Raspberry Ribbon Salad
Do you love a good sweet salad? If so, this festive and delicious raspberry ribbon salad will knock your socks off.
Last holiday season, one of the most popular recipes I posted was this Cranberry Fluff Salad. Have you made it?
It’s a little splurge-worthy what with the cream and marshmallows but man, it’s delicious and has quickly become a family favorite for the holidays (perfect for Thanksgiving or Christmas).
For those of you who love a good sweet salad (does that famed raspberry jello pretzel salad dessert thing come to mind for anyone else?), I have another doozie for you today.
My sweet friend, Bonnie, introduced us to this delight in Minnesota and it didn’t take very many little snitches for our family to fall in love.
I haven’t used jello in years (again, just like the cake mix discussion, nothing against it, we just don’t keep it on hand) but I make the exception for this creamy concoction.
Bonnie’s family has been making it for years and years (I believe it’s her mother’s recipe) and I have a strong suspicion that family ties and friendships are forged and strengthened over sweet jello salads.
In this case, the tangy and sweet raspberry mixture compliments the luscious creamy layers beautifully, and like a good jello salad, even though it looks a bit messy on the plate, it tastes like heaven.
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Raspberry Ribbon Salad
Ingredients
- 1 ¼ cups boiling water
- 1 (3-ounce) package (85 g) red raspberry gelatin
- 10 ounces (283 g) frozen raspberries
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 3 ounces cream cheese
- ¼ cup (29 g) powdered sugar
- 1 tablespoon sour cream
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup cold heavy whipping cream
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, pour the boiling water over the raspberry jello and stir with a spoon until dissolved. Add frozen raspberries and lemon juice and mix well. Refrigerate the mixture until it starts to thicken (1-2 hours) – you don’t want it completely set up, just thicken like spreadable pudding. If you want to speed up this process, stir the jello mixture over a bowl of ice water to cool faster.
- In a blender or in a bowl with a handheld or stand mixer, whip the cream cheese, powdered sugar, and sour cream until smooth. Add the vanilla and whipping cream and whip until thick and creamy.
- In a glass bowl or dish, layer the raspberry jello mixture and cream, two or three layers of each, depending on the size of the dish. I use an 8-inch bowl and the three layers of each are rather thin, it doesn’t have to be perfect.
- Cover and chill the salad for 2-3 hours until set.
Notes
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Recipe Source: adapted just slightly from my dear friend, Bonnie E.
I made this for Thanksgiving, and it was a big hit! So yummy. Then yesterday, I had some leftover cream cheese frosting from making fruit pizza, so I folded in some whipped cream and used that for the filling. It turned out amazing! I also used strawberry jello and frozen diced strawberries. Yum!
I’ve made this a number of times and I always end up using 8 oz of cream cheese to avoid an overly runny cream layer? I think I just assumed it was 8 oz because the recipe said a 3 oz package? And I’ve not seen the in 3 oz packages so I usually up the cream cheese and it’s perfect for our tastes 🙂
We make a similar version with a crust of crushed pretzels that have been tossed with brown sugar and butter. And ya know…how bad can that be? The best part is that, here in Minnesota, we call this thing a “salad”. Let’s hear it for red jello!
p.s. You mentioned cream and marshmallows ? did I miss an ingredient? thanks
Made this today, very good except my cream was runny? what should I add to make it thicker? also think I might try 2 packages of jello and double the water next time and leave out the lemon juice. I want more jello in it ..thanks for the recipe 🙂
I didn’t see this recipe when you first posted it. I’m not a huge fan of jello in general, but this is absolutely fruity cream deliciousness. As another reviewer stated, it’s almost not even like jello. I think you could definitely get away with serving this as a light dessert.
Very good, I doubled it and used fresh lemon juice but would not double the lemon juice when I make it again, it was a bit bitter and actually probably would not add any lemon juice at all, it isn’t needed.
I tired to make this layered but the layer was too soft. I melted my jello in the microwave and mixed it in with the rest. It was delicious. I’ll make it again but not layered.
Seriously, this salad is SO good. I’m not a jello fan in general, but this recipe doesn’t even feel like a jello. It’s just… raspberry creamy goodness!
Thanks, Ashlee!
Can this recipe be made in advance?
Probably the day before would work just fine.
This is delicious! And easy! I pretty much make it for every holiday because it’s so good.
Hi Mel! Excited to try this for Thanksgiving! How far in advance can you make it?! Thank you, and sorry if you have already answered this
You could make it about 24 hours in advance, I think. The whipped cream layer might take on a bit more pinkish hue, but it should still work pretty well!
Hi Mel! I know this is a bit old, but just wanted to tell you that we ALL love this so much my 30 year old requested this for his birthday dessert….its not just for the holidays at our house!!
Thanks, Sharon!!
Can I use fresh raspberries?
Could certainly try!
Can I use fresh raspberrues
I tripled this recipe for Thanksgiving. Jello mixture was great but the cream mixture was way too runny so I added 2 boxes of instant vanilla pudding, then it was perfect! So delicious! Thank you!
Just added this to our Thanksgiving menu (swapped out another favorite). My friend’s 16 year old son is in charge of jello so he and I are going to team up on this since it’s a new recipe for us. We might have to quadruple it for this group!
Are the frozen raspberries in this recipe the kind with syrup or not?
No, they aren’t in syrup.
Mine didn’t turn out as pretty (not surprised). But I also thought it was mostly cream and the raspberries got lost in there. I’d probably half the cream mixture when I make it again.
This was Sooo delicious! Had it Christmas Eve…New favorite!
Do you think I could double this? If so, what sized dish would you recommend using? It just doesn’t look like enough for my family of 8 with just one serving!
Yes, I think you’d definitely want to double for your family of eight. Just a medium size bowl or 8X8-inch pan should do the trick. The layers are pretty thin.
Quick question! Does this call for 1 (3 ounce) package of cream cheese or an 8 ounce package?
Love your recipes! You’re family around here!
3-ounce (it’s just a small amount to help stabilize the whipped cream although you could increase if you want).
Hi Mel! If I was to make this in a Trifle dish how much of it do you think I should make? Double the recipe? Triple it?
Thank you!
It makes a pretty small batch so for a regular sized trifle dish, I’d probably triple the recipe.
Yum! My husband loves all things jello… must be his Idaho roots?! I’ll have to make this for him soon!
Paige
http://thehappyflammily.com
I have a question – as a Brit – are these “salads” things you eat with a main meal or is it a dessert? Might sound obvious but for us this is a bit like a “trifle” and it would be a dessert (or, as we call it, a “pudding”!)
That’s a great question, Ellie. I would say for the most part (can’t speak for everyone), here in the US we eat these as part of the meal as a side dish. Having said that, every single time something like this is served I think “this would be way more appropriate for dessert.” 🙂
Ellie, whenever I make one of these “salads”, some people eat it with their meal, some people wait and have it for dessert.
There’s nothing quite like a good jello salad for holiday meals! This looks delish!
Man, Mel, you are killing me with these wonderful holiday recipes! I have NO kitchen! We are remodeling and it is taking forever….:) and you’ve made me spend money…i.e. spoons from Harmons, “stuff” from Amazon…AND Perfectly Posh items…from none other than your famous Aunt Marilyn! 🙂 she took care of me! Merry Holidays!
I am not a fan of raspberry, could I use strawberry jello and frozen strawberries?
I haven’t tried it but I think it would/should work just fine.
Ooooh, this sounds yummy and just right for my family of raspberry lovers! Will it hold together to be made a day ahead of time? Your blog is one of my favorites and I can always depend upon you for a good recipe. And thank you for doing the video tips…I find them to be really helpful.
The most I’ve made this ahead of time is about 4-5 hours so you’d have to experiment. Sometimes whipped cream can get a bit liquidy if left in the refrigerator too long – that would be the only thing I’d worry about with this recipe.
Oh my! This may have to replace my layered red and green jello salad this year for Christmas Eve. The combination of jello and cream is one of my favorites!! Can’t wait to try!
Thanks for this!! It looks divine!! And I’m glad to know that you make occasional exceptions for a creamy fruity jello salad… This looks like it’s a must try
And it seems like an easier, quicker recipe than the pretzel salad one not having to mess with the bottom pretzel layer. Our family enjoys the adventure of going wild black raspberry picking during the summer so I have bags of black raspberries in the freezer. I’ll have to investigate to see if there is black raspberry flavored jello. Thank you Bonnie E. and Mel for sharing.