Tropical Cherry Delight Salad

Tropical Cherry Delight Salad, our families spin off the classic Ambrosia Salad and 5-cup Salad. My kids legit call this Marshmallow Salad! A simple dish to easily throw together for any occasion.

A little sweet, a little tangy. This easy fruit salad will be a hit at home or a pitch-in and is easy to toss together with pineapple, maraschino cherries, and marshmallows!

Tropical Cherry Delight Salad

Can we just take a minute to say THANK YOU to whoever decided that this could be deemed a salad? For real, I had to look up why this was considered a salad. I’m a midwestern girl through and through and we call lots of things salad that aren’t green and leafy. I decided I just liked the idea that I was eating a salad and it was good for me. Why look a gift horse, errrrr salad in the mouth if you don’t have to!

There are literally a million different versions of this type of creamy fruit salad and honestly start with this base recipe and make it your own. We keep it rather simple which is my favorite way, too many textures and flavors aren’t my jam so when I first had this version my Mother-In-Law makes it was perfect!

Some recipes call for Cool Whip as the creaminess, this recipe uses sour cream and some white granulated sugar. It provides a great sweet and tangy flavor to compliment this salad perfectly.

In the recipe, I say to use between 2 and 3 Tablespoons of sugar. We use just 2 Tablespoons but if you would like it just a tick sweeter feel free to go ahead and stir in that extra Tablespoon. This is one of those recipes that the cook gets to taste and make to their liking!

Gather Your Ingredients

• 1 20-ounce can of pineapple tidbits
• 1 12-ounce jar of maraschino cherries
• 15 large marshmallows
• 1 16-ounce container of sour cream
• 2-3 Tablespoons sugar
• 1/2 cup coconut – OPTIONAL

How To Make Tropical Cherry Delight Salad

1. In a medium-sized mixing bowl add all of the sour cream and 2 Tablespoons of sugar, stir to combine. If you like a sweeter taste you can add an additional 1 Tablespoon of sugar – I only add the 2 Tablespoons to ours.
2. Drain the pineapple tidbits – you will not use the pineapple juice in this recipe so you can discard or keep it for another recipe. Add the drained pineapple to the sour cream and sugar mixture.
3. Drain the maraschino cherries – you will not use the cherry juice in this recipe so you can discard or keep it for another recipe.
4. Slice the cherries in half and add to the mixing bowl.
5. Using a knife or scissors cut the large marshmallows into quarters and add them to the mixing bowl.
6. If you are adding coconut to the recipe then go ahead and add it to your mixing bowl as well.
7. Stir the ingredients together carefully to combine.
8. Serve immediately or cover tightly and store in the refrigerator until ready to serve.

Recipe Notes:

The drained maraschino cherries will tend to give your salad a pinkish color if you rinse and pat dry the cherries that will not happen – this is totally up to your preference.

Tips, Tricks, Questions, and Comments

Can I just use miniature marshmallows?

Yes, you most certainly can, but, because there is almost always a but! I tried using the small ones once and I was informed by the family it wasn’t the same! According to my family Gramma (aka my mother-in-law) uses the large ones and that is how it should be. By cutting up the large one there is more sticky middle of the marshmallow to co-exist in the salad, apparently, that is a big deal! That’s the best answer I can give!

What can I do with the pineapple juice instead of wasting it?

Drink it, and the first thing that occurs to me is to drink it in a cocktail! My personal favorite one that has pineapple juice in it is my Yankee Style Hurricane! It would also be great for a tropical taste in your morning smoothie.

Pineapple juice also can be frozen. Simply put it in an airtight container, leaving ½-1 inch of space at the top of the container, so the juice has room to expand as it freezes. It will keep for three months. When ready to use it, defrost it in the fridge the night before serving.

Use that maraschino cherry juice!

And the best way to do that is in cocktails and Shirley Temples! You can make a delicious cherry shake, or cherry cokes, use in a white cake mix for cherry cupcakes!

You can easily freeze it as well. Just like the pineapple juice use an air-tight container or sealable plastic bag, and leave ½-1 headspace for it to expand as it freezes. To thaw defrost in the refrigerator overnight.

I can only find a can of sliced pineapple rings…..

This one is easy! Drain the juice while leaving the pineapple rings in the can. Carefully with a sharp knife insert it into the middle of the rings and slice towards the outside of the can. Do this all the way around and you instantly have pineapple tidbits!

Oranges, Coconut, The Kitchen Sink

Add It, well maybe not the kitchen sink! The great thing about this salad is the versatility to make it the way your family wants it!