Real Recipes From Real Home Cooks ®

ma's 5-cup salad

Recipe by
Jenny Glenn
Irving, TX

This presents as a beautiful dish, especially in a glass serving bowl! It has been a staple at our family holiday gatherings for more than 60 years. For larger family gatherings we double the recipe. You can make it a couple of days ahead of time, if needed. It keeps well, covered in the fridge. *Ma added pecans to her 5-cup Salad recipe but we never could get the hang of calling it "6-cup Salad!" lol

yield 10 -12
prep time 23 Hr 15 Min
method No-Cook or Other

Ingredients For ma's 5-cup salad

  • 1 c
    sour cream
  • 1 c
    baker's coconut
  • 1 c
    mini-marshmallows
  • 1 c
    pineapple tidbits (well drained)
  • 1 c
    mandarin oranges (well drained)
  • 1 c
    pecan halves*

How To Make ma's 5-cup salad

  • 5-Cup Salad Ingredients: Coconut, Mini-Marshmallows, Mandarin Oranges, Pineapple Tidbits, Pecans & Sour Cream
    1
    Fold ingredients together until well combined. (Avoid stirring because that can break the fruit down.)
  • Fold ingredients together until well mixed. At this stage, you can adjust the ingredients to suit your taste and consistency. (I usually add a cup of pecans but omitted them in this batch because of a family member's sensitivity.)
    2
    Transfer to serving dish.
  • 5-Cup Salad final product (aka Ambrosia)
    3
    Refrigerate 18-24 hours to allow ingredients' flavors to meld.
  • 4
    NOTE: You can add a little more coconut and/or mini-marshmallows to sweeten the dish and if you prefer it a little drier.
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