Coconut Ambrosia Fruit Salad Recipe | VEEG (2024)

VEEG

• 20

  Prep:

• 0

  Cook Time:

• Yield: 12 Servings

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We kept the word Ambrosia in this remake recipe forCoconut Ambrosia Fruit Salad because it honestly does taste like the food of the gods! You’ll notice that there are seven ingredients in the sauce to accompany the seven components in the salad, which we think is pretty cool, like a reference to Lucky Number 7 or 7th Heaven! It’s a perfect make-ahead salad for any day of the week even though we tend to associate it with holidaygatherings past. So, while it tends to make a show at our house during Thanksgiving, Christmas,and Easter it’s certainly ideal to enjoy all year through. This recipe makes enough for about ten to twelve generous one-cup servings. It would be a perfect litesummertime dessert salad to enjoy on a hot evening. If you’re planning holiday meals, be sure to check out our Gluten-Free Southern Style Stuffing Muffins and

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup of coconut water or plain water
• a scant 1 tbsp of pure maple syrup or a little less is fine, too
• 3/4 tsp of pure vanilla extract
• 1/4 tsp of pink Himalayan sea salt, or to taste
• 1 cup of plain plant-based yogurt - We like Kite Hill brand.
• 1 cup of raw cashews, soaked - For a bulk buy on organic raw cashews, this brandis a very good deal.
• 1/4 cup of vegan mini marshmallows - This is the brand we use! If vegan marshmallowsare something you prefer to avoid, you can easily skip including them in your salad - use a bit less of the sauce or increase the amountof coconut.
• 1 cup of raw pecans, roughly chopped
• 1 cup of green seedless grapes, washed and sliced in half
• 1 cup of red seedless grapes, washed and sliced in half
• 1 cup of fresh pineapple chunks - You could use canned in a pinch.
• 1 cup of Clementine tangerine sections - That's about 3 to 4 peeled and sectioned seedless tangerines.
• two additional cups of vegan mini marshmallows - Again, we love this brand from Chicago!
• 1 1/2 cup of unsweetened coconut chips or flakes, more or less
• optional fruit or nuts for garnish

Instructions

1. First, we'll make the homemade sweet sauce. Begin by placing the first seven of the listed ingredients into a blender in the order provided. Blend until completely smooth and creamy. Taste and adjust salt or sweetness according to preference. Be sure to remember that this sauce is going to hold the fruit salad together and does not need to be overly sweet since the fruit itself is sweet. If you like, leave a few of the soaked cashews out of the sauce and toss them in the salad whole for added interest.
2. Next, place the remaining seven fruit and nut ingredients, including the marshmallows, into a large mixing bowl.
3. Pour the prepared sauce over the bowl of fruit a little at a time and gently stir until the sauce distributes evenly. Use as much or as little of the sauce as you like. Sometimes coconut is dehydrated and requires more of the homemade liquid to become rehydrated while other times, it may require a bit less. If you have any leftover sauce, use it as a lite topping for waffles or pancakes or even stir it into oatmeal or incorporateit into a smoothie. This sauce also makes a lovely drizzle on a plate of freshly sliced fruit.
4. Transfer the salad to a serving dish and garnish with additional fruit and nuts for a beautiful and inviting presentation. This salad will keep when refrigerated in an airtight container for at least three to five days or so though ours never lasts that long unless we purposefully stash it! (That NEVER happens... nope.)

Notes

• Feel free to try changing out the ingredients for ones that suit your fancy. For example, the original mid-century version of this salad called for candied cherries. We switched those jarred cherries out for grapes! If you do try some variations, let us know how it goes!
• The nutrition and calorie count does not include any additional toppings used as a garnish. Those amounts would vary based on, ingredients used, taste, and preference.
• Since we opt to use coconut water in this recipe, we want to share this resource for a bulkbuy on budget-friendlycoconut water.
• Admittedly, this is a decadent salad that counts, nutritionally, more likedessert. If you like, you could easily minimize the splurge by reducing the number of cashews and pecans.

Nutrition

% DV

Calories Per Serving: 457

Prep Time:

Cook Time:

Yields: 12 Servings

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup of coconut water or plain water
• a scant 1 tbsp of pure maple syrup or a little less is fine, too
• 3/4 tsp of pure vanilla extract
• 1/4 tsp of pink Himalayan sea salt, or to taste
• 1 cup of plain plant-based yogurt - We like Kite Hill brand.
• 1 cup of raw cashews, soaked - For a bulk buy on organic raw cashews, this brandis a very good deal.
• 1/4 cup of vegan mini marshmallows - This is the brand we use! If vegan marshmallowsare something you prefer to avoid, you can easily skip including them in your salad - use a bit less of the sauce or increase the amountof coconut.
• 1 cup of raw pecans, roughly chopped
• 1 cup of green seedless grapes, washed and sliced in half
• 1 cup of red seedless grapes, washed and sliced in half
• 1 cup of fresh pineapple chunks - You could use canned in a pinch.
• 1 cup of Clementine tangerine sections - That's about 3 to 4 peeled and sectioned seedless tangerines.
• two additional cups of vegan mini marshmallows - Again, we love this brand from Chicago!
• 1 1/2 cup of unsweetened coconut chips or flakes, more or less
• optional fruit or nuts for garnish

Instructions

1. First, we'll make the homemade sweet sauce. Begin by placing the first seven of the listed ingredients into a blender in the order provided. Blend until completely smooth and creamy. Taste and adjust salt or sweetness according to preference. Be sure to remember that this sauce is going to hold the fruit salad together and does not need to be overly sweet since the fruit itself is sweet. If you like, leave a few of the soaked cashews out of the sauce and toss them in the salad whole for added interest.
2. Next, place the remaining seven fruit and nut ingredients, including the marshmallows, into a large mixing bowl.
3. Pour the prepared sauce over the bowl of fruit a little at a time and gently stir until the sauce distributes evenly. Use as much or as little of the sauce as you like. Sometimes coconut is dehydrated and requires more of the homemade liquid to become rehydrated while other times, it may require a bit less. If you have any leftover sauce, use it as a lite topping for waffles or pancakes or even stir it into oatmeal or incorporateit into a smoothie. This sauce also makes a lovely drizzle on a plate of freshly sliced fruit.
4. Transfer the salad to a serving dish and garnish with additional fruit and nuts for a beautiful and inviting presentation. This salad will keep when refrigerated in an airtight container for at least three to five days or so though ours never lasts that long unless we purposefully stash it! (That NEVER happens... nope.)

Notes

• Feel free to try changing out the ingredients for ones that suit your fancy. For example, the original mid-century version of this salad called for candied cherries. We switched those jarred cherries out for grapes! If you do try some variations, let us know how it goes!
• The nutrition and calorie count does not include any additional toppings used as a garnish. Those amounts would vary based on, ingredients used, taste, and preference.
• Since we opt to use coconut water in this recipe, we want to share this resource for a bulkbuy on budget-friendlycoconut water.
• Admittedly, this is a decadent salad that counts, nutritionally, more likedessert. If you like, you could easily minimize the splurge by reducing the number of cashews and pecans.