Weight Watchers Recipe of the Day: Cranberry Jello Mold Salad
I know it's not cool to admit this and I'm definitely dating myself, but I like love Jello! Especially the molded salads made with Jell-O gelatin that you can count on to show up on Thanksgiving and Christmas holiday dinner tables all around America this time of year.
Molded Cranberry Jello Salad
Jello mold salads certainly classify as "retro" or "vintage side dishes," the topic of this month's Recipe Redux. They were one of my favorite side dishes growing up in the 60s and 70s. I loved their colorful, sweet, jiggly presence on our table, most often for Sunday dinners and holiday meals.
What is a Jello Salad?
Jello salad (technically Jell-O salad), also called molded salad, jello mold salad, gelatin salad, jelly salad, jelly dish or congealed salad, is a "salad" made with flavored gelatin, fruit, and sometimes grated carrots, cabbage or other vegetables, such as chopped celery. Additional ingredients may include sour cream, whipped cream, cottage cheese, cream cheese, marshmallows, nuts, or pretzels. The flavor and ingredient combinations were endless.
I first learned to make jello salads with my grandmother, who seemed to pass on her love of them to my mother.
Unfortunately, most of those salads, while tasty, were loaded with less than healthy stuff - sour cream, cream cheese and mayonnaise - for example.
Making regular appearances were orange jello with cream cheese, cool whip and mandarin oranges; lime jello with cream cheese, mayonnaise, pineapple and marshmallows; and red jello with cranberry sauce and sour cream.
So for this month's Recipe Re-dux, I've decided to resurrect the jello salad of my youth, but give it a healthy makeover by removing a lot of the excess fat.
I'm offering up an easy-to-make American classic - Cranberry Pineapple Jello Mold - that's perfect for the holidays or anytime as a side-dish for ham, turkey, lamb, pork or chicken roasts.
Cranberry Jello Salad in a Vintage Tupperware Jello Mold (affiliate link)
How Many Calories/WW Points in this Cranberry Jello Salad?
According to my calculations, each serving (with regular Jello) has about 140 calories and
8 *SmartPoints (Green plan)
8 *SmartPoints (Blue plan)
8 *SmartPoints (Purple plan)
3 *PointsPlus (Old plan)
To see your WW PersonalPoints for this recipe and track it in the WW app or site, Click here!
I made my salad with regular jello, but to make this salad even lighter you could always use sugar-free Jello instead and save 2 SmartPoints per serving.
Food snobs may be tempted to turn up their noses. But I'm unapologetic. You like what you like. I think a simple jello salad has the power to bring a smile to the child lurking within each of us. They are fun, easy, fast, and infinitely customizable.
Cranberry Pineapple Jello Salad Substitutions & Variations
This cranberry jello salad with pineapple can be modified in lots of ways to suit your tastes and what you have on hand. Here are a few examples:
- No Raspberry Flavored Gelatin? - Any red jello - strawberry, cherry, cranberry - can be used instead.
- Additions? - chopped fresh apple, chopped fresh pear, canned mandarin oranges would all work well
- Nuts? - Use whatever nut you prefer - walnuts, pecans, peanuts or skip them if you prefer.
- Celery? - Again it's your choice add it or leave it out.
Can I Make Cranberry Jello Salad in Advance?
Of course! In addition to being super easy to make, molded jello salads are great make-ahead side dishes or desserts for the holidays or any gathering because they need several hours in the refrigerator to set-up and become firm. Most people let them set overnight. I often make my Jello salads one to two days ahead. Should you get any liquid appearing on it, just drain it off or blot with paper towels before serving.
What Can I Use for a Jello Salad Mold?
It's fun to make jello salads in Tupperware jello molds, but you don't have to. You can use a Bundt pan (affiliate link), a loaf pan (affiliate link), or even a mixing bowl to for large molded salads. Small cups, ramekins, or even espresso cups work well for individual servings. Whatever you use, remember to spray the container first with non-stick spray so that the jello comes out easily.
Or you can skip the mold altogether and simply make and serve your jello salad in a bowl, plain or fancy.
How Long Does Jello Salad Last in the Fridge?
When stored in the refrigerator in a covered container, Jello can last up to a week. The taste and texture may deteriorate a little each day, possibly getting a little more watery. When this happens, just drain it off or blot with paper towels.
Tips for Removing Jello Salad from the Mold
- First make sure your Jello mold is firmly set - it should not move a lot or be overly jiggly when tipped from side to side.
- To unmold, use a small metal spatula or pointed knife dipped in warm water to loosen around the top edge. Then dip the bottom of the mold in warm, not boiling, water just to below the rim for 5 to 10 seconds.
- Remove from the water and shake to loosen the Jello from the mold.
- Place a serving plate on top of the mold holding the plate and mold together. Flip upside down so the mold is now on top of the plate.
- Shake slightly to loosen and gently remove the mold.
- If Jello doesn't release easily, dip the mold in warm water again for a few seconds and try again.
Here's a great video from the folks at Southern Living demonstrating the best technique and tips for removing jello salad from the mold:
If you like this lightened cranberry jello salad, be sure to check out my other easy, healthy Weight Watchers friendly recipes including Classic Macaroni Salad Made Lighter, Low-Calorie Creamy Mashed Potatoes, Slow Cooker Mashed Sweet Potatoes, Slow Cooker Sausage Apple Stuffing and Lightened Up Creamy Potato Salad
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WW Friendly Cranberry Jell-O Salad Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 can (8 ounces) crushed pineapple, in it's own juice
- 1 package (3 ounces) raspberry flavored gelatin
- 1 can (14 ounces) whole berry cranberry sauce
- ¼ cup chopped celery
- ¼ cup chopped nuts
Instructions
- Drain pineapple, saving the juice. Add enough water to the juice to total 1-¼ cups of liquid. In a saucepan, bring the liquid to a boil.
- Remove from the heat and stir in the gelatin until it's dissolved.
- Break up the cranberry sauce with a fork and stir it into the gelatin mixture.
- Cool until the mixture begins to thicken and then stir in the crushed pineapple, celery and nuts.
- Pour into a mold and chill until set. (For best results first with non-stick spray so that the jello comes out easily.)
Recipe Notes
*Points® calculated by WW. *PointsPlus® and SmartPoints® calculated by Simple Nourished Living; Not endorsed by Weight Watchers International, Inc. All recipe ingredients except optional items included in determining nutritional estimates. SmartPoints® values calculated WITHOUT each plan's ZeroPoint Foods (Green plan, Blue plan, Purple plan) using the WW Recipe Builder.
Watch how easy it is to make your own holiday cranberry jello salad, perfect for Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner at home. This recipe uses 2 packages of raspberry jello, 20 ounces crushed pineapple with its juice, 1 can of whole berry cranberry. It's made in a large cut crystal bowl instead of jello mold and topped with chopped pecans. Another great variation!
If you liked this cranberry jello mold salad, be sure to check out my recipe for skinny upside down strawberry jello pretzel salad.
More Cranberry Recipes from my Favorite WeightWatchers Friendly Sites:
- Weight Watchers Fresh No Cook Cranberry Relish
- Slow Cooker Apple Raspberry Cranberry Sauce
- Cranberry Pear Sauce
- Simple Homemade Fresh Cranberry Sauce
- Homemade Cranberry Apple Sauce
- Cranberry-Pineapple Sauce
- Cranberry Pear Butter
- Slow Cooker Cranberry Sauce
- Cranberry Salsa
- Apple and Cranberry Sauce with Crystallized Ginger
- Dried Cherry Orange Cranberry Sauce
- Easy Cranberry Apple Pomegranate Sauce
Martha is the founder and main content writer for Simple-Nourished-Living.
A longtime lifetime WW at goal, she is committed to balancing her love of food and desire to stay slim while savoring life and helping others do the same.
She is the author of the Smart Start 28-Day Weight Loss Challenge.
A huge fan of the slow cooker and confessed cookbook addict, when she's not experimenting in the kitchen, you're likely to find Martha on her yoga mat.
This post contains affiliate links to products I like. When you buy something through one of my Amazon links or other (affiliate links), I receive a small commission that helps support this site. Thank you for your purchase!
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Liz - Meal Makeover Mom
When I was growing up, my two sisters lived on Jello. It has never been my favorite, but wow, your recipe looks so good. I think all of your crunchy ingredients would get me over my Jello hang up!
Martha
Thanks, Liz. I think jello is one of those things you either like or you don't!
Serena
My grandma always brought her lime jello to all family gatherings...it still makes me smile to eat it and think of her! Thx for the vintage favorite!
Marie
What a nice alternative to cranberry sauce, and prettier too!
Deanna
This would not be a true vintage themed ReDux without a jello salad! Glad you decided to share your version this month.
Kristi Rimkus
I'd completely forgotten about jello dishes like this. My grandmother used to make them all the time. As kids we loved them!
Tara
My grandma made jello in a mold for EVERY family function. She knew that if she didn't I wouldn't be a happy camper 🙂 It was never "Will Grandma make jello?" it was "What FLAVOR of jello will Grandma make?" Thanks for the great recipe!
Diane
I do a cranberry relish that is a bit of a take-off on my mother's Jell-o holiday salad that was similar to this recipe. But the calories and points are really paired down. First I pulverize 2 or 3 bags (I make a lot) of fresh cranberries in my food processor. Using Splenda Blend, I sweeten to taste. Add orange jest (I use the jarred type found in the spice aisle), celery diced fairly fine, and pecan pieces. If it seems a little thick after chilling for a while, I add a dash or 2 of water. You could add a squeeze of orange juice. Sorry that I do not have amounts of each ingredient. I add the celery and pecans until it "looks right." It's delicious as a side to poultry or pork. The only problem is that I cannot get fresh cranberries except at the holidays.
Martha
Hi Diane,
Thanks for the delicious sounding cranberry relish recipe. It sounds familiar to an old one my mom used to make. To have fresh cranberries all year round buy several bags when they are available and then pop them in the freezer for when you want them. I've been doing this for years.
Diann B
My sister and I were expecting children at the same time. I was going to weight watchers. The Cranberry/ jello mold was one of our cravings. We made bowl after bowl. Like I said in my questions was that I knew it had 1 bag of cranberries, two apples, 1 cup of finely diced celery and two packets of sweet and low. I used spenda instead. We put all in blender. Made cherry jello then when cooled, poured the fruit mixture in and let it set in fridge. Also we used some pecans.
Nonee Friend
in it's own juice
It's means IT IS.
I think you mean ITS, which is the possessive
Lori Hartz
This is the way my Mom made it- my entire family loves it. Thanks for all your info -hints.