Name: Easy Frog Eye Salad
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 5 min
Yield: 6 cups
Ingredients: 1 cup white sugar2 tablespoons all-purpose white flour2 1/2 teaspoons salt2 eggs (beaten1/2 cup Mandarin juice, drained from canned mandarins1/2 cup pineapple juice, drained from canned pineapples3/4 cup light coconut milk1 tablespoon lemon or lime juice1 tablespoon olive oil1 (16 oz) package acini di pepe pasta3 (11 oz) cans mandarin oranges, drained2 (20 oz) cans pineapple tidbits, drained1 (20 oz) can crushed pineapple, drained1 (8 oz) tub whipped topping (light cool-whip)5 cups mini marshmallows1 cup shredded unsweetened coconut)

I recently went to a party at a friends house where they served this Easy Frog Eye Salad! My whole family loved it, and I knew that I had to make it myself. After a few experiments over the last few weeks, I found the ideal combination of flavors – pineapple, mandarin, and coconut!

What is Frog Eye Salad?

“Frog eye salad is a type of pasta salad. It is made with acini di pepe pasta, whipped topping and egg yolks. Fruit, such as mandarin oranges and pineapples, are often mixed in, and it is sometimes topped with marshmallows.” (Source: Wikipedia)

Frog Eye Salad History

“Frog eye salad (or frog’s eye salad) appears to hail from Utah. It is so-named because it’s made with tiny, round acini di pepe pasta and some combination of mandarin oranges, canned pineapple, and whipped topping or condensed milk.” (Source: Huffington Post)

TOOLS AND SUPPLIES TO MAKE EASY FROG EYE SALAD

For this easy Frog Eye Salad, I like to use a strainer (this is my fave) and a large bowl (like this one) to mix everything in. You’ll also need a saucepan (here’s mine). Other items to have handy are measuring spoons, whisk, pasta pot, large spoon, and small cups with spoons. I used these awesome Tilt Bowl to serve the Frog Eye Salad. Check out my favorites on my Ultimate Kitchen Tool and Equipment Guide.

HOW TO MAKE EASY FROG EYE SALAD

Start by draining all the cans of mandarins saving ½ cup of mandarin juice and strain the pineapple juice to get ½ cup of pineapple juice from the canned pineapples.

Mix the saved 1 cup of drained juice with ¾ cups of light coconut milk.

In a saucepan, the coconut milk and pineapple/mandarin juice with 1 cup white sugar, 2 tbsp flour, 1/2 teaspoon salt, lightly whisked eggs.

Whisk everything together before you turn the heat on.

Whisk over medium heat until the mixture is reduced by half.

Take mixture off the heat and add 1 tbsp of lime or lemon juice

Let mix cool to room temperature.

While it cools, start cooking the pasta.

Bring water to a boil.

Add one tsp salt, one tsp Olive Oil and all the pasta.

Cook al dente according to the bag instructions.

Take pasta off the stove and add in 2 cups ice to cool the pasta.

Drain the pasta in a fine mesh or tiny hole strainer. Once everything is cooled, In a large mixing bowl, combine the cooked al dente pasta, first mixture, drained mandarin oranges, drained pineapple tidbits, drained crushed pineapple and an entire tub of whipped topping.

Mix extremely well and refrigerate overnight.

Right before serving, add 1 cup mini marshmallows and 1 cup unsweetened shredded coconut. Toss and serve with a large spoon.

If you are feeling fancy, serve in small cups with spoons.