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Frog Eye Salad is a potluck classic and a family favorite around here. This weird-sounding but delicious dessert salad is made with acini de pepe pasta, pineapple, mandarin oranges, coconut, and marshmallows!
Do you love fun, vintage dessert salads as much as we do? Be sure to check out our Cottage Cheese Jello Salad, Easy Cranberry Fluff Salad, and Creamy Grape Salad!
If you're looking for a new side dish to bring to your next party and wanting something unique and tasty, check out this frog eye salad. It will turn heads, raise eyebrows and you're less likely to be bringing the same dish as someone else because it seems like not many people know about this delicious dish these days even though it's been around for decades!
This recipe is something we make year round. It's just as good for holiday dinners as it is for summer barbecues and potlucks.
What is frog eye salad?
Frog eye salad is a unique sweet pasta dish that combines whipped cream, fruits, marshmallows, and small pasta. It’s often served as a side dish for potlucks or barbecues and it may remind you of flavors similar to an ambrosia salad.
Frog eye salad is made using a small ball-shaped pasta called Acini De Pepe and if you’ve never had it, it looks a lot like couscous or tapioca. So don’t worry, no actual frogs were harmed in the making of this dish.
The small round shape and al dente texture of the acini de pepe pasta is where this dish gets its name because supposedly it makes people think of frog's eyes. Which possibly turns some people off, but I always thought it was hilarious as a kid and would have extra helpings just because I thought it was delicious, funny, and fun to eat!
Some recipes take a shortcut approach to frog eye salad and just mix vanilla pudding with Cool Whip to create the sauce. But I think the from-scratch version is so much better and hardly any extra work.
The sauce is made using pineapple juice and sugar that is cooked and thickened slightly with an egg yolk and cornstarch. Then the cooked pasta is soaked in the sauce for a few hours to absorb some of the wonderful pineapple flavor before the other ingredients and whipped cream are added.
The results is a wonderful sweet dessert salad with an interesting texture and tropical flavors.
It goes with almost anything, but I'm especially partial to having it at barbecues with grilled chicken or burgers.
How to make frog eye salad
- Cook the acini de pepe pasta in a pot of boiling water with 1 teaspoon of salt according to package directions. Drain in a fine mesh strainer, then rinse the pasta with cold water to stop the cooking process.
- Open, drain and reserve the pineapple juice from both cans of pineapple.
- In a small saucepan, combine the reserved pineapple juice, sugar, egg, salt, and cornstarch over medium heat. Whisk well and cook, stirring constantly, over medium heat just until slightly thickened. Then remove the pot from the heat and let it cool completely.
- Combine the cooled sauce and the pasta, stirring well. Cover and refrigerate at least 2 hours or overnight.
- Add in the crushed pineapple, pineapple tidbits, mandarin oranges, coconut, and marshmallows to the sauce and stir to combine.
- Whip the cream with the powdered sugar until soft peaks form, then add to the pasta and fruit, stirring to combine. Serve immediately, or refrigerate and serve chilled.
Can you freeze frog eye salad?
I don’t recommend freezing this dish. Everything kind of separates and it just isn't nearly as good as when it is made fresh. For best results store it in the fridge.
How long is frog eye salad good for?
Like many dessert fruit salads, frog eye salad should be eaten within 2 or 3 days. The ingredients tend to separate and pool some liquid into the bowl after a day or so, but if you stir before serving it should come back together.
Keep it stored in an airtight or covered container in the fridge for up to 3 days.
More Barbecue Worthy Side Dish Recipes You’ll Love
- Deviled Egg Potato Salad
- Baked Beans
- Hawaiian Macaroni Salad
- BLT Pasta Salad
- Oven Roasted Barbecue Potato Wedges
- Bacon Green Onion Deviled Eggs
- Creamy Potluck Potatoes
- Oven Roasted Broccoli With Garlic
- Easy Creamy Corn Casserole
- Cilantro Lime Grilled Watermelon
More Dessert Salad Recipes
- Creamy Grape Salad
- Cranberry Fluff Salad
- Raspberry Pretzel Salad
- Coca Cola Jello Salad
- Cottage Cheese Jello Salad
- Fruit Salad with Marshmallows and Whipped Cream
- Orange Jello Salad
Did you make this recipe? Let me know what you thought with a comment and star rating below. You can also take a picture and tag me on Instagram @houseofnasheats or share it on the Pinterest pin so I can see.
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Frog Eye Salad
Ingredients
Salad
- 1 cup uncooked acini de pepe pasta
- 20 ounces pineapple tidbits, reserve juice
- 10 ounces crushed pineapple, reserve juice
- 15 ounces mandarin oranges, drained
- 1 cup shredded sweetened coconut
- 1 cup mini marshmallows
- 1 cup heavy whipping cream
- ¼ cup powdered sugar
Sauce
- 1 cup reserved pineapple juice
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 1 egg beaten
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 Tablespoon cornstarch
Instructions
- Cook the acini de pepe pasta in a pot of boiling water with 1 teaspoon of salt according to package directions. Drain and rinse with cold water.
- Drain and reserve the pineapple juice from both cans of pineapple.
- In a small saucepan, combine the reserved pineapple juice, sugar, egg, salt, and cornstarch over medium heat. Whisk well and cook, stirring constantly, until slightly thickened. Remove from heat and cool completely.
- Combine the cooled sauce and pasta and stir well. Cover and refrigerate at least 2 hours or overnight.
- Add the crushed pineapple, pineapple tidbits, mandarin oranges, coconut, and marshmallows to the sauce and stir to combine.
- Whip the cream with the powdered sugar until soft peaks form, then add to the pasta and fruit. Serve immediately, or refrigerate and serve chilled.
Gladys Rangaratnam says
The recipe is a bit confusing as the list of ingredients for the sauce says 1 egg beaten, while the instructions say egg yolk.
Amy says
I'm sorry! I fixed that typo!
Lisa Meece says
I've had this before and I love it. I have family members that are allergic/sensitive to pineapple however. I was wondering what your thoughts were if I used something like raspberries and raspberry jam to replace it. Do you have any other suggestions?
Amy says
That's a great question. Yes, I think you could replace the pineapple juice with another fruit juice or nectar and other fruit. I think I would try apricot, mango, peach, or guava juice or nectar first because anything really red like raspberry jam would discolor the pasta. Then to replace the pineapple tidbits and crushed pineapple, you could really do any fruits you wanted, but again, I think chopped canned apricots, mangoes, or fresh peaches would be good.
Connie R Freeman says
Can you use cool whip instead of heavy cream.
Connie R Freeman says
Can cool whip be used instead of whipping cream.
Amy says
Sure!