Frog's Eye Salad might have a quirky name, but it's a beloved retro dessert salad packed with mandarin oranges, whipped cream, and tiny pasta pearls.
On Easter we love a good savory deviled egg pasta salad but I have a childhood favorite that's a classic where I grew up in the western US. I love to make this with stabilized cream cheese whipped cream, no marshmallows (usually) and sometimes coconut. There's so many ways to make it!
This recipe is similar to an ambrosia salad but it uses tiny acini de pepe pasta instead of just fruit. This is a no-egg frog eye salad, and doesn't use pudding mix. Instead I make a nice sauce/jelly out of the pineapple and mandarin orange juice that helps to stabilize it and it's delicious!
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Why You'll Love This Recipe
- Taste: Sweet, creamy, with tartness from the pineapple and oranges.
- Ease: Cooking the noodles and pineapple sauce, then making the whipped cream and adding everything together.
- Time: 15 minutes to boil water/cook noodles, and I make the sauce and whip the cream while the noodles are cooking and cooling. Under 30 minutes total.
📝 Ingredient Notes
- Pasta - Acini de pepe or pastina is the best pasta to use for this, tapioca has a bit different texture and doesn't have the round classic "frog eye" shape.
- Thickener - some people use pudding mix or eggs, I use cornstarch.
- Fruit - I use a combination of mandarin oranges and pineapple to keep things simple.
See the recipe card below for full information on ingredients and quantities.
✏️ Substitutions & Variations
- Healthier Frog Eye Salad - use couscous, add 4 Tablespoons of plain or vanilla greek yogurt and use Cool Whip instead of heavy cream. Make sure to use the "no sugar added" canned fruit too!
- Fruit - canned peaches, fruit cocktail, or diced mangoes are also delicious!
- Pasta - pastina or small pearl pasta works, tapioca is a little different texture and not like "frog eyes".
- Add ins - we sometimes do coconut, but I've seen marshmallows, vanilla pudding, or sliced almonds added in.
🧑🍳 Instructions
- Step 1. Heat a large pot of water (about 2L) to boil. Add acini de pepe noodles and salt to water, cook according to package directions (about 9 minutes).
- Step 2. Meanwhile, drain mandarin orange juice into a pot, along with pineapple juice. Should equal about 1 cup (240mL). Add cornstarch and heat to a boil for 1 minute, until thickened and bubbly. Remove from heat and cool completely. It's a thick sauce/loose jelly texture when cooled off.
- Step 3. Remove noodles from heat and drain, running cold water over them to cool them down and stop the cooking process.
- Step 4. In a mixing bowl, combine heavy cream with powdered sugar and vanilla. Whip using an electric mixer for 4-5 minutes until firm peaks form.
Tip
Drain the pineapple as much as possible after saving a little juice for the sauce. It helps the salad from becoming soggy!
- Step 5. In a large serving bowl, add the drained mandarin oranges, cooled acini de pepe noodles, crushed pineapple, cooled orange juice sauce, coconut (optional), and whipped cream. Gently stir together. Store refrigerated and covered until ready to serve. Enjoy!
📌 Troubleshooting
- Runny salad - make sure the noodles and orange juice sauce are cooled down to at least room temperature/refrigerated before mixing with the other ingredients!
- Draining the pineapple and oranges thoroughly helps to make sure there isn't excess juice added to the salad.
❄️ Make Ahead, Store, and Freezing Tips
- Make the noodles and orange juice sauce ahead and refrigerate the day/night before with everything except the whipped cream.
- Make the whipped cream the day of and add it before serving.
❓Frequently Asked Questions
Small pasta like pastina, couscous, or pearl pasta can work if acini di pepe isn't available.
Yes-most recipes actually taste better after chilling overnight so the pasta absorbs the fruity flavor. I'd leave the whipped cream out and mix in in right before serving.
Liquid from the canned fruit can cause the sauce and the whipping cream to thin out. Stirring can help the separation but if it's very soupy you can try to drain it a little add in some whipped cream or cool whip.
🍽️ Serving Ideas
- For brunch, with croissant cranberry chicken salad sandwiches.
- This is a great BBQ potluck dessert!
- Serve with your Easter dinner spread: ham with orange glaze, green beans with bacon, deviled potatoes or red skin mashed potatoes and easy brown gravy (drippings optional).
🍓 More Fruity Dessert Recipes
Did You Try This Recipe? ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Make sure to leave a star rating and a comment below the recipe card. I love hearing from you, and it is so helpful to other readers! Better yet, share it with family and friends. Thank you!!
📝 Printable Recipe
Frog's Eye Salad
Equipment
Ingredients
- 8 oz uncooked acini de pepe (about 1 cup uncooked)
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 15 oz can mandarin oranges
- 20 oz can crushed pineapple
- 1 Tablespoon cornstarch
- 2 cups heavy whipping cream
- ½ cup powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- optional: ½ cup sweetened coconut
Instructions
- Heat a large pot of water (about 2L) to boil. Add acini de pepe noodles and salt to water, cook according to package directions (about 9 minutes).8 oz uncooked acini de pepe , ¼ teaspoon salt
- Drain about ¾ cup (180 mL) mandarin orange juice and ¼ cup (60 mL) crushed pineapple juice into another small pot. See note 1. Add cornstarch to the juice, whisk together and heat to a boil for 1 minute, until thickened and bubbly. Remove from heat and cool completely.15 oz can mandarin oranges, 20 oz can crushed pineapple , 1 Tablespoon cornstarch
- Remove noodles from heat and drain in mesh strainer, running cold water over them for 1 minute or so to cool them down and stop the cooking process.
- In a mixing bowl, combine heavy cream with powdered sugar and vanilla. Whip using an electric mixer for 4-5 minutes until firm peaks form.You can also use my cream cheese whipped cream recipe for this.2 cups heavy whipping cream , ½ cup powdered sugar , 1 teaspoon vanilla
- In a large serving bowl, add the drained mandarin oranges, crushed pineapple, cooled acini de pepe noodles, cooled orange juice sauce, optional coconut, and about ½ of the whipped cream. Gently stir together. Add the other ½ of the whipped cream and carefully stir in. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.optional: ½ cup sweetened coconut
Notes
- Make sure the noodles and orange juice sauce are cooled down to at least room temperature/refrigerated before mixing with the other ingredients.
- Draining the pineapple and oranges thoroughly helps to make sure there isn't excess juice added to the salad.
Nutrition
Hi, I'm Sara!
Registered Nurse by day, food blogger by weekend. Perfect dip tester & snack quester. I love short walks on the beach and long naps. Sharing my love for food, one bite at a time.
Sara says
Tastes like the way my mom made it!