Frog Eye Salad is the perfect dessert for wowing your kids, their friends, and adults who still act like kids. Now, before you start imagining little froggies bouncing around, don’t worry, no amphibians were harmed in the making of this salad. It’s all about the fun name and the delightful flavors that come together in this quirky dish. Frog Eye Salad is made with small cooked pasta, Acini De Pepe, that feel like “frog eyes” in the dessert. Not only is Frog Eye Salad wonderfully fun, it’s also incredibly delicious, packed with fruit and cream. Trust me, once you try it, you’ll be croaking for more!
Frog Eye Salad
When my boys were small I wanted to do all the super fun things with them. I wanted to be that house. You know, the one with the open door policy where all the friends hang out. I tried to come up with super fun treats for the kids to eat that they probably wouldn’t get anywhere else. You know…the fastest way to boys’ hearts it through their stomachs 😉 . One of my all time favorite dishes to serve my boys and their hoard (and later my girls and their friends too) was Frog Eye Salad.
Frog Eye Salad is gluten free…just don’t eat the frogs.
How I came up with Frog Eye Salad
My Dear Father in Law lives in Denver and during one of our early trips, we needed to stock up on ready made foods for Shabbat. At the time, the place to go was the East Side Kosher Deli. The East Side Kosher Deli had a deli counter and a small Kosher grocery store attached to it. We went in and basically said to give us a little bit of everything, figuring that we had a lot of mouths to feed and it would be fun to try new and unsual delicacies. One of the 16 ounce deli containers had this weirdly textured, sweet something with fruit.It was delicious!We went back and got more.When we got back to Chicago, there were requests from the peanut gallery to see if I could replicate the thing.
The new and updated East Side Deli in Denver, CO.
Calling the East Side Deli
So…I called the East Side Deli and spoke to the owner. I asked him what that magical dish was and he told me it was called “Frog Eye Salad”. “Cool”, I said. “Can you please tell me what’s in it? I want to make it for my family. I don’t want to sell it… I’m in Chicago and I’m definitely not going into competition with you.”He said… “Well there’s some pineapple and pasta.”Sigh.“Can you tell me any more?”“Eggs.”Super helpful. I get it. At the time, it was their business and I completely understand why they didn’t want to share their Deli’s recipe.Really. I completely understood.I just wasn’t done.
Sleuthing for the Frog Eye Salad recipe
At the time, there wasn’t the plethora of food websites like there is now. Being the determined individual that I was, I sat down at my desktop computer, and did a search for Frog Eye Salad. You know what? I actually found a recipe, and it sounded pretty similar to what we had in Denver.Wahoo!I’ve been making it ever since.
And Frog Eye Salad suddenly became current
Now…back to the present. I still have little ones around the house that I’m trying to entertain with fun foods and activities (thank G-d!). Imagine my shock and excitement (they heard me shouting all the way in Pittsburgh) when I received an email from The Spruce Eats with a recipe for Frog Eye Salad!!!I totally freaked out.Evidently, according to the website:“Frog eye salad is a unique fruit salad that originated in Utah. The salad has long been a regional favorite, and thanks to the Internet, it is quickly gaining popularity. It’s an excellent fruit salad to make for a Thanksgiving, Christmas, or Easter dinner, or take it along to a potluck. It also makes a fabulous dessert. The whimsical name comes from the hundreds of round, bead-like acini di pepe pasta, which look a little like frog’s eyes.”
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The Spruce Eats Frog Eye Salad
So I did another internet search for Frog Eye Salad
Given that Frog Eye Salad seemed to be making a comeback (I’m not sure it ever left), I decided to do another search.You know what? There are a ton of recipes for Frog Eye Salad out there now.Who knew?I still like my version the best.
No coconut or marshmallows in my version of Frog Eye Salad. I sprinkled a little toasted coconut on top of these for a little decoration, but whether you add it or not is totally up to you!
My Version of Frog Eye Salad
After the whole East Side Deli experience, I came up with what I thought was a kind of blend of what I remembered from the East Side Deli version of Frog Eye Salad and the recipe I found online.For whatever reason, mine ended up heavy on the whipped cream (good), more types of fruit (also good), no coconut (except for the photos I took for this post with some sprinkled on top – also good), and way more cherries (super good).Current versions of the recipe contain marshmallows, toasted coconut and mandarin oranges. My version has no marshmallows (it’s already pretty sweet), but I did add the mandarin oranges for extra flavor and color. Whether you add them or not is totally up to you.
Frog Eye Salad is filled with creamy yumminess!
Making Frog Eye Salad Gluten Free
One of the biggest changes I had updating my original recipe for this post was making it gluten free. That means, if you are a GFE (Gluten Free Eater), it’s obviously essential to use a gluten free version of the acini de pepe pasta. I found a great one on the website Yummy Bazaar, which I just discovered and love.
Acini di Pepe Gluten Free Organic Pasta by Farabella can be found on Yummy Bazaar and other websites.
You can also use gluten free Israeli cous cous, although the texture would not be quite the same.
Here’s the recipe for Frog Eye Salad
A few things to consider when making Frog Eye Salad. It’s really good after it’s been refrigerated for a while. It’s good served immediately, but better if it’s been thoroughly chilled.While I use an assortment of fruits in my recipe for Frog Eye Salad, you can absolutely use only pineapple, leave out the cherries or mandarin oranges. I would make sure to keep the same proportion of fruit though.Make sure to thoroughly drain any fruit. Excess liquid is the nemesis of Frog Eye Salad.I haven’t used fresh fruit in Frog Eye Salad, so I can’t really say whether it would work or not…I might be afraid that it would leech liquid after a time.I used gluten free Acini De Pepe. If you can’t find it, then you can substitute gluten free cous cous or another very small pasta. It won’t be the same, but it probably would still be delicious.Make sure to completely chill the custard through before adding it to the pasta. If you don’t the heat will melt the whipped cream when you fold it in.
You can see all the frogs eyes and fruit peeking through (and the lone pasta trying desperately to escape!).
Frog Eye Salad
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Total Time: 45 minutes
- Yield: 10 servings 1x
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Cooking
- Cuisine: Gluten Free
- Diet: Kosher
Description
Frog Eye Salad is the perfect dessert for wowing your kids, their friends, and adults who still act like kids. Now, before you start imagining little froggies bouncing around, don’t worry, no amphibians were harmed in the making of this salad. It’s all about the fun name and the delightful flavors that come together in this quirky dish. It’s made with small cooked pasta, Acini De Pepe, that feel like “frog eyes” in the dessert. Not only is Frog Eye Salad wonderfully fun, it’s also incredibly delicious, packed with fruit and cream. Trust me, once you try it, you’ll be croaking for more!
Ingredients
- 1 (20-ouce) can crushed pineapple
- 1 (20-ounce) can fruit mix/cocktail
- 1 (16-ounce) jar maraschino cherries, rinsed until water runs clear then drained
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon gluten free flour
- 1 large egg
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 1 cup Acini De Pepe pasta, cooked according to package directions and rinsed
- 1 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream
- 1/3 cup confectioners’ sugar
- 2 (15-ounce) cans mandarin orange segments, well drained (optional)
- 1/4 cup toasted coconut, for garnish (optional)
- maraschino cherries with stems, for garnish (optional)
Instructions
- Place a mesh strainer over a medium bowl. Drain the crushed pineapple and fruit mix in the strainer, pressing out as much liquid as possible.
- Transfer the fruit to a small bowl and reserve 1 cup of the drained liquid.
- In a medium saucepan, completely whisk the sugar and flour together, then whisk in the reserved liquid, egg and salt until combined.
- Cook over medium heat, whisking constantly, until the mixture coats the back of a spoon around 6-7 minutes.
- Cover and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes until completely cooled.
- Beat the whipped cream until frothy, then gradually add the powdered sugar and beat until very stiff peaks form.
- Place the pasta in a large mixing bowl. Pour the cooled custard over the pasta and stir to combine.
- Mix in the drained fruit and mandarin oranges.
- Fold in around a cup of the whipped cream to lighten the pasta/fruit, then gently fold in the rest of the cream (see note).
- Add the maraschino cherries and stir to combine.
- Transfer to individual dessert cups, then top with toasted coconut (optional) and maraschino cherries with stems.
Notes
Make sure to whisk the sugar and flour together until completely blended. This will help keep any flour lumps from forming in the fruit custard.
For a less creamy Frog Eye Salad, reserve 1 cup of the whipped cream to use as a garnish when serving.
It’s really good after it’s been refrigerated for a while. It’s good served immediately, but better if it’s been thoroughly chilled.
While I use an assortment of fruits in my recipe for Frog Eye Salad, you can absolutely use only pineapple, leave out the cherries or mandarin oranges. I would make sure to keep the same proportion of fruit though.
Make sure to thoroughly drain any fruit. Excess liquid is the nemesis of Frog Eye Salad.
I haven’t used fresh fruit in Frog Eye Salad, so I can’t really say whether it would work or not…I might be afraid that it would leech liquid after a time.
I used gluten free Acini De Pepe. If you can’t find it, then you can substitute gluten free cous cous or another very small pasta. It won’t be the same, but it probably would still be delicious.
Make sure to completely chill the custard through before adding it to the pasta. If you don’t the heat will melt the whipped cream when you fold it in.
Nutrition
- Serving Size:
- Calories: 282
- Sugar: 32.8 g
- Sodium: 548.4 mg
- Fat: 13.4 g
- Saturated Fat: 5.2 g
- Carbohydrates: 41.8 g
- Fiber: 4.7 g
- Protein: 2.9 g
- Cholesterol: 38.9 mg
More Delicious Dessert Recipes
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I’m putting this at the end because… I was that Mom
I loved making crazy things for my kids. I had a standard repertoire of weird desserts like Frog Eye Salad, Slime Pie (read: Key Lime Pie), Worms in Dirt and even clown cupcakes.
Yes folks…even made Clown Cupcakes. I hope my kids appreciate me lol.
Every birthday party had a theme, and trust me when I tell you it was insanely fun coming up with ways to implement them.
I coached their sports teams, and even helped the team to an undefeated little league championship.
Yes…we really did go undefeated that season!!!
I was that Mom.
At the time, I didn’t really think I was that Mom. I just wanted to have a lot of fun with my boys.
I’m sure there were other Mom’s that didn’t love that too much.
I’m OK with that.
The cake I made for my son Yosef’s Bar Mitzvah (of championship little league fame). The center dividers contain pictures of him and special family members. I used those dividers for the cake I made for his uf ruf ten years later…
The Cake for Yosef’s Uf Ruf. The pictures had even more meaning by that point.
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