For Thanksgiving, I love to have sides that involve seasonal items like cranberries. This cranberry Jello salad recipe is one that I adapted from a recipe I found at Kraft foods. Usually when I make this I put it in a trifle bowl, but any large glass bowl will work. You could just go with a 9 x 13 dish if you prefer. This time, I decided to try the cranberry Jello salad in a mold. Bad idea. This corner of the mold in the picture, was the only corner that looked decent. I don’t think this recipe is firm enough to do that. So I do not recommend it.
I did just see a similar version the other day on allrecipes.com that made them into little individual sizes by putting them in muffin tin lined with muffin liners. Then you remove the muffin liners when ready to serve. I am gonna give that ago the next time I make this, but I am worried it will be problematic like the mold. However, the recipe does use less liquid, so that’s probably the trick. Also, I recommend using the Ocean Spray cranberries for this. I just think it is a better quality of canned cranberry and works best in this salad.
I have also made a list for you today of other recipes that I have on my site that would also be excellent sides to serve at Thanksgiving.
- Cranberry Pomegranate Jello
- Pomegranate Salad
- Cherry Apple Jello Salad
- 5 Cup Fruit Salad
- Sweet Carrot
- Sunshine Jello Salad
Cranberry Jello Salad
Ingredients
- 1 can (20 oz.) crushed pineapple
- 2 pkg. (4-serving size each) or 1 pkg. (8-serving size) Raspberry Flavor Gelatin
- 1 can (16 oz.) whole berry cranberry sauce (I highly recommend using the Ocean Spray brand)
- 1 medium apple, chopped (you can do it with the skin off or on, I leave it on)
- sweetened whipped cream
Instructions
- Drain pineapple, reserving juice in 1-qt. liquid measuring cup. Add enough cold water to reserved juice to measure 3 cups; microwave until it comes to boil. Add gelatin; stir at least 2 min. until completely dissolved.
- Add cranberry sauce; stir until well blended. (Note: Due to the presence of whole berries in the cranberry sauce, the gelatin mixture will not be smooth.)
- Pour into large bowl (I use a trifle bowl, but a 9 x 13 would work too). Refrigerate 1-1/2 hours or until slightly thickened (consistency of unbeaten egg whites.)
- Stir in remaining drained pineapple and chopped apple; stir gently until well blended.
- Refrigerate 4 hours or until firm. Top with sweetened whipped cream just before serving. Store leftover gelatin in refrigerator.
Here are the winners of the turkeys:
- Abby who said – One of my favorite Thanksgiving memories was when my husband and I were away from family for school and we got together with some friends on Thanksgiving and just ate pie until we couldn’t stuff another bite in. So yummy and fun.
- Merideth who said – My favorite Thanksgiving recipe is anything with sweet potatoes or yams. I could eat an entire plate full.. go back for seconds.. and still want some for lunch and dinner the next day!
- Trisha who said -My favorite Thanksgiving memory as a child was going to Disneyland. Who wouldn’t love eating Thanksgiving dinner with Mickey and Goofy? As a kid I didn’t enjoy eating turkey,so I thought it was the greatest thing to order a big old hamburger at the restaurant we ate at!!
- Gina who said – My mom always makes the most delicious dinner rolls for Thanksgiving. Some plain with homemade jam and some with orange. Mmm, it’s something to look forward to every year. I’m not going home this year so I’m trying to talk myself into making these but I don’t do yeast so I’m scared.
I will send emails out to the winners to get your info and get your coupons in the mail ASAP, so you can have it in time to get your Thanksgiving bird.
Also, I have another contest I am doing today. I am giving away a Pillsbury “Thanksgiving Fun” gift pack that includes a coupon for a free package of the Pillsbury Thanksgiving Shape® sugar cookies (or any other Pillsbury refrigerated cookie dough), as well as a turkey-shaped stress reliever, pen, and finger puppet. The Pillsbury Thanksgiving Shape® sugar cookies are only in grocery stores for a limited time. This “Thanksgiving Fun” gift pack is provided Pillsbury through MyBlogSpark.
So, to enter this contest, leave a comment as to whether you stick to traditional pie for Thanksgiving dessert or if you mix it up with something different or fun. You have until Wednesday Nov. 18 at midnight (Mountain Standard Time) to enter. The winner will be announced on Thursday.
76 comments
I started a new tradition when I took over holiday meals when it comes to dessert. Instead of us indulging in dessert when we’ve already had the good fortune of a hearty meal, we all put $5 in an envelope and I take it the next business day to the small food bank here in my town.
We have the traditional with a twist. Instead of pecan pie, we have chocolate bourbon pecan pie. Pumpkin transforms into a layered pumpkin cheesecake pie. Instead of apple, I make a caramel apple streusel pie.
Hi,what a well apple,thanks for sharing.I will get one like that.bill
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We always have Pumpkin Pie!
I make this Cranberry Jello Salad but I usually put walnuts in it. So good!
Pie!!! I have a chocolate chip walnut pie that I like to make–I think the recipe was in Family Fun a couple years ago. I’d love a good french silk pie recipe–hint, hint! 🙂
I usually stick to traditional pumpkin pie, but would like to shake it up a bit. I still like the pumpkin, but would like something a bit different.
We are big pumpkin pie fans in our house. But we also make cranberry nut bread. We like to make it in little bread tins and hand them out to our neighbors as a Thanksgiving treat. 🙂
I’m not a huge fan of pumpkin pie, so this year we’re having Pumpkin Crunch instead! I got the recipe from my mom a few months ago, but also just saw it on All Recipes. I made it a few weeks ago to test it out, and I’ll never go back to pumpkin pie again! It’s delicious!
https://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Pumpkin-Crunch-Cake-2/Detail.aspx
We usually do pumpkin cake rather than pie. This year though, a friend has a recipe for pumpkin trifle that I want to try, probably in addition to pumpkin cake! YUM!
I used to stick to pumpkin cake.
I love to bake so any holiday is a perfect opportunity for me to try baking new things for my family to test out. I can’t wait to whip up all kinds of new goodies this Thanksgiving!
ps – I made your cheesecake pumpkin pie last week and man was it a hit! Thanks!
I’m not a fan of the pumpkin or pecan pie that’s always at Thanksgiving dinner with my family, so I like to bring in some chocolate or cheesecake. This year I’m making a super delicious Candied Apple Pie Cheesecake with apple pie topping, walnuts and, bits of Heath bar.
We do Libby’s Pumpkin and Karo Syrup Pecan Pies!!! Then I sometimes find an additional fancy dessert to go with them.
pie all the way. my husband’s family has a pie for each person! crazy!
Pumpkin pie! It just would not be Thanksgiving without the pumpkin pie.
I stick with traditional. 🙂
You have to have pumpkin pie with cool whip and dutch apple around here. I do love Cherry as well!
I don’t eat pumpkin pie:(..we always have Pecan Pie (yum.
Traditional pie all the way. Everyone loves Pumpkin Pie so I make about 17 of them plus apple, banana cream, coconut cream and whatever else I decide.
i must say that pumpkin pie is my all time favorite. but my mother-in-law does apple, strawberry rhubarb and even mincemeat!
It is traditional pie for me. I don’t eat it very often so I look forward to Thanksgiving!
S Manning,
I am sorry for the trouble. You can always got to the old blogger site to search the archives also. I am aware of that problem and am in the process of trying to remedy the situation. Hopefully, I’ll be able to fix it soon and you’ll give real mom kitchen a try again. Thanks.
We stick with the basics! Pumpkin and apple usually. How can you go wrong!!
I combine two holiday favorites for a decadent Thanksgiving dessert – Carmelized Pecan and Apple Pie. I spread softened butter on the pie plate, press pecan halves into the butter, and cover the pecans with brown sugar. I place the pice crust on top of the sugared pecans and continue with the apple pie. When the pie is finished, I invert it onto a serving dish. Yummy apple pie with brown sugar pecans on top!
We are a traditional pie household. My husband is in charge of making all of the pies because his crust is much better than mine. He makes pecan, pumpkin and either apple or chocolate.
We’ve never really been traditional when it comes to Thanksgiving desserts. This year I’m doing Paula Deen’s Pumpkin Gooey Butter Cake and maybe even a Banana Cream Pie. Strange, maybe, but delicious, nonetheless!
I used to follow your blog because I love how easy your recipes. I realize you just moved to a new server, but finding old recipes on here takes too long. I was looking for an old recipe of yours that I used before, but when I try to search for it I only get 2 recipes at a time and I have to go through each page. I dont have that time to waste, I’ll just to allrecipes instead. Sorry!
Pumpkin pie is a must have in our household – but you absolutely have to top it off with the biggest dallop of cool whip to make it complete :O)
Part of the fun is making the pie with my 14 year old daughter – she makes the best crust and she insists on using lard cause that’s the way Gramma does it.
I have to have a chocolate cream pie! It’s the only kind of pie I’ll eat!!
We love pumpkin pie, so I make several. We usually eat them for breakfast and snacks for several days after Thanksgiving. I also make a red velvet cake.
I do traditional pumpkin pie. I have a 9 year boy who loves it!!! We even had it for his birthday this year. My husband loves all traditional things also. I have a great recipe for the crust that was handed down by my grandma.
I prefer pumpkin pie; it makes the meal perfect. I always have a chocolate pudding pie for my oldest son who is really picky and doesn’t like pumpkin. So now it is tradition to have pumpkin pie AND chocolate pie. Yumm!!
I like to make my own pumpkin puree but I cheat and use a store purchased pie crust. 🙂
I love homemade pies with homemade pie crust for Thanksgiving. I can’t wait!
If pumpkin or sweet potato pie is the traditional Thanksgiving pie, then we will definitely not have it this year. My husband prefers pecan pie but we have different kinds of cakes, pies and puddings.
Happy Thanksgiving!!!
We always have pumpkin pie, pecan pie and another dessert. This year we will have dark chocolate mousse with cinnamon whipped cream 🙂
We love pie!! We have pecan, banana cream, pumpkin, a fruit (cherry or apple) and sometimes another (key lime or coconut – YUMMY!). I don’t think Thanksgiving would be complete with a different dessert.
We’re big on apple pies, not so much on pumpkin, and occasionally, a mince-meat pie shows up with Great Grandma!
There’s always a selection of homemade pies at my family Thanksgiving(chocolate, pecan, banana cream, berry, apple) I guess the odd thing is that we usually stay away from pumpkin.
There are always pies around but we usually add something else for those that don’t like pies. This year we are having a butterfinger dessert that is a favorite with my family(and requires no baking)!!!!!
We always stick with a pumpkin and apple pie each year, but this year we’re also making a pumpkin cheesecake!
We’re doing a trial run of the cheesecake tomorrow to make sure it turns out!
I usually make pumpkin and apple pies for Thanksgiving.
We usually stick to traditional pie for Thanksgiving, but we make so many different kinds that it’s still a dessert buffet. Can’t mess with the classics!!
We always have the traditional pies- apple & pumpkin- and usually I include 1 or 2 other nontraditional pies. Our non-traditional pies include banana cream, pumpkin cheesecake, cherry or something else.
I always make the typical Thanksgiving desserts, but I also throw in a new one using the tradtional ingredients. For example a pumpkin cheesecake or cranberry tart. Keeps people guessing:)
I LOVE pies, but we stick to the basics for T-day. Pumpkin, apple, & pecan! Yum, I can’t wait!!!!!!!!!!
I make pumpkin, pecan, coconut cream, a chocolate something and a cherry crumb. We also have cheesecake and lots and lots of cookies. But truly, I can never eat dessert after Thanksgiving so I have it for my dinner, or even better for breakfast! Yummy!
I stick to traditional pie for Thanksgiving dessert since we love pumpkins!
I usually try to improve on, or at least change, from the traditional. Mostly because I don’t really like the traditional Thanksgiving food, including pie. This year I’m making an apple pie with creme fraiche custard baked in, for example.
Pumpkin, I don’t think anyone really likes them in our family, but my son Jacob likes tradition.
We always stick with the pumpkin pie, of course. But we also have a huge selection of banana cream, coconut cream, pecan, razzleberry, key lime, and chocolate mousse. That way, everybody can have what they want and be happy!
I have to have pumpkin pie! My husband needs his Chocolate coconut cream pie. Although my deserts are both pie, we get both tradition and modern tastes at our thanksgiving. I can’t wait!
I love pumpkin pie and any of the cream pies! One time of year I have both!
I will be eating pumkin pie this Thanksgiving-it’s a once a year kinda thing and so I most definatly look forward to that piece of pie!!!
I have to have pumpkin pie for Thanksgiving. It just doesn’t seem like Thanksgiving without it! 🙂
Mmmm…PIE! I am taking two apple pies to our family get together. One with a top crust and one French Apple pie with the crunchy sugar topping. (And I sneak a batch of brownies on the table for my nonpie-eating kids.)
We go all out for Thanksgiving desserts and have the usual Pumpkin Pie, along with a few others: Banana cream, chocolate cream, and a berry pie. Then we have all kinds of bars, zuccinni brownies, and cookies for the kids! We all gain like 5 pounds in one day, it’s horrible!
Pumpkin pie is a must for me at Thanksgiving, my in-laws however alway mix desert up a little bit, so I make sure to always bring my pumpkin pie:)
I’m not really in to pie, though my sister makes a fantastic apple pie for Thanksgiving that no one else can seem to put down. She also makes these to die for lemon bars with lemons picked from our tree in the backyard that I absolutely love!
We usually have at least three kinds of pies. Pumpkin is always a must! This year we will have pumpkin, sweet potato, peach, and apple.
I always have the traditional pumpkin pie for Thanksgiving and it has to be my Mom’s recipe. I haven’t tasted another pumpkin pie that even comes close to what my Mom’s recipe is. YUMMMMMYYYYYY!!!
I am definately a pumpkin pie girl for Thanksgiving. I love how creamy and delicious it is, and what other time of year do you get to eat it!!??
I have a cream cheese pumpkin pie that I really like. It just adds a little more to the traditional pumpkin.
My family has always enjoyed pies for Thanksgiving. My first memory with Thanksgiving and this wonderful dessert treat was when I experienced my first blueberry cheesecake pie. My uncle brought it to Thanksgiving dinner and it was wonderful!
We do pies, but also through something else in the mix for people who don’t like pie.
I always make a traditional pumpkin pie or two, as the hubster and teenage son love it .. but I also make a pecan or apple pie, as well as a new dessert. I like to search food blogs (*grin*) and recipe sites for new things to try!
We have traditional pumpkin pie (made from fresh pumpkins) and non-traditional bread pudding! Yummy!!
I’m sticking to our traditional pie which is homemade banana cream pie. You can’t go wrong with my grandmas recipe that always brings enjoyment to the family.
Gotta have the traditional pumpkin pie, but we always have cheesecake also!!!
I think we’ll stick with the traditional pies this year!
LOVE pumpkin pie! We’ll be having it for dessert after our Thanksgiving dinner.
Don’t shoot me, but I don’t like pumpkin pie. So we always have pumpkin pie but then something else for the kids (and me) who don’t like pumpkin pie.
I will stick with the pumpkin pie theme, but instead of pie I will make pumpkin pie bars. Yum!