orzo pasta
3/4 cup white sugar
2 eggs, beaten
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 (8 ounce) cans pineapple chunks, drained with juice reserved
1 (11 ounce) can mandarin orange segments, drained
1 cup shredded coconut (optional)
4 cups frozen whipped topping, thawed

Hide Checklist

Adjust Servings

Adjust

Metric US

Original recipe yields 16 Servings

Directions

Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add the pasta and cook until al dente, 5 to 7 minutes. Drain, transfer to a large bowl, and cool.
Whisk the sugar, eggs, flour, salt, and reserved pineapple juice together in a saucepan until smooth. Cook and stir over medium heat until the mixture thickens. Pour over cooled pasta, and toss to coat evenly. Cover and refrigerate overnight, or at least 8 hours.
Stir the pineapple chunks and mandarin oranges into the pasta mixture. Mix in the coconut if desired. Stir in the frozen whipped topping until evenly blended. Chill until serving.

Nutrition

Amount Per Serving (16 total)

Calories
205 cal
10%

Fat
6.9 g
11%

Carbs
33.7 g
11%

Based on a 2,000 calorie diet

Share It

Reviews (14)

Rate This Recipe

wakipan

Jul. 17, 2008

"Fantastic recipe! I used light frozen whipped cream instead and also only let it sit with the pineapple juice mixture for about 6 hours. It turned out great! I love the texture of the orzo pasta in it..." See more and that it wasn't overwhelmingly sweet. "

Barbara

Sep. 22, 2009

"Ok I opps'ed, I bought the crushed pineapple instead of chunks. It still worked out well. Instead of trying to drain the juice out I just added the pineapple to the pot too. I have had a variation of ..." See morethis salad with the pineapple chunks and I think I like it better with the crushed. What a great mistake this was. I also missed the part about letting it sit for 8 hours or overnight. I needed it in a couple of hours. If was just as good. I did make sure it was cold before completing with the mandarin oranges and whipped topping. This was absolutly the best."

Melissa

Nov. 28, 2009

"I use acini pasta in this. It is wonderful but Acini is hard to find in my area so this year i am going to try Tapioca pasta balls. Wish me luck i am sure it will be fine but we will see. Happy Thank..." See moresgivign all."

More Reviews