Orange Carrot Gelatin Salad may sound like a weird combination, and perhaps, mixing carrots into orange gelatin is strange, but we love it. This recipe is from the mid twentieth century when gelled salads were very popular in households across the country. They were also prevalent at picnics and parties. Now, in the early part of the twenty-first century, gelatin is falling from favor, but some of these recipes are too good to be lost. That’s why I have chosen to share this recipe for Orange Carrot Gelatin with you.
Carrots pair well with pineapple and orange gelatin in this simple dessert, or salad. Orange Carrot Gelatin, or “Carrot Jello Salad,” as my mother used to call it, is an unusual combination, but we like it. The important thing to remember is that you absolutely have to grate your own carrots.
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The julienne carrots that are available in the grocery produce section are too thick, and the carrots won’t combine as seamlessly with the crushed pineapple in the recipe. The result with be really hard to chew carrots in you gelatin. That will, as Sue Chef says, make your mouth sad.
What will you need to prepare this recipe?
From the Pantry
- Orange Gelatin
- Canned Crushed Pineapple
From the Refrigerator
- Carrots
Most of the time, I just pour my gelatin into a bowl. My mother preferred to allow hers to gel in a 7X11 inch rectangular glass pan. If I’m going to be using the salad for a picnic or for lunches, I will put individual servings into either four or eight ounce mason jars.
It’s much easier for someone to grab a single serving that way, plus it seems to speed things up at the serving table at a potluck or picnic if people don’t have to cut or scoop the salad to serve themselves.
These little mason jars full of gelatin salads, or desserts, also make a great grab and go addition to lunch boxes on busy weekday mornings.
My mother always liked to cut squares of her orange carrot gelatin salad, and serve them on top of a lettuce leaf. I always thought it was so pretty. I wanted to recreate that serving suggestion to show you, unfortunately, I only had the tiny internal leaves from a head of Romaine lettuce, so it didn’t quite work out. Do I still get points for trying?
Have you ever made a gelatin salad that contained vegetables? Would you try a recipe like this or do you think it sounds gross? Let us know by leaving a comment below.
Give our recipe for Orange Carrot Gelatin Salad a try. It may surprise you.
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Orange Carrot Gelatin Salad
Ingredients
- 1 (8 serving) box orange flavored gelatin dessert (regular or sugar free–it doesn't really matter) $0.98
- 1½ cups boiling water
- 1 (20 ounce) can crushed pineapple (packed in it's own juice) $0.99
- 1 large carrot finely shredded, or grated $0.11
- ¾ cup cold water
Instructions
- Mix orange gelatin with boiling water and stir until gelatin is completely dissolved (2-3 minutes)
- Allow gelatin to partially cool to room temperature. (or you can speed this up by putting it into the refrigerator for about 10 minutes.) You want it to have the texture of a thick syrup.
- Once gelatin mixture has cooled, add undrained pineapple, carrots, and cold water.
- Mix well to thoroughly combine and pour into whatever vessel you want to serve it from.
- Cover loosely, and place in refrigerator for 2 – 4 hours, or overnight, to allow it to fully set up.
Nutrition information provided below is for one serving of Orange Carrot Gelatin Salad prepared according to the recipe above using regular orange gelatin.
Nutrition information provided below is for one serving of Orange Carrot Gelatin Salad prepared according to the recipe above using sugar free orange gelatin.
Disclaimer: Nutritional information is calculated using online tools such as those available at cronometer.com or verywellfit.com. We make every attempt to ensure that the information is calculated correctly, but this information should be considered estimates.  Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. In addition, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition-fact sources, databases, and the algorithms used.  You are solely responsible for ensuring that any nutritional information provided is accurate, complete, and useful. Under no circumstances will PattyCakesPantry.com be responsible for any loss or damage resulting for your reliance on nutritional information provided.Â