Cherry Lemonade Jello Salad

This Cherry Lemonade Jello Salad is remarkably refreshing, has a pop of flavor and just says spring and summertime. This salad is incredibly easy to make and can be whipped up for a picnic, family gathering or holiday! 

Summertime is coming and with that is warmer weather and outdoor fun! Of course, that means picnics and family gatherings and reunions. It also means 4th of July which of course means everything patriotic like these Patriotic Sugar Cookies.

That of course, means bringing something along that everyone enjoys and will receive raves. This Cherry Lemonade Jello Salad is just what everyone will love.

You will enjoy it too as it is so simple to make and as easy as can be. All you need is a few basic ingredients and a little bit of time for it to chill in the refrigerator.

How much time is needed to chill in the fridge?

All together, you are going to want about 5-6 hours. It is a recipe to make in the morning and work on it throughout the day. If you do, you can eat it for supper that night. You can also make it before bed and then finish it in the morning for a lunch or midday picnic.

All you need to start the recipe is a box of cherry Jell-O (you can use a generic brand) and a can of frozen lemonade concentrate, thawed. Does this recipe sound familiar?

I have a grape jello salad recipe that is like this. In fact, this recipe is so versatile you can come up with so many variations. In this case, the cherry lemon flavor of this salad recipe compliment each other so well. Oh, the flavors like each other.

This cherry Jell-O salad has Cool Whip, also. I recommend using actual Cool Whip verses whipping cream in this case. I believe the texture is better for this Jell-O salad recipe.

How long can a Jello Salad stay out the fridge?

It is so important to make sure that refrigerated foods stay cool so that bacteria doesn't have time to grow. A Jello Salad can stay out of the fridge for about 2 hours.

If it is extremely hot outside, then about 30 minutes. You can use an ice bucket or container of ice to make it last a little longer outside. Safety is always first, so plan accordingly.

Process

You can make this salad so quickly. Simply add the cherry Jello to the bottom of a medium bowl and pour over boiling water. Make sure you stir well and as the instructions on the box says, stir about 2 minutes.

After stirring the Jello so there is no granules left, add in the lemonade concentrate. Then pop it in the fridge like you would with normal Jello.

After about 4-5 hours, when the Jell-O is firm, put the Cool Whip on the Jell-O and mix with a hand mixer.

The mixture will turn into little bite sized pieces (in a way). Not going to lie, it feels a little wrong mixing up perfectly formed Jell-O. But I promise, the end result is a good one.

That's it! The mixture needs to stay in the fridge for about another 1-2 hours just to firm up, but if you were in a rush, you could serve it immediately.

Serve with your favorite picnic recipes such as Best Baked Beans (a reader favorite!) and Grilled Chicken Marinade.

📖 Recipe