Name: Retro Layered Christmas Ribbon Jello Salad Recipe
Prep time: 20 min
Ingredients: 1 sachet strawberry jello granules; 1 sachet lemon jello granules; 1 sachet lime jello granules; 200 grams full-fat cream cheese; 1 banana (optional); 1 432 gram tinned crushed pineapple (optional)

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Make your Christmas extra special with this festive and delicious retro layered Christmas ribbon jello salad recipe. This vintage recipe is easy to prepare and perfect for holiday gatherings.

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Chilling Time: 6 hours

Difficulty: Easy

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Ingredients for this Christmas ribbon jello salad recipe
USA/Canada Instructions
UK Instructions
Retro Layered Christmas Ribbon Jello Salad Recipe
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I loved Christmas as a child (and as an adult, I still do!). We always went to our grandparents’ house for the holiday period, and there was always an air of excitement in the days leading up to Christmas.

My grandmother went all out to make sure our Canadian childhood Christmases were special year after year, and it’s only now, as an adult, that I realise how much work and love went into making them so unique. I am truly grateful for that.

My grandmother used to make a layered jelly dessert every year. It was served at the Christmas dinner table alongside the turkey, stuffing and gravy. It was spooned right onto the plate next to the mashed potatoes, and I was allowed to eat as much of it as I wanted! I don’t know if this was something she always made before I fell in love with it, but once she knew I liked it, she made it year after year. Even when I was a sulky teenager, she’d make it, and it became a tradition.

I made this layered Christmas jelly for my children when they were young (and maybe a little bit just for me, too), but as I’m in the UK and the packaged jelly is different (Canadian jelly comes in dry granules while UK jelly comes in condensed tacky squares of jelly) I’ve had to adapt the recipe.

Through trial and error, this is what I’ve come up with, and oh my, I can still eat this layered jelly by the bucketful! There’s just something about the sweet, fruited jellies sandwiching together a creamy lemon layer.

Ingredients for this Christmas ribbon jello salad recipe

1 sachet strawberry jello granules
1 sachet lemon jello granules
1 sachet lime jello granules
200 grams full-fat cream cheese
1 banana (optional)
1 x 432 gram tin crushed pineapple (optional)

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USA/Canada Instructions

Dissolve the strawberry jello granules in 100 ml boiling water in a glass measuring jug. Add 200 ml cold water.
Slice banana into 1/4-inch slices, if using, and place in the bottom of a glass bowl, a bundt pan or jelly mould. Alternatively, divide evenly in serving glasses.
Pour the jelly over the top of the bananas, place in the refrigerator and leave until it sets, about 1.5 hours.
Dissolve lemon jello granules in 100 ml boiling water and add another 100 ml cold water.
Beat cream cheese until smooth and stir in the lemon jelly until well combined.
Gently pour lemon jello mixture over the strawberry jello layer and leave to set for 1 to 1.5 hours.
Dissolve the lime jello granules in 100 ml boiling water. Add 150 ml of cold water along with the well-drained tinned crushed pineapple, if using.
Gently pour the lime jello layer over the lemon layer and leave to chill for two more hours, or preferably overnight.
To remove the Christmas ribbon jello salad from the mould place the mould in some hot water for a few minutes to soften the outer edges. It will then come out of the mould quickly.

UK Instructions

Break the strawberry jelly into pieces in a glass measuring jug and add 100 ml cold water. Microwave for 60 seconds and stir until dissolved.
Slice banana into 1/4 inch slices and place in the bottom of a glass bowl, a bundt pan or jelly mould or divide between individual serving dishes.
Add a further 200 ml cold water to the dissolved jelly mixture.
Pour enough red jelly to fill the dish 1/3 full. Place in refrigerator and leave until it firms up, about an hour and a half.
Dissolve lemon jelly in 100 ml water in the microwave. Add a further 100 ml cold water.
Beat cream cheese until smooth and stir in the lemon jelly until well combined.
Gently pour lemon jelly over the strawberry jelly layer and leave to set for a further 1 to 1.5 hours.
Prepare lime jelly by dissolving it in 100 ml cold water in the microwave.
Add a further 150 ml cold water to the lime jelly and the well-drained crushed pineapple.
Gently pour the lime jelly layer over the lemon layer and leave to chill a further two hours, or preferably overnight.
To remove layered Christmas ribbon jello salad from the mould place the mould in some hot water for a few minutes to soften the outer edges. It will then come out of the mould quickly.

Recipe Difficulty Levels

Easy

Requires basic cooking skills and ingredients you most likely already have in your kitchen.

Moderate

Requires more experience, preparation and/or cooking time. You may have to source special ingredients.

Challenging

Recipes requiring more advanced skills and experience and maybe some special equipment.