My Grandmother's Vintage Jell-O Recipes

My grandmothers' had a magical obsession with Jell-O for molded desserts, appetizers, and entrees in the 1970s and 80s. Whether it was a holiday centerpiece or a weekday special dessert, each jiggly offering was fun and fantastic.

While the Jell-O base may have been basic and inexpensive, the molded desserts had a kitchen sink of ingredients: fruit, nuts, pretzels, cream cheese, mayonnaise, sour cream, Cheddar cheese. Each had creativity and memories infused in each bite. Jell-O salads and molded desserts still bring ingenuity and fun recipes, that seem odd at first glance to today's kitchens and tables.

The Grandmother of Necessity

Theres a reason why Allrecipes has more 200 recipes for Jell-O salads: nostalgia. From the comforting texture to the odd concoctions, vintage Jell-O salads in molds have come full circle. I have many childhood memories of my grandmothers unveiling spectacular Jell-O creations for holidays, all with unique ingredients that didn't make sense. The grandmother Jell-O creations came from cookbooks and back-of-box recipes or just word-of-mouth ideas.

Today's Jell-O salads and recipes still have hints of Jell-O molded creations. I miss that ta-da moment when my grandmothers placed the Jell-O dessert on a cake stand for everyone to view and ooh and ahh over. Luckily, there's a resurgence of the fascination with Jell-O and even Jell-O's cousin (aspic) for sweet and savory dishes. From a rainbow ring mold to Kelly's Ham Jell-O Salad to a sherbet punch-inspired Orange Sherbet Jell-O Mold, Jell-O desserts are back!

Check out our collection of Jell-O Salads for more inspiration.

A Cottage Cheese Industry

Grandmother's Jell-O salads often had a mix-in of a white creamy foods: cottage cheese, cream cheese, sour cream, or whipped cream. My Midwestern cheese-loving and farming Irish and Italian grandmothers often added ricotta, Cheddar, and cottage cheese, and occasionally cheese curds. The contrasting flavor and texture was a great way to cut the tart or sweet flavors of the Jell-O, but it also added interesting layers, making Jell-O molded desserts look almost like trending Sand Art displays.

While today's Jell-O salads don't always have the magic molding and unmolding, cottage cheese and other creamy ingredients are often still often included.

Recipes to Try:
Cottage Cheese Fluff
White Gelatin
Orange Gelatin Salad

Everything but the Kitchen Sink

Jell-O mold salads of the 70s and 80s were a bit of a kitchen sink approach. There were standard favorites like Watergate Salad and strawberry pretzel concoctions. However, there were also experimental, almost pop art creations that appeared at holidays and special occasions and Tuesdays.

I never knew what to expect, but ground beef and diced tomatoes made an appearance once. Because there were hungry children somewhere, I obediently tried a few bites of each on-the-fly recipe. Jell-O is still a great base for experimenting — try some veggies or pretzels and think about your grandmother!

Recipes to Try:
Almond Jelly With Lychee
Topsoil Garden Jell-O
Tomato Jell-O Surprise
Lemon Lime Vegetable Salad
Shrimp Mold

A Potluck of Lucky Jell-O

There was something about a molded Jell-O salad that made it the darling of church potluck lunches. My grandmothers knew how to make an entrance with a fun Jell-O mold dessert. From brightly colored desserts to fun takes on savory options, Jell-O molds and salads can still be a potluck table mainstay balanced on plates next to fried chicken. Longtime unique favorite strawberry pretzel salad even recently made its way into a Jeni's Ice Cream flavor.

Recipes to Try:
Judy's Strawberry Pretzel Salad
Cranberry Jell-O Salad

Beverages and Jell-O

My mom always made me a liquid Jell-O concoction with flat soda when I felt nauseous. Combining beverages with gelatin is a staple of Jell-O desserts and salads. From soda to coffee, grandma's ingenuity stands today with fun new options. While lemon-lime soda still stands as a liquid option, a coffee and Jell-O dessert has a unique color and flavor still worthy of the 70s Jell-O innovation.

Get the Recipe:
Coffee Gelatin Dessert
Lemon-Lime Soda Gelatin Salad

Do You Have Any Green Jell-O?

One of my favorite Muppets, Pepe, offers handfuls of green Jell-O to the other Muppets as a gift. My grandmother had favorite Jell-O flavors, and lime was one of them. She turned simple lime Jello-O into fun weekday molded desserts. She always matched the bright green color of the lime Jell-O with brightly-flavored pineapple bits.

Recipes to Try:
Lime Gelatin Salad 1
Angel Salad
Lime Fruit Salad in a Mold
Blueberry Lime Mold

Cheese Jell-O = Appetizer

My grandmothers were masters at using every last scrap of food. In the 1970s, today's bagged and pre-shredded grated cheese just didn't exist. If we had grated cheese at a meal, it meant a grandmother or mom had also grated their knuckles a bit over the gigantic metal cheese grater. It also meant, there was a Jell-O creation on the way with bits of extra grated Cheddar floating in it. Grated cheese may be a convenience, now but you can still recreate Jell-O cheese fun.

Recipes to Try:
Heavenly Lime Salad
Pimento Cheese Jell-O Salad

Sunrise, Sunset, Jell-O

Various shades of fruit-flavored Jell-O were my grandmothers' Jell-O paintbrushes. Layers of cherry, strawberry, and pink Jell-O offered up bright fruit flavors in rainbow hues. From red hot Jello-O molds to cherry-flavored options, Jell-O and the color red are still a match made in gelatin heaven.

Recipes to Try
Red Hot Applesauce Jell-O
Bing Cherry Gelatin Mold
Sunrise Salad
Broken Window Glass

Start Traditions With Holiday Jell-O

The holidays were when my grandmothers really shined with Jell-O mold options. From traditional cranberry-laden layered desserts to fourth of July specialities, each Jell-O creation was made to celebrate the holiday — all in a wiggly jiggly format.

Recipes to Try:
Fourth of July Layered Gelatin
Thanksgiving Jell-O Salad
Thanksgiving Day Salad
Moore's Cranberry Gelatin Salad
Deviled Jell-O Eggs
Halloween Pink Brain Shooter

Grown-Up Jell-O

My grandmothers never made Jell-O with alcohol in it — at least not that I saw. Modern takes on the molded and layered Jell-O desserts do include "adult" options with layered bright Jell-O with familiar alcoholic flavors. Are today's grandmothers adding these Jell-O options to their gelatin repertoires?

Recipes to Try:
Mangonada Jell-O Shots
Top Shelf Sparkling Margarita Jell-O
Layered Margarita Jell-O Shots

Related:

• 10 Gifts for the Jell-O Fan in Your Life
• 15 Vintage Jell-O Desserts That Are Due for a Comeback
• 15 Vintage Potato Recipes Worth Bringing Back