Christmas Recipes | dessert recipes | low carb | Recipes | sides/snacks

November 15September 11

Low Carb/Sugar Free Jello Fluff Salad Recipe

Low Carb/Keto Jello Salad Recipe: Want an amazing and oh-so-easy Low Carb and Sugar-Free Dessert? Look no further, this low carb Jello Fluff dessert is exactly what you need to satisfy your sweet tooth!

(Is it a salad or is a dessert? I’m not sure the answer, but what I do know is that it’s delicious!)

FYI: If you are not a low carb eater – don’t make this recipe. Make this Jello Salad recipe instead: Black Cherry Jello Salad. (It’s the traditional Jello Salad Recipe you are probably looking for.)

Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links.

Jello Salad, a Holiday Tradition

A few years back, I shared a recipe for the traditional, family favorite jello salad we serve at every holiday gathering. That jello salad is probably in my top 10 favorite dishes ever and definitely makes the holiday meal.

Black Cherry Jello, Cool Whip and nuts… What’s not to love?

I think everyone grew up with some variation of this side dish at every holiday meal. (The nearest holiday dish to rival it, is my mom’s mashed candied yam casserole, but the jello salad will always be my favorite.)

Low Carb Options Needed for the Holiday Meal

I’ve finished the hard part of my diet, (goodbye 25 lbs, please never come back) and I’m committed to sticking with my low sugar/low carb way of eating- especially through the holidays.

To be successful, I really needed to come up with a few lower carb dishes that would fit seamlessly into our holiday menus. This low carb Black Cherry Jello Salad with Cottage Cheese is perfect to replace the old-sugar laden jello salads.

So happy I finally have a few side dishes that are just as good as the old recipes! Another good low carb side dish recipe I’ve been making a lot is my low carb broccoli salad.

The broccoli salad is a good one to take to take to potlucks- it’s delicious, full of good for you broccoli and no one knows it is low-carb, lol. And don’t forget the sugar free cranberry relish – goes great with turkey!

Why You Need to Make this Low Carb Jello Salad with Cottage Cheese

Guy’s- I could have totally shared this recipe with you much sooner because I’ve made it at least 6 times now. The problem is, we just keep eating it before I can get pictures!

If you are eating low carb, you are probably not eating a lot of sweets, and this decadently rich and creamy jello salad will hit the spot. It’s sweet and full of fat, so its a perfect low carb/keto dessert and all the pecans provide just the right amount of crunchiness.

I knew it would be easy to remake the jello salad recipe into a low carb version since sugar-free Jello and heavy cream are very low on the carb scale. (Even though the cartons say zero, the jello and cream do have carbs. I think a product can have almost .9 carbs per serving and still be allowed to say zero in the nutritional facts.)

I’ve seen jello salads made with cottage cheese so I wanted to try to combine a cottage cheese salad and my jello salad and see how it turned out.

I totally scored with this new recipe!

In fact, I think I like this Jello Salad with Cottage cheese better than the old recipe. I will say, the texture is a bit different from the original since I’m using different (heavier) ingredients for the base.

The heavy whipping cream and cottage cheese make for a “denser” jello salad then you’re probably used to, but I can’t begin to tell you how much my hubby and I love this recipe.

It could be because we’re eating fewer sweets, but every little spoonful is like a bite of Heaven!

Is Cottage Cheese Low Carb?

Cottage cheese does have a few carbs per serving. (so this recipe is not zero carb)

When choosing the cottage cheese for this recipe, be sure to compare labels and look for one with more fat.

As an example, the Horizon brand has fewer carbs than other cottage cheese brands w/ 4% milkfat. In cottage cheese, higher fat = fewer carbs.

Do I Have to Use the Shredded Cheese in this Jello Salad with Cottage Cheese?

Seems like a lot of cheese doesn’t it?

Well technically, you could leave out the shredded cheese, but I recommend you don’t. (Or at least try it once with the shredded cheese.) The shredded cheddar adds a flavor and texture component that sounds weird, but is really good!

This post has a ton of comments with people asking questions and offering substitutions and variations.

If you have time to wade through all the comments, I recommend it. Only 10 comments show at a time, so you will have to click the link for “older comments”, to see them all. (Lots of comments, slow down the page loading – Who knew?)

Here is a comment about the use of shredded cheese. (From Deb – thanks Deb!)

“Just made this and I’m telling you to use the cheese! Seems like it doesn’t make and sense and you’re right, ! But boy oh boy it is delicious with it! Don’t cheat yourself!”

Mmm, good- I could not wait to eat it!

Can I Use Other Flavors of Jello in this Keto Version of Jello Salad?

Yes, of course you can!

Now, I’m a bit picky and really just prefer to make it with the black cherry flavor, but the comments are full of people using lemon, mango, strawberry and just loving it.

So, all I can say is just try it. (If you wanted to do a tiny experiment, you might just try a smidge of your jello flavor in some unsweetened whipped cream. if You like that, you will probably like the flavor in this salad.

Have fun and if you make it, be sure to come back and leave a comment or tag me on instagram with your photos. (Use #scatteredmomrecipes)

Don’t Miss the Video

There is a How-To Video at the bottom of this post!

A Few More Low Carb Treats to Try: