Orange Dreamsicle Salad
This fluffy Orange Dreamsicle Salad made with Cool Whip is as refreshing and flavorful as an orange creamsicle popsicle. It’s easy to whip up and share as a midwestern side dish or dessert!
Summer is the season for jello salad. It’s sweet, cold, and the perfect addition to any backyard barbeque.
This jello salad is an excellent choice. It has all the light and fluffy texture a good jello salad needs with a flavor that is creamy, dreamy and delicious.
I love that this Orange Dreamsicle Salad can be mixed up in advance and refrigerated until it’s ready to be served. It can also be served as a side dish, to help balance out the savory flavor of grilled meats, or a dessert for a light and sweet treat at the end of a meal.
If you’re ready for a salad that will give you all the flavor of orange dreamsicle and all the vibes of a perfect summer day, you’ve got to give this recipe a try.
Why Make This Recipe
- Tastes Like Summer: Do you remember getting an orange creamsicle from the ice cream truck or enjoying a frozen treat by the pool? This orange jello salad is going to bring all those memories back.
- Make Ahead: This recipe is super easy to make ahead and leave in the fridge until you are ready to serve.
- Feeds a Crowd: This is a great party dish. It satisfies every sweet tooth and is even kid friendly!
What Do You Need To Make This Recipe
Ingredients
- Orange Jello: You can reduce the sugar in this recipe by using a sugar free jello.
- Ice Cubes: Some recipes call for adding cold water, but ice cubes work just as well to cool down the jello without watering down the salad!
- Instant Vanilla Pudding Mix: Vanilla pudding is really what gives this salad the dreamsicle flavor
- Cool Whip: Again, you can use the light version if you prefer.
- Mandarin Oranges: Use canned mandarin oranges. Be sure and drain your can or your salad will turn out soupy! If you like orange desserts, try this Orange Buttermilk Pie!
- Mini Marshmallows: You can leave the marshmallows out if you are not a fan. You can also substitute fruity mini marshmallows for an extra pop of flavor!
Tools
- Large Mixing Bowl: Give yourself plenty of room to mix the ingredients together. The cool whip tends to take up more space than you think!
- Whisk or Wooden Spoon
How to Make This Recipe
Step One: Prep the Jello
In a large bowl, whisk the orange Jello powder and the boiling water together until the Jello dissolves. Then stir in the ice cubes, allowing them to melt. Refrigerate the mixture for 15 minutes.
Step Two: Mix
Once cooled, whisk in the vanilla pudding mixture. Then rest in the fridge again for 15 minutes.
Fold in whipped topping, drained oranges, and marshmallows.
Step Three: Refrigerate
Refrigerate for another hour before enjoying.
Expert Tips
- You can customize this salad to your liking. If you feel like it needs more fruit, feel free to add it in. You could even switch up the jello flavor if you prefer to use a different fruit. You can also easily double this recipe to serve more.
- If you want to make your salad a little less sweet and more tangy, you can add in some cream cheese. Let the cream cheese come to room temperature before mixing it in with your cool whip with an electric hand mixer.
- If your salad turns out too runny, you may not have drained your oranges well. Be sure and drain them well before adding to your salad.
FAQs
Store any leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to three days. The marshmallows may get soggy if this salad is left too long.
You can freeze this orange dreamsicle salad but if you choose to do so, I would not add the marshmallows until later. Honestly, this salad is best if served within a few hours of being mixed up and it only takes a few minutes to put together.
You could substitute the mandarin oranges with fresh oranges but it may change your overall salad slightly. If you want to use fresh oranges it might be best to cut them into small pieces and add them in addition to the mandarin oranges.
Did you enjoy this Orange Dreamsicle Salad recipe? If so, make sure to check out these recipes I picked out just for you:
Orange Dreamsicle Salad
Equipment
- Large Mixing Bowl Give yourself plenty of room to mix the ingredients together. The cool whip tends to take up more space than you think!
- Whisk or Wooden Spoon
Ingredients
- 3 oz orange jello
- 1½ cups boiling water
- 3-4 Ice cubes
- 3.4 oz vanilla pudding mix
- 8 oz Cool Whip
- 14 oz mandarin oranges, drained and cut into bite sized pieces
- 2 cups mini marshmallows
Instructions
- In a large bowl, whisk the 3 oz orange jello powder and the 1 1/2 cups boiling water together until the Jello dissolves. Then stir in the 3-4 ice cubes, allowing them to melt. Refrigerate the mixture for 15 minutes.
- Once cooled, whisk in the 3.4 oz vanilla pudding mixture. Then rest in the fridge again for 15 minutes.
- Fold in 8 oz whipped topping, 14 oz drained oranges, and 2 cups marshmallows. Refrigerate for another hour before enjoying.
Notes
- Orange Jello: You can reduce the sugar in this recipe by using a sugar free jello.
- Ice Cubes: Some recipes call for adding cold water, but ice cubes work just as well to cool down the jello without watering down the salad!
- Instant Vanilla Pudding Mix: Vanilla pudding is really what gives this salad the dreamsicle flavor
- Cool Whip: Again, you can use the light version if you prefer.
- Mandarin Oranges: Use canned mandarin oranges. Be sure and drain your can or your salad will turn out soupy! If you like orange desserts, try this Orange Buttermilk Pie!
- Mini Marshmallows: You can leave the marshmallows out if you are not a fan. You can also substitute fruity mini marshmallows for an extra pop of flavor!
- You can customize this salad to your liking. If you feel like it needs more fruit, feel free to add it in. You could even switch up the jello flavor if you prefer to use a different fruit. You can also easily double this recipe to serve more.
- If you want to make your salad a little less sweet and more tangy, you can add in some cream cheese. Let the cream cheese come to room temperature before mixing it in with your cool whip with an electric hand mixer.
- If your salad turns out too runny, you may not have drained your oranges well. Be sure and drain them well before adding to your salad.
absolutely delicious salad recipe. I added in sliced maraschino cherries for additional flavor and color.
Yum I’m sure the maraschino cherries made this a beautiful color! Thank you for the review, and I’m glad you loved the recipe 🙂
Well I finally got time to make this. Big hit with the husband. I will try another flavor of jello and fruit maybe peach. Anyways thank you for sharing. Love being in my kitchen.
Hi Priscilla, I am so glad you loved the recipe! I am also going to try making this recipe with more flavors and iterations. I hope you will see more Jello recipes on my page soon!
I’ve been cooking for over 55 years, and I followed these instructions exactly as written, but the salads was runny in the lower part of the bowl even after chilling in the refrigerator for 4 hours. I drained the orange slices thoroughly, so that was not the issue. My refrigerator has a thermometer in it, so I know that the temperature was not the issue, especially since I made this on a rather chilly day to begin with. The issue is that a 3 oz. box of gelatin takes 1 cup of boiling water plus 1/2 c up of cold water–no more! By adding the 3-4 ice cubes, you are adding more water to the jello, which then will not set properly. I would recommend leaving the ice cubes out. The recipe does not need them.