You will love this lightened up version of the vintage recipe for Lime Gelatin Dessert! Sweet, fluffy and crunchy with a lot less guilt than the original.
A blast from the past. This delicious Lime Gelatin "salad" is something I made many years ago. I've always thought of it more of a dessert than a salad. Perhaps you've had a version of it sometime. I think my original recipe called for adding cheddar cheese. I remember it being so good.
To make it more diet friendly, I substituted the 6 oz. of lime jello called for in the original recipe with two packages of sugar free lime jello, used Cool Whip Free in place of the heavy cream, used only 6 oz. or reduced fat cream cheese and reduced the amount of nuts from 1 cup to 1/2 cup. The result was a light, fluffy, creamy dessert every bit as good as I remembered.
Lime Gelatin Dessert
adapted from Allrecipes
Servings - 9 Serving size - 1/9th of recipe Points Plus per Serving - 5 Points+
Calories - 178.2, Total Fat - 8.9g, Carb. - 18.8g, Protein - 4.3g, Fiber - 0.9g
2-.030 oz. packages of Sugar Free Lime Jello
1-20 oz. can of crushed pineapple in 100% juice
6 oz. reduced fat cream cheese, softened
1-8oz. container of fat free whipped topping (Cool Whip Free)
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1. In large bowl, dissolve the 2 packages of lime jello in 1 cup of boiling water. Drain the pineapple, reserving the juice. Measure out 1/2 cup of the juice and mix into the jello mix. Add the remaining juice back in with the pineapple. Set aside.
2. Let jello sit in refrigerator for about 30 minutes or until it just starts to set. With electric mixer, combine the softened cream cheese with the jello. Mix in the reserved pineapple and juice. Fold in the whipped topping and walnuts.
3. Spray an 8" x 8" square glass baking dish lightly with cooking spray. Pour the jello mixture into the dish and spread even. Put in refrigerator and allow to set up. (about 4 hour or overnight)
4. To serve cut into 9 pieces. Garnish with more fat free whipped topping and a lime wedge. (optional)
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By using an 8"x 8" square baking dish and cutting this into 9 servings, you have a very nice sized dessert to enjoy for under 200 calories. Like I mentioned above, it's so light and fluffy, yet the nuts give you a nice crunch. My family gobbled this up in no time! I have never been much of a fan of jello. To be honest, I just never "got" it. I mean it's sugar and water and flavor. Big deal. But when it's transformed into something extraordinary like this dessert, I'm totally on board.
As the weather starts to warm up, this dish is the perfect dessert to serve!
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Oh my goodness, that is a blast from the past! That used to be a staple at my Mom's churches pot lucks - sometimes there would even be two!
ReplyDeleteI know, this is was a popular recipe! For a good reason too...it's so good and with the sugar free and fat free products, so much lighter in calories than the original.
DeleteMy Mom always made this when we were growing up! Jello mold is what we used to call it. I couldn't get enough.
ReplyDeleteI think a lot of us might have had this dish in the past! It is addictive.
DeleteI have never heard of this! I must live in a strange area...lol! I am a huge jello fan and lime is my favorite. I will soooo be making this Renee!
ReplyDeletewhat?? you live in the midwest and you've never heard of it?? lol Must lead a sheltered life! lol
DeleteI have to oppose this dessert on moral grounds (fake ingredients) but dude, I would so totally share some with you if I was at your house right now! YUM!
ReplyDeletehaha...I know, I know. Fake ingredients. But every now and then, you can't beat the fake! :) and I'd totally share with you if you were at my house!
Deleteawww, this reminds me of my Grandma! I might have to make it for my next family get together just as a tribute to her :-) And how did you become an Allrecipes Ambassador? That's pretty cool! I've been using their site for years, b/c once upon a time, I didn't know food blogs even existed!
ReplyDeletea friend of mine is one and she noticed that they were looking for more applicants about a month ago and encouraged me to apply. I did and got selected. So far it's been pretty fun. I have been busy working on the months tasks, which eventually, I will be able to share here.
DeleteMy mother used to make this every year for Thanksgiving using pecans that grew on our property. I know I would still enjoy it.
ReplyDeleteHow wonderful to have a pecan tree on your property!
DeleteMy mother made a recipe using jello and pears but i dont know what else. Recipe was lost with her death. What we did was use it as a dessert or as a salad. Dressing we pourdf over it was catalina mixed into mayo. It was so good. I will use your recipe as a start and hopefully it will jog my memory. Thanks for the memory.
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