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Take a mid-century trip to the 60s with this delicious orange and pineapple jello salad.
A Blast From The Past
This is one of those oldies but goodies everyone ate as a kid; especially if you grew up in the late 1950s or early 1960s. And I have to admit I’m a sucker for mid-century food.
The “in thing” during that era was everything in aspic. Some of these gelatin concoctions were pretty gross. However, there was some really good stuff in that group and this orange jello salad was one of them. I hadn’t thought about this recipe in ages–like maybe 50 years (not kidding). I was reminded of it, funny enough, when I binge-watched “The Astronaut’s Wives Club” just recently. What appeared to be this salad was on the Grissom’s dinner table. I forgot about it again until Cydnee aka Tampa Cake Girl reposted her mom’s recipe for this. That’s when I realized I had to make this!!!
Loaded With Fruit
The reason this salad is so good–and probably good for you too–is the amount of fruit it contains. Yes, it does use the canned stuff, but none of that is in heavy sugary syrups. The canned crushed pineapple and mandarin oranges you use comes packed in juice so there is no extra sugar involved. The flavor also gets a boost from using orange juice as part of the liquids added.
Cydnee makes this right in the pan she used to refrigerate it and serve from. I was a little timid since I wasn’t sure if would stir it enough with the large surface area involved to dissolve the gelatin. So I wimped out and used a bowl to mix it. But if you don’t want to dirty another dish, try Cydnee’s method.
Use Cream For The Crowning Glory
The typical serving suggestion is to top this with whipped topping or whipped cream. Eating it just plain is great too.
However, if you want to serve this British style, which I grew up with, put out a container of heavy (double) cream and pour just a little on the top. Yep, liquid cream. It’s awesome, so do try it that way.
The Recipe
Orange Jello Salad
Ingredients
- 6 oz box of orange gelatin large-size box
- 2 cups boiling water
- 6 oz frozen orange juice concentrate
- 20 oz can crushed pineapple undrained
- 2 15 oz cans mandarin oranges drained
Instructions
- Mix gelatin and boiling water, stirring until gelatin is completely dissolved.
- Add the frozen orange juice concentrate and stir until it’s all dissolved. Then add the entire can of pineapple and it’s juice and stir until it’s well mixed.
- Finally, add the drained mandarin oranges and mix well.
- Pour into a 13 x 9-inch non-metallic pan, cover and refrigerate until set—about 4-5 hours.
Bonnie Bee says
LOVE this “congealed” salad.. i also added shredded carrots for a little crunch.. mmmm so good..
Morgan says
I was going to say the same thing 🥕
PattiAnn says
Ok Judith, I’m sure there are hundreds of variations on this orange jello salad.
The way I make it (of course, my mother’s recipe) is to use plain oj, buttermilk & madarin oranges.
No cream on top. The buttermilk makes it opaque. I put it in individual custard cups.
My husband loves this jello salad & I can’t change it, or I’ll never live it down!
So fun. Love the retro recipes…keep them coming.
Patrik Pierson says
Should the Jell-o read 0.6 oz instead of 6 oz?
Judith Hanneman says
It’s the large package–I don’t have it in front of me now so I can’t give you an exact weight. If you can only find the “regular” sized packages, you’d use 2.
Ca says
Sounds delicious……. I might add some chopped pecans, just cause I have them 💛💚!
Judith Hanneman says
That sounds very good!!