With its crushed pineapple-Jello base, creamy middle, and homemade pineapple
curd topping, this layered Pineapple Jello Salad is one tasty old-timey
classic. It's a perfect side dish or dessert for summer cookouts, potlucks,
Thanksgiving, or any everyday meal!
When it comes to labeling Jello salads, are they a "salad" or a "dessert?" --
This seems always to be a hot topic of debate.
On the one hand, Jello salads are seen as a salad in terms of the broadest
definition of the word -- where pretty much any dish of cold vegetables or
fruit counts. On the other hand, given their combination of generally sweet
ingredients, Jello salads seem to fit within the "sweet course eaten at the
end of the meal" definition of dessert.
But my take on which category Jello salads belong to, truly, is who cares how
you label them! Call them whatever you'd like. Because no matter how or when
you enjoy them, Jello salads are just plain delicious. And classic Pineapple
Jello Salad is especially delicious, for sure.
No matter how you label it, Pineapple Jello Salad is a perfect side dish or dessert for summer cookouts, potlucks, Thanksgiving, or any everyday meal.
Made of three distinct layers, this old-timey Pineapple Jello Salad delight is
as stunning as it is tasty. The bright white of the middle creamy layer looks
just beautiful sandwiched between the yellow pineapple-based layers above and
below.
The bottom layer is made with a combination of crushed pineapple and lemon
Jello, creating a simple and tasty base. The creamy middle layer of sweetened
cream cheese and Cool Whip is a deliciously sweet compliment to the pineapple
layers above and below. And that final top layer is a thin covering of
homemade pineapple curd that tastes amazing.
So rest assured no matter how you label it, Pineapple Jello Salad is a perfect side dish or dessert for summer
cookouts, potlucks, Thanksgiving, or any everyday meal.
What's to Love About This Recipe?
- A delicious classic - With its crushed pineapple-Jello base, sweetened creamy middle, and homemade pineapple curd topping, this layered Pineapple Jello Salad is one tasty classic, for sure.
- Beautiful layers - Made of three distinct complimentary layers, it's as stunning as it is tasty.
- Homemade pineapple curd topping - With that topping layer, think homemade lemon curd but with pineapple instead! And oh my, it tastes amazing.
- Versatile - Classic Pineapple Jello Salad is a perfect side dish or dessert for summer cookouts, potlucks, Thanksgiving, or any everyday meal.
Classic Pineapple Jello Salad Ingredients:
Three distinct layers come together to create this classic Pineapple Jello
Salad. To whip up a pan you'll need:
- Crushed Pineapple + its juice - It wouldn't be Pineapple Jello Salad without the pineapple! Canned crushed pineapple in the base layer and its juice in the pineapple curd topping bring the pineapple element to this classic dish.
- Lemon Jello - Combines with the crushed pineapple to create the base layer of the salad.
- Cream cheese - The foundation of the creamy middle layer. We recommend using regular full-fat cream cheese, rather than a reduced fat variety, for the best result.
- Cool Whip - Combines with the cream cheese to create and bring fluffiness to the middle creamy layer.
- Granulated sugar - Sweetens both the middle creamy layer and the pineapple curd topping.
- Lemon juice - Enhances and rounds out the pineapple curd's flavor.
- Egg yolks - Provides richness and structure to the pineapple curd topping, helping thicken it as they cook.
- All-purpose flour - Acts as a thickening agent for the pineapple curd.
How to Make Classic Pineapple Jello Salad:
Classic Pineapple Jello Salad is made by building up three different
mixtures into three distinct layers -- a Jello base layer, a creamy
middle layer, and a top layer of homemade pineapple curd.
Get started by combining drained crushed pineapple with lemon Jello to
create the bottom layer. Chill this layer for an hour and a half until
its almost fully set.
Spread this with a mixture of sweetened cream cheese and Cool Whip
non-dairy whipped topping to make the creamy middle layer. Chill this
for about 30 minutes to firm it up a bit before adding the topping.
While the first layers chill, cook up a homemade pineapple curd with
pineapple juice, sugar, egg yolks, and a bit of all-purpose flour as a
thickening agent. Set the pineapple curd aside to cool.
Spread the cooled pineapple curd in a thin even layer over the top of
the fluffy cream cheese layer. Then cover and refrigerate the assembled
Pineapple Jello Salad for at least 1 hour, and preferably overnight, before serving.
With its tasty crushed pineapple-Jello base, creamy middle, and
homemade pineapple curd topping, this layered Pineapple Jello Salad is one delicious old-timey classic. It's a perfect dish to
serve up for summer cookouts, potlucks, Thanksgiving, or any
everyday meal.
And hey, who cares whether you call it a "salad" or a "dessert!"
Check out these other super tasty Jello & fluff salads:
Thank you for stopping by The Kitchen is My Playground. We'd love
to have you back soon!
Yield: About 16 servings
Classic Pineapple Jello Salad
With its crushed pineapple-Jello base, creamy middle, and homemade
pineapple curd topping, this layered Pineapple Jello Salad is one
tasty old-timey classic. It's a perfect side dish or dessert for
summer cookouts, potlucks, Thanksgiving, or any everyday meal!
Prep time: 20 MinCook time: 10 MinInactive time: 3 HourTotal time: 3 H & 30 M
Ingredients
Jello layer:
- 1 (20 oz.) can crushed pineapple (+ its juice, reserved for the topping)
- 2 (3 oz.) packages lemon Jello
- 2 c. boiling water
- 1 c. cold water
Creamy layer:
- 1 (8 oz.) package cream cheese, softened
- 1/4 c. granulated sugar
- 1 (16 oz.) carton Cool Whip non-dairy whipped topping (the large size)
Pineapple curd topping:
- Reserved pineapple juice from draining the can of crushed pineapple (about 1 c.)
- 3/4 c. granulated sugar
- 3 T. lemon juice
- 3 T. water
- 2 T. all-purpose flour
- 2 egg yolks, lightly beaten
Instructions
Prepare the Jello layer:
- Drain pineapple, reserving the juice.
- Slowly pour and whisk Jello powder into boiling water, stirring until completely dissolved. Stir in cold water.
- Add drained pineapple; stir until well combined. Pour mixture into a 9x13” dish. Chill until mostly set, about 1 & 1/2 hours.
Prepare the creamy layer:
- Place softened cream cheese and sugar in a mixing bowl. Beat briefly with an electric mixer until combined and smooth.
- By hand, stir in Cool Whip non-dairy whipped topping until well combined.
- Gently spread over Jello layer. Chill for 30-45 minutes.
Prepare the pineapple curd topping:
- While the creamy layer chills, combine reserved pineapple juice, sugar, lemon juice, water, flour and egg yolks in a saucepan. Whisk until well combined.
- Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring constantly. Cook for 1 minute or until thickened, stirring constantly. Pour into a bowl and set aside to cool.
- Once cooled and creamy layer has chilled, spread evenly over cream cheese layer.
- Chill for at least 1 hour, and preferably overnight, before serving.
This looks like a delicious salad. I make a layered pretzel salad that sounds similar to this one where the base layer is a baked pretzel, butter, sugar combo, the middle layer is cream cheese and the top is strawberry jello and pineapple. My question is do you think adding a base layer of pretzel, sugar and butter would add to this recipe or just get soggy?
ReplyDeleteWe have never made the recipe as you described; it does sound interesting. We do think the pretzels may get a little soggy.
DeleteSounds amazing Tracey.... in Australia we'd call that a dessert.
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing this recipe at Create, Bake, Grow & Gather this week. I'm delighted to be featuring your classic pineapple jello salad recipe at tonight's party and pinning too.
Happy fall,
Kerryanne
Thank you Kerryanne, we look forward to linking with you every week.
DeleteI love this salad/dessert! I've had it with orange Jello too. Both are yummy!
ReplyDeleteThank you, we are glad you enjoyed. The orange Jell-O sounds interesting.
DeleteWhat does T. Stand for? Tsp or Tbsp?
ReplyDeleteT is a Tablespoon and t is a teaspoon. We hope you enjoy!
Delete