Congealed Salad With Dr. Pepper
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This quick and easy 4-ingredient congealed salad recipe includes a deliciously sweet and refreshing combination of cherry jello, cherry pie filling, Dr. Pepper, and crushed pineapple.
Outside of the Southern United States, most folks refer to Southerners’ congealed salad as gelatin salad or jello salad. Yep, we just like to be different. But this Southern classic is like an upgraded and it’s a must at any spring/summer gathering. The possibilities of a congealed salad are endless, much to the delight of its devotees.
My great-grandmother, who lived the majority of her life as a sharecropper, considered congealed salad to be the ultimate treat. Back in her day, though, it was a treat that could only be enjoyed in the winter due to them not having a refrigerator. Alabama summers would never allow the gelatin to set up in this heat!
Much like my great-grandmother, I’ve never met a congealed salad that I didn’t like. On a recent visit to Georgia though, my sister-in-law managed to shoot this one to the top of my list by making this salad with one of my favorite things in the entire universe: Dr. Pepper. And since I don’t drink it very often anymore, I love finding ways I can sneak it into my life with just a little bit here and there.
So today folks we’re gonna make a congealed salad with Dr. Pepper. Feel free to use your favorite fizzy drink (in the South we call all of these ‘coke’). The original recipe called for cherry, which makes sense as we use both cherry jello and cherry pie filling. The only other ingredient you need is crushed pineapple.
This 4-ingredient congealed salad recipe is so quick and easy to make. We just need to mix the ingredients together over the stovetop, which doesn’t take long at all. The hardest part is waiting for it to set in the fridge! Add whipped topping and you have the ultimate summer dessert.
Recipe Ingredients
- Crushed pineapple
- Cherry gelatin
- Pie filling
- Dr. Pepper (or coke/fizzy drink of your choice)
How To Make Congealed Salad With Your Favorite Fizzy Drink
Drain your pineapple, reserving the juice.
In a saucepan, bring 1/2 cup of water and the pineapple juice to a boil.
Once boiling, add gelatin and stir until dissolved.
Stir in Diet Dr. Pepper (or coke of choice).
Now the great thing about this recipe is that you aren’t quite gonna use that whole can. There is a nice little swig left for ya in there!
When you do this, it’s gonna foam up some. Just lettin’ ya know so you don’t worry.
Add in pie filling and stir that up.
Until it looks like this.
Add in pineapple.
To place in a mold, take a jello mold or simply a bundt cake pan and spray with cooking spray. Pour contents inside and refrigerate until firm and congealed (this will take a few hours). To turn out of the mold, dip just the bottom in warm (not hot) water for a few seconds to help gelatin release, then turn it out onto the plate.
Or you can do it like I like to do…
Use individual 8-ounce mason jars to spoon it out into.
See how pretty? Now put the lid on these and store them in the fridge.
Make sure they are good and cold before serving so they will be set properly.
Individual little desserts are such a fun way to serve this!
Top with some whipped cream to finish it all off. Enjoy this deliciously different salad!
Storage
Store leftover congealed salad in the mason jars or covered in plastic wrap in the fridge for up to 5 days.
Recipe Notes
- You can use sugar-free gelatin if you like as well as a low-sugar cherry pie filling! It will turn out just as delicious.
- Want to add more crunch and texture? Add 1 cup of chopped pecans or chopped walnuts.
- Some traditional congealed salad recipes also add 1 cup of finely chopped celery for something different!
- You can use any flavor of jello and pie filling in this recipe:
- Strawberry jello salad with strawberry jello and strawberry pie filling.
- Grape jello salad with grape jello and blueberry pie filling or fresh blueberries.
- Cherry lime jello salad: follow this recipe and add 1/4 cup of fresh lime juice and 1 tablespoon of lime zest.
- with
- with and canned instead of the canned .
- Another option is to substitute the cherry pie filling for a jar of maraschino cherries, sliced and undrained.
Recipe FAQs
Can you freeze congealed salads?
No, it’s best not to freeze the congealed salad. Because it contains gelatin, it won’t freeze properly.
Can you make this congealed salad ahead of time?
Yes, you can definitely make it one or two days in advance and let the flavors marry together in the refrigerator.
Is congealed salad the same as gelatin salad or Jello salad?
Yes, all of these salads refer to the same dish.
Check out these other Southern desserts:
Bananas in Red Stuff (a.k.a Strawberry Glaze)
Vanilla Wafer Pudding Recipe With Pineapple
Ingredients
- 1 20-ounce can crushed pineapple
- 1/2 cup water
- 2 3-ounce boxes cherry gelatin
- 1 20-ounce can cherry pie filling
- 3/4 cup Diet Dr. Pepper or favorite coke
Instructions
- Drain pineapple, reserving the juice, and set it aside.1 20-ounce can crushed pineapple
- In a saucepan, bring pineapple juice and water to a boil. Add gelatin and stir until dissolved.1/2 cup water, 2 3-ounce boxes cherry gelatin
- Stir in Diet Dr. Pepper, then the cherry pie filling, then the crushed pineapple.1 20-ounce can cherry pie filling, 3/4 cup Diet Dr. Pepper or favorite coke, 1 20-ounce can crushed pineapple
- Pour into a mold, mason jars, or a serving bowl and refrigerate until firm. Serve cold.
Nutrition
This post was originally published in July 2009. I updated the photos in April 2019.
This recipe is featured on Meal Plan Monday and Weekend Potluck.
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This is Pie Cherry Salad!!! My mom has been making this for over 30 years. Every Thanksgiving and Christmas it’s on our table. Our recipe is slightly different. We don’t use Diet DP (although I’m sure this is yummy) and we add some vanilla and pecans. It’s gorgeous red color is perfect for the holidays!!
My Granny made a similar salad she called Coca-Cola salad. Same idea but instead of two boxes of cherry you use one cherry and one red raspberry. You also add in small chunks of cream cheese and pieces of walnuts before you cool it.
Pecans-not walnuts! One of the kids started talking to me and I can’t do two things at once apparently!
Here is my family’s recipe for congealed salad. No holiday was dinner without it for at least the last 65 years.
1 Box Lime Jello
1 Box Lemon Jello
2 cups boiling water
1 large can crushed pineapple
1 16 oz carton cottage cheese
1 large can evaporated milk
3/4 cup chopped pecans
dissolve Jello in boiling water. Add pineapple, with juice, cottage cheese and evaporated milk. Stir in pecans. Refrigerate until set.
This recipe is so adaptable. I use sugar free jello and a small can of evaporated milk, low fat cottage cheese and I eliminate the pecans. May try them again someday.
You can use any flavor of Jello and it is wonderful. If you use Orange, it kind of has a creamsicle flavor, Cranberry is great at Thanksgiving, but the “green congealed salad” was the one on my Gran’s and my Mom’s and my Table until
they went to be with the Lord.
Thank you for your DDP congealed salad. Can’t wait to make it. xoxoj
When we cleaned out Mother’s house we found hundreds of individual aluminum and tin congealed salad molds. They had been my grandmother’s and great-grandmother’s, some direct from the Jello company accompanied by jillions of recipe pamphlets. Evidence of a past era that may be reviving with this yummy-sounding recipe.
I make a salad kinda like this, I use sour cherries and drain the juice and combine it with the pineapple juice for my liquid. I use coke, I always make sure it is NOT cold or it really foams up. I also add a cup of pecans and an 8 oz. pkg. of cream cheese cut into little cubes. Try adding these extras, it really makes it special. In fact this is a “must have” at Thanksgiving.
Exactly how much pineapple juice do you end up with after you drain it?
I want to make a congealed salad with whole cranberry sauce. As I’m typing this I think I should combine the cranberry sauce with canned mandarin oranges, diced apples, pears, and orange soda. Thanks, for the inspiration.
Toni