Sea Foam Salad is the perfect no bake dessert anytime of the year! We love for around the holidays! Just a few simple ingredients and it is ready to go!
Click here to save this recipe on Pinterest!
If you are stopping by for the first time this post was written back in 2013 and updated in text in 2019! Thank you to YOU! For all of those who come back time and time again to see what I have come up with week after week! It really means so much to me!!
I can not even tell you how many times my kids request this even when it is not the holidays! I don’t blame them! It’s sweet and very kid friendly!
What I will say is that this is not watergate salad! This is made with jello and not pudding! It’s really different but because of the color people tend to confuse it!
WHAT IS SEA FOAM SALAD?
What exactly is Sea Foam Salad? Well basically it is this 4 ingredient wonderful tasting dessert that is quick to fix and even quicker to eat! It has crushed pineapple, lime jell-o, cream cheese and cool whip! My mom always had this salad on the buffet table for Thanksgiving.
She would always put it not on the dessert table but the actually food table. Maybe because it is called salad, I am not really sure why but it was always the first thing I needed on my plate.
Forget the butter rosemary roasted turkey for a second, forget the mashed potatoes I needed Sea Foam Salad. It really does compliment the turkey, mashed potatoes, green beans and corn.
What I love about this is that you can use any flavor of jell-o. I have made it with orange and strawberry too. My kids want it blue so I think my next adventure is Blue Raspberry!
What are the ingredients?
- Jello (any flavor but lime is best)
- Crushed pineapple (from a can and keep the juice!)
- Cream cheese. Sorry but this is a must! My sister hates anything cream cheese but it’s key!
- Cool whip. Again sorry not the homemade kind. The one from the tub. It’s not the same as whipping cream.
And that’s it! Simple and easy!
Want to follow along?
If you’re on Facebook come check out this fun little group I’ve got going on. Instagram is a fun resource I’m using right now. If you make any recipes make sure to tag them #bittersideofsweetrecipes so I can see your creations!
Want to connect more with The Bitter Side of Sweet? Follow at:
Facebook | Pinterest | Instagram | Twitter
Sea Foam Salad
Equipment
Ingredients
- 20 oz can crushed pineapple
- 3 oz box lime jello gelatin
- 8 oz cream cheese softened
- 8 oz cool whip
Instructions
- Drain crushed pineapple. Reserve the juice. Set aside.
- In a large bowl add cream cheese. Set aside.
- In small pot add pineapple juice and jello.
- Bring to a boil while constantly stirring to dissolve the jello.
- Pour over cream cheese. Using a fork break up the cream cheese and mix with the jello.
- Allow it to gel in the refrigerator for 45 minutes to 60 minutes.
- Add pineapple and cool whip. Stir well together. Allow to set for 60 minutes.
- Store in refrigerator till ready to serve. ENJOY!
Nutrition
Tahnycooks
I am thrilled to be celebrating with you today! I love Sea Foam salad! I’ve had it with orange jello too and love that! But, lime is the way to go!
Congrats, on your hard work and keep it up! I look forward to your postings!
Nancy P.
Tahny, thank you so much for celebrating with me! I appreciate it so much!!!
Kay Lewis
This salad was soooo good!!! Easy and not many ingredients. Will definitely be making it again.
Nancy Piran
Hi Kay! So glad you enjoyed the recipe! Thank you for this kind review!
Denise Street
was the cup of cold water suppose to be added. Mine did not gel.
Nancy Piran
I’m sorry to hear you had trouble Denise. No water was supposed to be added, tt’s just the pineapple juice. Did you allow the pineapple juice and jello boil well enough until the jello was dissolved? In the 50+ years my family has been making this, I have never seen it not gel up. Even if the mixture is still a big runny when you add the pineapple and cool whip it will come together just fine after being in the refrigerator.
Zainab
Happy blogiversary!!! And a happy thanksgiving! Congratulations on all the amazing hard work you do here and I can wait to see what the new year brings 🙂
Nancy P.
Thank you so much Zainab! Happy Thanksgiving to you as well!!
Kate@Diethood
Happy Blogiversary, Nancy!!! So glad to know you and all your delicious recipes!!! Cheers to many, many more blogiversaries! XO
Nancy P.
I am very glad to know you too Kate! Thanks so much for all the support!!
Ashley @ Wishes and Dishes
Happy one year!!! So exciting!
Nancy P.
Thanks so much Ashley!!!
Nadine Ninneman
Congratulations twinny!!! I love you and am so proud of you!!!
Nancy P.
Thank Nadine! Love you too!!
Gloria @ Simply Gloria
I’m so excited for you, Nancy! I’m right there behind you…later in the Spring. I find so much inspiration over here from you . You have such a sweet nature about you…love coming over here every single time! Congrats!
Nancy P.
You are too sweet Gloria! Thanks so much!! Can’t wait to celebrate yours in the spring!!!
Renee@Two in the Kitchen
Congratulations on your 1 year blogiversary!! As a new blogger, I am reading this dreaming of the day next fall when I will be saying the same thing (and wondering where this blogging hobby will take me!) I am very happy for you and am sharing in your excitement!!
Nancy P.
Thank you that is so sweet of you Renee! Hoping all goes well with your blog!!
MonicaP
Congrats on your 1 yr Blog Anniversary! I just celebrated mine this month as well. It’s amazing how fast a year goes buy.
I’m finding your sea foam salad really interesting .. I’m not a big fan of lime, but .. it really looks like an interesting desert.
Monica.
Nancy P.
Wow! Happy Blog Anniversary Monica!! You can use any flavor jello in this recipe!!
Jocelyn @BruCrew Life
Congratulations on the blog anniversary! That is such an exciting milestone! You are so sweet and I love seeing your kitchen creations! Keep up the amazing work!!!!
Nancy P.
Jocelyn, thank you so much!!
Jen Nikolaus
Nancy, Happy Blogiversary!!! This sea foam salad is the perfect way to celebrate! Congrats on your first year! Pinning this salad to try soon! It looks delicious!!
Nancy P.
Thank you so much Jen!!
Barbara
Happy One Year!
Your Salad LOOKS similar to my Watergate salad, but I am sure taste different because the ingredients are different. Thanks for sharing at the In and Out Party1 I will have to give yours a try for a different taste!
Nancy P.
Yes someone had asked me is it was Watergate salad. But that salad is made with pistachio pudding and has nuts and a few other different things. But that is why they look alike because I used lime jello here. But you really can use any flavor! Thanks!
Mommy on Demand
Congrats on the 1 year!! I love fluffy Jello salads and i can’t wait to give this one a try. Would love for you to come share and my linky party http://mommyondemand.com/create-bake-8/
Nancy P.
Thanks for stopping by! I’ll check it out.
Andi @ The Weary Chef
Congratulations on your first year! I’m right behind you with my anniversary next month. What a great milestone! This salad looks really fun, and I know my kids would love it. Thanks so much for sharing this with us at Saturday Night Fever! Hope to see you back tomorrow 🙂
Nancy P.
Thanks Andi!
Cynthia
Congrats on your blogiversary! My mom used to make something similar to your sea foam salad and I always loved it. Thank you for linking to the In and Out of the Kitchen Link Party. I look forward to seeing you next week.
Nancy P.
Thanks Cynthia!
Lisa
My jello-pineapple juice-cream cheese mixture wasn’t setup *at all* after 45 mins in the fridge 🙁 it was still totally watery. I did bring it to a boil before adding to crm chz.
It wasn’t instant jello, but your recipe didn’t specify instant… So I’m hoping it’ll still turn out.
Nancy P.
Hi Lisa, I don’t believe there is instant jello. At least no to my knowledge. I did indicate I used jello lime gelatin. I hope it turns out for you!
Rachael
I love cream cheese jello salads! can’t wait to eat this!
judith
I’ve made something like this many times but I didn’t use cream cheese but
cottage cheese and it was a salad not dessert. I even thru in a few crushed
walnuts. Oh yum! Only problem is my husband doesn’t care for cottage cheese
so maybe I’ll try ti with cream cheese. I even have all the ingredients in the kitchen.
Todays a good day, right?
Nancy P.
Absolutely Judith!! Walnuts sound good!
Jamie @ Love Bakes Good Cakes
I love these old retro salads!!
Janice H
Could you do this using pear halves don’t much care for pineapple
Nancy P.
I don’t see why not, just crush them up a little or dice them! Would love to know how it turns out!
Karen P.
Help! I want to make this as a side dish for Christmas, so I tried it today. I followed the recipe to the letter. After 45 minutes, the Jell-O did not seem to set at all. So, when I stirred in the pineapple and Cool Whip, it doesn’t appear to look one bit like the photo. I fear I drained the pineapple too thoroughly and there was too much liquid. Help?
Nancy P.
Hi Karen, if you could email me ([email protected]) so maybe I could walk you through the steps. The pineapple needed to be drained completely so you could use that juice and mix it with the jello during the boiling process. Also it shouldn’t set completely. If you let it set too much the jello will be clumpy when mixing it with the cool whip and pineapple. And what I mean when I say that is you will have lumps of jello in your mixture.
Karen P.
Okay! So maybe I did do it correctly. I was looking for the Jell-O to have “set” a bit more than it did, as the photo seems to indicate a darker green (being the Jell-O itself). I will tell you that my husband is eating this “trial run,” and is loving every bite (me too)…and he really doesn’t like pineapple. So, we have a winner! Thank you for your reply, Nancy! Merry Christmas!
Nancy P.
Oh yay! Thanks so much for coming back and telling me. Merry Christmas Karen!
Veronica
This salad is great, I ate the whole thing myself! This is definitely something I’m going to make often and even bring to parties or a bbq! I’m going to try it with strawberry flavor next!
Nancy P.
Thanks so much Veronica for coming back and commenting and letting me know! I have eaten this by myself quite a few times! 🙂 Enjoy! And I love the strawberry idea!
Cyndi
I missed your first anniversary but congrats! My mother in law made something similar to this and we all loved it. I know I wrote the recipe down but have looked for it for years and can’t find it. Thanks for putting this on your site. The only difference is she used the powdered whipped topping which I can’t remember the name of right now. *L* Anyway it was refreshing and easy to make. Many more happy years of blogging!!
Nancy P.
Thanks so much Cyndi, I appreciate that!
k vondrasek
Dream Whip is the powdered whipped topping, it is still available.supposedly still available at WalMart and I Amazon has it, but I think grocery stores generally as whole still carry it., but with all the post covid supply chain issues who knows for sure. I would
check around before assuming it will be available at your favorite local grocer.
Nancy Piran
Thanks for the tip K!
Lane and Holly (withtwospoons)
So fun, I’m not sure I’ve ever had anything like this!
Bird
Looks so fun too! 🙂
Megan @ MegUnprocessed
This is creative!
Rayna
What type of dish did you make this in and do you add extra water to make it a certain amount with the pineapple juice.thanks
Nancy P.
Hi Rayna, I didn’t have to add any extra liquid, all I used was the juice from the pineapple can. Also I just used a standard medium mixing bowl. Any bowl will do!
Heidi Dorsett
This is a huge hit in our family, with a few small changes. We call it Lime Delight, and I use 1 can crushed drained pineapple, 8 oz. softened cream cheese, 1 container frozen cool whip, 1 box lime jello, and chopped walnuts.
Prepare the jello per directions on the box – using hot water and cold water, you can drink your extra pineapple juice instead. 🙂
Let jello set in the fridge for recommended time, usually about 2-3 hours.
Use a hand mixer to blend cream cheese and drained pineapple. Add jello into the bowl and mix, then add the cool whip. Mix well, refrigerate for as long as you can stand it, (I usually can contain myself for almost an hour,) then sprinkle chopped walnuts on top to taste. I prefer less walnuts, my family covers the top.
It is so light, fluffy, delicious yummy it’s dangerous. We stand over the dish with our spoons and fight over every bit.
Nancy P.
Love it!
Susan
when making the Sea Foam Salad – how much pineapple juice do I need to add to the jello?
Nancy P.
Hi Susan, as stated in the directions the pineapple juice is what is leftover after you drain the crushed pineapple. If I had to guess the amount I would say no more than 1/2 cup. But I will make sure to measure it out the next time I make this! ENJOY! 🙂
Penny
OMG I loved this Sea Foam Salad. I made it for a potluck, it was a big hit! I like this better than Watergate Salad.
Nancy P.
I’m so happy to hear that! Thanks for commenting!
Emily
This did not firm up in the refrigerator.. it’s still liquid jello with chunky cream cheese! It’s been in the fridge for well over 2 hours. What went wrong? Or is this normal?
Nancy P.
I’m sorry to hear that. It is not normal for it to not firm up. It might of been an issue with the jello.
Leigh
My grandmother used to make a dish just like this for special occasions. It was a favorite of mine but none of us have the recipe. When I made this last week, it made me smile as it tasted very similar. It was delicious and easy. The kids loved it. It’s a definite keeper!
Beth
Is tbe jello crem cheese mixture supposed to be chunky like green cottage cheese or are you supposed to blend it together?
Nancy P.
Hi! Yes there will be little chunks of cream cheese in the jello. The video shows really well how it’s supposed to look if you need a visual reference.
Audra
My aunt always made a green jello with cream cheese chunks, first on my plate and i was first for seconds. Can i put this in a bundt mold and will it firm to make a slice like a cake?
Nancy P.
Hi! I’ve used a plastic bundt mold and it normally releases pretty well. It’s an old one that my mom had from Tupperware. We can normally slice it but it will not be like a cake.
Giulia
I don’t know of 1 year we did not make this. Its soo good! 3 serveings please.
Vixenvena
Delicious and easy recipe! I made this with cotton candy jello and pineapple cream cheese because you can never have too much pineapple! My dog loves it too! The cat won’t eat it, but the cat is not smart.
Nancy Piran
Hi Vixenvena! So glad you enjoyed it! Thank you!
Denise
I made it and it was delicious but yours look prettier because it had more white “dots” of Cool Whip showing than mine… in other words, more “foam.” Did I stir in the Cool Whip too much? Thanks for recipe!
Nancy Piran
Thanks Denise!
Denise
OR MAYBE…. was the lime Jell-O, pineapple juice and cream cheese not sufficiently firm when I added the cool whip?? My cream cheese would not stir in smoothly it was in little bits swimming around in the jello/juice combo after I broke it up with fork and stirred. Thanks
Nancy Piran
Hi Denise, the cream cheese doesn’t get smooth. There will be tiny bits in the jello. Also if your juice is boiling when you pour it over the cream cheese, this really helps break it into smaller pieces. Hope that helps!