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).

A glass bowl of layered raspberry Jello dessert with a scoop taken out.

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.

A layered raspberry Jello dessert on a white plate.

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.

A helping of raspberry layered Jello dessert on a white plate.

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Raspberry Ribbon Salad

4.59 stars (63 ratings)

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

Raspberry Mixture: it’s really important to let the raspberry mixture start to set up before layering or else the layers will blend together instead of being separate.
Layer Thickness: the layers are on the thin side (and you won’t need an overly large bowl or dish) – if you want thicker layers, double the recipe.
Serving: 1 Serving, Calories: 290kcal, Carbohydrates: 25g, Protein: 3g, Fat: 20g, Saturated Fat: 12g, Cholesterol: 71mg, Sodium: 129mg, Fiber: 3g, Sugar: 20g

Recipe Source: adapted just slightly from my dear friend, Bonnie E.