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  • Hi, I'm Vicky, the founder and content creator at Mess For Less. If you are looking for family-friendly recipes, recipes that kids can make, and play and learning activities for kids, you will find them at Mess For Less. I invite you to learn more about me. Thanks for stopping by!

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    Home » Party Planning

    Rainbow Jello

    Published: Jul 27, 2012 · Modified: Aug 4, 2022 by Vicky · This post contains affiliate links.

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    What could be more fun that Rainbow Jello? It is so pretty to look at and the ultimate in Family Friendly Recipes. I had seen these on Glorious Treats and thought they would be be perfect for a rainbow party I was throwing for my girls. I will start off by saying they came out great and that I will never make them again. They are that labor intensive. It took me a full day to make thirty cups of Jello.

    This layered rainbow jello recipe is perfect to make for St. Patrick's Day or a rainbow party or rainbow themed birthday party.

    You will need:

    • Jello in all the colors of the rainbow ( I used large boxes)
    • {affiliate link} Clear plastic cups (glass would be fine if these were for adults)
    • Cool Whip in a container
    different boxes of jello

    Now you are probably wondering, how can something with three ingredients be labor intensive? Read on...

    Open up the purple Jello and follow the directions on the box for making it using the quick set method. Reserve ⅓ of the Jello you make to use later to make the cream. Pour the rest into your cups. I just eyeballed the amount I put in the cup. You don't want to put in too much or there will not be room for all of the colors and cream. Of course the bigger the cup the more Jello and cream you can fit.

    making rainbow jello

    Put in the refrigerator to set. This took between 20-25 minutes for me. While the purple layer is setting you can get the cream layer ready. Remember the Jello you set aside. Get it now and add ⅓ a cup of cool whip. Mix until blended.

    mixing cool whip with jello

    You can see with the green cream how it will look when blended.

    mixing cool whip with green jello

    Take all your cups out of the refrigerator when they are done setting, and pour some of the corresponding cream into each cup. I recommend using a tablespoon of cream per cup or you will run out of cream. I would simply pour the spoonful of cream into the cup and tilt it around so it covered the Jello completely.

    adding cream to the jello
    adding cream to the jello

    After you add your cream layer, put all the cups back in the refrigerator so the cream layer can set. This takes between 15-20 minutes. Can you see how this whole process takes forever? You will need to put cups in the refrigerator to set after adding every new Jello color and after each color of cream.

    You will want to make sure the cream has set before pouring your next color of Jello on top. Even when it has set, you need to be careful adding the Jello to the cup. Pour it slowly and distribute it evenly in the cup. If you do it too quickly and all in one spot, it can make a hole in the cream layer resulting in bits of cream floating into your next layer.

    Here you can see the different colors being added on.

    filling cups with rainbow jello
    jello layered in cups
    rainbow jello cups

    At long last, the final color! I chose not to add a layer of red cream of top. I just didn't think the cream layer looked as smooth or pretty as the Jello layer and my cup was pretty full at this point anyway.

    colorful jello, rainbow jell-o

    If any of your cups have bubbles on top, pop them before you put them in the refrigerator.

    how to make rainbow jell-o

    Finally, after a full day or work you have something that looks like this:

    rainbow colored jello cups

    Okay, I admit, it does look pretty cool. How does it taste? I'll never know. You see, I hate Jello. Maybe next time I spend an entire day making something I will be sure it's actually something I like to eat.

    Rainbow Jello from Mess For Less

    Rainbow Jello

    This layered rainbow jello recipe is perfect to make for St. Patrick's Day or a rainbow party or rainbow themed birthday party.
    5 from 1 vote
    Print Pin Rate
    Course: Snack
    Cuisine: American
    Prep Time: 35 minutes
    Cook Time: 2 hours
    Total Time: 2 hours 35 minutes
    Servings: 12
    Calories: 218kcal
    Author: Vicky

    Equipment

    • 12 Clear plastic cups (glass would be fine if these were for adults)

    Ingredients

    • 3 oz Red Jello
    • 3 oz Orange Jello
    • 3 oz Yellow Jello
    • 3 oz Green Jello
    • 3 oz Blue Jello
    • 3 oz Purple Jello
    • 16 oz Cool Whip 2 containers

    Instructions

    • Open up the box of purple Jello and follow the directions on the box for making it using the quick set method. Reserve ⅓ of the Jello you make to use later to make the cream. Pour the rest into your cups.
    • Put in the refrigerator to set for 20-25 minutes. While the purple layer is setting you can get the cream layer ready. Use the jello you set aside and add ⅓ a cup of cool whip. Mix until blended.
    • Pour in approximately a tablespoon of cream per cup or you will run out of cream. Pour the spoonful of cream into the cup and tilt it around so it covers the Jello completely.
    • After you add your cream layer, put all the cups back in the refrigerator so the cream layer can set. This takes between 15-20 minutes. You will need to put cups in the refrigerator to set after adding every new Jello color and after each color of cream.
    • Repeat for each color of Jello that you will be using.

    Notes

    • You will want to make sure the cream has set before pouring your next color of Jello on top. Even when it has set, you need to be careful adding the Jello to the cup. Pour it slowly and distribute it evenly in the cup. If you do it too quickly and all in one spot, it can make a hole in the cream layer resulting in bits of cream floating into your next layer.
    • If any of your cups have bubbles on top, pop them before you put them in the refrigerator.
    • You don't want to put in too much or there will not be room for all of the colors and cream. Of course the bigger the cup the more Jello and cream you can fit.

    Nutrition

    Calories: 218kcal | Carbohydrates: 48g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 2g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 6mg | Sodium: 225mg | Potassium: 44mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 43g | Vitamin A: 66IU | Calcium: 42mg | Iron: 1mg
    Try this Recipe! Pin it for Later.Mention @vickycat or tag #messforless!

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    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Kristy Lawrence

      March 16, 2013 at 5:22 am

      These are fabulous! I hate jello too so I would not attempt these, but they are great to look at!

    2. Kristy Lawrence

      March 16, 2013 at 5:21 am

      This are fabulous! I hate jello too so I would not attempt these, but they are great to look at!

    3. Mackenzie

      March 16, 2013 at 4:32 am

      This is seriously SO fun! I love it! These look delicious! You are a Featured Favorite this week on Saturday Show & Tell on Cheerios and Lattes!
      Mackenzie 🙂

    4. pauline@lessonslearntjournal.com

      March 15, 2013 at 5:22 am

      These look amazing Vicky! So much fun. I'll be featuring your post as part of my Ways To Have Happy Kids roundup from the Weekly Kids' Co-op. Thanks for sharing. xoxo P

    5. Becky of Magic belles

      March 12, 2013 at 4:50 pm

      ahh, a rainbow in a glass, wonderful!

    6. Allison @ All for the Everyday

      March 11, 2013 at 6:04 am

      I used to LOVE this as a kid and had kind of forgotten about it - what a perfect St Patricks day treat! Love that you put them in individual containers!

    7. Amber Brady

      March 10, 2013 at 1:39 am

      These made my son jump for jello! I would love for you to share this & any other recipes over at my link party: http://dessertnowdinnerlater.blogspot.com/2013/03/sweet-savory-saturdays-3.html
      Hope to see you there!
      ~Amber @ Dessert Now, Dinner Later!

    8. Natasha SerenityYou

      March 09, 2013 at 4:40 pm

      these look great!!

      I would love it you could share this on my my link party - Serenity Saturday

      Natasha @ http://www.serenityyou.com

    9. Anonymous

      March 07, 2013 at 4:43 pm

      You do know that you could have saved yourself a ton of time if you had just used cookie sheets for each color of jello and let them set at the same time and then made sure you had a cookie cutter the same size as the cups you're using and just cut out a circle of each color and stacked it on the table on a small saucer or something and then after you place the cup over the stack of jello colors simply flip it over and ta-da! rainbow jello cups!!!

    10. Jane Anne

      March 06, 2013 at 11:13 pm

      Those look amazing! Too funny that you don't like jello, especially after all that work you put into it.

    11. Vicky

      August 09, 2012 at 10:51 pm

      Judy, Thanks! We just just unfroze some for snack. They hold up well.

      Sugarr2518, Glad you liked them!

    12. Sugarr2518

      July 27, 2012 at 7:58 pm

      I love all of the colors:) They look soo yummy!

    13. Cranberry Morning

      July 27, 2012 at 1:16 pm

      Those are SO pretty! What kid (or adult, for that matter) wouldn't love it. 🙂

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    Hi, I'm Vicky, the founder and content creator at Mess For Less. If you are looking for family-friendly recipes, recipes that kids can make, and play and learning activities for kids, you will find them at Mess For Less. I invite you to learn more about me. Thanks for stopping by!

    Valentine's Day Activities and Recipes

    • Valentine’s Dessert Cheese Ball
    • Valentine's Brownie Cake Pops
    • Valentine's Chocolate Covered Pretzels
    • Valentine Ideas for Kids - Glitter Hearts

    Winter Activities

    • Q-Tip Painted Snowman Craft
    • Winter Shaving Cream Paint
    • Pinecone Snowman Craft
    • Melted Snowman Craft

    Popular Recipes

    • Crack Chicken Casserole
    • Overnight Egg Casserole
    • Toasted Italian Sandwich - Food Fun Friday
    • Chicken Broccoli Alfredo Bake

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