Make this fun, colorful Stained Glass Jello Salad in a fraction of the time with my shortcuts than it traditionally takes! Also called Broken Glass Jello Dessert, this small batch recipe can be made with sweetened condensed milk or even dairy-free with coconut milk.
This retro Jello side dish and dessert is making a comeback along with other comfort foods Grandma used to make for us for holiday or family gatherings. But this is NOT Grandma's way of making it!
The traditional way of making the four different colors of gelatin cubes is to mix up four batches of Jello with boiling water, wait hours for them to chill and set. Then, cut them into cubes before arranging in the casserole dish and adding the creamy mixture. Wait a few more hours for that mixture to finally chill and set again.
I'll show you how to prep this recipe in less than 10 minutes before final chilling.
Scroll down for Fourth of July (patriotic holidays) and Christmas versions of this colorful Jello side salad.
Shortcuts
- My biggest shortcut is to buy the ready-to-serve snack size packs of flavored-gelatin instead of preparing four separate boxes of Jello! It saves several hours on the first step of the recipe.
- A second shortcut is making about half the amount of a full potluck-style 13x9-inch dish. Eight snack-size prepared Jello packs is enough to fill an 8x8, 9x9 or 11x7-inch dish for a smaller gathering. (It's easily doubled if for holidays and church potlucks.)
What is Stained Glass or Broken Glass Jello?
Stained Glass Jello Salad or Broken Glass Dessert is also sometimes called Hawaiian Broken Glass or Mosaic Stained Glass Jello. It starts with colorful cubes of Jello or flavored gelatin covered with a sweetened condensed milk mixture, chilled until firm then cut into squares.
You can instantly see why it's called stained glass. Now, whether it's called a salad or a dessert gets a little more confusing. There's strong opinions on both sides of the argument. I say if it has a dollop of Cool Whip on top, it's a dessert. If not, it's a retro Jello side salad.
Another one of my favorite Jello recipes is Easy Strawberry Pretzel Salad made in an 8x8-inch pan for smaller gatherings. It's easily doubled if you are going to a potluck!
Ingredients
This is actually a 4 ingredient recipe if you buy the multi-pack of flavored gelatin snacks..and one of those ingredients is water!
Scroll down to printable recipe for ingredient quantities.
- Unflavored gelatin (I used Knox) It's sold right next to the boxes of Jell-O and pudding mixes.
- Water
- 8 snack size (about 3.25-ounces each) flavored gelatin cups. Choose four (or more) of you favorite colors. It's fun to pick a theme like Easter pastels, Christmas red and green, or patriotic Fourth of July red and blue.
- Sweetened condensed milk. Don't confuse this with evaporated milk. Although it comes in a can, it is sweet! It now comes in a pourable container (see pic above), so no more wondering what to do with the rest of the can of Eagle Brand! So cool, but does cost a little more.
Tip: These snack packs are available in many colors and flavors and sold right next to the boxes of Jello. They are also sold in bulk in the refrigerator section near the yogurt in the grocery store so you can make a kaleidoscope Jello salad with more than four colors!
How to make Stained Glass Jello Salad
- Measure ½ cup tap water (not boiling) in a large bowl (more will be added to it later).
- Sprinkle the package of unflavored gelatin over the water. Do not stir. Let it stand about 5 minutes to soften.
- Meanwhile, cube the cups of gelatin into about ½ inch cubes. They don't have to be perfect.
- Gently arrange the Jello cubes in a 11x17, 8x8, or 9x9-inch pan or dish.
- Heat the remaining ½ cup water to boiling in a small pan on the stove or in glass measuring cup in microwave. Slowly stir it into the softened UNFLAVORED gelatin in the bowl. Stir in the sweetened condensed milk to the UNFLAVORED gelatin and water mixture.
- Pour the sweetened condensed milk mixture over the cubes of FLAVORED Jello cubes. Cover and refrigerate about 4 hours or until firm.
Pro Tip: To remove air bubbles on top of the creamy mixture, poke them with a toothpick or fork before chilling.
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Substitutions
I first made this recipe for my annual Holiday Cooking Show. I also tested it with almond milk, coconut milk and coconut sweetened condensed milk for dairy free options.
- Eagle Brand in a bottle- This solves the problem of what to do with the leftover sweetened condensed milk in the can. It does cost a little more. You pay for the convenience but it makes a yummy coffee creamer.
- Fat-free sweetened condensed milk- If you want to save some calories, make Stained Glass Jello Salad with fat-free sweetened condensed milk and sugar-free Jello cups.
- Sweetened condensed Coconut Milk- It's dairy-free. This was delicious and added a tropical flavor. I found this in my Publix next to the regular sweetened condensed milks.
- Coconut Milk- Be sure to use the coconut milk in the can, not coconut water in the carton. It's not the same. Coconut water will not be creamy. Now, it's fine to substitute the boiling water with boiling coconut water, but not really necessary if you are using sweetened condensed coconut milk for the coconut flavor.
- Almond milk- This works fine in place of the water and sweetened condensed milk mixture. It added a nice almond flavor.
- Oat milk- I did not test with oat milk, but I imagine it would work just fine, maybe a little less creamy.
- Stained Glass Jello recipe with whipping cream- If you don't have sweetened condensed milk, you could combine ⅓ whipping cream or half and half (not heaving whipping cream) and 2 tablespoons sugar and stir until dissolved.
Variations
- Broken Glass Jello Bundt "Cake"- Arrange the Jello cubes in a bundt cake pan sprayed lightly with cooking spray. Proceed with recipe as directed. When ready to eat, dip the outside of the bundt pan in warm, not hot, water for 20 to 30 seconds. Place a pate on top of the pan and flip it over. If the Jello dessert does not release, repeat this until it does.
- Broken Glass Jello Hawaii style recipe- Replace the ½ cup water to soften the unflavored gelatin with pineapple juice from canned, crushed pineapple. Optionally, you could add about ½ cup crushed pineapple to the sweetened condensed milk mixture.
- Match the colors of the holiday- Pastel colors for Easter, red and green for Christmas, red and blue for Fourth of July.
For patriotic holidays like Memorial Day weekend, 4th of July (Independence Day), and Labor Day and Veterans Day, use red Jello-O (cherry or strawberry gelatin cups) and blue Jell-O (blue raspberry gelatin cups).
This shortcut version of a vintage stained glass gelatin salad (or dessert) starts with snack pack size Jello cups. Make it a dairy free side dish and use coconut sweetened condensed milk. It's already naturally a gluten-free salad.
Helpful Recipe Information
If your'e heading to a potluck or a family get together for the holidays, simply double all the ingredients and put in a 13 x 9-inch dish. You can also use the handy tool in my printable recipe below and let it double the ingredients for you.
Absolutely. Prepare four different 3 ounce boxes of Jello gelatin in four separate small shallow containers (like Rubbermaid) according to package directions, reducing the amount of cold water added at the end to ½ cup instead of the full 1 cup. This makes for a more firm gelatin.
Yes, there are almost as many sugar-free flavors of gelatin in the snack packs and they trade out easily. To further reduce the sugar in this recipe, make it with milk instead of sweetened condensed milk and water.
What to serve with Stained Glass Jello Salad
This rainbow color recipe is perfect for a potluck, holiday dinner, small family gatherings and luncheons as a Jello side salad or dessert.
- Easy Strawberry Pretzel Salad
- Deviled Easter Eggs (Naturally Dyed)
- Easy Southern Macaroni Salad
- Shortcut Broccoli Cauliflower Salad
Storage
Store covered in the refrigerator up to 5 days. This gelatin salad does not freeze well.
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Want more shortcut dessert recipes?
Shortcut Stained Glass Jello Salad
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Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 .25-ounce envelope unflavored gelatin (I used Knox)
- 1 cup water, divided
- 8 about 3.25-ounce snack-size flavored gelatin cups (choose multiple colors)
- ⅔ cup sweetened condensed milk [not evaporated] (I used Eagle Brand)
Instructions
- Measure ½ cup tap water in a medium-size bowl. Sprinkle the unflavored gelatin over the water. Let stand to soften.
- Remove the gelatin from the plastic cups by running a knife around the inside edge. Turn them upside down on a cutting board.
- To cut into cubes, cut in half horizontally. Then, make 2 even slices from the top to the bottom. Lastly, make 2 more slices from the top to the bottom across the first 2 slices. (Or cut them randomly into cubes.) This will give you 12 pieces.
- Gently place these in an 8x8, 9x9, or 11x7 dish or pan as you cut them so the colors are evenly distributed.
- Microwave the remaining ½ cup water in a microwave safe measuring cup or bowl at HIGH for 45 seconds or until hot but not boiling. Slowly stir it into the softened gelatin until it is completely dissolved. Stir the sweetened condensed milk into this mixture until combined.
- Pour this milk mixture over the gelatin cubes. Cover and refrigerate 4 hours or until firm enough to slice. Cut into squares or rectangles.
Notes
- Fat-free sweetened condensed milk- If you want to save some calories, make Stained Glass Jello Salad with fat-free sweetened condensed milk and sugar-free Jello cups.
- Sweetened condensed Coconut Milk- It's dairy-free. This was delicious and added a tropical flavor. I found this in my Publix next to the regular sweetened condensed milks.
- Coconut Milk- Be sure to use the coconut milk in the can, not coconut water in the carton. It's not the same. Coconut water will not be creamy. Now, it's fine to substitute the boiling water with boiling coconut water, but not really necessary if you are using sweetened condensed coconut milk for the coconut flavor.
- Almond milk- This works fine in place of the water and sweetened condensed milk mixture. It added a nice almond flavor.
- Oat milk- I did not test with oat milk, but I imagine it would work just fine, maybe a little less creamy.
- Stained Glass Jello recipe with whipping cream- If you don't have sweetened condensed milk, you could combine ⅓ whipping cream or half and half (not heaving whipping cream) and 2 tablespoons sugar and stir until dissolved.
Nutrition
Nutrition analysis on GritsAndGouda.com recipes are mostly calculated on an online nutrition calculator. I am not a dietitian and nutritional information is an estimate and can vary based on products used.
Kim
Very Cool 😎 Great time saver ! Will definitely try .
gritsandgouda
Thank you! I'm all about saving time in the kitchen in delicious ways! Let me know how you like the Stained Glass Jello when you try it!