My Favorite Holiday Cranberry Salad
Until this year I never knew there were so many strong feelings out there about canned/jellied cranberry sauce vs some sort of cranberry salad/whole berry sauce. WOW! Funny story – we grew up on not awesome dinners. Pretty sure that’s why my brother became a professional chef (super talented) and my parents will be the first to tell you they’re not culinary whizzes. Still love them anyway 🙂 Any who.. one of the sides we commonly had with regular dinners was jellied cranberry sauce, which was fine. One day they happened to buy the whole berry kind and yall, my world was CHANGED! That being said, I serve both the canned jellied kind as well as this cranberry salad recipe I’m sharing with you, it’s become a favorite a my dad’s every Thanksgiving. Full disclosure – it’s not aesthetically gorgeous but it tastes INCREDIBLE.
Do you make breads and such for snacking as well? I’ll definitely be making this carrot cake banana bread recipe I shared! Nothing quite says Thanksgiving like elastic waist bands and carb overload.
My Favorite Holiday Cranberry Salad
The recipe is not sugar free but you can certainly substitute the sugar and purchase sugar free Jello mix.
- Prep Time: 5
- Cook Time: 10
- Total Time: 15 minutes
- Yield: 8–10 servings 1x
- Category: Holiday
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
2 cups of fresh cranberries, washed and drained (I tend to use an entire bag of Ocean Spray)
1 & a ½ cups water
1 cup sugar
1 3 oz. pkg cherry Jello
1 small can (8oz.) of crushed pineapple, drained (You can use a 20 oz. can if you prefer the extra fruit)
1 to 2 sticks celery, diced fine (I use two if I’m using the whole bag of berries)
1 small ripe apple, chopped (I use a Granny Smith apple)
1/4 cup toasted pecans
Instructions
- Combine the 2 cups of fresh cranberries and 1 & 1/2 cups of water in a medium sauce pan. Cook on medium with the lid on until the cranberries start popping, about 10 minutes.
- Remove from heat and add sugar and cherry Jello. Stir until completely dissolved.
- Add the drained pineapple, chopped celery and diced apple (You can also throw these into a chopper for a finer result). Add into the Jello mixture until well-coated. Pour entire mixture into your serving bowl of choice and let stand for about 10 minutes.
- If desired, sprinkle with toasted pecans. I also love adding orange zest to this for extra pizzazz.
- Cover with plastic wrap or lid.
- Refrigerate over night.
Notes
You can add the pineapple juice into the mixture while cooking if preferred. Just be sure to decrease the water amount so it will set well overnight without becoming too watery.
Keywords: cranberry, side salad, holiday recipes, cranberry recipes, jello salad
November 23, 2020 @ 2:53 pm
This seems interesting with the extra ingredients like celery and nuts. Sounds yummy!
November 23, 2020 @ 5:35 pm
the celery gives it a nice little crunch!
November 23, 2020 @ 3:27 pm
This recipe looks amazing! I can’t believe it only takes 15 minutes!
November 23, 2020 @ 5:35 pm
it’s incredibly easy!
November 23, 2020 @ 4:26 pm
This sounds HEAVENLY! I love anything to do with cranberry! Awesome post!!
November 23, 2020 @ 4:32 pm
I’ve never had a cranberry salad before, it sound really interesting (and something the kids will like too!)
November 23, 2020 @ 5:35 pm
I love it! It’s like its own little dessert 🙂
November 23, 2020 @ 5:32 pm
It looks so healthy and scrumptious. I wish I could prepare it for myself. But finding fresh cranberries will be a struggle in Asia. I’ll keep that recipe for later 🙂
November 23, 2020 @ 5:34 pm
Hopefully you get the chance to make it at some point! The sugarless/alternative option would definitely be healthy!
November 23, 2020 @ 7:58 pm
I owuld have never thought to use gelatin! what a great idea and it sweetens it up just enough!!! Love it!
November 23, 2020 @ 8:41 pm
The competition between jellied and with berries cranberry sauce is real lol. Thank you for sharing your recipe! I like that it is easy to put together (and honestly, that you include crushed pineapple (my fave).
November 23, 2020 @ 10:18 pm
I never knew there were such strong feelings until recently! I too am a big fan of crushed pineapple!
November 23, 2020 @ 10:28 pm
My moms favorite is cranberries. She would love this! I hope everyone enjoys at your holiday festivities.
November 24, 2020 @ 9:37 am
same to you and yours!
November 24, 2020 @ 12:49 am
What a yummy twist to an already yummy dish! I love the added celery idea!
November 24, 2020 @ 1:23 am
Wow, that salad sounds really flavourful! I am not in the US, so we don’t do Thanksgiving, but cooking with cranberries is something I should try more often!
November 24, 2020 @ 2:41 am
This excellent salad of taste and acidity is worthy of Desperate Housewives, I don’t know what came to my mind! Yummy!
November 24, 2020 @ 9:37 am
haha that is INCREDIBLE!
November 24, 2020 @ 4:56 am
Yum! This sounds like the perfect addition to a thanksgiving dinner! I can feel it already.
November 24, 2020 @ 8:25 am
Oof! This is allergy central for me (apples AND pineapples) but I know my family would LOVE it… so I might just have to make it for everyone else! It sure does sound delicious and refreshing. A fun twist on cranberries – rather than normal cranberry sauce.
November 24, 2020 @ 9:36 am
ah! food allergies can really ruin all the fun! I’m glad you’re aware of them!
November 24, 2020 @ 8:31 am
This is definitely a unique recipe with celery, pineapple and the nuts. I have never tried a cranberry salad before. It sounds delicious. Thank you for sharing!
November 24, 2020 @ 8:34 am
Yum this sounds delicious but I am a fan of cranberry sauce, particularly ones with orange zest or peel and a dash of bourbon.
November 24, 2020 @ 9:34 am
a dash of bourbon sounds like an awesome addition, i’ll have to try that!
November 26, 2020 @ 8:46 pm
Wow, your recipe sounds great!
November 24, 2020 @ 9:20 am
This sounds delicious! Also, I love your hair 🙂
November 24, 2020 @ 9:34 am
thank you!
November 24, 2020 @ 2:22 pm
This dish has it all – such a great variety of tastes and textures. It’ll be a great addition to a Thanksgiving meal!
November 26, 2020 @ 8:44 pm
OMG, I will be making that recipe for the holidays! I know it’s going to taste good because it has all of my favorite things! Thank you for sharing! Happy Holidays!