7-Up Salad
What is a salad? Can jello be considered a salad? My kids like to say this 7-Up Salad qualifies, especially when it’s made with lime jello because then it’s green. Their running joke is saying “Can I have more salad?” when this is part of dinner. My kids are hilarious.
This jello salad comes from the family cookbook that my husband brought into our marriage a million years ago. I made some adjustments because I just can’t fathom the idea of putting chopped nuts or grated cheese on jello. Not sure why that was a thing back in the day. I have also omitted the original topping. It involves cooking egg, flour, butter, sugar, and pineapple juice together in a saucepan, folding in whipped cream, and spreading it on the jello. I prefer the simplicity of Cool Whip or going a little extra with homemade whipped cream. But no grated cheese thank you very much.
Back when my husband and I were first married I wanted to make this 7-Up Salad for some holiday or birthday we were celebrating together for the first time without his family around. I busted out the family cookbook binder and began searching. After looking under “Pies, Pastry, & Desserts” and “This & That” with no success, I systematically looked through the entire cookbook. Naturally I found it under “Soups, Salads, & Vegetables”. 7-Up Salad is right between Au Gratin Potatoes and Ramen Noodle Salad. They’re like cousins. So weird that I couldn’t find it. (Does sarcasm read well??)
Enough background story. Let’s get to the good stuff. We all love this dish regardless of it’s label: salad, side dish, dessert. We serve it at most holidays and many birthdays. Around Valentine’s Day we use strawberry jello to make it pink. For Christmas we use lime jello to make it green. Feel free to get creative with your colors and flavors. (Although we tried blue once and it wasn’t a favorite.)
Ingredients
- 6 ounce package of jello – lemon and lime are classics, but other flavors can be used
- boiling water – to dissolve the jello
- 7-Up (or Sprite) – gives the salad a nice sparkle in the mouth
- bananas – 4 sliced bananas to be “healthy”
- crushed pineapple – adds a fun texture and vitamin C
- mini marshmallows – enough to cover the top of the jello before it goes in the fridge to set, about 3 cups
- Cool Whip or whipped cream – optional but delicious to dollop on individual slices
7-Up Salad
Ingredients
- 1 6oz package jello
- 2 Cups boiling water
- 2 Cups Sprite
- 1 20oz can crushed pineapple
- 4 bananas, sliced
- 3 Cups mini marshmallows
Instructions
- Combine jello and boiling water. Stir until jello powder is completely dissolved.
- Add 7-Up, bananas, and crushed pineapple. Stir. Pour into 9 x 13 pan.
- Sprinkle mini marshmallows on top. Spread gently to cover completely. Let set in refrigerator until solid, about 4 hours.
- Once set, serve individual slices with Cool Whip or homemade whipped cream.
