Layered Cranberry Jello Salad Recipe
This Christmas Jello salad recipe has something for everyone! It’s creamy from whipped topping and cream cheese, crunchy from the pecans and pretzels, and fruity from pineapple and cranberries. And of course, there’s Jello. Although it’s called a “salad,” it’s definitely more of a dessert than salad that is for sure. And it’s of the salty-sweet nature, although more sweet than salty. The red and green layers are eye-catching along with the pretzels that are perched on top. It’s an easy, no-bake holiday dessert recipe to assemble, although take your time with the layers and n make sure each is fully set before moving on. Make sure to budget about 3 hours total of chilling time, with anywhere from 30 to 60 minutes between each layer, that the dessert will need to hang out in the fridge.
Ingredients in Christmas Jello Salad
In order to make Jello salad, you only need some basic and easy-to-find ingredients. I am breaking the recipe ingredients down into its various layers and is as follows:
Cranberry Layer
Boiling water Cherry Jello Pineapple juice Pineapple tidbits Cranberry sauce Chopped pecans (or walnuts)
Cream Cheese Layer
Cream cheese Confectioners’ sugar Whipped topping (Cool Whip)
Lime Layer
Boiling water Lime Jello Cream cheese Whipped topping Green food coloring, optional but recommended
Pretzel Layer
Melted butter Granulated sugar Crusted pretzels
Topping Layer
Whole pretzels Whipped topping (Cool Whip)
Note: Scroll down to the recipe card section of the post for the ingredients with amounts included and for more complete directions.
How to Make Christmas Jello Salad
Don’t be intimidated with the layers that this Jello pretzel salad has. Everything is easy and straightforward to prepare. Above is a picture of the whole process from start to finish in one shot. Keep reading for an overview of how the Jello salad is made for Christmas. Being by combining boiling water with the cherry Jello and dissolving it. Add pineapple juice and stir to combine it before adding pineapple tidbits, cranberry sauce, pecans, and stir. Pour this mixture into an extremely well-sprayed 9×9-inch or 10 to 12-cup Bundt pan. Allow this to set up for at least 1 hour in the fridge. Beat together softened cream cheese with confectioners’ sugar. Then, gently fold in the Cool Whip. Spread this over the set cherry Jello layer and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes. Move on by dissolving lime Jello in boiling water. Separately beat cream cheese with powdered sugar and fold in the Cool Whip. Fold this creamy Cool Whip layer into the green Jello. I know it seems a little odd but trust me here. Add food coloring if you want it to be a deeper and more intense shade of green, which I recommend. Stir until there are no unevenly colored streaks and patches. Spread this over the cream cheese layer in your baking or Bundt pan and refrigerate for 30 minutes or longer. Next, you will combined crushed pretzels with sugar, melted butter, stir to combine, and press this over the green Jello layer. This becomes the crust of your dessert, after it’s inverted for serving. Allow this to set up for at least 1 hour. Garnish with additional Cool Whip and whole pretzels before serving.
How to Release Jello Salad From the Pan
In order to release your Christmas cranberry Jello salad, you will place the pan in very hot water, run a paring knife around the edges, invert it with a cake stand or large serving plate below, and your dessert should slip right out. When it comes to placing the baking pan in hot water in order to release the dessert, make sure not to get any water in the baking pan. Depending on whether you used a 9×9 or a Bundt, will dictate how high you can run your water in your sink. About halfway up the pan is all you need. Don’t overdo it with keeping the pan in the hot water — 20 to 30 seconds really should be sufficient. In the case of a non-releasing situation, repeat this process. But be careful because you don’t want to melt the Jello!
Make-Ahead Instructions
This is the type of recipe that while you probably can make it up to 24 to 36 hours in advance, I wouldn’t stretch it past that due to the pretzels getting soggy and the whipped topping deflating. In terms of storing this family favorite holiday recipe, I recommend storing it airtight in the fridge for up to 5 days.
How to Store Jello Salad for Christmas
If you have a 9×9-inch pan with a cover or a cake stand with a cover, that would be best. Note that the pretzels will become soggier and lose their crunch as time passes. There is nothing you can do to prevent that but it’s understood that with leftovers, it’s not as perfect as when it was first made. And that is the case with layered cranberry Jello Salad, too.
Tips for the Best Jello Salad
When beginning, it is important to spray your pan very generously with cooking spray so that when you’re done, it releases effortlessly. Nothing worse than after all the layers, to have it sticking in your pan. Of course it will taste great but you won’t be able to get the ooh-and-ahh factor from having it plated up nicely on a serving platter that really shows off the layers and color contrasts. Allow the Jello layers to totally set up before adding another layer to prevent the layers from mixing. I prepared this in a Bundt cake pan and also in a 9×9-inch pan, then inverted onto a cake stand for serving. For a twist on the recipe, you can also start with the pretzel layer, then lime, cream cheese, and end with the cranberry layer if you wish to serve in the pan and not bother with inverting it. In this case, you’re basically working in reverse order with the layers.
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