Ritz Pineapple Casserole is a classic southern side dish especially at Easter. Pineapple, crackers and cheese combine to make the tastiest side to ham!
BEST RITZ PINEAPPLE CASSEROLE
Ritz Pineapple Casserole is a classic southern side dish especially at Easter. Pineapple, crackers and cheese combine to make the tastiest side to ham! If you've never eaten this particular dish of Southern Pineapple Casserole before, then chances are, you probably aren't from the South. It's a Southern thang. Well, I think. I don't really know the history or heritage of this dish, to be honest. I suppose it could be a Northern thing as well.
VIDEO INCLUDED BELOW:
HOW DO YOU MAKE PINEAPPLE CASSEROLE?
If you've never eaten it before, you will probably think it is the weirdest combination of ingredients you ever heard of. Who knew pineapple and cheese could make such beautiful music together? Well, they can. The sweetness of the pineapples and glaze combined with the zing of the sharp cheddar and slight saltiness and crunchiness from the Ritz crackers makes for a surprisingly amazing flavor combo. It is the perfect side to a slice of salty ham!
WHAT YOU'LL NEED:
sugar
pineapple gelatin mix (Jell-O)
corn starch
pineapple tidbits or chunks (in 100% juice)
sharp cheddar cheese
Ritz crackers
salted butter
reserved pineapple juice
STEP-BY STEP INSTRUCTIONS TO MAKE RITZ PINEAPPLE CASSEROLE:
Preheat oven to 350F degrees. Spray an 8x8 baking (2-quart) baking dish with nonstick cooking spray. In a medium pot over medium heat, whisk together water, sugar, 3 tbsp. pineapple gelatin mix, and 3 tbsp. corn starch until thoroughly combined and you get all the lumps out. Turn heat up to high and let mixture to come to a boil and thicken. Continue to whisk. Once thickened take off heat. Drain pineapple chunks thoroughly, setting aside ½ cup of the juice. Add drained pineapple chunks to pot and stir.
Enjoy!
BEST RITZ PINEAPPLE CASSEROLE
Ingredients
- 1 cup water
- 1 cup sugar
- 3 tbsp pineapple Jell-O
- 3 tbsp corn starch
- 1 (20 oz) can pineapple tidbits or chunks (in 100% juice) not heavy syrup
- 1 cup sharp cheddar cheese finely shredded
- 1 ½ sleeves (45) Ritz crackers crushed
- ½ stick salted butter (¼ cup) melted
- ½ cup reserved pineapple juice
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F degrees.
- Spray an 8 x 8 (2-quart) baking dish with nonstick cooking spray.
- In a medium pot over medium heat, whisk together water, sugar, 3 tbsp. pineapple gelatin mix, and 3 tbsp. corn starch until thoroughly combined and you get all the lumps out.
- Turn heat up to high and let mixture to come to a boil and thicken.
- Continue to whisk.
- Once thickened, take off heat.
- Drain pineapple chunks thoroughly, setting aside ½ cup of the juice.
- Add drained pineapple chunks to pot and stir.
- In a large Ziploc bag, finely crush Ritz crackers.
- Add crushed crackers, melted butter and ½ cup reserved pineapple juice into a medium bowl and stir until combined.
- Add shredded cheese to cooled pineapple mixture and pour into baking dish.
- Spread Ritz cracker topping over pineapple mixture.
- Bake in oven for about 30-35 minutes (until topping is golden brown.)
Video
Nutrition
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Wow, how creative! It looks so tasty. I love pineapple, so I'm sure this is a winner.
Yum! My grandma, who is from the South, makes this! It does go amazingly well with ham.
I just had a flashback to pot luck dinners at my parish in Chesapeake, Virginia!
My S-I-L showed up w/ this at some gathering about 15 yrs ago, I thought she was nuts! It's indescribably, dangerously amazing!
GREAT CHEAT recipe I made up for late night snack ....
<<< Ritz cracker, pineapple chunk, topped w/ cheese... make a tray full, toaster oven for a few minutes>>>
my son named them UFO's : ) don't say I didn't warn you! DANGEROUS!
Yup, I am not a Southerner (even though I want to be one...someday.) This is the first time I've heard of this recipe or combining cheese with pineapple. It works well with apples so it wouldn't be a far stretch to say that it would be good with pineapples too! My Dad considers himself a Southerner even though he's from West Virginia. I wonder if he's heard of this?
Texas is pretty far south and I have never had this, but I plan to remedy that soon!
This truly is a southern dish. I absolutely love this side dish. I lived in Texas for a while and none of my friends knew what it was when we went to North Caroline for work. I'm from the Southeast.
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As a west coaster, I always find southern cooking to be so comforting - such a treat! I've never tried the pineapple casserole, but one of my friends from NC is coming to visit this week, so she and I will have to whip up a batch together -there's no doubt in my mind that she's had it before. Thanks for the great recipe!
I will definitely be making this! I also just looked through your pinterest board. I think I gained 10 lbs just looking at your food!! Keep up the great cooking!
We are having this today with our Easter ham (with cherry glaze), sweet potato caserole, Brussels sprouts, and buttermilk biscuits. It's in the oven now and smells scrumptious!
Wow...I have never heard if this but it sounds awesome. I will be trying this!
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My husband grilled ham steaks on the grill and I made this casserole. The two went well together. Thank you for sharing the recipe.
I'm from Missouri, and we have this quite a bit. It's amazing! This is even good cold (if you actually have any at all left).
Oh, wow, that would be so good hot out of the oven on a cold, winter night....
I have to try this one! 🙂
We have been loving the pineapple casserole, for oh maybe 20 years got to tell you never ever used pineapple jello this is very interesting to me. thank you.
Oh my goodness!!! This is so darn good!!! I made it last Sunday with ham, green beans, and rolls. Hubby said delish. It was super easy to make and I took some to work and they ate it up and asked for the recipe.
Many thanks, this will be a staple in our house.
this is one of the best things to happen to a southern kitchen! can't wait to whip this up tonight for a 30th birthday. i live in colorado now, and i'm pretty excited to share this with my western friends.
Hi! I was excited to find your version of this idea. I have tried the Paula Deen version and have been frustrated that the cheese didnt melt. I tried this version and the cheese didn't melt either! Am I wrong to think it is supposed to?
Thanks for your feedback!
If you use a package of shredded cheese from the grocery it is coated with something so that it does not stick together. To get a nice melted cheese you have to shred it yourself from a block of cheese. Hope this helps.
Hi Karelle. If you aren't real familiar with this kind of recipe (as in having grown up with it), you wouldn't know what to expect from that finished product. But no, I've never had a version of this where the cheese is melted. You should see bits of cheese in it. You want to get in the occasional bite of cheese but it should not be incorporated in the gelatin part of this. I like a finely shredded cheese but I've had versions where folks put in bigger chunks. Hope that helps! ~Brandie 🙂
Hi Country Cook! I have just spent the last hour looking at your recipes. (Making Taco Bake and Spanish Rice for dinner tonight.)In regards to the pineapple recipe-Here is my version: 2 large cans pineapple chunks-drained, 1 cup sugar, 6 T. flour, 2 cups Velvetta Cheese-shredded, 1 roll Ritz Crackers and 1 stick butter-melted. Combine first four ingredients. Pour into buttered casserole dish. Crush ritz crackers and sprinkle on top. Pour melted butter over crackers. Bake at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes. (Velvetta Cheese melts beautifully.) Hope you try this version.
Everyone agrees that this dish pairs well with ham. I'm wondering whether it might be possible to add diced ham to the dish itself?
Anonymous, I guess you kid. Personally, I like to keep it as a separate dish. It's good along with the ham, I'm just not so sure I want it in there. 😀 ~Brandie
This is very yummy.... Thanks for sharing 🙂
Delicious!!