Frog Eye Salad Recipe is a delicious creamy fruity salad! It’s made with acini de pepe, tossed with a tasty pineapple custard sauce and whipped cream, with pineapple, mandarin oranges, coconut flakes, and colorful marshmallows! The perfect fun side dish for a crowd at BBQs and Potlucks!

Frog Eye Salad Recipe

I was looking at which fruit salad recipes you all love from my blog and noticed a trend. The more retro-type fruit salads are the most popular! For example my Pistachio Pudding Fruit Salad recipe, Cranberry Salad, and Five-Cup Fruit Salad. I thought of which type of recipe I could share next and I realized I hadn’t shared Frog Eye Salad yet! It’s a funny name, isn’t it? It’s also known as Acini de Pepe Fruit Salad. It’s similar to Ambrosia Salad.

Acini de Pepe is a small round pasta! I’m not sure who thought to use a tiny pasta in a fruit salad but boy is it delicious! So creamy, tasty, fruity, and colorful! Someone thought the little tiny pasta balls looks like frog eyes and that’s why it’s called Frog Eye Salad!

Ingredients Needed to Make Frog Eye Salad

MAIN INGREDIENT:

• Acini di Pepe- Mini pasta the size of couscous. If you can’t find it, you could use mini-star pasta. (I found Acini di Pepe at my local grocery store, Macey’s. I called around to find it.)

FOR THE PINEAPPLE CUSTARD:

• Pineapple Juice- The pineapple juice comes from the cans of pineapple so be sure to save the juice when you drain the cans.
• Flour
• Egg
• Salt
• Granulated Sugar
• Freshly Squeeze Lemon Juice

MIX INS:

• Pineapple Tidbits and Crushed Pineapple
• Mandarin Oranges (2 cans)
• Shredded Coconut
• Miniature Marshmallows- I highly suggest using colorful mini marshmallows! It’s just more fun!
• Frozen Whipped Topping- Yes, this is cool whip! You could use heavy cream if you prefer though. (Just whip in a stand mixer or with a hand mixer 1 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream until stiff peaks form.)

How to Make Frog Eye Salad

1. Prepare the Acini di Pepe Pasta, making sure not to overcook, drain, and chill.
2. Make the Custard: Combine the pineapple juice, flour, egg, pinch of salt, and granulated sugar. Once thickened, add the lemon juice and let the mixture cool down.
3. Once the pasta and custard are chilled, ADD the cans of fruit, coconut flakes, whipped cream, and mini marshmallows.
4. Serve Frog Eye Salad cold, and top with more mini marshmallows and mandarin oranges if desired.
5. Enjoy!

You can serve this Frog Eye Salad in a big bowl or in smaller bowls as pictured above.

I think you are going to LOVE this recipe! It’s so much fun! The texture is amazing. A slight bite from the tiny pasta, so much creaminess and flavor from the custard and whipped cream, and tasty fruit added, along with slightly squishy marshmallows! It’s a party in your mouth!

Frog Eye Salad Storage Tips:

Store: Cover and keep in the refrigerator for 3-4 days.

Make Ahead- Combine all ingredients except cool whip, fruit, and marshmallows and keep it in the fridge tightly covered. When ready to serve, mix in the cool whip and add the fruit and marshmallows.

Enjoy!

Frog Eye Salad Recipe

Print

Frog Eye Salad Recipe is a delicious creamy fruity salad! It's made with acini de pepe, tossed with a tasty pineapple custard sauce and whipped cream, with pineapple, mandarin oranges, coconut flakes, and colorful marshmallows! The perfect fun side dish for a crowd at BBQs and Potlucks!

Prep Time 20 minutes

Cook Time 10 minutes

Additional Time 1 hour

Total Time 1 hour 30 minutes

Ingredients

• 1 cup acini di pepe pasta or pastina pasta
• 1 can (20 ounces) pineapple tidbits in juice, drain and reserve the juice
• 1 can (20 ounces) crushed pineapple in juice, drain and reserve the juice
• 1 tablespoon white flour
• 1 large egg
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 2 teaspoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 2 cans (15 ounces each) mandarin oranges, drained
• ½ cup shredded coconut (sweetened or unsweetened)
• 1 1/2 cups colored miniature marshmallows
• 1 container (8 ounces) frozen whipped topping, thawed

Instructions

1. Cook the acini de pepe pasta according to package directions, cooking to al dente. Drain and rinse the pasta in cold water. Place in a large bowl and put it in the refrigerator.

2. Meanwhile, drain the pineapple tidbits and crushed pineapple making sure to reserve the pineapple juice. Set aside 1 cup of pineapple juice.

3. Pour the 1 cup of pineapple juice into a medium-sized pot and whisk in 1 tablespoon flour. Whisk in the egg and then set the heat to medium. Add in the salt and white sugar. 

4. Cook over medium heat until the mixture has thickened, stirring occasionally, about 10 minutes. Remove the pot from the heat, stir in the lemon juice, and allow to cool in the fridge for about 30 minutes. Pour over the pasta and return the bowl to the refrigerator until both the pasta and the pineapple juice mixture are completely chilled.

5. Meanwhile, open the cans of mandarin oranges and drain. Make sure all the canned fruit is drained really well.

6. Add the shredded coconut and mini marshmallows. Then gently mix in the pineapple tidbits, crushed pineapple, and mandarin oranges into the cooled pasta mixture. (Saving some mandarin oranges and marshmallows for the top of the fruit salad.)

7. Gently fold in the thawed whipped topping until all the ingredients are well combined. Cover and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes to overnight.

8. When ready to serve, top with more mandarin oranges and mini marshmallows.

 

** PIN IT! **