Homemade Fresh Ambrosia Salad

I love homemade fresh ambrosia salad.  It is so light and tasty.  For some odd reason I have been craving ambrosia salad.  Strange, right?  Having never made ambrosia salad, I looked up a recipe on Google.  I was pretty shocked to see that every recipe I viewed contained so much sugar!  Sugar in the Cool-Whip, tons of sugar in the canned cherry pie filling, and even sweetened coconut flakes!

As a family we have been reducing our sugar intake for a while and when I saw all the sugar in regular ambrosia salad, I decided not to make it.  Instead, I decided to make it fresh and greatly reduce the sugar in it.  Honestly, after trying my homemade fresh ambrosia salad there is no way I will ever eat the sugar loaded version again.

Ingredients:

• 4 cups homemade whipped cream
• 1 bag frozen dark, sweet cherries about 1.5 cups
• 3 whole oranges (about medium to large sized)
• 1 whole pineapple
• 1 cup unsweetened coconut flakes

Directions:

1. Allow the frozen cherries to thaw in the refrigerator overnight.
2. Peel and seed the oranges and divide into segments.
3. Peel and core the pineapple and cut into chunks.
4. Place the orange segments and pineapple chunks into a food processor.
5. Pulse a few times.
6. Strain the liquid and remove any large chunks of fruit.
7. Repeat the pulsing and straining process again until the fruit pieces are small and crushed.
8. Place the fruit into a medium sized bowl.
9. Place the thawed cherries into the food processor and pulse until they are small and crushed.
10. Add the cherry pieces and juice to the orange-pineapple mixture.
11. Stir in the coconut flakes and whipped cream until just combined.
12. Chill in the refrigerator until ready to serve.

Homemade fresh ambrosia salad is best made the day it will be served.  Also, unlike regular sugar loaded ambrosia salad, homemade fresh ambrosia salad will not be bright pink but will have a lighter, softer pink color to it.  The ambrosia salad will keep well if covered tightly in the fridge for a few days.  Please note that homemade fresh ambrosia salad will not last very long.  The acidity in the fruit will start to turn the whipped cream.  I try to only make what I know we will eat within a day or two.

Do you like ambrosia salad?  What’s your favorite way to make it?

Have a blessed day!

Brandi

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