Festive Cranberry Jell-O combines cranberry sauce, jello, pineapple & fresh fruit for a fruity, flavorful holiday side dish that everyone loves!
Festive Cranberry Jell-O is a super easy recipe, and this lovely fruity salad that compliments any holiday dinner perfectly. There are a lot of variations on it, so use what you have on hand! Get creative and try this recipe with different flavors of jello, different fruits to add in, etc…you can’t really go wrong! No matter which combination you choose, it’s pretty much guaranteed to be a hit! I mean, who doesn’t like Jell-O??
What is festive cranberry jello?
It’s a jello that combines fresh fruits and canned pineapple and cranberries to create a side dish worthy of the holiday table. Set in a baking dish it makes plenty to share and is a big upgrade from your everyday cranberry relish recipes! Serve it up with some whipped topping and you’ll swear it’s more like a dessert than anything else.
Holiday Cranberry Jell-O Salad Ingredients
-Crushed pineapple: We want a 20 ounce can of crushed pineapple, juices and all to help make this dish sweet, tangy and full of texture.
-Boxed Jello: You can use strawberry, raspberry or even cranberry flavored boxed jello as they all taste great!
-Cranberry sauce: A can of whole berry cranberry sauce will be what makes gives this dish the cranberries it needs.
-Pear or Apple: You can use either one depending on what you have on hand just make sure to peel it and chop it into small bite sized pieces.
-Chopped Walnuts: This is an optional ingredient but one you can choose to keep or leave out depending on your preferences.
-Whipped Topping: Adding a little sweet and creamy flavor and texture to the dish, whipped topping works great with festive cranberry jello.
How to make cranberry jello
Drain your pineapple and reserve the juice in a 4 cup measuring cup. Add in enough water to bring it to the 3 cup measuring line and then microwave it for 2-3 minutes until the mixture comes to a boil and is very hot.
Add the gelatin to the water in a medium sized bowl or in a 9×13 baking dish and whisk together until it’s completely dissolved. (about 2 minutes).
Stir in the cranberry sauce and then place the bowl or baking dish in the fridge for 1 ½ hours until it’s slightly thickened.
Stir in the pineapple, pear or apple and the nuts (if you’re using them).
Place the jello mixture back into the fridge and let it sit in there for another 4 hours until firm.
Spread Cool Whip over the top prior to serving. Enjoy!
Ingredients
- 1 20oz can crushed pineapple in juice, undrained
- 2 pkg 3oz each JELL-O Strawberry or Raspberry or Cranberry Flavor Gelatin
- 1 can (16 oz.) whole berry cranberry sauce
- 1 pear or apple, peeled and diced
- 2/3 cup chopped walnuts {optional}
- 1/2 container Cool Whip {for topping}
Instructions
- Drain pineapple, reserving juice in a 4-cup glass measuring cup {or similar.}
- Add enough water to reserved pineapple juice to measure 3 cups.
- Microwave 2-3 minutes, until mixture comes to a boil.
- Add to dry gelatin mixes in medium bowl {or a 9×13 glass dish, like I used}; stir 2 min. until completely dissolved.
- Stir in cranberry sauce. Refrigerate 1-1/2 hours or until slightly thickened.
- Stir in drained pineapple, pears/apples and nuts.
- Refrigerate 4 hours or until firm. Spread Cool Whip over the top prior to serving. Enjoy!
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How far in advance can I make Jello salad?
This is one of those great dishes that can be made up to several days in advance. You can make this tasty jello about 3 days in advance and keep it covered well in the fridge until you’re ready to serve it up!
How long does Jello salad keep in the fridge?
You can keep your leftover jello in the fridge for up to a week. The big thing to take note of is that you want to keep it well covered so that it doesn’t absorb odors from the fridge or dry out.
What other nut can I use?
If you don’t like walnuts, pecans also make for a delicious nutty experience in this jello. Of course, leaving them out also makes it more allergy friendly as well so whichever you choose it up to you!
More Jello recipes:
- CREAMY RASPBERRY JELLO
- STRAWBERRY JELLO PARFAITS
- CRANBERRY JELLO PRETZEL SALAD
- BERRY JELLO PRETZEL SALAD
- PATRIOTIC LAYERED JELLO SALAD
- BLUEBERRY JELLO SALAD
- LAYERED CHRISTMAS JELLO CUPS
- TROPICAL JELLO PRETZEL SALAD
- CHRISTMAS JELLO POKE CAKE
- RASPBERRY VANILLA JELLO SALAD
Combining pineapple, jello, cranberries and whipped topping you get a dessert-like side dish worthy of the holiday table. This isn’t your average cranberry sauce and it’s sure to delight everybody. You’re going to love this festive cranberry jello!
Festive Cranberry Jell-O combines cranberry sauce, jello, pineapple & fresh fruit for a fruity, flavorful holiday side dish that everyone loves!
Cranberry Morning says
I have made this many times and here's a testimonial that it is DELICIOUS! 🙂
Autumn says
Can I make this the day before?
Nellie says
Yes, you can definitely make this the day before. Happy Thanksgiving Autumn!