Skip to main content

Molded Jell-O Salad

3.5

(10)

This recipe is from my favorite grandmother, DeeDee. According to my mother, it has many variations, and my grandmother always served it with great presentation at parties, family dinners, and ladies luncheons.

The recipe has high stakes: You get but one chance when you unmold it. Just recently I recall overhearing my mother exclaim "Damn!" as she was getting the salad ready for yet another meal. It was runny — not enough time in the refrigerator.

Recipe information

  • Yield

    Serves 8 to 10

Ingredients

1 package lime or lemon Jell-O, dissolved with 1 cup hot water
3/4 cup cold water
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1 bottlecapful of vinegar
1 cup cottage cheese
1 cup (total) chopped celery, onions, carrots (if you add too much the Jell-O will be too watery to gel)
Ripe olives or parsley

Preparation

  1. Step 1

    In a bowl, combine the dissolved Jell-O, cold water, mayonnaise, and vinegar and mix thoroughly. Transfer to the freezer or refrigerator and allow it to chill well. When it begins to get firm, remove it from the freezer or refrigerator and beat with an electric beater until fluffy. Add cottage cheese and chopped vegetables. Before you put the mixture into a mold, decorate the bottom of the mold with olives or parsley so that when you unmold it there will be a pretty design on top.

    Step 2

    Another variation is to forego the vinegar and add fruit with the cottage cheese. Just be sure that the salad is firm (overnight in the refrigerator or a few hours in the freezer), otherwise it will be messy when you unmold it.

Read More
Like airy lemon chiffon cake and a Cadbury egg–inspired tart.
Turn humble onions into this thrifty yet luxe pasta dinner.
Like coconut lentil soup and chicken stroganoff.
A warmly spiced Ashkenazi charoset, perfect for your Passover seder—or spooned over yogurt the next morning.
Keep this easy frittata recipe on hand for quick breakfasts, impressive brunches, and fridge clean-out meals.
Put that half-full tub to use with recipes that go beyond the Italian American classics.
This one-pot dinner cooks chicken thighs directly on top of a bed of flavorful cilantro rice studded with black beans for a complete dinner.
Use this classic lemon curd on scones, in yogurt, or between layers of meringue.