This health-conscious Fresh Fruit Maple Ambrosia Salad combines sweet tropical fruits and berries with protein-packed Greek yogurt and walnuts, softened by real maple syrup.
Author:Amanda MacArthur
Prep Time:15 minutes
Cook Time:None
Total Time:15 minutes
Yield:6 cups1x
Category:Desserts
Ingredients
Scale
1 cup Greek yogurt
1/2 cup shredded coconut
Optional: 1 heaping cup of mini marshmallows (vegan, gluten-free work best)
Up to 1/2 cup real maple syrup (flavor to your sweetness preference)
1 pineapple, 1 to 2 cups chopped
2 cups seedless grapes, halved
1 cup strawberries, chopped
1 mango, cubed
3 mandarin oranges or 1 cup mandarin orange sections
1/8 cup chopped walnuts
Optional: Pomegranate arils as garnish
Instructions
In a bowl, combine yogurt, shredded coconut, mini marshmallows, and maple syrup. Stir and set aside.
Prepare your fruits.
For pineapple: Slice off top and bottom of a whole pineapple, then slice in half from top to bottom, remove core, then cut remaining fruit into small bite-sized pieces (see video).
For mango: Slice mango from top to bottom on both sides of the pit. Then slice a grid into the flesh of the mango, and use your thumbs to push the peel out, to display chunks of mango (see video) and simply slice them off.
For mandarin oranges: If you want to try your hand at making soft pillowy mandarin orange sections like you get from the jar, get yourself some pectinase, which you may find as Pectinex. This can come in a liquid or powder form. Pectinase will dissolve the white pith and connective material on your mandarin orange segments. Simply peel your oranges, divide them into their individual sections, add them to a bowl, and cover with water. Follow bottle instructions, but in general, a couple of drops or sprinkles will do the trick. Adding more will just make it work faster so you don’t need to be too exact. Let them sit at room temp for a few hours, or cover and leave them overnight in the fridge. In the morning, rinse your oranges, and voila!
Add fruits to your bowl, mix, and enjoy!
Notes
Best eaten within a few hours, but can last overnight in the fridge. It will be a little juicier as the fruits release their juices overnight. Adding more marshmallows and/or using less maple syrup can help with excess liquid.
If you really want to prepare a day ahead, for best results only prepare the fruits the night before. Cover, and refrigerate. In the morning or before serving, strain the excess juice before adding the remaining ingredients.
