Frog Eye Salad
This Frog Eye Salad recipe is a unique sweet and creamy fruit salad made with tiny pasta, mixed fruit, vanilla pudding, coconut, and whipped cream. It's a classic beloved side dish or dessert that's perfect for a group!
Servings: 12 cups
Ingredients
- 1 cup dry Acini di pepe pasta (see note)
- 1 3.5 ounce box instant vanilla pudding mix
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 1¼ cups whole milk
- 1 8 oz can crushed pineapple drained
- 1 20 oz can pineapple tidbits drained with juice reserved
- 1 11 oz can mandarin oranges drained
- 2 15 oz cans fruit cocktail drained
- 1 cup mini marshmallows
- 1 cup shredded coconut flakes (sweetened or unsweetened)
- 1½ cups cold heavy whipping cream
- ¼ cup powdered sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla
- piped whipped cream for serving, optional
- maraschino cherries for garnish, optional
Instructions
- Bring a pot of lightly salted water to boil. Add the dry Acini di pepe pasta and cook for 10 minutes, then immediately drain and rinse under cold water. Shake gently to get any excess water out.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine the instant vanilla pudding mix powder, sugar, milk, and reserved pineapple juice. Beat vigorously with a whisk or with an electric mixer for 2 minutes.
- Add drained pasta to the mixture and gently fold together until incorporated. Cover tightly and chill in the fridge for at least a few hours (or overnight.)
- Place fully drained crushed pineapple, pineapple tidbits, mandarin oranges, and fruit cocktail in an airtight container and chill for a few hours (or overnight), as well.
- Once everything is chilled, add all the cold fruit, mini marshmallows, and coconut flakes to the pasta mixture.
- In a separate bowl beat together cold heavy whipping cream, powdered sugar, and vanilla until it reaches stiff peaks (you should have about 3 cups.)
- Fold the fresh whipped cream into the fruit/pasta mixture and gently fold to combine.
- Serve in a trifle dish, large bowl, or individual dessert cups. (If serving in dessert cups, consider topping with a bit of piped whipped cream and a maraschino cherry, if desired.)
Video
Notes
Acini di pepe. This is a tiny pasta similar to couscous and often used in soups and salads. It's pretty common at most grocery stores, but if you can’t find it, substitute with Israeli-style large pearl couscous or large tapioca pearls, keeping in mind that cooking times can vary.
Swap the fruit cocktail. Feel free to replace the fruit cocktail with more pineapple tidbits and mandarin oranges, if preferred.
Use Cool Whip instead. The whipped cream, powdered sugar, and vanilla can be replaced with an 8 ounce tub of (thawed) Cool Whip, if preferred.
Nutrition
Serving: 1cup | Calories: 270kcal | Carbohydrates: 29g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 16g | Saturated Fat: 11g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 3g | Cholesterol: 37mg | Sodium: 24mg | Potassium: 106mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 16g | Vitamin A: 480IU | Vitamin C: 0.3mg | Calcium: 53mg | Iron: 1mg