Cranberry Jello Salad

Jello salads are enjoying a moment, and this retro-cool cranberry jello salad helps show why. It’s filled with bright, fresh flavors, and it’s an agreeably light dessert to accompany a holiday meal. With no disrespect to classic Thanksgiving desserts like pecan or pumpkin pie, they can be a bit heavy after a typical holiday feast, so it’s nice to have a lighter alternative. A cranberry salad with jello is quick, low fuss and, best of all, it doesn’t need to compete for oven time with your bird or side dishes.

Ingredients for Cranberry Jello Salad

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• Cherry-flavored gelatin: The gelatin provides a flavor that’s compatible with the cranberries and other fruit, and it binds the whole salad together.
• Crushed pineapple: Crushed pineapple brings its flavor and texture to the salad, as well as a balanced flavor to complement the sweet gelatin and tart cranberries.
• Cranberry sauce: Whole-berry cranberry sauce has a fresh, fruity tang that keeps the dessert from being too sweet.
• Grapes: The halved red grapes add another texture and flavor to the salad, further increasing its appeal.
• Pecans: Chopped pecans bring a textural contrast to the (mostly soft) salad, as well as a pleasing flavor of their own.

Directions

Step 1: Prep the gelatin

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In a large bowl, dissolve the gelatin in the boiling water.

Step 2: Add the pineapple and cranberry sauce

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Stir in the crushed pineapple and cranberry sauce, and refrigerate the mixture for 30 minutes.

Step 3: Add the grapes and pecans

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Stir in the grapes and pecans, and pour the salad into a 2-quart serving bowl. Refrigerate until the salad is firm, then serve.

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Cranberry Jello Salad Variations

• Upgrade to homemade: Store-bought cranberry sauce is perfectly fine in this cranberry jello salad recipe, and it’s a convenient option. Making fresh homemade cranberry sauce from scratch is better, though, and takes minimal time and effort. It also gives you the option of adding extra flavors, like lemon or orange zest, to liven things up.
• Try other fruits and berries: Grapes and canned pineapple are readily available even at holiday time, but you can certainly use other fruit. Lots of once-seasonal fruits and berries are now available year-round. Blackberries, raspberries and cut-up stone fruit (peaches and plums) are all good. Crunchy apples aren’t a good fit, but a buttery-soft Comice pear would work.
• Double down on the cranberries: If the flavor of cherry gelatin doesn’t do it for you, you can double down on cranberry flavor instead. Swap the flavored gelatin for unflavored, then use it to thicken your favorite brand of cranberry cocktail. Those are available in a range of combinations like cranberry-apple or cranberry-raspberry, which provide additional options.

How to Store Cranberry Jello Salad

Cranberry jello salad should be kept refrigerated except when it’s actually on the table. Any leftovers can be stored in the bowl with a cover to keep out other refrigerator flavors. Alternatively, scoop the remaining salad into food storage containers with tight-fitting lids.

Can I make this ahead of time?

Yes, you can prep your cranberry pineapple jello salad a day ahead. Just keep it refrigerated until you’re ready to serve it.

How long will my cranberry jello salad keep?

On its own, prepared gelatin can last 7 to 10 days. It will start to soften over time, but it’s still enjoyable. Salads like this are less durable, because their fruit will start to break down. Plan to eat up any leftovers within three days.

Cranberry Jello Salad Tips

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Can I use fresh pineapple instead of canned?

It’s always tempting to use fresh fruit instead of canned, but pineapple is an exception. It contains an enzyme called bromelain, which has some interesting properties. It’s said to help with seasonal allergies, for example, along with other beauty and health benefits of pineapple, like toning down scars and skin blemishes. It also acts as a meat tenderizer, dissolving protein bonds. That’s a bad thing in a gelatin salad, because those protein bonds are exactly how gelatin sets! So the short answer is “no,” and a slightly longer one is “only if you want your salad to turn into a puddle.”

Does it have to be cherry-flavored gelatin?

Not necessarily. If you don’t care for that particular flavor, any flavor that’s red will do. You also have the option of starting with unflavored gelatin and choosing a red juice to use as your liquid (see Variations, above).

How can I garnish this salad for serving?

You can never go too badly wrong by piping evenly spaced rosettes of whipped topping or real whipped cream around the bowl. You can decorate the rosettes with a sprig of fresh mint, if you wish, for a pleasing color contrast. Alternatively you could top the cream with dried or candied cranberries, fresh citrus zest or candied citrus, even candied pecans.