Classic Frog-Eye Salad

If you are into dessert salads, Cool Whip, and tasty holiday flavors, you should give this frog-eye salad a try. While there are absolutely no frogs in this traditional Thanksgiving dessert recipe, there is a whole lot of sweet flavor. It is an easy dessert to put together and perfect for a potluck, holiday dessert, or just a nummy treat for your family. Give our no-egg frog-eye salad a try today.

Frog-Eye Salad Summary

First, I think we need to address the elephant (or maybe frog) in the room. There are no frog eyes in this recipe or frogs at all. The name refers to the shape of the pasta used in this recipe.

What Is Acini di Pepe and Why Is It Called Frog-Eye Salad?

Acini di pepe is a type of pasta, and the name literally translates to “seeds of a pepper.” There is also no pepper in this recipe, but the pasta pieces are tiny like seeds and resemble small frog eyes. This is called frog-eye salad because of the shape of the pasta.

The pasta, however, is used and really makes this a fun dessert recipe that might be considered a cousin of Glorified Rice if you have ever had that. Cooking this pasta is the only time your burner turns on for this recipe.

Once the pasta is cooked, rinsed, and cooled, it is mixed with pineapple, canned mandarin oranges, and Cool Whip. After mixing, we allow this mixture to chill in the refrigerator for a bit.

Once chilled, it is as simple as topping with marshmallows and optionally any maraschino cherries or extra mandarin orange segments you might have. Extra fruit can be used to help it look pretty.

What Makes This Recipe Special?

This is a great recipe for any holiday. It is easy to put together and is a sweet treat. If you and your guests can appreciate a good Midwest sweet salad, this is a good one for you. 

Usually, I like making things from scratch, but for a recipe like this, I prefer to use the traditional convenience ingredients it calls for. While I love homemade whipped cream, I use Cool Whip for this recipe.

I use store-bought marshmallows and canned fruit in this recipe. Topping with neon red maraschino cherries adds a pop of color that makes it look spectacular. This is somewhat similar to our Snickers Salad recipe, but it uses a different combination of colors, textures, and flavors. 

Chill the Mixture Before Topping with Marshmallows

Place the dish in your fridge once you mix the pasta with the whipped topping, pineapple, and mandarin orange segments. I allow this to chill for at least an hour and up to overnight. This gives the flavors time to meld and the mixture time to set.

Once you pull it out of the refrigerator, add marshmallows to the top and any fruit you want to make the dish look pretty. I like a few extra mandarin orange segments and a few maraschino cherries to top this off.

Where Are the Eggs?

You will often find frog-eye salad recipes made with a cooked egg-based custard or dressing. I am omitting eggs from this recipe.

Close to Glorified Rice

If you are from the Upper Midwest or are a connoisseur of dessert salads, you may recognize some of these flavors. For me, this is close to a recipe I grew up with, Glorified Rice. 

As the name implies, that uses rice instead of acini di pepe and some of the same sweet ingredients. The similarities are so close that I couldn’t help but note them. If you like Glorified Rice, you will likely enjoy this dish.

History of Frog-Eye Salad

This was a tough one to nail down. One concrete early mention I found is in a 1992 book named Roadfood, which specifically names the dish and describes it similarly to my recipe.

The first place I encountered this recipe was in a church cookbook, and that connection makes sense. Frog-eye salad is strongly associated with Utah and Idaho and with potlucks and cookbooks connected to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. That is a useful regional and cultural association, though it is not the same as proving exactly where the dish originated.

I think one thing that helps narrow down the history of this recipe and many whipped-topping-based salads is Cool Whip. Cool Whip was invented in 1966, and one of the big advantages of this product is that it could be frozen. No longer did folks have to make homemade whipped cream, and it was as simple as taking a package out of the freezer.

As Cool Whip’s popularity took hold in the U.S., so did a plethora of whipped-topping desserts and dessert salads. I can’t say that frog-eye salad didn’t exist before Cool Whip, but there is a reasonable chance that it really started to take hold in the 1970s and 1980s as the use of Cool Whip became commonplace.

Storage

Cover leftover frog-eye salad and refrigerate it promptly. For best quality and food safety, use refrigerated leftovers within 3–4 days and avoid leaving the salad at room temperature for more than about two hours.

Frog-Eye Salad Recipe Tips

• The dish gets its name because cooked acini di pepe resembles small frog eyes.
• Make sure the pasta is cooled before mixing.
• Store in the refrigerator. 
• Arrange the marshmallows on top as desired before serving.

Products I Used in this Recipe

• Large Bowl
• Wire strainer
• Cool Whip
• Marshmallows

Did You Make This Recipe?

I am so glad you gave it a try! If you made this, it would be really great if you could spend a few moments leaving a comment and rating in the comments section below. It helps me out and also lets other visitors get a glimpse into your experience. It would be appreciated, but most of all, I appreciate you visiting Ramshackle Pantry, and I hope you check out some of our other recipes. 

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