Updated 4/15/25
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Frog eye salad is like a dessert salad rendition of classic nostalgia. It’s one of those cold, creamy salad recipes with a sweet pop of flavor and enough fruit to make it one of the best warm-weather side dishes or light desserts. I’m sure we’ll all agree, it has a horrible name!
We love this acini di pepe salad virtually all spring and summer long! We serve it for Sunday suppers, family get-togethers, potlucks, church suppers, and it even makes a fall and winter appearance on Thanksgiving and Christmas! This is a big crowd pleaser, and everyone loves this side dish!
Taking a walk down memory lane, you may recall the yummy 5-cup salad or Watergate salad of the ’70s. I have fond memories of my sweet grandma showing up with her famous concoction. Now I like whipping up my yummy strawberry pretzel salad and strawberry cheesecake salad, alternating with this delicious recipe.
You’ll definitely want to put this one in the spring and summer rotation!
Let’s make this bowl of YUM!!
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Kids of all ages adore this!
- No-bake pineapple custard.
- This is like a fruit salad married to a pasta salad!
- Light-n-fluffy texture.
What Is Acini De Pepe Pasta?
This is a very small, round pasta that looks similar to tiny grains or beads. When translated into English, the name in Italian means “peppercorns.” They’re great in soups because they absorb flavors. We use them in our leftover turkey soup, and they’re incredibly delicious!
How Do You Cook Acini De Pepe Noodles?
Bring a large pot of 6 cups of water with one to two teaspoons of salt to a boil. This is less salt than we generally add to cook our savory pasta dishes. When water boils, pour in the acini de pepe and stir to prevent sticking. Cook until tender, 10 minutes. Again, unlike most of our savory pasta dishes, we like to slightly overcook this pasta for this salad. The only other pasta dish in our repertoire that I can think of that we slightly overcook pasta is our Hawaiian macaroni salad. Drain and rinse in cold water, which, again, we seldom do.! So obviously, this pasta is handled decidedly differently than almost all of our pasta recipes.
Frog Eye Salad Recipe Ingredients
Our recipe doesn’t use eggs, egg yolks, all-purpose flour, or cornstarch. Instead, it uses instant pudding to create our delicious pineapple custard!
- Pasta: The star of the show! Acini de pepe!
- Pudding: We use a small box of instant vanilla pudding.
- Sugar: Granulated sugar.
- Milk: I use whole milk.
- Pineapple: We use pineapple juice, crushed pineapple, and pineapple tidbits to really bring home this delicious flavor! If you can’t find the canned tidbits, you can use pineapple chunks, just cut them into smaller pieces.
- Oranges: We use canned mandarin oranges. If you’d prefer, you can use fresh mandarins. We don’t use the juice from the canned mandarins, so this is an easy swap.
- Fruit Cocktail: I can’t tell you how much I love this canned fruit! It reminds me of happy times in my grandma’s kitchen because that’s the only place I had it!
- Marshmallows: We added fruity, multicolored mini marshmallows. You can replace them with plain mini marshmallows if you’d like. Some recipes add only one cup miniature marshmallows! Yikes, we added a whopping 3 delicious cups!
- Coconut: I use sweetened shredded coconut. I love the Baker’s brand. I’ve found that Trader Joe’s brand is too dry.
- Frozen Topping: Remember, this should be thawed overnight in the fridge. Cool Whip works great, but I’ve also used Kroger’s brand with equally good results. No compromise in taste. I like the money-saving from the Kroger’s brand!
Storing + Freezing + Make-Ahead
- How Long Can You Keep This In The Fridge? Once it’s assembled and ready to go, store leftovers in the fridge for 3-4 days.
- Can You Freeze This? Unfortunately, frog eye salad doesn’t freeze well, but it’s so incredibly simple to make that you really don’t need to think about freezing it. It only takes a few minutes to assemble, and you’re on your way to creamy, dreamy bliss!
- Make-Ahead Tips: Since you need most ingredients chilled before blending together, it’s easy to split this into steps. Simply slide your pasta/pudding mixture into the fridge along with your fruit in a separate container. They can be prepped a day or two ahead of time. When you’re ready to serve, pull it out and blend it all together with the other goodies. Easy Peasy! Just remember that after the pasta is cooked, the pudding mixture is made, and the canned fruit is opened, it will last a total of 3-4 days.
- Storing Tips: I prefer to blend the acini di pepe with the pudding and store it separately from the mixed fruit in the fridge. Then, I mix it all together and add the other goodies just before serving time.
Tips
Plan For Chill Time: Making this frog eye salad is super simple. However, it requires overnight refrigeration, so plan accordingly!
Lemon Juice: Some people like to add one to two tablespoons of fresh lemon juice.
Pasta Substitutes: If you’re unable to find acini de pepe, you can use orzo instead.
Chilling: Blend your pudding mixture with your acini di pepe and let it firm up in the fridge overnight. Chill your fruit in a separate container overnight so it’s cold and creamy when you serve it.
Acini de Pepe – If you missed the info above, I want to make sure you don’t miss this point. The difference for this particular recipe is that I’m going to break all the rules and laws when it comes to cooking pasta and tell you to overcook it.
-
- Yes, this is one of the few times I suggest cooking the pasta past al dente since I want it to be nice and soft in this salad. We’re NOT looking for mushy here, but you want to boil it for a good 10 minutes to make sure the final texture adds to the creamy consistency of the salad instead of creating that “bite” you’re usually after when you cook pasta. Once it’s perfect, rinse it under cold water to preserve that texture without going into the soggy froggy zone.
- Serving this sweet salad doesn’t require any crazy ingredients. The acini di pepe may sound out of the ordinary, but it’s really quite common. It’s a small pasta similar to couscous, often used in soups and salads.
Pineapple Juice: Reserve the juice from your crushed pineapple. You will use it to blend your vanilla pudding. It is Ah-ma-zing!
Serving Recommendations
I like to serve this with a dollop of whipped cream topped with a maraschino cherry. My Grandma always had an extra jar of them in her pantry, so every grandchild got one on top of their dessert.
Serve with more of my favorite warm-weather sides, such as KFC coleslaw, pineapple coleslaw, pasta salad with Italian dressing, authentic Hawaiian macaroni salad, classic macaroni salad, Broccoli Salad, and or 7-Layer Salad.
How To Make Frog Eye Salad Recipe
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Add cooked pasta to the pudding mixture and fold gently until combined. Cover and refrigerate overnight.
- When ready to serve, add cold fruit, cool whip, mini marshmallows, and coconut to the pasta mixture and fold to combine.
- Serve in a large bowl or individual serving dishes.
**See the full instructions below.
More Sweet Salads
More Warm Weather Side Dishes
Check Out All My Pasta Salad Recipes!
- Strawberry Spinach Salad
- Classic Macaroni Salad
- Carrot Salad
- Antipasto Salad
- Cucumber Tomato Salad
- Pea Salad
- Dill Pickle Pasta Salad
- Tortellini Salad
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Frog Eye Salad Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 cup Acini di pepe
- 1 (3.5-ounce) box instant vanilla pudding mix
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1 1/4 cups milk
- 1 (8-ounce) can crushed pineapple, drained with juice reserved
- 1 (20-ounce) can pineapple tidbits, drained with juice discarded
- 1 (11-ounce) can mandarin oranges, drained with juice discarded
- 2 (15-ounce) cans fruit cocktail, drained with juice discarded
- 3 cups colored mini marshmallow
- 1 cup shredded coconut
- 1 (8-ounce) container cool whip thawed
- Reddi wip
Instructions
- Cook pasta (1 cup) in lightly salted rapidly boiling water for 10 minutes. Drain and rinse in cold water. Drain well.
- In a large bowl, using an electric mixer, beat together Instant pudding mix (1 box), 1/4 cup of reserved pineapple juice, sugar (1/2 cup), and milk (1 1/4 cups) for 2 minutes.
- Add drained pasta to pudding mixture and fold gently until combined. Cover and refrigerate overnight.
- Place all drained fruit in a bowl or a 1-gallon resealable bag and refrigerate overnight.
- When ready to serve, add cold fruit (1 can crushed pineapple + 1 can pineapple tidbits + 1 can mandarin oranges + 2 cans fruit cocktail), cool whip (1 container), mini marshmallows (3 cups), and coconut (1 cup) to pasta mixture and fold to combine. Serve in a large bowl or individual serving dishes. Top with Reddi Wip if desired.
Fans Also Made:
Notes
- Chilling: You’ll want to blend your pudding mixture with your acini di pepe and let it firm up in the fridge overnight. Chill your fruit in a separate container overnight in the fridge so it’ll all be cold and creamy when you serve it.
- Acini de Pepe – To cook it, you’ll boil a big pot of water, with just a touch of salt, just like you would when cooking any other type of pasta. The difference for this particular recipe is that I’m going to break all the rules and laws when it comes to cooking pasta and tell you to overcook it.
-
- Yes, this is one of the few times I suggest cooking the pasta past al dente since I want it to be nice and soft in this salad. We’re NOT looking for mushy here, but you want to boil it for a good 10 minutes to make sure the final texture adds to the creamy consistency of the salad instead of creating that “bite” you’re usually after when you cook pasta. Once it’s perfect, rinse it under cold water to preserve that texture without going into the soggy froggy zone.
- Serving up this sweet salad doesn’t require any crazy ingredients. The acini di pepe may sound out of the ordinary but it’s really quite common. It’s a small pasta similar to couscous which is often used in soups and salads.
Nutrition
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This frog eye salad recipe looks delicious and so easy to make! I love the combination of flavors and textures. Can’t wait to try it at our next family gathering! Thanks for sharing!
We’re glad you like this. Enjoy and let us know how it turns out 🙂
This frog eye salad recipe looks absolutely delicious! I love how easy it is to make, and the blend of flavors sounds amazing. Can’t wait to try it out for my next family gathering! Thanks for sharing!
Thank you too! Enjoy 🙂
This Frog Eye Salad recipe looks fantastic! I love how you included step-by-step instructions. I can’t wait to try it for our next family gathering. Thank you for sharing!
Thank you! Glad it helped. Enjoy!
This frog eye salad recipe looks amazing! I can’t wait to try making it for our next family gathering. The combination of flavors and textures sounds delightful. Thank you for sharing such a fun recipe!
Thank you! We’re glad you like this 🙂 Enjoy!
This Frog Eye Salad recipe looks delicious and super easy to make! I love how you’ve included step-by-step instructions. Can’t wait to try it for our next family gathering! Thank you for sharing!
Thank you so much! I’m glad that step-by-step photos helped 🙂 Enjoy!
I just made this Frog Eye Salad for a family gathering, and it was a huge hit! The creamy texture and sweet flavor combination are simply irresistible. Thank you for sharing such a delightful recipe! Can’t wait to make it again!
Yaaay! That’s great to hear that it was a hit! Thanks for the positive feedback and rating 🙂
Do I need to change anything if I do 16oz of the pasta?
Hi Tasha, for 16 ounce pasta (453 grams), that’s for 32 servings. Kindly click this printable version, and adjust the serving size for 32 people. All the ingredients will be adjusted for that serving size.
I LOVE this recipe!!! I have made it many times and it is always well received.
Yaaay! I’m glad it was a hit 🙂
Thanks for the positive feedback!
The recipe and instructions were great. But your Pinterest page is so cluttered that it is unusable. I had to screen shot sections in order to follow it. Take down some of that horribly intrusive advertising.
Loved this easier version!! I didn’t use fruit cocktail but used 2 cans of pineapple tidbits and 2 cans of mandarin oranges and it is amazing!! Will use it many more times.
Thanks for the recipe.
Hi, JoAnn! That sounds so yummy! I’m glad you liked it 🙂
It blows my mind thee is tiny pasta in this delicious dessert. Love it! This is really nice ending on a warm day. Saving it!
Velva
Thanks so much Velva! Who ever would have though that pasta would make such a delicious dessert pasta salad! <3
I have been making this salad for years. I don’t add the coconut though. My niece’s daughter loves this so much & every time I see her she tells me how much she loves it when I make this (hint, hint) lol! Such a easy, yummy salad.
Hi Debbie! My kids love this too!
Has anyone used coconut pudding and not flaked coconut?
This is one if my favorite salads to eat that my mom used to make! Only hers was harder to make! Thanks for sharing an easier recipe!
I love to hear its a family recipe. It’s such a fun sweet salad. I’m so happy to hear that my version is easier, Cherly! I hope it becomes a new family tradition! <3
It will definitely become a tradition for me! I love it! Thank you so much!
I love hearing that Cheryl! You’re very welcome!
Is it calling for one cup of Cooked if the pasta stuff, of 1 cup uncooked?
Hi Marina! One cup of boiled pasta 😀 Hope this helps!
I am making this right now for New Years Day!
I’m so happy to hear that Mary. I truly love this funnily named salad! <3
Is it 1 cup and 1/4th milk or just 1/4 cup of milk?
Hi Emmy, it’s 1 and a 1/4 cup of milk <3
I am so happy I made this frog eye salad. It was so delicious and creamy. I am excited to make it again this summer!
I’m so glad you liked this Frog Eyed Salad! It’s a great summer salad <3
Trying this on Easter, can’t wait! The pudding and pasta are mixed and ready to go! Thanks
Hope its a big hit!
It says 13.5 oz box of instant pudding? That seems like a lot. Do you mean 3.5 ounce box ?
Hi Laure. Thank you so much for pointing this out. I added parentheses for clarification. <3
It says 1-(3,5 oz) box Instant Vanilla Pudding , read it over again!!!!!!!!!!!
A little snarky aren’t we?