Sugar-Free Jelled Ricotta Pudding
This Sugar-Free Jelled Ricotta Pudding is a very low-carb and South Beach Diet friendly dessert recipe I got from a reader! It’s extra simple to make and if you’re strictly watching carbs you might like it for a simple treat!
Click to PIN Sugar-Free Jelled Ricotta Pudding!
Many years ago I got this simple recipe for Sugar-Free Jelled Ricotta Pudding from a reader named Janet, a garden writer and photographer from Toronto who told me that she and her husband had recently started the South Beach Diet. (This was the original South Beach Diet, before the diet was sold and became a packaged meal approach.) Janet said they did miss having something a little sweet after dinner, so she’d been experimenting with phase one desserts.
She was surprised how good the sugar-free Jello (affiliate link) tasted when you weren’t eating sugar, and she’d also tried the ricotta creme desserts in the original South Beach Diet Book (affiliate link). Combining those ideas, she mixed ricotta cheese with sugar-free jello and came up with a dessert she thought was pretty good.
When I tried Janet’s creation, I was surprised how good it tasted for a completely low-carb, sugar-free, and South Beach phase one dessert, even with the slightly gritty texture of the ricotta cheese. You can use any flavor of Jello that appeals to you, but I made her layered pudding using raspberry Jello in the photo above.
This might be a welcome treat for any low-carb eaters or South Beach Dieters who aren’t into making fancy desserts. And Janet reports she has since gone on to more sugar-free Jello experiments, including replacing the ricotta with low-fat plain yogurt and adding fruit for a layered phase two dessert.
What ingredients do you need for this recipe?
- sugar-free Jello
- boiling water
- ricotta cheese
- cold water
More Easy Sugar-Free Desserts:
Sugar-Free Pumpkin Pudding (Stunningly easy and this has been a big hit!)
Sugar-Free Yogurt Pie (This is another easy dessert idea from a reader!)
Sugar-Free Jelled Ricotta Pudding
If you don't want sugar but aren't into making fancy desserts, you might like this Sugar-Free Jelled Ricotta Pudding for a simple treat!
Ingredients
- one four oz. pkg. sugar-free Jello
- 1 cup boiling water
- 2/3 cup ricotta cheese
- 1/2 cup cold water
Instructions
- Put ricotta cheese into bowl and stir with fork or whisk until it’s slightly softened.
- Have four glass dishes (slightly over 1/2 cup each) ready on counter to pour the hot Jello mixture into.
- Put powdered Jello from package into large glass measuring cup, pour in boiling water and whisk for 1-2 minutes, until all Jello is dissolved in the water.
- Stir in ricotta, then cold water and mix together.
- Pour into glass bowls and place in refrigerator to set.
- I waited about 2 hours until the mixture was partly firm, then covered it with cling wrap.
- Serve cold, from individual dishes.
Notes
Recipe shared by a reader named Janet Davis and tested by Kalyn.
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
4Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 60Total Fat: 3gSaturated Fat: 2gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 1gCholesterol: 13mgSodium: 52mgCarbohydrates: 3gFiber: 0gSugar: 0gProtein: 5g
Nutrition information is automatically calculated by the Recipe Plug-In I am using. I am not a nutritionist and cannot guarantee 100% accuracy, since many variables affect those calculations.
Low-Carb Diet / Low-Glycemic Diet / South Beach Diet Suggestions:
Sugar-Free Jelled Ricotta Pudding is a great dish for low-carb diet plans, and for any phase of the South Beach Diet.
Find More Recipes Like This One:
Use Dessert Recipes for more recipes like this one. Use the Recipes by Diet Type photo index pages to find more recipes suitable for a specific eating plan. You might also like to Follow Kalyn’s Kitchen on Pinterest to see all the good recipes I’m sharing there.
45 Comments on “Sugar-Free Jelled Ricotta Pudding”
jellos are by far the best desserts for dieters:) the red color is inviting!:)
Arularia, so happy that the blog will be useful for you. Notes like this just make my day.
Christine, try it and I bet you’ll like it. And make your own jello, you go girl!
Very clever idea! I know what it’s like to crave something sweet after dinner and something like this would fit the bill nicely. I would probably make my own “jello” as I’m not terribly fond of the food colorings in the Jello brand stuff.
Thanks for the link, Kalyn!
I’ve just discovered your blog and I cannot tell you how excited I am about all of these recipes. I was recently diagnosed with the first signs of insulin-resistance and my doctor wanted me to try South Beach or a similar diet. I was feeling pretty depressed and hopeless with all the things I was going to have to cut out of my diet and thinking “what’s left?” but after looking through your archives, I have hope! Thank you!!
Meeta, me too. My mom always made Jello with cottage cheese mixed in when I was a kid. I didn’t like it then but now I love cottage cheese.
Sher, it’s much better than you’d think with the ricotta.
Kevin, I thought so too.
Tanna, I think this combo has all kinds of possibilities. Healthy too.
Pretty, pretty. And it would seem to be wonderful as a treat! I have enjoyed the sugar free jello and ricotta, well that sounds like double pleasure.
Using ricotta cheese in a jello pudding sounds really interesting!
It looks beautiful–and to tell you the truth, I would probably prefer the ricotta to the Jell-O. We ate so much Jell-O when I was a kid during the period my dad was in the Air Force. It was cheap, so my mom made it all the time. I still have problems eating it!
Debs. thanks for letting me know about your post. Janet was a brand new South Beach dieter when she came up with this, so I don’t think she saw your post. (Great minds think like in this case I believe.) But it does look like your ideas were very similar. When I get home from work, I’ll edit this post and add a link to your recipe too.
Kalyn, I posted about this back in October over on One Weigh or Another ( I don’t know if that’s where Janet got the idea or if we both thought of it!).
http://one-weigh-or-another.com/?p=1761
Good to see someone else is bringing this recipe to the world 🙂
I would never have thought of mixing jello and ricotta. But it does sound interesting. I also like the idea with the cottage cheese.
Dev, I think both sound good. With the jello and cream cheese, wouldn’t it taste kind of like a flavored cheesecake. I’m not that much of a dessert eater, but this is giving me all kinds of ideas.
Youch ~ I meant cottage cheese, not cream cheese.
Dev, sounds interesting with the cream cheese. With reduced fat cream cheese that would be pretty SB friendly too.
Pooja, thanks. I loved the color.
Sir Jorge, not sure what you mean? If you mean the dishes of pudding are a larger size than the recipe, that’s true. (I only had 3 of these glasses so each is more than 1/2 cup.) I didn’t think about that, maybe I should clarify?
The doaker, I know what you mean about “there will always be a next time.” I like the idea of jello with cottage cheese too, so many creative dessert ideas with jello.
I just discovered your blog a few days ago and have been enjoying looking through your archives. I have done phase one of the SB diet a few times and sugar free jello with cottage cheese has always helped me to make it through. I think it is really good and it makes the jello seem a lot more like “dessert” to me. (I am a BIG dessert person.) I will have to try some of these other variations next time I am on phase one — there will always be a next time! ; )
Thanks for the great blog!
this looks cool, but the picture is somewhat deceptive.
that really looks great wit hthe fresh color of it! I just loved it kalyn.
thanks for sharing..
-Pooja
I do a variation of this, but I mix the jello with cream cheese and then mix it in the blender. It’s smooth, has a great texture, and is delicious!
Katy, that sounds interesting, and if you use low-fat cottage cheese that would definitely be South Beach Diet friendly. BTW, I did think the addition of the Jello in this recipe made the ricotta more appealing and smoothed out the texture a bit; I never liked the plain ricotta desserts that much. Hmmm, I’ll have to try your cottage cheese version.
yes! the grittiness of the ricotta gets to me — I can’t eat it. one thing i do, which is not a south beach diet thing but just something i like to eat, is mix vanilla extract, splenda and cottage cheese — it’s similar to the south beach diet ricotta recipe but in my mind, a lot better. maybe i’ll add jello next time! 🙂