GRANDMA BETTE’S CREAMY MANDARIN ORANGE SALAD
This cool and creamy, sweet and tangy mandarin orange Jell-O salad boasts crunchy walnuts and mandarin orange slices for a amazing flavor and texture combination.
Servings Prep Time
24-30Servings 15-20Minutes
Passive Time
6-8Hours chilling
Servings Prep Time
24-30Servings 15-20Minutes
Passive Time
6-8Hours chilling
Ingredients
  • 43-ounce boxes Orange gelatin
  • 48-ounce bricks Cream cheeseRoom temperature
  • 116-ounce container Cool WhipThawed
  • 132-ounce container Orange sherbet
  • 3/4Cup Chopped walnuts
  • 415-ounce cans Mandarin orange slicesDrained
Instructions
  1. Using hand-mixer or stand mixer, cream together the Cool Whip and cream cheese.
  2. In separate large pot, dissolve gelatin in 3.5 cups boiling water.
  3. Once gelatin is dissolved, turn off the heat and stir orange sherbet into the hot gelatin, stirring until completely dissolved. This may take a little time, but trust me, it will eventually happen. 🙂
  4. Combine Cool Whip/cream cheese mixture and gelatin/sherbet mixture, blending until completely smooth. Since I’m using an immersion blender, I spoon the cream cheese and Cool Whip into the pan and blend, but putting both into a large high-powered blender will work, too. The goal is to get the entire mixture as smooth as possible with no lumps. My Grandma Bette just employed her hand-held mixture and a lot of patience, but do what works best for you.
  5. Gently fold the walnuts and drained Mandarin orange slices into the mixture, making sure to set aside orange slices to decorate the top.
  6. Pour mixture into your final serving dish and put into the refrigerator to cool and set. Depending on the outside temperature and humidity, this may take anywhere from 6 hours to overnight. To prevent walnuts and orange slices from sinking to the bottom, I like to occasionally pull the orange salad from the fridge once the mixture cools and begins to thicken, and gently stir. When Mandarin orange salad is completely set, take out of the fridge and decorate the top with the reserved orange slices before serving.