This quick and easy Red Hot applesauce Jello is a delicious cinnamon-y alternative to cranberry sauce. It is perfect for fall, but it is a great snack, side dish, or simple dessert any time of year.

Small bowl with a serving of bright red applesauce jello inside, ready to eat.

This applesauce jello recipe is the best of both worlds. It has some cinnamon flavor from the Red Hot candies along with some extra fruitiness from the jello.

Cherry or raspberry Jello work best in this recipe. It keeps the color red, which evokes the candies that are inside.

Plus, the flavors combine well. If you can find cranberry Jello, that would be great too!

Large serving spoon with scoop of red applesauce jello on it, ready to be served.

Serving of cinnamon applesauce jello salad in small bowl next to larger serving bowl with more inside.

Because of the red flavor and fall flavors, it makes a great alternative to cranberry sauce at Thanksgiving. It would also be a fun pop of red on your Christmas table.

It is sure to be a popular addition to your menu for the kids and the kids at heart. There is just something so nostalgic about a congealed salad like this.

Carlee’s Tips & Tricks

It will be scoopable, but still a little soft after a couple of hours. You will need 4 to 6 hours for it to be fully set up.

You can make it a day ahead of time to make sure it has time to fully set and take it off your to-do list early.

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Ingredients including water, applesauce, red hots candies, and a package of jello powder ready to be made into cinnamon applesauce jello salad.

Small saucepan with red hots and jello mix dissolved into water next to a measuring cup with applesauce.

I usually use unsweetened applesauce for this recipe, but either works well. You can also use homemade applesauce.

While we normally think of these kinds of recipes as a side dish, like cranberry sauce, you can also serve it as a light dessert. It would also make a great after-school snack!

If cinnamon isn’t your thing, just leave out the Red Hots. It is still a great way to make applesauce fun to eat!

Saucepan of jello mixture after the applesauce has been stirred in, ready to be transferred to serving dish.

Serving bowl with bright red cinnamon applesauce jello inside.

Can This Recipe Be Made Ahead of Time?

This Red Hot Jello salad can be made up to 3 days ahead of time and stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

Vintage serving spoon dipping into bowl of red hot applesauce jello.

Small bowl of red applesauce jello next to larger serving bowl with more inside.

Where can you buy Red Hots?

Look for them in the candy aisle of the grocery store. Sometimes, they also have tubs of cinnamon imperials in the baking aisle with the cake decorating supplies.

They have a long shelf life, so you can stock up on them during Christmastime if they are hard to find during other times of the year.

5 from 2 ratings

Red Hot Applesauce Jello

Author: Carlee

Servings: Servings

This quick and easy Red Hot applesauce Jello is a delicious cinnamon-y alternative to cranberry sauce. It is perfect for fall, but is a great snack, side dish, or simple dessert any time of year.

Prep: 10

Cook: 5

Chill Time 4

Total: 4 15

Ingredients

▢ ¼ cup Red Hots candies
▢ 1 cup water
▢ 1 3 oz box cherry Jello powder
▢ 2 cups applesauce

Instructions

Put 1 cup water and ¼ cup Red Hots candies in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring frequently until the candies are dissolved.
Remove the pot from the heat and stir in the 1 3 oz box cherry Jello powder until dissolved.
Add the 2 cups applesauce and stir until combined.
Transfer the mixture to your serving dish and refrigerate for at least 4 hours (but up to 3 days) before serving.