Frog Eye Salad is a sweet pasta fruit salad: tiny acini di pepe pasta folded into a cooked pineapple custard with pineapple tidbits, crushed pineapple, mandarin oranges, whipped topping, mini marshmallows and coconut. It’s chilled until cold and creamy and served as a side or a dessert. This big-batch recipe serves 24, which makes it a natural potluck dish.
How to make it: Drain the canned fruit and save the pineapple juice. Cook the juice with sugar, flour, salt and beaten eggs into a thick custard, add lemon juice and cool it. Cook and rinse the acini di pepe, stir in the custard and fruit, fold in the whipped topping, marshmallows and coconut, and chill at least 2 hours.
Why You’ll Love It
- Feeds a crowd: 24 servings from one big bowl.
- Make it the day before: it needs time in the refrigerator anyway.
- Sweet and fluffy: pineapple and mandarins in a creamy custard dressing.
- Side or dessert: it fits either spot on the table.
Ingredient Notes
Canned fruit: two 20-ounce cans of pineapple tidbits, one 20-ounce can of crushed pineapple and three 11-ounce cans of mandarin oranges. Choose fruit canned in juice, not syrup.
Pineapple juice: 1 3/4 cups, saved from the drained pineapple, for the custard.
Custard: 1 cup sugar, 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour, 2 large beaten eggs, 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1 tablespoon lemon juice.
Acini di pepe pasta: one 16-ounce package. These tiny round pasta beads are about the size of couscous.
Frozen whipped topping: one 8-ounce container, thawed.
Miniature marshmallows and coconut: 1 cup each. Use sweetened shredded or flaked coconut.
Ingredients
- 2 cans pineapple tidbits (20 ounces each), drained, juice reserved
- 1 can crushed pineapple (20 ounces), drained, juice reserved
- 3 cans mandarin oranges (11 ounces each), drained, juice discarded
- 1 3/4 cups pineapple juice, reserved from the drained pineapple
- 1 cup sugar
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 2 large eggs, beaten
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 package acini di pepe pasta (16 ounces)
- 1 container frozen whipped topping (8 ounces), thawed
- 1 cup miniature marshmallows
- 1 cup coconut, sweetened, shredded or flaked
How to Make Frog Eye Salad
1. Drain the fruit. Drain the juice from the pineapple tidbits, crushed pineapple and mandarin oranges, very well. Keep the pineapple juice, since you need 1 3/4 cups of it for the custard, and discard the mandarin juice. Set the fruit and juice aside.
2. Cook the custard. Combine the flour, sugar and salt in a medium saucepan. Stir in the reserved pineapple juice and the beaten eggs. Cook over low heat, stirring frequently, until thickened and the custard reaches 160°F on a food thermometer. Stir in the lemon juice and cool the custard completely in the refrigerator.
3. Cook the pasta. Cook the acini di pepe according to the package directions. Drain, rinse with cold water and pour it into a large bowl.
4. Mix the salad. Stir the cooled custard, drained pineapple tidbits, crushed pineapple and mandarin oranges into the pasta. Gently fold in the whipped topping, marshmallows and coconut, without overmixing.
5. Chill and serve. Move the salad to an airtight container and refrigerate at least 2 hours before serving. Serve cold.
Common Frog Eye Salad Mistakes (and How to Avoid Them)
- Wet fruit. Drain every can very well, through a sieve if you have one. Undrained fruit makes the salad watery.
- Soft pasta. Cook the acini di pepe to al dente, about 6 minutes at a low simmer, then rinse it with cold water. If it clumps while cooling, break it apart with a spoon.
- Warm custard. Let the custard cool completely before it meets the pasta and whipped topping. About 30 minutes in the refrigerator does it.
- Overmixing. Fold the whipped topping in gently, just until everything is light and evenly combined.
- Not enough chill time. Give it at least 2 hours in the refrigerator, or overnight.
- Undercooked custard. It has eggs, so cook it until it thickens and reaches 160°F.
Why Is It Called Frog Eye Salad?
The name comes from the pasta. Acini di pepe are tiny round beads, and once they’re coated in the custard they look like little frog eyes. There’s no documented origin story beyond that. You’ll also see it called acini di pepe fruit salad or pasta fruit salad.
What’s in it? Acini di pepe pasta and a cooked custard of pineapple juice, sugar, flour and eggs, plus canned pineapple, mandarin oranges, mini marshmallows, coconut and a tub of whipped topping.
Variations
- Smaller batch: for a smaller bowl, use 1 cup uncooked acini di pepe, 1 egg, 3/4 cup sugar and 1 tablespoon flour for the custard, with one 20-ounce can each of pineapple tidbits, crushed pineapple and mandarin oranges.
- Cherries: add 1/2 cup drained, halved maraschino cherries, and stir 1 tablespoon butter and 1 teaspoon vanilla into the custard.
- Banana: fold in a sliced banana just before chilling.
- Fresh whipped cream: beat 1 1/2 cups cold heavy cream to stiff peaks in place of the whipped topping.
- Pastina: this tiny soup pasta works instead of acini di pepe.
- Lime: use fresh lime juice instead of lemon.
- Colorful: use multicolored mini marshmallows. Toasted pecans add crunch, but leave them out for a potluck in case of nut allergies.
Storage
Refrigerator: Keep it in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days; after that it starts to break down. Stir before serving and add a little extra whipped topping if it needs freshening.
Make ahead: It’s fine to make the day before.
At a potluck: Keep it cold. Nest the bowl in a larger bowl of ice, or set out a smaller dish and refill it from the refrigerator. Don’t leave it out more than 2 hours, or 1 hour on a day above 90°F.
Freezer: Not recommended.
What to Serve With It
For a potluck spread, add a savory layered pasta salad. At a holiday meal it sits well next to sweet potatoes with marshmallows.
More sweet salads and fluffs: Hawaiian pineapple coconut fluff, creamsicle orange fluff, Snickers salad and no-bake pineapple cream dessert.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are the ingredients of frog eye salad?
Tiny acini di pepe pasta, a pineapple juice and egg custard, canned pineapple and mandarins, coconut, mini marshmallows and whipped topping.
Why is it called frog eye salad?
The tiny round acini di pepe pasta looks like little frog eyes in the salad.
What are common mistakes when making frog eye salad?
Not draining the fruit well, overcooking the pasta, adding warm custard and overmixing the whipped topping.
Can I make frog eye salad ahead?
Yes. Make it the day before; it keeps up to 3 days in the refrigerator.
Is frog eye salad a side or a dessert?
Either. It’s sweet enough for dessert and often served as a side.
Final Notes
Drain the fruit well, cool the custard fully and give it time to chill. If you try it with cherries or a banana, tell me in the comments how it turned out.
Frog Eye Salad
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Ingredients
- 2 cans pineapple tidbits 20 ounces each, drained, juice reserved
- 1 can crushed pineapple 20 ounces, drained, juice reserved
- 3 cans mandarin oranges 11 ounces each, drained, juice discarded
- 1 3/4 cups pineapple juice reserved from the drained pineapple
- 1 cup sugar
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 2 large eggs beaten
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 package acini di pepe pasta 16 ounces
- 1 container frozen whipped topping 8 ounces, thawed
- 1 cup miniature marshmallows
- 1 cup coconut sweetened, shredded or flaked
Instructions
- Drain the juice from the pineapple tidbits, crushed pineapple and mandarin oranges, very well. Keep the pineapple juice, since you need 1 3/4 cups of it for the custard, and discard the mandarin juice. Set the fruit and juice aside.
- Combine the flour, sugar and salt in a medium saucepan. Stir in the reserved pineapple juice and the beaten eggs. Cook over low heat, stirring frequently, until thickened and the custard reaches 160°F on a food thermometer. Stir in the lemon juice and cool the custard completely in the refrigerator.
- Cook the acini di pepe according to the package directions. Drain, rinse with cold water and pour it into a large bowl.
- Stir the cooled custard, drained pineapple tidbits, crushed pineapple and mandarin oranges into the pasta. Gently fold in the whipped topping, marshmallows and coconut, without overmixing.
- Move the salad to an airtight container and refrigerate at least 2 hours before serving. Serve cold.
Notes
Nutrition
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