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Frog Eye Salad is a sweet and creamy fruit salad made with couscous, fruit, marshmallows, and homemade pineapple curd.
Growing up in Utah, I thought everyone was familiar with Frog Eye Salad. It is one of those dessert salads served often at church potlucks and family reunions. It wasn’t until later in life that I realized not everyone has heard of a Frog Eye Salad. Granted, the name is off-putting but in Utah and surrounding states, it is one of the unusually popular recipes most searched around Thanksgiving according to the New York Times.
What is Frog Eye Salad?
Frog Eye Salad is a sweet and creamy fruit salad made with couscous or acini de pepe (a tiny, round pasta), fruit, marshmallows, and homemade pineapple curd. The pasta gives the salad a taste and texture similar to tapioca pudding.
Some say the name “frog eye” was given to the salad because the acini di pepe pasta resembles frog eyes. I have seen many frogs in my life and I don’t see the resemblance, do you?
Ingredients in Frog Eye Salad
These are not your typical fruit salad ingredients, but the flavors really come together to create a delightful, refreshing side dish.
- Pearl Couscous – You can also use acini di pepe pasta or pastina.
- Pineapple – This recipes uses tidbits and crushes pineapple as well as juice from both.
- Mandarin oranges
- Mini marshmallows – I like to use the fruit flavored ones.
- Sweetened coconut flakes
- Cool Whip – Thaw in the fridge ahead of time
- Sugar
- Salt
- Egg – The egg thickens the pineapple curd for the dressing
How to Make Frog Eye Salad
- Make the Pineapple Curd: In a small bowl, mix 1 tablespoon of the reserved pineapple juice with the flour to form a smooth paste. Measure 1 cup of the reserved pineapple juice and pour it into a saucepan. Heat over medium heat, then whisk in the egg. Add the flour paste and whisk until smooth. Stir in the sugar and salt. Cook, whisking frequently, for about 10 minutes or until thickened. Remove from heat, stir in the lemon juice, and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
- Cook the Couscous: Bring 1½ cups water to a boil. Add the couscous and cook for 8 minutes, or until al dente. Rinse with cold water, drain well, and refrigerate while you prepare the remaining ingredients.
- Prepare the Fruit: Place the drained pineapple tidbits, crushed pineapple, and drained mandarin oranges in a large mixing bowl. Gently pat the fruit dry with paper towels to remove excess moisture and prevent the salad from becoming watery.
- Combine the Salad Ingredients: Add the cooled couscous, cooled pineapple curd, marshmallows, and coconut to the bowl. Stir until combined.
- Fold in the Cool Whip: Fold in the Cool Whip until evenly mixed. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour.
- Garnish and Serve: Garnish with Maraschino cherries before serving.
Recipe Tip
Cook couscous until just al dente. If you cook the couscous too long, then it will get soggy in the salad. Rinse the pasta in cold water to immediately stop the cooking process and cool the pasta.
Homemade Whipped Cream
For convenience we use thawed Cool Whip, but you could absolutely use homemade whipped cream. You can make homemade whipped cream by mixing heavy cream, a little bit of sugar, and some vanilla extract in a stand mixer. Mix on medium speed until stiff peaks form.
More Sweet Salad Recipes
Everyone loves a sweet salad, especially kids. Try one of these fun salads at your next gathering and watch it disappear…fast!
Frog Eye Salad
Video
Ingredients
- 20 ounces pineapple tidbits, drained, but SAVE THE JUICE
- 8 ounces crushed pineapple, drained, but SAVE THE JUICE
- 1 1/2 cup sugar
- 1 Tablespoon flour
- 1 egg
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- juice of ½ a lemon
- 14 ounces mandarin oranges, drained
- 1 cup pearl couscous, or acini di pepe pasta
- 1 1/2 cups water
- 1 cup miniature marshmallows
- 1/2 cup sweetened coconut flakes
- 8 ounces Cool Whip, thawed
- Maraschino cherries , for garnish
Instructions
- Make the pineapple curd: Take 1 Tablespoon of the pineapple juice and mix it with the flour in a small bowl to form a paste. Measure out 1 cup of the reserved pineapple juice and add it to a sauce pan. Start to heat over medium heat. Whisk in egg. Add the flour paste and whisk to combine. Add sugar and salt. Cook over medium heat, whisking often, for about 10 minutes, or until thickened. Remove from heat and stir in lemon juice. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
- Bring 1 ½ cups water to a boil. Add couscous and cook for 8 minutes, or until couscous is al dente. Rinse with cold water and then drain. Place in the fridge while you prepare the rest of the salad.
- Add the drained pineapple tidbits and crushed pineapple to a large mixing bowl. Drain the mandarin oranges and add to the bowl. Pat the excess liquid off the fruit with a paper towel. This will prevent your salad from being too liquid-y.
- Add cooled couscous, cooled pineapple curd, marshmallows, and coconut to the bowl. Stir to combine.
- Fold in Cool Whip. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour.
- Serve with Maraschino cherries.
Notes
- If you are making this salad more than a few hours in advance, wait until right before serving to add the marshmallows and coconut.
- To make without eggs, use a instant vanilla pudding instead of pineapple curd. Make the pudding according to package directions but substitute some of the milk with the reserved pineapple juice. Allow the pudding to set up before adding to the salad.
- Use homemade whipped cream made with heavy whipping cream instead of Cool Whip, if desired.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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This is a new addition to my go-to summer recipes! It is so rich, packed with flavors and soo refreshing!
This Frog Eye Salad is so delicious and creamy, my kids and husband definitely enjoyed this for dessert!
This tastes so fresh and delicious! It made for a great treat for the family. The kids keep asking when we can have the frog dessert again.
This is one of those recipes that is great all year long!! It’s so tasty!! My kids laugh at the name, but boy, they sure love it!