Cranberry Celebration Salad (Kroger Copycat)
A sweet-tart, lightly crunchy cranberry salad that tastes just like the Kroger deli version — made with canned cranberry sauce, pineapple, and a box of Jell-O in about 10 minutes of hands-on time.
Ingredients
- 1 (15 oz) can crushed pineapple, very well drained
- 1 (14 oz) can whole-berry cranberry sauce
- ½ cup cranberry juice
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 1 (3 oz) box raspberry or cherry Jell-O
½ cup walnuts, chopped medium-fine
Optional: ½ cup diced celery
Instructions
Drain pineapple thoroughly, pressing out excess juice. Reserve juice.
In a pot, combine pineapple juice, cranberry juice, and lemon juice. Bring to a boil.
Add Jell-O powder; stir to dissolve.
Stir in cranberry sauce until smooth.
Chill 90 minutes, or until beginning to set.
Stir in pineapple and walnuts.
Chill until fully set (softer than classic gelatin).
Stir before serving.
Notes
- Draining the pineapple thoroughly is the key to the best texture. Excess liquid is the most common reason it won’t set.
- Best made ahead — the flavor deepens overnight.
- Raspberry Jell-O is the closest match to the Kroger version; cherry gives a deeper color.
- Store in an airtight container in the fridge up to 4–5 days. Freezing isn’t recommended.