When I was in college, St. Patrick’s Day was all about drinking green beer and bar hopping all over town wearing green. Now it’s about trying to find an authentic Irish pub that serves really good corned beef in a decently quite environment for an early dinner or better yet, lunch. The times, they are a changin’ my friends. But one thing that never changes is the nostalgia of Rainbow Layered Jello.

Layers of red, orange, yellow, green and blue Jello alternating with creamy condensed milk Jello layers. The perfect fun and spirited dessert to serve on St. Patrick’s Day. It takes a bit of time, like 5 hours, but it’s well worth the effort for the wow factor when you slice and serve.

Plus, you’re never too old to enjoy Jello, well at least that’s the way we feel in my family. Of course you could also make this dessert with only layers of orange and green Jello, that too would be even more Irish…plus a dash of Irish cream in the condensed milk layer? Sounds good doesn’t it?

Personally I like the traditional rainbow with little “clouds” of whipped cream piped on top. Cut this Jello into squares and serve them on a platter or cube it up small and serve individual parfaits of Jello and homemade whipped cream. Either way, you can’t go wrong with this playful dessert!

Note: Read all recipe directions before beginning. This recipe is not difficult but it does have quite a few steps. I recommend printing out the recipe and checking off each step as you complete it. Allow yourself at least 5 hours of in-active time to make the Jello layers plus more for chilling.

Rainbow Layer Jello

Prep Time: 5 hours

Total Time: 5 hours

Layers of rainbow colored Jello and condensed milk Jello create a fun and playful dessert.

Ingredients

1 small 3 oz box strawberry Jello
1 small 3 oz box orange Jello
1 small 3 oz box lemon Jello
1 small 3 oz box lime Jello
1 small 3 oz box berry blue Jello
1 box (4 packages) Knox unflavored gelatin
1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
sweetened whipped cream, for serving

Instructions

Set aside a 9x13” glass baking dish. Ungreased.
Red Layer: Mix 1 package of Strawberry Jello with 1 tsp Knox gelatin and 1 cup boiling water. Cool and pour into pan; refrigerate 30 minutes until set. IMPORTANT: While each layer sets in the refrigerator, make the next layer and leave it to cool on the countertop so that it is not hot when ready to pour onto the previous layer. This will insure that your layers do not bleed together.
White Layer: Mix 1 envelope Knox gelatin with 1/2 cup hot water until dissolved. Add 7 oz of condensed milk (1/2 of a can) and an additional 1/2 cup hot water. Once cooled pour half of the milk mixture over the set red Jello and refrigerate 30 minutes until firm. As soon as you put the milk layer in the fridge, make the Orange Jello so that it will have time to cool on the counter.
Orange Layer: Mix 1 package of Orange Jello with 1 tsp Knox gelatin and 1 cup boiling water. Cool and pour over milk layer, refrigerate 30 minutes until set. Note: The next milk layer is already made so no need to mix any Jello during this 30 minutes.
White Layer: Pour the remaining milk mixture over the set orange Jello and refrigerate 30 minutes until set. As soon as you put the milk layer in the fridge, make the lemon Jello.
Yellow Layer: Mix 1 package of Lemon Jello with 1 tsp Knox gelatin and 1 cup boiling water. Cool and pour over the milk layer, refrigerate 30 minutes until set. As soon as you put the lemon layer in the fridge, make another batch of the milk Jello. Mix 1 envelope Knox gelatin with 1/2 cup hot water until dissolved. Add 7 oz of condensed milk (1/2 of a can) and an additional 1/2 cup hot water. Allow to cool on the counter while lemon layer sets.
Milk Layer: Pour 3/4 cup of the milk mixture over the set yellow Jello and refrigerate until firm, 30 minutes. As soon as you put the milk layer in the fridge, make the Lime Jello so that it will have time to cool on the counter.
Green Layer: Mix 1 package of Lime Jello with 1 tsp Knox gelatin and 1 cup boiling water. Cool and pour over previous layer, refrigerate 30 minutes until set. Note: The next milk layer is already made so no need to mix any Jello during this 30 minutes.
Milk Layer: Pour half of the milk mixture over the set green Jello and refrigerate until firm, 30 minutes. As soon as you put the milk layer in the fridge, make the Berry Blue Jello so that it will have time to cool on the counter.
Blue Layer: Mix 1 package of Berry Blue Jello with 1 tsp Knox gelatin and 1 cup boiling water. Cool and pour over milk layer, refrigerate 30 minutes until set.
Cover and refrigerate overnight or for at least one additional hour before slicing and serving. Serve with homemade sweetened whipped cream.