My grandmother used to make this salad for Christmas gatherings and first got the recipe from some of her ‘church ladies’. It appeared at a Circle Meetin’ at Granny’s little St. George Southern Baptist Church in the 1960’s. The salad was wildly successful among the women and when the church put together a cookbook in 1977, this recipe was submitted by seven different women…all claiming to be originator of the recipe. Funny! I can remember my grandmother expressing her irritation over the situation, that so-and-so took recipes that were given to her by other people and claimed them as her own and now had her name on them in the cookbook.
Scandalous behavior among good Southern Baptist women! Recipe robbing at its worst! And now it’s in the cookbook for all time.
Anyway, back to the recipe. Although unlikely partners, the sweet of the fruit and jello is balanced with the slight tang of the sour cream. They also make for a festive presentation with layers of red and white color, making this salad a great choice for gatherings year round.
One of the great things about this salad is that it can be made a day ahead and stored in the refrigerator until ready to use. Cut it into squares and garnish to make a pretty presentation or serve it family-style, letting each person scoop their own. There are about 12-15 servings per 9- x 13-inch dish, depending on the size of the appetites at your house.
The original recipe calls for 1/2-1 cup of toasted pecans, but I enjoy this particular salad without them. I like things to be a bit more on the smooth side, rather than crunchy. But that’s just me. You can serve it any way you like because YOU are the one making it. There are plenty of folks who opt for the nuts. 🙂
Strawberry, Banana, and Pineapple Jello Salad
Ingredients
- 1 large box (6 ounce) strawberry or strawberry/banana Jell-O (regular or sugar-free) Note: if using sugar-free, use a 0.6 ounce box
- 1 cup boiling water
- 3 bananas, peeled and mashed (I put the bananas on a plate and mash them with the tines of a fork.)
- 2 (10 ounce) packages frozen strawberries with juice, defrosted
- 1 (20 ounce) can crushed pineapple, drained
- 1/2 - 1 cup chopped pecans, toasted (optional)
- 1 1/2 cups sour cream, can use regular or light
Instructions
- In a large bowl, stir Jell-O and the 1 cup boiling water together until the jello is completely dissolved.
- Add the mashed bananas, strawberries with juice, drained crushed pineapple, and pecans (optional). Stir to blend.
- Pour half of the Jell-O mixture into a 9" x13" glass dish. Spread evenly. Chill until set. This goes quickly because of the low moisture content in the Jell-O. Set aside the other half of the jello - do not chill or else it will set.
- Once the jello in the dish has set, gently spread the sour cream evenly over the Jell-O. Before spreading the sour cream, you may want to stir it to loosen it and make it more of a spreading consistency.
- Pour the remaining half of the Jell-O mixture over the sour cream, gently spread evenly, cover and chill until jello is set.
- The Jell-O can be cut into squares if desired for serving. Otherwise - serve it family style and let everyone scoop out their desired portion.
Notes
This is the original photo that was taken in December 2010 when I first posted this recipe. Some things improve with practice, cooking and photography being 2 of them. I do have to admit, though, the shape of this square turned out really well.
You may also like:
Orange Fluff Salad
Raspberry Cream Cheese Pretzel Salad
Watergate Salad
Love your site & I love this salad!!! I’ve been making it for years but was first introduced to it by my grandmother, who found the recipe in the newspaper..only thing we do is add nuts (chopped walnuts or pecans). I’ve also tried making it with cream cheese plain and strawberry. Just wanted to let you know seeing your history on this recipe this made me smile.
Thank you! The original recipe(s) called for chopped pecans, but over the years we have opted out on the nuts. I like them, but other family members preferred not to have them. Good idea on the cream cheese instead of sour cream. Thanks for dropping by and leaving a comment.
Didn’t mash the bananas; sliced them in second layer of jello mixture. Used sour cream and cream cheese for filling.
I will definitely have to try a sour cream and cream cheese mixture for the filling. Great idea!
Love your site & I love this salad!!! I’ve been making it for years but was first introduced to it by my grandmother, who found the recipe in the newspaper..only thing we do is add nuts (chopped walnuts or pecans). I’ve also tried making it with cream cheese plain and strawberry. Just wanted to let you know seeing your history on this recipe this made me smile.
can you make this 5 days ahead
Hi Joan. No, this salad will not hold up for that long. The bananas turn brown and the salad releases some of the juices from the fruit the longer it sits. At most, it can be made a day ahead, but is best when made and eaten the same day. This is an easy salad to make and doesn’t take very long because the Jell-O sets quickly due to the lower water content. Best wishes. ~Terri
Is there a difference if you use fresh strawberries r
Hi Judy. Good question. The short answer is, yes, there is a difference. Frozen strawberries are macerated or chopped and give up their juices. In this recipe, the juices from the strawberries become part of the total liquid content added to the jello. I haven’t ever tinkered with this recipe to figure out the best way to incorporate using fresh strawberries. However, there are recipes for using fresh strawberries in jello — Google something like “fresh strawberries jello recipe”. Have a good day. ~Terri
I would simply use the juice from the can of crushed pineapple if using fresh strawberries in place of frozen. I’d check the recipe or others that use the pineapple juice for the correct amount to use. Carrie R.-Pittsburgh, PA
My family uses raspberry jello instead of the strawberry flavored jello. It’s very good!
Raspberry Jello would be great!
The raspberry Jell-O with the frozen raspberries is what we’ve had in our family forever
I use this exact recipe, but I also add 1 cup of crushed pecans. It is divine!!
Hi Jill. My grandmother’s recipe called for pecans, also. I used to love them in this salad. However, I have lots of family members who give the pecans a thumbs down, so I omit them. 🙁
My Mother also made this but she added some cream cheese with the sour cream it was awesome
Cream cheese is a great addition to the sour cream. I am going to do that this year! Merry Christmas, Donna.
Been making this for 50 yrs for Christmas and thanksgiving omitting bananas using chopped pecans
also I small box lemon 1 box strawberry jello eating instead of cranberry sauce
Are your frozen strawberries sweetened or unsweetened?
Sweetened. 🙂
So happy to refresh on this delicious salad . Have not made in 20 years . It is a delicious salad with Christmas dinner. Thank you!
Shirley
I’ve eaten this salad every Christmas as far back as I can remember. My Grandmother made it when I was little and I make it now. The only difference is that our recipe includes chopped Georgia pecans. It adds a little flavor and texture. I wonder if our Grandmothers attended the same church? 🙂
It really makes me happy to see this recipe posted. My Mom was featured in the newspaper in Los Angeles in 1968 with this recipe. Honestly, it was probably created as soon as Jell-O was invented. 😉 Her recipe didn’t include bananas or pecans though. She would make it at Christmas, and then for every holiday once I begged her to do so. Each day after the holiday, she would catch me with the Pyrex dish in my lap eating the leftovers with a spoon. I was always very happy that we had a small family because there would always be some left over. Thanks so much. I’ll be trying it with bananas next time I make it!
Laura, what a great memory for you! I hope that your family saved a copy of the newspaper article; what a treasure. My mother and grandmother would make this particularly for Christmas as well. To me, it just “feels” like it belongs with Christmas. My original pictures showed it plated on a Christmas plate, but when I re-shot them a couple months ago, I made the salad reflect more of Spring with the fresh strawberry garnish. Lots of people seemed to be serving it for Easter dinner, so I went with the flow and dressed the salad accordingly. As for you sitting with a spoon and the leftovers, I totally get that! I used to do the same thing except that I had to be sneaky about it because I would have gotten in trouble. 🙂 Thanks for dropping by and posting your comment. It adds to the history of this “vintage” recipe. ~Terri
I got a recipe similar to this around l970 from a lady in my church in Martinez, CA. It did not include pecans. One thing I do differently is to pour some of the jello alone on the bottom of the tray and let it jell. (I need to use 3 small packages of jello.) Then I spread the softened sour cream and let it firm up. To the remaining jello I add crushed pineapple (small can), mashed bananas and the thawed sweetened strawberries with the juice. That goes on top and is refrigerated until firm. I always make it the day before. My kids insist we have it for Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Easter!
Hi Carol. I like the way you do the layers with just Jell-O on the bottom layer. I’d like to do it that way the next time I make this salad. Thanks for sharing!
My friends and family love this as a lite, cool summer dessert…The only thing I do different is that instead of sour cream I use Cool Whip (and usually skip on the walnuts as well) 😊💕
My mom had a recipe almost exactly like this except she used 2 cups of water in hers, otherwise both recipes are the same. One year she decided to little balls made out of cream cheese on top of the sour cream layer, but decided it was too much work to make the balls, so combined the cream cheese and the sour cream together instead. We always add pecans to ours too. Since my mom as passed I now make the Jell-O salad in her place, but last year and this year it didn’t gel properly. It looks fine until you cut into it and doesn’t hold up when I take out the squares, so they don’t stay square shaped when put on the plates. Any suggestions as to why this is happening?
Maybe Jell-O or whatever brand you using have changed their ingredients (aka cheapened their product). You could try using 1 cup of water instead of the 2 cups that used to work for you. Or you could reduce the liquid from the strawberries. Make sure to drain the pineapple well, then press it gently to extract more of the juice. Now that I think about it, the last time I made Jell-O, it did not set up well. It was just regular Jell-O without any add-ins.
I cannot find the frozen strawberries with juice in them now. They were also seeetened a little also. Grocery store quit carrying them. It doesn’t taste quite as good without frozen strawberries with juice. My recipe needs the juice because you don’t add as much water to thicken the jello. Also I like it better without bananas. They tend to turn brown! It last longer without them, I will try using cream cheese also! Love this tecipe!