Rainbow Jello Recipe

Taste the rainbow with this colorful Jello. Rainbow Jello is a fun side dish for St. Patrick’s Day, Thanksgiving Dinner. or just a regular Sunday dinner. The flavors of the gelatin come together so perfectly, creating a refreshing compliment to a heavy, comfort meal. 

HOW TO MAKE RAINBOW JELLO

Rainbow Jello (or 13-layer Jello as it is sometimes called) is a favorite at our house. It’s one of those jello recipes you need to have in your life.

You see, my mom was famous for this jello ideas. Not only was this our Thanksgiving layered jello each year, but it also made an appearance at reunions, holiday dinners, pot lucks and parties. 

She loved making this Jello. Sure, the process to make Rainbow Jello was a bit time-consuming, but it was worth it for the taste and the oohs-and-ahs it would create every.single.time.

Rainbow Jello with sour cream is a fun side dish for Thanksgiving, family parties, or special holidays or parties including St. Patrick’s Day or a Rainbow Party!

Related: Raspberry Pretzel Thanksgiving Jello Desserts 

OTHER JELLO RECIPES: 

• Jello Popcorn

• Raspberry Pretzel Jello Salad

• Jello Poke Cake 

RAINBOW JELLO INGREDIENTS & SUPPLIES 

Here’s what you’ll need to make this layered Jello recipes: 

• 3 oz. box gelatin including orange, red, yellow, green, blue, purple
• water
• glass measuring cup like my favorite glass measuring cup
• 9×13 pan- preferably glass so you can see the pretty layers!
• 2 cups sour cream or greek or vanilla yogurt
• 8 oz fresh whipped cream or Cool Whip frozen whipped topping

HOW TO MAKE RAINBOW JELLO WITH SOUR CREAM 

You’ll need 6 boxes of Jell-o or flavored gelatin. You can buy Jell-o or the store-brand. It doesn’t matter. Some store-brands don’t come in all the flavors, so chances are you’ll have to have a variety of brands.

If you plan to make a regular 9×13 pan size, you will only need a 3 oz. box of the following flavors: Cherry, Orange, Lemon, Lime, Berry Blue, and Grape.

Tip: I’ve noticed that some big box stores don’t carry Berry Blue gelatin, so be sure to grab some when you see it so you aren’t running around like crazy to find it when you need it!

You’ll mix each box with boiling water, and then add cold water or sour cream to the Jello. This will make the different layers. 

This Rainbow Jello recipe with sour cream makes every other layer lighter in color. Feel free to sub the sour cream for greek or vanilla yogurt if you prefer. 

And then you’ll need whipping cream or Cool Whip for the top.

HOW LONG DOES RAINBOW JELLO TAKE TO MAKE? 

Plan on about 4 hours start to finish to have your Rainbow Jello finished. But don’t worry. That is not 4 hours of hands-on time. 

Preparing each Jello layer will only take a few minutes. Once you pour on each new layer, you’ll need to wait about 15-20 minutes for that layer to set up before adding the next. 

That means that you can spread out this process over days if you want, adding a layer here and a layer there. 

CAN YOU DOUBLE THE RECIPE? 

Yes, of course. One jello recipe makes enough for a 9×13 dish. If you want to double the batch, use a 6 oz. box of Jello for each layer. Use 2 9×13 pans or or use  this giant panto save time. 

RAINBOW JELLO LAYERS ORDER 

So many people wonder what order to layer the jello in. An easy way to remember is ROYGBV. 

1. Red
2. Orange
3. Yellow
4. Green
5. Blue
6. Violet

Rainbow Jello with Cool Whip is so yummy. So don’t forget to add a layer of whipped cream right before you are serving. 

HERE’S THE DETAILED RAINBOW JELLO PHOTO TUTORIAL 

JELLO RECIPE 

Marilyn’s Famous Rainbow Jello

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• Prep Time: 4 hours
• Total Time: 4 hours
• Yield: 9x13 pan- 24 squares 1x

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Description

Taste the rainbow with this 13-layer rainbow jello! It’s easy to make and great for holiday dinners, St. Patrick’s Day, or parties!

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Scale 1x2x3x

Ingredients

• 3 oz box of jello in the following flavors: lemon, lime, orange, cherry or raspberry, blueberry, and grape.
• 1 cup boiling water for each flavor
• 2 cups sour cream or greek yogurt
• 12 Tbsp cold water
• whipped cream or cool whip topping

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Instructions

1. Spray 9×13 pan and set aside.
2. The key is to make one layer at a time.
3. Start with red. Boil 1 cup water and add it to the cherry jello powder. Stir will. Then, divide that in half into 2 bowls.
4. To one half, add 2 Tbsp. cold water.
5. To the other half, add 1/3 cup sour cream and mix until incorporated.
6. Pour the cherry gelatin with cold water into the pan.
7. Refrigerate for at least 20 minutes.
8. Then pour the red jello with sour cream onto the first red layer.
9. *Then, you will just repeat for all the layers. You can do them in any order, but I prefer red, orange, yellow, green, blue, violet.

To recap: 1st layer: red jello with water; refrigerate 20 minutes; 2nd layer: red jello with sour cream; refrigerate 20 minutes; 3rd layer: orange jello with water; refrigerate 20 minutes; 4th layer: orange jello with sour cream; refrigerate 20 minutes.

1. Repeat for all layers. Right before serving, top with cool whip or whipped cream.
2. *Make sure the jello you are adding is cool so that it won’t melt the previous layer. To speed up the process, you can make two flavors at a time and let the other one cool while the first one is setting up.

• Category: Side dishes

Keywords: jello, rainbow jello