For more than four decades, the family has requested this salad for Thanksgiving and Christmas. It is light green in color, smooth and creamy, and has a pecan crunch. At our house, it disappears rapidly and has a really distinctive flavor. Children will love a snack of cottage cheese and any leftover crushed pineapple.
| Prep Time: | 15 mins |
| Additional Time: | 4 hrs |
| Total Time: | 4 hrs 15 mins |
| Servings: | 8 |
| Yield: | 8 servings |
Ingredients
- 1 cup crushed pineapple, drained with juice reserved
- 1 cup water, or as needed
- 1 (3 ounce) package lime flavored Jell-O® mix
- 1 (3 ounce) package lemon flavored Jell-O® mix
- 1 cup mayonnaise
- 1 cup canned evaporated milk
- 1 cup small curd cottage cheese
- ½ cup coarsely chopped pecans
Instructions
- In a large measuring pitcher, mix reserved pineapple juice and enough water to yield 2 cups. Pour into a pot and bring to a boil. Add the lime and lemon gelatin mixes and stir until completely dissolved.
- Stir the mayonnaise and evaporated milk together in a mixing bowl. Stir in the gelatin mixture until completely blended. Mix in the crushed pineapple, cottage cheese, and pecans. Pour the gelatin mixture into a serving bowl. Refrigerate at least 4 hours or overnight.
Nutrition Facts
| Calories | 414 kcal |
| Carbohydrate | 29 g |
| Cholesterol | 24 mg |
| Dietary Fiber | 1 g |
| Protein | 9 g |
| Saturated Fat | 6 g |
| Sodium | 410 mg |
| Sugars | 26 g |
| Fat | 31 g |
| Unsaturated Fat | 0 g |
Reviews
My recipe is: Lightly oil your mold first (makes 1 large or 2 small ring molds). Dissolve 1 envelope Knox gelatin in a small amount of cold water. Mix a 3 oz. package of lime Jello and a 3 oz package of lemon Jello with the gelatin in 3 1/2 cups hot/boiling water. Add 1 cup mayonnaise and dissolve thoroughly, using whisk or hand egg beater. Mix in 1 cup small curd cottage cheese and pour into mold(s). Sprinkle 1 1/2 oz slivered almonds on top. Refrigerate until firm (I always prepare this the day before so that it chills overnight). Unmold on serving platter by dipping mold in warm water and running a dull knife around the edges of the mold. The original recipe from my mother’s cousin called for a can of crushed pineapple, but we like it better without – except for my son-in-law, who thinks that mixing Jello and mayonnaise is a crime against humanity!
I love it! My family not so much on gelatin However, I do take out the nuts and replaced with red grapes that have been cut in half.
I put the small cottage cheese in the mixer portion of the recipe.
Unique flavor. I substituted walnuts for the pecans. I think pecans would have been better.
I make this every year for Thanksgiving and Christmas, everyone loves it. The only thing that I had changed was that I used Plain Greek Yogurt, still tastes the same and no one’s knows that I used yogurt.
I had made this for years, but changed a bit from this to fit a wreath mold. Instead of cottage cheese, I used 6 oz. of shredded Med. cheddar and thinly sliced almonds. When it’s unmolded, decorate the top with maraschino cherry halves. Thanks for this, I had forgotten the pineapple juice for the water. Always a go to salad for a pot-luck and Christmas.
I made two batches, one with mayo and one with cream cheese. Both were delicious, in fact when I asked one my family liked few could taste they were not sure which was which. That said, the cream cheese set up firmer. I want to add a bit of salt to and not sure how, perhaps chopped salt pistachio nuts next time. Also finely chopped celery as many have mentioned.
My mom used always make this dessert on the holidays I hadn’t had it in years so I made it and it was delicious I like to use two limes instead of a lime at 11 the flavor is stronger
a classic.
I have made this for years, it is a family tradition. However, I have always used condensed milk instead of evaporated milk. This may solve some of the problems of not gelling. Hope this helps.
I’ve been making this for eons, taking over from my Mom after she made it for eons. I’m convinced that if you have any Midwestern roots, this jello salad is a standard at your holiday table. I came looking to make sure I had my measurements right (getting older just sucks). I don’t use the pecans but I do add a bit of horseradish or grated ginger for a little zip. We love this traditional dish and miss it if it’s not on the table. … And just a little addition — if you put ths in a round or wreath mold it turns out as a very pretty Christmas dish. Decorate with a red fruit (my favorite is pomegranate) and it’s done easy peasy!
I did not make this, but just wanted to add that our family makes this every thanksgiving and we put walnuts, crushed pinnalple, pineapple juice, and cream cheese and the jello liquid, and leave it in the fridge for a day and it is perfect!!
This is something my grandmother made every holiday and my family loves it! Granted I modified the recipe to replicate my grannys so here it goes, drain the pineapple, only use 1 box of jello (lime), no mayo. turns out perfect!
Yes I have. I used to make this for all our family gatherings over 20 years ago. It was a joke, but everyone gobbled it up. I had forgotten how to do it so I used this recipe. However, I changed it a little. I added a full container of cottage cheese and used Eagle Brand sweetened milk instead of evaporated milk. Upon tasting, I was pleased that it was like my old recipe. I didn’t use nuts since some of my family is allergic. I think the extra cottage cheese makes up for it. All in all, I had a trip down memory lane and a very good jello salad.
I lost this recipe from my mom. I serve it in the summertime as a side with a barbecue. The only difference is I add a teaspoon of horseradish. Double the mayo and omit the evaporated milk. I also use walnuts instead of pecans. It is my favourite jelly recipe.
Every Christmas eve, my grandma would serve this jello salad at her meatless dinner. When she passed, I inherited many of her handwritten recipes; this was not among them. I have been searching for this recipe and had been making versions of this salad for several years now trying to get it right. I knew the minute I made this recipe that it was ‘the one’. The only difference is grandma used walnuts instead of pecans. This past Christmas, I set up this jello salad in a traditional bundt pan (just like grandma used to). Once set, I placed the bundt in the sink surrounded by warm water for 5 minutes, then flipped it onto a dish. Then guests used a pie slicer to cut themselves a wedge of jello. Perfect!
Nothing wrong with the recipe, but I’m the only one who liked it 🙁 The green color scared the kids.
I made this recipe as a trial run for Christmas dinner. Very similar to the gelatin salad my mother-in-law used to make, and it was delicious. My husband couldn’t get enough of it. Next time I think I’ll substitute pears for the pineapple. Thanks for posting a recipe that holds wonderful memories!
Very good addition to Thanksgiving dinner. I didn’t tell my family any ingredients bc I didn’t want them to judge(they’re NOT very adventurous eaters) .. big hit!!! Just the right amount of fruit as a side dish. Easy, impossible to mess up. P.S. i made it the night before.
My mother made this salad for the first time in the late 50’s. It is called Sea foam salad and she made it for Thanksgiving and Christmas every year. I make it every year now for my family. I have never boiled the pineapple juice and used it because l was afraid the Jello would not set. I always boiled two cups of water and dissolved the Jello but this year,l will try the recipe with the pineapple juice.
One of my family’s favorite holiday treats. It has been a staple menu item at every Thanksgiving, Christmas and Easter for decades. (Except we use walnuts and chopped celery instead of pecans.) Just make sure you dissolve the gelatin properly, and give it plenty of time to set before serving.