Frog Eye Salad is a classic pot luck recipe. This delicious sweet fruit salad has tiny pasta, mandarin oranges, pineapple, whipped topping, marshmallows, coconut and sweet cherries.
Frog Eye Salad Recipe
This Frog Eye Salad Recipe is a classic for family get togethers, church pot lucks or neighborhood barbecues. It just isn’t a party without frog eye salad. If you are assigned the fruit salad for the party, this should be the one you bring. I promise you will go home with an empty bowl and everyone will want the recipe.
Can I make Frog Eye Salad ahead?
This frog eye salad is great to make ahead. You can make this up to 2 days in advance. The salad is best if it sits overnight in the refrigerator before serving, so absolutely plan on making this the night or even morning before serving.
How to store Frog Eye Salad
Once prepared this salad can be stored in an air tight container in the fridge for 2-3 days.
What is in Frog Eye Salad?
- Acini di Pepe pasta
- Mandarin oranges
- Pineapple tidbits
- Coconut flakes
- Cool Whip
- Miniature marshmallows
- Maraschino cherries
How to make Frog Eye Salad
Cook the Acini di Pepe pasta as directed on the box of pasta. Drain the pasta and place in a large mixing or serving bowl.
Drain the juice from the can of mandarin oranges and add to the pasta. Open the can of pineapple tidbits and reserve 1/2 cup of the juice from the can. Pour both the juice and the pineapple into the mixing bowl. Add the marshmallows, cherries and coconut.
Using a spatula, stir the contents of the mixing bowl together gently. Fold in the cool whip and mix until well combined. Cover the mixing bowl with a lid or plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours or overnight.
Serve chilled.
Enjoy!
Frog Eye Salad
Ingredients
- 1 cup Acini di Pepe pasta, dry
- 1 15 oz mandarin oranges, drained
- 1 15 oz pineapple tidbits
- 1/2 cup reserved pineapple juice
- 8 oz cool whip
- 1 cup miniature marshmallows
- 1 cup sweetened coconut flakes
- 1/4 cup maraschino cherries, halved
Instructions
- Cook pasta according to package directions.
- Place cooked pasta in a mixing bowl. Add drained mandarin oranges. Pineapple tidbits and reserved pineapple juice.
- Add marshmallows, coconut and cherries. Stir to combine the salad.
- Gently fold in the cool whip until well combined.
- Cover the salad and place in the refrigerator for 4 hours or overnight. Serve chilled.
Nutrition
Why is it called Frog Eye Salad?
Honestly, no one really knows why it’s called frog eye salad, or the true frog eye salad origin, but we have some pretty good guesses. Right now the idea is that it got its name from the little Acini de Pepe pasta (or tapioca pearls) that are used in this dish because they resemble frog eyes. In fact, tapioca pudding is often referred to as frog eye pudding for that reason, so this theory isn’t too hard to believe.
Can you freeze Frog Eye Salad?
Honestly, I wouldn’t. While you definitely can (and many do) the texture and appearance are always off once the dish thaws. That’s because this dish is mostly dairy based and dairy products often fail at freezing/thawing. This salad is much better when fresher!
Can I make Frog Eye Salad with fruit cocktail?
Absolutely! While you won’t want to exclude the mandarin oranges or pineapple chunks because they help to give this dish it’s incredible flavors and textures, swapping out the cherries for fruit cocktail works great! It helps to add some color and extra some fruits into the mix.
Check out these other tasty jello salad recipes:
- Orange Cream Fruit Salad
- Fancy Fruit Salad
- Raspberry Ambrosia Salad
- Cranberry Jello Salad
- Peaches and Cream Salad
- Berry Jello Pretzel Salad
- Snickers Apple Salad
- Easy Raspberry Jello Salad
- Creamy Orange Fruit Salad
- Creamy Cranberry Salad
- Raspberry Vanilla Jello Salad
- Cookie Salad
- Patriotic Layered Jello Salad
- Strawberry Pretzel Salad
This delicious and wonderful side dish is going to impress everyone at your next barbecue or potluck. With a name like Frog Eye Salad, you can’t resist trying, and once they try it, they’ll be hooked. Frog Eye Salad is a classic pot luck recipe. This delicious sweet fruit salad has tiny pasta, mandarin oranges, pineapple, whipped topping, marshmallows, coconut and sweet cherries.
Kelly Anthony says
This is such a delicious dessert idea. I love all the fruity ingredients and that bright cherry pop of color!
Claudia Lamascolo says
I have never thought to use pasta this is a great idea I am going to make this for dessert tonight thank you!
Parvin says
It’s ambrosia salad (or 24 hour salad) with the addition of pasta. I don’t see what the pasta adds, except a tiny bit of texture maybe, since it’s basically flavorless.
Whatever you call it, it’s much better with half sour cream/half Kool Whip (or real sweetened whipped cream hopefully) so it’s not so sickly sweet.