With layers of cream cheese, custard, whipped topping, lemon, and pineapple, this Jello Salad Recipe is absolutely amazing. Its bright sections make it perfect for spring and the upcoming Easter Holiday. You can even make this Easter dish one week in advance, making it an easy side for your special day.
Layered Jello Salad
If you love Dessert Salads, then you might love my recipe for Pistachio Fluff
My mom always called this the Four-Layered Jello Salad. The traditional use for this jello dessert was as an Easter Side. The layers were colored and the topping was shredded cheddar cheese. As a kid, that grossed me out. The cheese mixed with sweet flavors just was not appealing. As an adult, I can appreciate the combination. I know that my kids though would have the same reaction as I did. So, that’s why I substituted coconut for the topping.
For as long as I can remember, Jell-O Salads were are part of my childhood. I’ve got a few on the site that I can share with you. Maybe you’ll have some nostalgic feelings for this Dreamsicle Jell-O Salad with whipped cream, or this Strawberry Pretzel Salad made with Jell-O.
I also left out the food coloring. It’s just one more step that isn’t really needed. The colors are bright enough on their own. The reasoning behind coloring the layers was to represent an Easter Egg. If you want to add that back in, then I think that’ll be a fun treat for your family.
 Here’s the printable recipe for you:
Four Layered Jello Dessert
Equipment
- A large See Through Bowl or 8×10 inch dish
Ingredients
First Layer
- 2 3 oz. lemon jello
- 4 cups water
- 16 oz. crushed pineapple drained -Reserve Juice
Second Layer
- 8 oz. Cool Whip
- 8 oz. Cream Cheese
Third Layer
- 1 tsp. Lemon Juice
- 1 cup Pineapple Juice reserved. I've also substituted orange juice
- ½ cup sugar
- 2 Tbsp. cornstarch
- 2 Egg Yolks
Fourth (Top) Layer
- 2 Cups Heavy Cream Chilled
- 2 Tbsp. sugar
- 1 cup sweetened coconut shavings
Instructions
First Layer (Bottom Layer)
- Heat water, add Jell-O, and stir for 2 minutes or until dissolved.
- Stir in drained pineapple
- Pour into your serving dish
- Refrigerate for 4 hours, or until firm
Second Layer
- Mix the cream cheese & cool whip ( I used a Mixer for this – thank goodness for those!)
- Spread this layer onto the first layer
Third Layer
- In a saucepan over medium/high heat- heat the pineapple juice, lemon juice, and sugar. Stir so everything is dissolved
- Add Cornstarch – continue to stir until very thick (like a paste) Turn the heat up, if it’s not thickening.
- Temper the eggs – Have the 2 yolks mixed in a bowl, next to you, and take a spoon full of heated mixture.
- Whip the heated mixture into the eggs
- Add the egg mixture to the saucepan, and continue to whip while the egg is cooking into the mixture. (Only takes a minute)
- Remove from heat
- Let cool for about 5 minutes
- Spread over the second layer (this is a thin layer)- place back in the fridge
Fourth Layer
- You’ll want to use your mixer for this or a handheld beater
- Beat the Heavy Cream until soft peaks form
- Add 2 Tbsp. of sugar, and continue to beat until the cream is the consistency of whipped cream
- Spread over the third layer
- Sprinkle Coconut Shavings on top and Enjoy
Notes
- This can be stored in the refrigerator, covered tightly with plastic wrap for up to a week
- *The original recipe included shredded cheddar cheese on top and fun colors for the layers. It was supposed to resemble an Easter Egg. I omitted the food coloring because I thought the layers already had a bright spring contrast and the cheese would definitely deter my kids from tasting this dessert.
Nutrition
~Melissa – KidFriendlyThingsToDo.Com
Where is the recipe?
Weird…It should be at the bottom of the post. I’ve had one other reader ask about a recipe as well. I wonder if the recipe card software is malfunctioning? Please, Take another look and let me know if you still can’t find the recipe.
The four layered jello salad directions for layer four says to add the flour. No flour is listed in the ingredients. How much flour?
I’m so sorry about that. The original recipe from my childhood had flour and not cornstarch. I have since changed the recipe to include cornstarch in place of the flour. I must have been looking at both recipes – the original and modified, and wrote both! Either one would work as a thickening agent. Cornstarch is pure starch, so the thickening power is almost twice that of flour and a whole lot faster. Be sure to watch your mixture on the stove. It will thicken up quickly. I will go and take the flour out of the instructions. Thank you so much for bringing that to my attention. I hope you enjoy the recipe. 🙂