Mom’s Frog Eye Salad

Name: Mom’s Frog Eye Salad Recipe
Prep time: 25 min
Cook time: 10 min
Total time: 35 min
Ingredients: 8 ounces Acini De Pepe pasta; 1 cup pineapple juice ((reserved from pineapple tidbits)); ½ cup sugar; 1 Tablespoon flour; ¼ teaspoon salt; 1 egg (beaten); ½ Tablespoon lemon juice; 22 ounces mandarin oranges (drained); 20 ounces pineapple tidbits (1 can, (drained and reserve juice)); 8 ounces crushed pineapple (1 can, drained); 1½ cups miniature marshmallows; ¾ cup shredded coconut; 8 ounces cool whip (1 container)

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31 Comments

5 from 15 votes

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Mom's Frog Eye Salad, also known as Acini Di Pepe Salad, is sweet and full of fruity flavor including coconut and marshmallows.

Our mom made this Frog Eye Salad growing up and it was always a hit at parties and potlucks. It has the perfect amount of sweet and fruity flavor to it. It’s incredibly easy to make, and is the ideal side dish for any occasion. If you are looking for a quick, simple, and delicious salad recipe, this is one you most definitely have to try.

Recipe Ingredient Notes

To make our mom’s frog eye salad (or acini di pepe salad), you need the following ingredients:

Acini De Pepe Pasta
Pineapple juice
Sugar
Flour
Salt
Egg
Lemon Juice
Mandarin Oranges
Pineapple Tidbits
Crushed Pineapple
Miniature Marshmallows
Coconut
Cool Whip

Equipment Needed

For this recipe, you only need a few simple kitchen tools. We recommend using the following equipment:

Three clear glasses filled with creamy tapioca pudding mixed with small fruit pieces, set on a light-colored surface.

A glass filled with creamy tapioca pudding topped with shredded coconut, with a gold spoon scooping from the top.

How to Make Frog Eye Salad

Cook the Acini De Pepe pasta according to package directions. When done, rinse under cold water in strainer. Let cool.
In a saucepan over medium high heat stir together pineapple juice, sugar, flour, salt and egg. Cook and stir constantly until mixture thickens and is smooth. Remove from heat and stir in lemon juice. Let cool.
In a large mixing bowl combine the pasta and thickened mixture.
Then gently fold in the mandarin oranges, pineapple tidbits, crushed pineapple, marshmallows and coconut. Fold in Cool Whip.
Refrigerate until serving.
This recipe can easily be doubled.

Enjoy More Delicious Fruit Salads

Want to add more fruits to your meals? Browse our comprehensive list of salad recipes.

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Questions & Reviews

Teri Hall says:

My family has loved Frog Eye salad since we first tasted it at a family reunion in the 1980's. I adapted it for my families liking taking out the coconut :( that the kids did not like and using fruit cocktail instead of the oranges. Now that they are older, I use the oranges but they still do not like the coconut. I have used this salad for large groups, feeding band 150 band kids, pot lucks, etc. I make my pasta, pineapple mix the day before. If you double that you can freeze that mixture and use later. I personally don't care for the frozen, thawed texture of the pasta mix.
Wanda Ann @ Memories by the Mile says:

First I want to say, I LOVE your Mom. What a beautiful lady inside and out! This Frog Eye Salad looks scrumptious. It was a favorite at our family get together's too! My daughter asked me to make it just the other day, I pinned to use your recipe. Hugs, Wanda Ann @ Memories by the Mile
Stephanie says:

I had no idea anybody else knew what Frog Eye Salad was but my family! It has been made for special events for as long as I can remember. First my grandma making it, them my mom, now us. It was always funny to watch someone's face when you told them what it was called. :)
Robbin Clark says:

Unless you are familiar with Frog Eye Salad you probably don't know what Acini De Pepe is. It is a tiny little pasta that reminds me of tapioca. It is found in the pasta section, usually on the top shelf! If you find it, buy 2 because they don't always have it when you look for it. My family loves Frog Eye Salad, but sometimes it grosses the little kids out when you call it that, so sometimes we call it Acini De Pepe salad. They have no clue what that is, but at least it isn't frog anatomy! I usually make a double batch, enough for an army. Somebody always wants to take some home, and it gets better by the hour. We do leave the coconut out and nobody misses it.
Kerry says:

How long is this good in the refrigerator for?
Cyd says:

It's good for a day or too. Sometimes some liquid could gather at the bottom of the bowl, you can just drain it off!
Kelly says:

This was always a favorite but I haven't made it or had it since having to go gluten free ? wondering if tapioca would work or if it would make it gummy? !
Maralynne Johnson says:

My sauce isn't thickening ? Please help?
Karleen says:

How many does this feed?
Cyd says:

It serves about 12 people.
Kylee Ruth Estrella says:

I just made this and it was delicious, I remember the first time my mom made this and from then it was my desired but rarely had dish. This was a great recipe to me.
Stacey. Tucker says:

I just came across this recipe but mine is very similar. When the recipe was given to me, it has right on it that it would keep for 2 weeks. It never lasts this long though!
Verna Holtz says:

There is a company that makes gluten free acini de Pepe so we can all enjoy. It is called Quantobimi. Their pastas are all very good!
Kathy says:

Thank you so much for the recipe for the Frogeye Salad. Very delicious.
Beth says:

Thank you for this quick, easy, forgiving recipe for frog eye salad. So yummy! I also left out the coconut, but that’s just because that’s how we have always made it.
Barbara says:

How many servings does this recipe make? What size are the servings servings?
Cyd says:

This recipe serves about 12 and they are generous size servings.
Barbara Linn says:

I love your version of this wonderful salad. I make it often. I live by myself and it lasts quite awhile. I have made it at my sister's home and for Thanksgiving. I first had it at my mother in law's home and always loved it. It just never occurred to me to make it myself. I am so happy I found your recipe!
Barbara Linn says:

I often add extra oranges, more fruit cocktail. Today I made a really large batch and used 8 cans of fruit. I haven't even added the coconut and marshmallows yet. Yikes!
PHYLLIS J. McCAWLEY says:

With each person taking seconds and thirds.
Andrea says:

How much does this make? I need to serve 30
Karen Manasco says:

Though some of the ingredient measurements are slightly changed, I've used this same recipe for years, from the American Beauty pasta company. It is always a favorite in my family.
CeeCee says:

I figured out a neat little trick so it’s quick to put together the day of. I put the fruit in the fridge and I make the sauce and cook the pasta the night before. Everything is cold and ready to toss together. I ended up with little bits of cooked eggs that I didn’t like (ocd?). It’s a little bit more hassle but if you whip up your egg until the yolks disappears completely, warm up the rest of the liquid until it is hot but not boiling and slowly stir it into the hot liquid that warms it up slowly so it won’t be as likely to cook. Like I said OCD. Love the recipe, as you can see, I’ve made frog eye salad many times over the years,but this is the best recipe yet. I just wish I’d found it sooner.
goofygal says:

My family is not a lover of mandarin oranges so we started using fresh strawberries or any other fresh fruit that catches our eye. So far we have tried cut up strawberries, nectarines, plums and raspberries
Colour Maestro says:

I just made this recipe in a double batch and added fresh diced mango ane diced pears. I also added my pre beaten eggs slowly to sugar, flour, juice liquid after i took it off the stove as I do for my mac and cheese recipe to ensure the egg doesn't start to cook. Love the simplicity of this recipe. Thank you so much for posting. Cheers!
Diana says:

We make ours with maraschino cherries,halved & the colored marshmallows.. I also omit the pineapple juice,& substitute it with the cherry juice. Sometimes I have to add mandarin oranges juice to have the right amount. Yummy.
Lisa Vinson says:

I had frog eye salad as a kid but I didn’t know what it was (called.). My great grandmother was a matriarch in our West Texas county of Motley and she made sure every nearby ever was filled with her “made from scratch” recipes. One of those recipes was a delicious fluffy fruit salad. Over the many years I have reflected back on many comfort foods and always had memory of Memaw Murphy’s fluffy fruit salad that (I thought) had tapioca in it. Scrolling across FB one night an ad recipe came across my newsfeed labeled “Frog Eye Salad”. I thought “WHAT IN THE WORLD!! SURELY OTHER COUNTRIES DON’T COOK WITH FROG EYES!🫢” So I clicked and I discovered from the ingredient list, my childhood mystery recipe with PASTA PEARLS! Not tapioca and DEFINITELY not frog eyes! I learned the name last week. This week I researched many recipes of different variations of “Frog Eye Salad” and came across “Six Sisters Stuff.” The name alone sounds like family and the recipe I was searching was their Mom’s! I made it tonight and was transported back to my childhood. Thank you for sharing this delicious family recipe! SO GOOD and turned out perfectly. It tastes delicious and the texture is more interesting than any other tropical fruit salad one would eat.
Gerry says:

I have made this recipe for years but never use the marshmallows or coconut. Everyone’s taste is different, but it is always a hit.
Kathy Graf says:

I love this recipe! I don't know for sure if it was made only in certain areas, but after I got out of college, I worked in CA for a little while. I made this for a work picnic potluck. I told everybody what I was bringing. Not ONE person ate any of it! I had a LOT of frog eye salad to bring home with me!!
Kay says:

I haven't made this yet. Where do I find that precise type of pasta. I'm in the midest, haven't been able to find it. Thank you
Bobbi @ Six Sisters says:

You can really use any small pasta for this dish. Some options that are close would be pastina, orzo, anellini, stelline, and ditalini