Strawberries and Cream Jello Salad

Name: Strawberries and Cream Jello Salad Recipe
Prep time: 30 min
Total time: 150 min
Ingredients: 6 ounces strawberry Jello; 2 cups boiling water; 8 ounces cream cheese (softened); 1 cup milk; 20 ounces crushed pineapple (do not drain); 8 ounces cool whip

This strawberries and cream jello salad is light and fluffy fruit salad made with 6 ingredients and topped with whipped cream.

Here’s a question that might spark a huge debate: “Jello – yes or no?” For us (living in Utah, the jello capital of the world), jello is definitely a yes!

And in our family, jello was not just a dessert, it was also a side dish! Jello is definitely not something that we eat everyday, but more for special occasions, potluck dinners, and big family Sunday dinners. We ALL love it!

While I know that many of you despise Jello, I also know that there are many of you who love it as much as I do! Here’s a yummy salad that came together after some experimenting with strawberries and cream cheese. It really would be the perfect dessert after a yummy dinner with family and friends.

Recipe Ingredient Notes

To make this strawberries and cream jello salad, you need the following ingredients:

strawberry jello (you can either use 1 big box or 2 small boxes)
cream cheese
milk
crushed pineapple
Cool-Whip

Equipment Needed

For this recipe, you only need a few simple kitchen tools. We recommend using the following equipment:

How to Make Our Strawberries and Cream Jello Salad

In a medium bowl, mix together the jello mixes and boiling water; stir until jello is dissolved.
In a separate large bowl, beat cream cheese until smooth. Gradually beat in the milk with the cream cheese and mix until smooth.
Pour in hot jello mixture with the cream cheese and stir until completely incorporated. Add the can of crushed pineapple and mix well.
Place bowl in the fridge for 20-30 minutes or until mixture starts to thicken.
Remove from fridge and fold in Cool Whip and place back in the fridge; let chill for 2-3 hours before serving.
If desired, top each serving with whipped cream and sliced strawberries.

Frequently Asked Questions

How far in advance can I make this salad?

To be honest, I wouldn’t recommend making it more than one day in advance. I feel that it tastes best and has the best texture when it is made and enjoyed on the same day.

Can you make this with sugar-free jello?

I have not made this salad using sugar-free jello, but in everything that I have read about sugar-free jello, it should still work out great for this recipe. If you try it with sugar-free jello, leave a comment below and let us know how it worked.

Can you make this with fresh whipped cream instead of cool whip?

I have never tried making this recipe without cool-whip – the cool whip is needed to get that fluffy texture. If you use fresh whipped cream, I am afraid that you will not get the same fluffy consistency and this recipe will not turn out the way that it’s supposed to. If you are looking for a homemade Cool-Whip alternative, check out this recipe for Stabilized Whipped Cream – it has a more similar fluffiness to Cool-Whip.

What makes this salad so fluffy?

What makes the salad so fluffy is the mixture of the Jello mix with the pudding mix – it makes everything so smooth. Add in the fluffy Cool-Whip and it makes the perfect combination of smooth fruity flavor with fluffy whipped topping.

Enjoy More Delicious Fruit Salads

Want to add more fruits to your meals? Browse our comprehensive list of salad recipes.

Two glass dishes filled with pink strawberry mousse topped with whipped cream, with fresh strawberries placed beside the dishes.

Strawberries and Cream Jello Salad Recipe

4.84 from 6 votes

This strawberries and cream jello salad is light and fluffy fruit salad made with 6 ingredients and topped with whipped cream.

10 servings

Prep Time 30

Resting Time 2

Total Time 2 30

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Ingredients

Equipment

Instructions

In a medium bowl, mix together the jello mixes and boiling water; stir until jello is dissolved.
In a separate large bowl, beat cream cheese until smooth. Gradually beat in the milk with the cream cheese and mix until smooth.
Pour in hot jello mixture with the cream cheese and stir until completely incorporated. Add the can of crushed pineapple and mix well.
Place bowl in the fridge for 20-30 minutes or until mixture starts to thicken.
Remove from fridge and fold in Cool Whip and place back in the fridge; let chill for 2-3 hours before serving.
If desired, top each serving with whipped cream and sliced strawberries.

Notes

This fruit salad is best served when it is made and enjoyed on the same day.

Nutrition

Calories: 193 kcal · Carbohydrates: 33 g · Protein: 5 g · Fat: 5 g · Saturated Fat: 3 g · Cholesterol: 18 mg · Sodium: 216 mg · Potassium: 184 mg · Fiber: 1 g · Sugar: 29 g · Vitamin A: 233 IU · Vitamin C: 5 mg · Calcium: 97 mg · Iron: 1 mg

Cuisine: American

Cost: $10

Author: Steph Loaiza

Course: Salad

Did You Make This Recipe?We’d love to hear your thoughts! Leave a review or a question in the comment section below the post.

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Questions & Reviews

Melissa says:

My husband is allergic to pineapple. Is there something else I can replace it with?
Cheryl at Snaps of Ginger says:

I feel like this dessert just screams SPRING!
Cyd says:

Fruit cocktail would work, but that has a little pineapple in it also. You could totally use mandarin oranges and then use orange flavored jello.
Ashton says:

Aw! Thanks so much for linking to my recipe :)
April says:

This salad is delicious. We make it with green jello sometimes too.
Camille says:

Of course!!! It's a brilliant recipe!!! :)
Terisa says:

Okay, this dessert/side dish wont last for a second helping in my home. Thank you for the SPRING feelings from this dish.
Meliss says:

My mom made this growing up too. But we always used dry jello and combined with all other ingredients (minus the boiling water). Yummy!!!
CCG says:

How many servings does this recipe make. If you don't put it in individual cups, what size pan should be used? I have a party of 21, so just trying to figure out if I should double? Thank you for your time
Cyd says:

We make this in a medium sized bowl and it feeds 8-10 people. So if you are feeding around 20 people you will definitely want to double it. You'll want a big mixing bowl.
Maggie says:

Ok, I feel stupid asking this but I’m confused and could not figure it out. You talk, more than once, about pudding but I don’t see pudding on the actual recipe or ingredients list? So, does the strawberries and cream jello salad have pudding in it? And, if so, how much and when do I add, etc..? Thank you for any help you can give me to clarify this!
Cyd says:

Hi Maggie, I went back and read the post and can see where you were confused. There are some links that take you to some similar recipes that have pudding. I edited the post to remove some of the confusion. This Strawberries and Cream Jello Dessert Salad does not have pudding. Just the ingredients listed in the recipe. Hope this helps.
Julie says:

Could a person use fresh cut up strawberries instead of pineapple or maybe frozen strawberries that have been thawed
Patty says:

Great for diabetics... just loose the crust or made the crust very shallow...
Kristin says:

I did make this with sugar free jello and sugar free cool whip! It was amazing!!
Cyd says:

Thanks so much for sharing. This is good to know for those wanting to use sugar free ingredients.
Sally says:

How many calories and carbs per serving—looks delicious and would like to try—have one watching calories and one just counting carbs
Momma Cyd says:

We are slowly updating our recipes and adding the nutritional information. I updated this recipe for you, so you'll see the nutrition at the bottom of the recipe card in the post. Hope this helps.
Southern Cookie says:

Tried it. Very good, but personal salad is made in layers using sour crm as one layer and pecans on top.