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5 Cup Salad: The Ultimate Retro Fruit Salad with Creamy Sour Cream Excellence

A classic, no-cook sweet dessert salad featuring equal parts sour cream, juicy pineapple, sweet mandarin oranges, vibrant maraschino cherries, and fluffy mini marshmallows. Left to chill, it transforms into a light, refreshing, and creamy treat.
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Prep Time 10 minutes
Total Time 2 hours 10 minutes
Servings: 4 -6 servings
Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients
  

  • Cup 1: 1 cup sour cream full-fat works best for texture
  • Cup 2: 1 cup pineapple chunks canned, thoroughly drained and roughly chopped
  • Cup 3: 1 cup mandarin oranges canned, thoroughly drained
  • Cup 4: 1 cup maraschino cherries thoroughly drained, stems removed, and sliced in half
  • Cup 5: 1 cup miniature marshmallows

Method
 

  1. 1.Prep and Drain the Fruit :2 min.
  2. Open the canned pineapple chunks, mandarin oranges, and maraschino cherries. Place them into fine-mesh strainers over the sink to drain completely. Extra juice will make the salad watery. Chop the pineapple into smaller bite-sized bits, and slice the stemmed cherries in half.
  3. 2.Smooth the Base :2 min.
  4. Spoon 1 cup of sour cream into a medium-sized mixing bowl. Use a small whisk or spoon to vigorously beat it for a few seconds. This removes any initial lumps and makes it silky smooth so it coats the ingredients evenly.
  5. 3.Fold Ingredients Gently :3 min.
  6. Dump the drained pineapple chunks, mandarin oranges, halved maraschino cherries, and miniature marshmallows into the bowl with the sour cream. Using a rubber spatula, gently fold the mixture from the bottom up. Be careful not to break apart the delicate mandarin orange segments.
  7. 4.Chill and Plump :2 hours.
  8. Cover the mixing bowl tightly with plastic wrap or a fitted lid. Place it in the refrigerator to chill for at least 2 hours. During this resting time, the marshmallows will absorb moisture from the sour cream, plumping up and sweetening the dressing naturally.
  9. 5.Stir and Serve Cold :1 min.
  10. Give the chilled salad one final, gentle stir right before serving to redistribute any settled juices. Portion it into dessert bowls and serve while perfectly cold.

Notes

  • The Crunch Factor: Want to change things up? A popular variations replaces one of the fruit cups with 1 cup of sweetened shredded coconut or 1 cup of chopped pecans/walnuts for a wonderful contrast in texture.
  • Draining is Key: If your fruit isn't well-drained, the juices will thin out the sour cream, turning your salad into a soup. For best results, let the fruit sit in a colander for 10 minutes, and gently pat the cherries dry with a paper towel.
  • Alternative Dressings: If you find full sour cream too tangy, you can use ½ cup sour cream mixed with ½ cup cool whip, or substitute the sour cream entirely with plain vanilla Greek yogurt.