This layered jello pie combines cherry, lime, and lemon jello to make a festive Christmas pie. It's light and fluffy, and makes a welcome addition to the holiday dessert table with its sweet switch-up of creamy fruity flavors!
Prepare a deep dish springform pan (see note) by lining the bottom with a sheet of parchment paper.
Stir together graham cracker crumbs, melted butter, and sugar until fully combined. Press graham cracker crumbs into the prepared springform pan, coming up the sides about 1-1 1⁄2 inches. Place pan in the freezer to chill the crust while preparing the jello.
In a medium mixing bowl, combine 1 cup of boiling water with the packet of lime jello. Stir until the jello is fully dissolved. Once the jello is dissolved, stir in 1 cup of cold water. Place the jello mixture in the refrigerator for 30-45 minutes.
Once the jello has cooled and thickened - but not set - whisk in one container of Cool Whip. The jello should be just slightly thickened so that it combines smoothly with the Cool Whip. If it seems too thick, you can microwave it in 10 second increments to loosen it up a bit.
Add a drop or two of green gel food coloring to the jello mixture until desired color is achieved. Transfer mixture to the crust in the springform pan. Place the pan into the refrigerator.
Mix up the lemon jello mix following the same steps as you did with the green. Once it has thickened and you mix it with Cool Whip (do not tint this one, the yellow will be very light once mixed with Cool Whip and will give you the desired white layer), pour it on top of the green layer that has been setting in the fridge.
Repeat for the final “red” layer of jello.
Allow the jello pie to chill in the refrigerator for 3-4 hours to set completely. Decorate with whipped cream and Christmas sprinkles, if desired. Gently loosen from the springform pan (running a knife around the edge if needed), cut into pieces, and serve.
Video
Notes
You will need a very deep springform pan to make this recipe - use a 9-inch springform pan that is 3 3⁄8” high or use a 10-inch springform pan with at least 3-inch high walls.
You can find prepackaged graham cracker crumbs at most grocery stores. If you aren't able to find them, you will need 12 full sheets of graham crackers to yield 1 1/2 cups crushed. Crush them in a food processor or in a large zip-top bag with a rolling pin. You can also substitute with a premade graham cracker crust.
If you prefer to not use Cool Whip, you can substitute with 3 cups of heavy whipping cream and 3 tablespoons of powdered sugar. Beat on medium-high with a whisk attachment until still peaks form.
To make a nice whipped cream for decorating, whip 1 cup of heavy cream until soft peaks form. Add 2-3 tablespoons of powdered sugar and continue whipping until stiff peaks form. We like to pipe pretty swirls onto the jello pie with a piping bag and piping tip #1M.
To get nice even layers, the pie needs to set some between each layer. You can mix up all of the jello colors at the same time if you like, they will not thicken/set if they sit on the countertop. But the pie does need at least 30 minutes or so in the fridge before you can safely add the next layer onto the layer beneath. The easiest way to do this is to mix the Cool Whip with the first thickened jello, pour it into the crust and then chill/thicken the next layer of jello in the fridge while that first layer is beginning to set in the crust.