Small Batch Pineapple Lime Jello Salad
This Pineapple Lime Jello Salad is a no-cook recipe made with lime Jello, crushed pineapple, cottage cheese, and chopped pecans. A vintage family favorite scaled down to one or two servings.
Servings: 2 servings
Equipment
Ingredients
- 10 ounces canned crushed pineapple
- 12 ounces small curd cottage cheese
- 1 ½ tablespoons mayonnaise or Greek yogurt
- 1 (0.3-ounce) packet sugar-free lime jello (8.5 grams)
- ¼ cup chopped pecans
Instructions
- Drain the juice from 10 ounces of crushed pineapple through a fine mesh strainer into a measuring cup. Press gently to extract as much juice as possible.
- Add hot water to the juice to make 1 cup of liquid total.
- In a medium bowl, stir together the drained crushed pineapple, cottage cheese, and mayonnaise until combined. Cover and refrigerate.
- In a separate bowl, pour the pineapple juice and hot water mixture over the Jello. Stir for about 2 minutes until fully dissolved and no granules remain.
- Cover and refrigerate for about 1 hour. The Jello is ready when it's slightly thickened and sluggish when stirred but still liquid.
- Using an electric hand mixer, beat the partially set Jello on medium speed for about 5 minutes until frothy.
- Gently fold the whipped Jello into the chilled cottage cheese mixture using a spatula. Work slowly to keep the air in the whipped Jello.
- Stir in the chopped pecans.
- Refrigerate for at least 4 hours or until firm all the way through. Overnight is even better.
Video
Notes
Make sure the Jello is fully dissolved. Stir the Jello into the hot water for a full 2 minutes. If you can still see granules, keep stirring. Undissolved Jello creates lumps in the finished salad that won't go away.
Don't skip draining the pineapple. The juice gets used as part of the liquid for dissolving the Jello. Too much liquid from undrained pineapple will make the salad watery and prevent it from setting firmly.
Keep the cottage cheese base cold. Refrigerate the cottage cheese and pineapple mixture while the Jello thickens. Folding cold base into the whipped Jello helps it start setting faster and stay evenly combined.
Fold, don't stir. When combining the whipped Jello with the cottage cheese mixture, use a gentle folding motion with a spatula. Stirring too aggressively knocks the air out of the whipped Jello and you lose that light texture.
Give it the full 4 hours. The salad may look set after 2 hours but it won't be firm all the way through. Overnight in the fridge gives the best texture.
Nutrition
Serving: 1serving | Calories: 319kcal | Carbohydrates: 24g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 18g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 7mg | Sodium: 303mg | Potassium: 234mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 18g | Vitamin A: 85IU | Vitamin C: 13mg | Calcium: 33mg | Iron: 1mg
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