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Pasta salad meets fruit salad, with a creamy homemade custard and whipped topping in the mix, in this classic Frog Eye Salad recipe. Frog Eye Salad has roots in Utah, but it reminds me of a Midwest “salad,” so I’ve adopted it into our culinary canon!
Who knew frogs’ eyes could taste so good? Apparently, residents of Utah, who have been bringing their own renditions of Frog Eye Salad recipes to potlucks and family gatherings for decades.
Since this part pasta salad, part fruit salad totes along some serious dessert recipe energy, it reminds me of Midwest “salads” (aka dessert salads) like Snickers Salad, Strawberry Pretzel Salad, Grape Salad, and Waldorf Salad.
A staple at picnic potlucks in Utah, Frog Eye Salad is a pudding/pasta/fruit salad that is, for lack of a better definition, a dessert salad. This fruit salad combines acini di pepe pasta, mandarin oranges, and pineapple suspended in homemade pudding and whipped topping, with the addition of marshmallow and shredded coconut for texture. It makes a lovely side dish at Thanksgiving and Christmas, too!
Table of Contents
Recipe ingredients
At a Glance: Here is a quick snapshot of what ingredients are in this recipe.
Please see the recipe card below for specific quantities.
Ingredient notes
- Acini di pepe: Acini di pepe, meaning ”seeds of a pepper” in Italian, is a tiny pasta shape that’s similar to pastina. It is what gives this dessert salad its overall chewiness and the appearance somewhat similar to a frog’s eye. For the best texture, cook until al dente, about 6 minutes in boiling, salted water, and chill immediately. If you can’t find acini di pepe, substitute it with another small-cut pasta such as pastina or small stars, Israeli-style couscous, or even tapioca pearls. Keep in mind that cooking times may vary.
- Crushed pineapple: Find this in the canned food aisle. You’ll want one 20-ounce can. Drain the liquid from the fruit, then use that liquid as the start of the 1 ¾ cup pineapple juice required for the custard. Top things off with canned pineapple juice; I can often find this from Dole, Libby’s, and R.W. Knudsen at my local supermarket.
- Frozen whipped topping: If you’re not a fan of frozen whipped topping (Cool Whip), feel free to make homemade Whipped Cream. In a large bowl, pour in 1 1⁄2 cups heavy cream and whisk until stiff peaks form, making about 3 cups. This quantity is perfect to replace an 8-ounce carton of whipped topping, and unlike the frozen whipped topping you’d snag from the freezer section at the grocery store, no thawing time is required.
- Shredded coconut: The traditional recipes always use sweetened coconut, but I’ve made it with unsweetened coconut and it’s great! To bring out the nutty, tropical flavors even more, toast the coconut before adding it to this Frog’s Eye Salad recipe.
Step-by-step instructions
- Bring 4 quarts water and 1 tablespoon salt to boil. Add pasta and cook until al dente, about 6 minutes. Drain well and rinse under cold water. Meanwhile, in a medium saucepan over medium heat, whisk together sugar, flour, ½ teaspoon salt, pineapple juice, and eggs. Cook this sauce until thickened, stirring occasionally, about 10 minutes. Remove mixture from heat, add lemon juice, cover, and chill at least 30 minutes.
- In a large bowl, combine the cool pasta, custard, mandarin oranges, pineapple chunks, and whipped topping. Mix well and refrigerate at least 30 minutes or overnight. Before serving, add marshmallows and coconut and toss to combine.
- Serve with maraschino cherries to place on top of each portion.
Recipe tips and variations
- Yield: My Frog’s Eye Salad recipe makes about 24 side dish or dessert servings. (Confession: I often go back for seconds of this Midwestern dessert salad!)
- Storage: Store leftovers covered in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
- Make ahead: Cook the pasta a day in advance. Once rinsed and drained, store covered in the fridge until you’re ready to make the salad.
- Pudding: If you don’t want to make the custard mixture, substitute instant vanilla pudding prepared according to package directions.
Frequently Asked Questions
I couldn’t find any official food historian confirmation of this fact, but rumor has it that Frog’s Eye Salad earned its name from the acini de pepe pasta that acts as the foundation. Some creative individuals thought it looked like small frog eyes swimming in this salad. I take that creepy association as permission to bust this out each year around Halloween (in addition to early and often during potluck and picnic season, of course).
Custard, which is featured in my Frog’s Eye Salad recipe, is a dessert with milk or cream thickened by egg. Pudding is a dessert with milk or cream thickened by starch. Think of custard as pudding’s egg-y cousin.
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Frog Eye Salad
Ingredients
For the pasta:
- Salt
- 16 ounces acini di pepe pasta (see note 1)
For the custard:
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1 3/4 cups pineapple juice unsweetened (see note 2)
- 2 eggs beaten
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
For the salad:
- 11 ounces mandarin oranges drained
- 20 ounce pineapple tidbits drained
- 20 ounce crushed pineapple drained
- 8 ounce frozen whipped topping thawed (see note 3)
- 1 cup miniature marshmallows
- 1 cup shredded coconut (see note 4)
Instructions
To make the pasta:
- Bring 4 quarts water and 1 tablespoon salt to boil. Add pasta and cook until al dente, about 6 minutes. Drain well and rinse under cold water.
To make the custard:
- Meanwhile, in a medium saucepan over medium heat, whisk together sugar, flour, ½ teaspoon salt, pineapple juice, and eggs.
- Cook until thickened, stirring occasionally, about 10 minutes. Remove from heat, add lemon juice, cover, and chill at least 30 minutes.
To assemble the salad:
- In a large bowl, combine the pasta, custard, mandarin oranges, pineapple, and whipped topping. Mix well and refrigerate at least 30 minutes or overnight. Before serving, add marshmallows and coconut and toss to combine.
Notes
- Acini di pepe: For the best texture, cook until al dente, about 6 minutes in boiling, salted water, and chill immediately. If you can’t find acini di pepe, substitute it with another small-cut pasta such as pastina or small stars, Israeli-style couscous, or even tapioca pearls. Keep in mind that cooking times may vary.
- Crushed pineapple: You’ll want one 20-ounce can. Drain the liquid from the fruit, then use that liquid as the start of the 1 ¾ cup pineapple juice required for the custard.
- Frozen whipped topping: If you’re not a fan of frozen whipped topping (Cool Whip), feel free to make homemade Whipped Cream. In a large bowl, pour in 1 1⁄2 cups heavy whipping cream and whisk until stiff peaks form, making about 3 cups.
- Shredded coconut: The traditional recipes always use sweetened coconut, but I’ve made it with unsweetened coconut and it’s great! To bring out the nutty, tropical flavors even more, toast the coconut before adding it to this Frog’s Eye Salad recipe.
- Yield: My Frog’s Eye Salad recipe makes about 24 side dish or dessert servings.
- Storage: Store leftovers covered in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
Nutrition
Meggan Hill is a classically-trained chef and professional writer. Her meticulously-tested recipes and detailed tutorials bring confidence and success to home cooks everywhere. Meggan has been featured on NPR, HuffPost, FoxNews, LA Times, and more.
Hey do you know the exact origin of Frog Eye Salad? It seems to resemble Ambrosia but it has the Italian Pasta and very popular amongst Latter Day Saints. This is a weird mixture of cultures and I can’t find any proper origin.
Easy, delicious and authentic!