Jello Fruit Salad

Jello Fruit Salad is a classic sweet side dish that has been a tradition around holiday dinner tables since the ’70s. Cranberries, apples, pineapple, and mandarin oranges all held together with raspberry Jello. Part salad, part side dish, part dessert, all wrapped into holiday tradition!

Kids, both young and old, rejoice! Jello is served for dinner!

Jello Fruit Salad is a recipe often considered a side dish of the 70’s when Jello moulds were all the rage. There are a million different ways to make this classic recipe. From this version, which is a fruit salad held together with berry gelatin, to versions that add anything from cream cheese, cottage cheese, marshmallows, and whipped cream.

Then there are the shapes. Set in a dish, in a nice bowl, or Jello moulds of all sorts of shapes. There isn’t a Holiday recipe for Thanksgiving that lets the chef unleash their imagination a much as a Jello Fruit Salad recipe.

Star Ingredients

• Jello – I prefer raspberry gelatin, but you can also swap out for strawberry or even lime if you like.
• Sugar – Granulated sugar should be used. I have never had success in reducing the amount of sugar or substituting sweeteners.
• Orange juice – Jello is usually made with just water, but you can also substitute the water for fruit juice. I have added a little orange juice to this recipe to add some additional flavour. The alternative is to use some of the juice from the canned crushed pineapple. You can see I left this out of the pic (by accident), but it is totally optional. If you don’t want to use juice, swap the juice for a 1/2 cup of cold water.
• Cranberries – I use whole frozen cranberries that have been mostly thawed. Cranberries, when frozen and thawed, tend to have a little more moisture in them than fresh cranberries, making them a little softer, giving them a better texture for this salad.
• Pineapple – Crushed canned pineapple. Fresh pineapple does not work well in Jello because the high acidity in the pineapple stops the Jello from setting properly. So, in this case, fresh is not best.

If you want to go old school, replace the apples, oranges, and pineapple with a jar of fruit salad that has been drained. You know that salad with the bright red cherries and that weird but delicious whitish fruit that I think may have been pears, but I am still unclear about.

Step-by-Step Made Simple

1. Roughly chop the partially thawed cranberries with a sharp chopping knife. And Peel and chop the apples.

2. Add 6 oz of raspberry Jello granules to a large bowl. Heat two cups of water and bring to a boil. Stir the boiling water into the Jello crystals and stir until dissolved. Then add one cup of granulated sugar and stir until dissolved.
3. Instead of adding more water, I like a combination of water and orange juice for some added flavor. Add 1 1/2 cups of cold water and a 1/2 cup of pulp-free orange juice (not freshly squeezed) to the bowl and stir well. Just like for the pineapple, fresh orange juice will be too acidic to set, so go with store-bought orange juice.

4. Add the cranberries, apples, pineapple, and mandarin oranges to the Jello mixture and stir until combined. The fruit will likely float to the top.
5. Then in carefully pour the Jello Fruit Salad into a 9″ X 13″ glass dish. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and let set in the fridge for a minimum of 6 hours. I like to make it the day before so I know it has all night to set. Jello and I have a love-hate relationship, and mine always takes longer to set. It could be my fridge, so don’t rush the magic!
6. Top your Thanksgiving Jello Salad with some apple and mandarin orange slices, sugared cranberries, or whipped cream and serve.

You can serve it right out of the glass dish it’s set in, but since most times this is eaten at a Holiday dinner like Thanksgiving or Christmas, I like to serve it in a pretty bowl or small trifle dish.

Jello Making Tips

• Completely dissolve the gelatin crystals in boiling water before adding sugar. And that they sugar is fully dissolved before adding the cold water and orange juice. Be sure the sugar is fully dissolved before adding the very cold water, and mix well.
• Don’t over-stir after adding gelatin. This can break the interchains that form as gelatin sets and hence hinder the setting process.
• Do not use fresh citrus. Fruits with a higher acid content, like pineapple, citrus, and kiwi, will prevent your Jello from setting. Canned or jarred varieties are better because the acid has had time to mellow out.
• Chill Longer. The time to set will differ between fridges and containers used. Jello moulds with thicker walls will take longer, so err on the side of caution and give extra time for the setting to be 100%. I find that overnight is best. Same day never works out for me, but again, your fridge may be different.