Rainbow Ribbon Jello
This rainbow ribbon Jello is one of my grandma’s signature desserts – she always makes it for Easter and other spring and summer parties. She layers the colors of the rainbow, but you could certainly adapt it to whatever colors you’d like!
My grandma on my dad’s side has a number of signature recipes that we can count on showing up at most family gatherings. At Christmas, it’s her famous Decker Cake. During the spring and summer you’ll see her broccoli salad, strawberry pretzel salad and ribbon Jello all at least once. I’m a total sucker for old-school Jello desserts. As a kid, both my mom and grandma would routinely have a bowl of Jello stashed in the fridge for a quick weeknight dessert with some whipped cream on top. It’s a comfort food, for sure, and I love all of the different types of fun desserts that can be made from it. My grandma’s ribbon Jello recipe has four layers of colors with white layers in between. Since I’m a stereotypical first-born that likes things just so, I needed my ribbon to be transformed into a rainbow. Such a picky girl I can be! I took my grandma’s recipe, added more colors, increased the white layer mixture, and voilà! I have a rainbow!
Aren’t old recipes just the best? I love the handwritten ones more than anything!
This is my mom’s written copy of my grandma’s recipe…
When I went to the store to buy my boxes of Jello, I was suddenly aware that I hadn’t shopped for Jello in quite some time. They have some pretty cool flavors now! When I was a kid, orange was, well… Orange. Yellow was always Lemon. This was life, right? Sort of like how the sky is blue. Now they have mango and “island pineapple”! My rainbow Jello got a little tropical kick, love these new flavors!
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Doesn’t it look like I’m about to color Easter eggs?
This is the point where I am completely, totally, 100% honest with you. This recipe takes a long time. Halfway through I realized why my grandma’s recipe only contains four colors. You’ll need to devote the better part of a day to assembling this, but the result is absolutely awesome. The good news is also that once you mix everything together in the beginning, it takes less than 5 minutes to pour on each new layer; the time is just spent waiting for the layers to set up. As long as you don’t have anywhere to run off to, this is an incredibly simple recipe that you can work on while doing other things at home.
I love all of these bright colors and the accompanying bright flavors! This is such a fun dessert for any summer get-together and would be a blast for a child’s birthday party as well. I love the look of the rainbow, but you could use any combination of colors you’d like.
A few notes on the recipe:
- My grandma recommends putting the 9×13-inch pan in the freezer while you mix together your layers so that the first layer will set up quickly in the refrigerator and get you moving on to the next layer faster.
- You can absolutely choose to cut down on the number of colors/layers. If you do so, you just need to scale down the white filling the appropriate amount.
- The Jello colors should not gel sitting out at room temperature, however my very last color (red) started to set before I got it on the white layer. I popped it in the microwave for about 20 seconds to bring it back to a liquid state, let it cool for a few minutes, and then poured it on. It worked just fine!
One year ago: Easy Homemade French Fries
Rainbow Ribbon Jello
Ingredients
For the Jello Layers:
- 6 3-ounce boxes (85g) Jello, 1 each red, orange, yellow, green, blue & purple (or colors of your choice)
- 6 cups (1.5 l) boiling water
- 3 cups (750 ml) cold water
For the White Layers:
- 4 cups (976 ml) milk
- 1 cup (250 ml) boiling water
- 4 envelopes Knox gelatin
- 24 ounces (680.39 ml) vanilla yogurt
- 1 cup (200 g) granulated sugar
- 4 teaspoons vanilla extract
Instructions
- Get 6 small bowls out to start. Mix 1 box of Jello with 1 cup boiling water and ½ cup cold water. Do this with all of the colors at the same time.
- Heat the milk in a saucepan over low heat just until it reaches a lukewarm temperature. Meanwhile, in a large bowl, mix together 1 cup boiling water with the envelopes of Knox gelatin. Whisk together until the gelatin is completely dissolved. Add the warm milk, yogurt, sugar and vanilla extract and whisk until thoroughly combined and completely smooth with no lumps.
- Pour the first color into a 9x13-inch pan and refrigerate until set (about 45 minutes, but can vary depending on the temperature of your fridge and how full it is). Once it's set, very gently pour 1½ cups of the yogurt mixture on top. Return to the refrigerator for 45 minutes, or until set. Repeat with the colors and yogurt mixture until the last color is used (you will have some yogurt mixture leftover). When finished, refrigerate for at least another hour. Store in refrigerator until ready to serve; refrigerate leftovers.
Notes
Did you make this recipe?
Leave a review below, then snap a picture and tag @thebrowneyedbaker on Instagram so I can see it!
This looks so cool! It would be fun to make with kids?
Grandma always made this. She used sour cream in the filling. It’s what I’ve done now for 25+ years. It’s a beautiful and delicious dessert. Merry Christmas!
I have a similar recipe that my aunt always made at Christmas. The layers of red & green were just plain Jell-o, but there is a whitish layer in between the 2 colors that is made with lemon Jell-o, marshmallows, pineapple juice, water, cream cheese, salad dressing (miracle whip), whipped cream and crushed pineapple. I have always made it for Thanksgiving and Christmas meals. This year I decided to layer it like you have here in thinner layers. It turned out perfectly. I can hardly wait for tomorrow to try it out. I think I will like it this way, because it always seemed to have the smaller layers of red & green left over and the middle part was gone. The white part is the best with all the flavor…..totally love this salad. BTW for Thanksgiving I use red and orange instead of red & green for Christmas.
How many grams of gelatin are there in one pack of Knox gelatin. Without that info I can’t make this because it’s a different brand in my area :(
Hi Marcus, One envelope of Knox gelatin is 0.25 ounces, which equates to 7 grams. Hope that helps!
A good light dessert! Kids really love it! For the white layer I used can of condensed milk, four Knox gelatin and boiling water to make total of 4 cups mixture. Used aprox. 3/4 cup tween layers
Is there a way to make this without dairy? My sons allergic to milk and is having tonsils out so I was needing fun ideas with jello. Thanks!
Hi Kat, Ahhhh good question, and I am not at all sure. I know some Jello and pudding boxes say not to use soy milk, as it won’t set, I don’t know if that’s the case with Knox plain gelatin. You could try using almond milk… if you know of a non-dairy yogurt alternative, you can give that a try, too!
tried to make this. unable to do all 6 boxes of jello and layers-only could do 4. has anyone fit this recipe in a 9×13 pan because i could not……disappointed about incorrect info.!!!!!!!!!!!!
Hi Dorothy, I’m sorry to hear this didn’t work for you, but I’ve made this tons of times in a 9×13 (and my grandma has made it for almost her entire life in the same size pan). I’m wondering if yours might have shorter sides?
THANK YOU! I am using a 9*13 glass casserole and definitely cannot get all the layers in….I ended up pulling out a second 9*13 to do the last 3 colors and white.. swimming in jello for days we will be! I bet if I had dropped it to 1 cup white layer we could have maybe squeaked it all in one pan! Oh well
My mom made this for every family gathering, church function, and potluck. Always a favorite! After she passed away her recipe box disappeared and I felt saddened to not have her recipe for this. So glad to find it! But — she used sweetened condensed milk instead of yogurt and sugar for the white layer. I’m not certain of the proportions, though. I’ll give the yogurt a try — the tang may be a nice foil to the sweetness of the jello.
Love this rainbow jello! Thank you for sharing the recipe! Gonna try this to give the kids surprise when they get home today.
Hello
For the white layers, I used condensed milk, water and 4 packages Knox gelatine to make 4 cups.
Hi Charlotte. That’s the way my mom made the white layer. What are the proportions you use? One can of condensed milk for the unflavored gelatin mix? Or less? Thank you!
One can condensed milk
4 packets Knox gelatine
Add enough hot water to make total mixture of 4 cups
Use 3/4 cup mixture in between layers
How do you get jello out of pan without breaking? Do I spray the pan? If so, with what? Do I put Saran Wrap under it?
Hi Lisa, I didn’t spray my pan and had no issues with the jello coming out. I don’t think plastic wrap is necessary, but you can spray it if you’re worried about it sticking!
My mom “greased” her pan with a thin layer of mayonnaise. Cut the cubes, then used a cake spatula to pop then out.
This recipe looks amazing but I’m confused as to why you would use 6 boxes of jello but only 5 bowls. Am I missing something?
Hi Lori, Typo! I can’t believe you were the first to catch that! Obviously, you need six bowls :)
This brings back good memories of my Grandmother’s jello. My kids and I made it together and it was a lot of fun. It turned out great! The layers only took about 20 minutes to set. Maybe I have a cold fridge. Thanks for the recipe!
I like this version even better than the one I made this last week-end from my mom’s Joy of Jell-O cookbook! That one had only five layers and the “white” layer was a mixture of the previous layer’s Jell-O flavour plus yogurt. I like the bright white between colours! And it does take a long time – when I decided to make it, I thought it a cop-out from my usual cake making, but baking a cake might have been quicker. Will definitely try this version!!
I’m making it rite now. I used the box of Knox with the 4 little env in it. I sure hope that’s rite. My Mom used to make this dish every year n now its my turn. Plz help nr ASAP:/ I’m really unsure
I’m making this rite now n used the box of Knox in the small box cause 4 env were in it….I sure hope that’s rite? Plz plz let me know ASAP. Worried about the dish my Mom always makes n I don’t wanna screw it up…its SO good♡
I just came across this. WOW, I am printing the receipe and will make it for my grand-daugther’s birthday this coming summer. I will make it in a bundt cake mold. As Mona said, I will split the job into 2 evenings. And I will make a test run to make sure that the surprise is a happy one next summer.
When my kids were little, I used to make Jello with milk instead of water then add fruits at the bottom of their individuals bowls. They loved it.
My mom made this beautiful dessert for Easter every year. I’ve been married 33 years and have never taken the time, but today I am. I remember standing in the kitchen as she poured each layer carefully on the next one. She always used a large spoon, slowly adding each layer so it wouldn’t disturb the layer below. I am hoping this will begin a new tradition with my grandbabies! Grams jello dessert! Happy Cooking!
I make a layered one like this and use cream cheese mixed with half of each color.
Been looking for the layered jello with cream cheese recipe for awhile. That’s how mom made it. Can you help me out?
Is it possible to make this over two evenings instead of all in one day (due to work schedule) or will this interfere with the layers somehow?
Hi Gisela, You can’t prepare all of the colors and then wait until the next day, or they will firm up and set, which won’t make it possible to pour them, which you need to do.
You can make it over 2 evenings, just split up your preparations so you don’t leave anything sitting out overnight. That is, at the beginning of each evening session you’d prepare 3 colors of Jell-o and half the amount of white stuff. (As always, remember to let the liquids cool to approx room temp before pouring over existing refrigerated layers.)
Can this recipe be put into a springform pan, if so, what size?
Hi Baila, I don’t think that a round springform pan would be near deep enough for this type of dessert.
Whenever I pour the next layer on it just melts right through the layer under and all mixes together :(
Hi Jasmine, It sounds like you didn’t let the first layer firm up enough before pouring the next layer on.
What if I use gelatin and mix it with the cool whip? Do you know how much water I need to each packet of Knox gelatin? Will it work?
Thanks!
Sally
Hi Sally, I am not sure if mixing the gelatin into Cool Whip would work. I lean toward no, but I don’t know for sure, as I haven’t tried it.
Hi I was wondering if I could use whipped cream for
the white part and if I could make this in individual cups
Hi Sally, This might be too high for individual cups, but it would obviously depend on the size of the cups! I would not recommend whipped cream for the middle. I tend to think it will weep and not hold up to the layers.
One of my favorite jello recipes is really weird…I always called it “Jell-O” salad”. It’s lime jell-o, grated carrots, chopped green onions, chopped celery and halved red grapes. SO freakin good, but definitely weird :-)
I’m in the process of making this right now, only with just red and green jello (and the white layer of course) I’m so excited to see how it turns out! I know it will taste great no matter what <3
Love the idea of the layered jello…I tried to layer jello on jello and it didn’t stay…slid right apart. I don’t eat yogurt though so what can I use instead and would I have to change the other ingredients for that layer too? Preferably not a dairy product. The milk in that layer won’t be a problem but no yogurt, cream cheese, sour cream, etc. Thanks for the recipe!
Someone above mentioned using soy yogurt. I don’t know if that counts as yogurt in your book since it is dairy free.
Hi Lynn, I’m not aware of a non-dairy substitute, but I have seen some versions of this recipe with a white layer made of sweetened condensed milk. The rest of the ingredients do change, however, so you might try googling that.
I came across this recipe and thought it looked so pretty and cool. I am giving it a try today. I have a couple layers set but I had a question about the white layer. When I mixed all the ingredients for this layer together it didn’t have a consistent solid look up close. It kinda had a slight curdled look when looking at it close up. Is that normal. I bought the yogurt today and the milk I’m pretty sure is fresh. Has this happened to anyone else? I did mix the gelatine first. Then I dissolved the sugar into the mixture before I combined the warm milk and yogurt.
Hi Janey, I can’t remember if I examined the white mixture up close ;-) Because it has yogurt in it, it’s possible it could thicken up. I would just whisk it occasionally to keep it nice and smooth if needed.
This site has taken your recipe, most of your comments and your photo without attribution http://recipefilebox.com/124/rainbow-ribbon-jellow – it’s also stolen at least one of mine, thought you’d want to know.
I checked out the site and the photo looks nothing like the one on this site. The recipe is also different. Are you sure that the recipe on that site is the same one here?
How many days in advance could you make this?
Hi Jes, I would say 1 to 2 days in advance. After that, it starts to get a little watery.