Christmas Cranberry Salad is a delicious recipe that makes a great dessert or side dish for the holidays. The cranberry jello salad recipe is easy to make and is the perfect addition to any table.
The dessert is full of holiday ingredients including apples, fresh cranberries, oranges, marshmallows, and more that work for any gathering.
My husband absolutely loves this recipe. It came from my sister-in-law, Cindy, who has been making it for many years.
We’ve spent many Thanksgivings and other holidays with her and my brother-in-law and my husband is always excited to eat it.
Cindy is such a fun person to be around and always makes the most delicious recipes. So, I was excited to share this with y’all.
I have a similar recipe up, that is based on this one, but I messed the other one up and it came out a little differently – but still super delish.
Grab the recipe here for another tasty and similar cranberry salad.
So, hopefully, I did this one some justice. The recipe is a great one, and Cindy gave me lots of good tips to make it perfect.
Add the cranberries to a blender or a Cuisinart. I love the way these cranberries are so vibrant and red. It’s almost artwork, don’t ya think?
Pour the sugar over the top. Grind the cranberries and sugar up and scoop them into another bowl. Let it sit to the side and marinate together.
Cut up the orange and squeeze the juice into a measuring cup, or a glass container. Squeeze out as much as you can. I’m a little wimpy, so I probably could have gotten more juice out than I did, but I gave it my best shot.
Open a can of crushed pineapple and drain it into the cup. You need to have about 1 cup of pineapple and orange juice combined. You can add a tad bit of water if you need to, in order to get it to one cup.
Boil the pineapple and orange juice and add it to a packet of lemon Jell-O. I placed the measuring glass in the microwave for a little over a minute until it started to boil. (Just make sure your glass is microwave safe).
You can also boil it on the stovetop before adding it to the Jell-O. Mix it together and stick it in the freezer for a few minutes, while you get the rest of the dessert prepared.
Note: The Jell-O box calls for another cup of water. But, don’t add that. You are only adding the one cup of boiling juice to the powdered Jell-O.
Use a large bowl because once you add everything, it’s going to be quite a bit. I used the largest mixing bowl that I had.
Add the slices of orange, along with the peel, to a Cuisinart or blender. Give it all a good grind. You can use whatever is going to chop it all up well.
Next, add the apple slices to the oranges and grind again. My Cuisinart is not huge, so I had to add the slices a little bit at a time. I also cut up the apples into smaller pieces. Cindy said not to grind it up into applesauce. You want to still have some chunks of apple.
I might have ground mine up a little too much, but it still came out really yummy.
Pull the Jell-O out of the freezer and add the cranberry and sugar mixture. The Jell-O is not going to be set up yet.
Add the apple and orange mixture.
Next, add the crushed pineapple and pecans. Cindy likes walnuts, and we like pecans, so it’s a matter of preference. You can add what you’d like. Either way, the dish will turn out delicious.
Finally, add the marshmallows. I personally think this is one of the best steps. I love marshmallows.
Mix everything together and place the bowl in the refrigerator for a few hours. The Jell-O will not completely set up in this recipe, but it will thicken some.
Thank you, Cindy, for the wonderful recipe!
Christmas Cranberry Salad
Christmas Cranberry Salad is a delicious recipe that makes a great dessert or side dish for the holidays. The cranberry salad recipe is easy to make and is the perfect addition to any table.
Ingredients
- 3 oz. powdered lemon Jell-O
- 1 orange
- 4 apples
- 12 oz. cranberries
- 2 cups sugar
- 1 cup crushed pineapple
- 1 cup pecans or walnuts
- 5 oz. mini marshmallows (or more if you'd like)
Instructions
- Grind cranberries and sugar together. Add to a bowl and set aside.
- Cut up the orange and squeeze out the juice into a glass measuring cup. Add orange slices to a blender, including the peel and grind up.
- Drain the pineapple juice into the glass measuring cup. You will need one cup of orange juice and pineapple juice combined. (Add a little water if you don't quite reach one cup).
- Add the powdered Jell-O to a large bowl.
- Boil the pineapple and orange juice and add to the Jell-O. Mix together and place in the freezer for a few minutes, while you finish the rest of the recipe.
- Cut up the apples into small slices and add to the orange. Grind up. (Don't get to the point of applesauce, just big chunks).
- Take the Jell-O bowl out of the freezer and add the cranberry mixture. Add the apple and orange mixture. Mix everything together.
- Add the pecans (or walnuts) and the crushed pineapple.
- Add the marshmallows and mix together.
- Place in the refrigerator for several hours.
Notes
The Jell-O will not completely set up, but the salad will be a little thicker after several hours.
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Nutrition Information:
Yield:
20 cupsServing Size:
1 cupAmount Per Serving: Calories: 177Total Fat: 4gSaturated Fat: 0gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 3gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 12mgCarbohydrates: 38gFiber: 2gSugar: 32gProtein: 1g
Nutrition is approximate.
For more fun recipes check out Southern Plate, Southern Bite, A Southern Soul, Big Bear’s Wife, and Julia’s Simply Southern, Kelly Lynn’s Sweets and Treats and The Country Cook
