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Ditch the box, and make my homemade jello style gelatin recipe at home. So easy, with only a few ingredients—and it's actually good for you.
Follow along to see how to make hello at home, and it is naturally gluten free, if that is a requirement for you!
What makes this jello gelatin special?
Making this easy homemade “JELLO” gelatin really requires just two ingredients: juice + gelatin. But, as with most intriguing things in life, the closer I looked, the more deliciously complicated it all became. I also have a recipe for the whipped jello version.
I'm boiling it all down for you here into just the facts. If you don't really want to know much more and just want to get to the recipe, feel free to scroll down to the bottom for the video and the recipe. But don't you want to know at least a little bit more?
Adding fresh fruit to homemade jello
At the very least, you'll want to know the best way to put some fresh fruit in there and make sure it doesn't sink to the bottom. Just let the gelatin chill for about 45 minutes in the refrigerator until it's beginning to set. Press a few slices of your favorite fruit into the mixture, then finish chilling until it's completely set.
When it's summertime and fresh berries are affordable and at their peak, those are the flavors of homemade jello that I'm most likely to make. Strawberry tops the list for me.
But when you're adding whole fruit to the gelatin, avoid chunks of pineapple, kiwi, mango, papaya or mango. When it's fresh, those types of fruit can make it difficult for the gelatin to set up properly. (Here's why.)
How pretty are these pineapple and blueberry “JELLO” flavors? No additives, no chemicals, no food dyes.
What type of fruit (juice) is best for homemade Jello?
I don't generally keep any juice in the house other than pineapple. And that's only for my gluten free Hawaiian Rolls since they're some of the best burger buns around, and my gluten free pineapple upside down cake. I make that at least a couple of times a year.
I do always have different types of fruit, both fresh and frozen at home. So I complicated things a bit by testing fruit purees in place of juice. I have good news and bad news.
The good news is that you most certainly can make homemade “JELLO” gelatin with fruit purees. The bad news? You must mix the puree with at least as much actual fruit juice or the “JELLO” simply won't set up.
So even though this is really so simple as to almost not even qualify as a “recipe,” there were enough tips and tricks that I picked up along the way that I thought it was worthy of its own post.
Gelatin is actually quite healthy for you and naturally gluten free. So I'm often looking for ways to get some of it into my children without opening up a box of overly sugary JELLO.
If you're looking to make this vegan, maybe try agar agar powder in place of the gelatin and Lyle's Golden Syrup or light corn syrup instead of honey? I've been experimenting with making vegan cheese (!), so I'm becoming more and more familiar with vegan magic ingredients. But just enough to make me dangerous, so far.
Homemade JELLO Style Gelatin Recipe
Equipment
- Fine mesh sieve for making fruit puree (optional)
- Blender for making fruit puree (optional)
Ingredients
- 2 cups (16 fluid ounces) fruit juice, or combination fruit puree and juice (See Recipe Notes)
- 1 tablespoon (8 g) unflavored powdered gelatin, (See Recipe Notes)
- 2 tablespoons (42 g) honey, (can replace with 3 tablespoons (38 g) granulated sugar), or more, to taste
Instructions
- Select 4 single-serving heat-safe dishes to hold the JELLO as it sets, and set them aside.
To make a fruit puree to use in this recipe.
- Soften the fruit by placing it in a heavy-bottom saucepan and adding just enough water to cover it. Bring the mixture to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, and cook until the fruit can be easily smashed by pressing it against the side of the pan.
- For berries, this should only take a couple minutes after boiling.
- For more fibrous fruits like apples, peel, core and roughly chop the apples before cooking. It will take longer for the fruit to be tender enough.
- Once the fruit is ready, remove it from the heat and set it aside to cool for a few minutes before transferring the entire contents of the pan to a blender and puree until smooth.
- Pass the puree through a fine mesh sieve to remove any solids or seeds. Use only 1 cup (8 fluid ounces) of fruit puree per recipe.
To make the gelatin.
- In a small bowl, place about 1/4 cup of the fruit juice and sprinkle with the powdered gelatin. Mix thoroughly and allow to sit until the gelatin swells in the liquid.
- Place the remaining 3/4 cup fruit juice, plus any fruit puree (or more juice) to make 2 full cups in a medium, heavy-bottom saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a boil and remove from the heat.
- Add the swelled gelatin and honey (or sugar) to the hot saucepan and mix until the gelatin and honey/sugar dissolve.
- Divide the mixture immediately among the serving dishes, and allow to cool to room temperature.
- Cover the dishes and place in the refrigerator to chill until set (about 3 hours). If you’re feeling particularly generous, serve with whipped cream.
Video
Notes
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
This is just delicious! I’ve been making a fruit drink by blending frozen fruit with water and with just a drop of lemon stevia and a very small dollop of whipped cream. I just found Silk brand whipping cream…Lemon flavored stevia drops are magic with fresh fruit. I wonder how that will work for this recipe. Question: I have a cold press juicer. Do you think the fresh pressed juice will work? Or does the boiling concentrate the flavor?
By the way. Thank you so much for all your efforts to provide such wonderful recipes. I see you’ve started adding dry measurements. I’m sure that’s helpful for some folks, but I think your measurements by weight are the reason your recipes are always the very best.
Hi, Jan, thanks so much for sharing your experience. I do think that a cold-pressed juice will work, but you’ll still have to heat it before adding the gelatin. You aren’t boiling it, just bringing it to a boil and then adding the gelatin. Thank you for the kind words about my recipes. I’ve always had corresponding volume measurements wherever possible, because many Americans aren’t entirely comfortable with measuring by weight. And sometimes, the corresponding approximate volume measurements just allow readers to wrap their minds around what the amount of dry ingredients may look like.
I am not familiar with Great Lakes gelatin I have always used Knox gelatin. You can make all the flavors you love, create new flavors and so much better for you. It does not take any longer to make. All of those gelatin recipes you had to stop making works doing it from scratch.
Cameron
Can it be made with fresh squeezed lemon/lime, green tea and lemon/lime seltzer? I would think it could, I should give it a try. :)
I’m not sure about using seltzer, Judi. I’ve actually never tried that, and since you heat the mixture, I imagine all of the carbonation would leave the solution. Any of those other liquids instead of fruit juice would work, though, in still water, but I would definitely cut that with some sweetness and water!
Has anyone tried leaving out the sweetener and subbing stevia instead? Will the gelatin still set up?
I bet that would be fine, Pam. I haven’t tried it, but I don’t see why the Stevia would interfere with the setting up of the gelatin (although I haven’t tried it, so I can’t promise!).
I went to Amazon to buy the Great Lakes gelatin & saw a BUNCH of different items. Which do you use? The red or green can, beef or pork, etc. Thanks
You can really use any of them, Marilyn, but I used the red can of beef gelatin.
Aww! My mom used to make this for me when I would get my braces adjusted and be in agony! It always felt extra special to have “Jello” that tasted like *real* grapes. Thanks for the reminder. Now I have something simple to make for my dessert-loving husband during the week.
Braces food, Lauren! That’s adorable.
wow Nicole, your ”jello” looks exactly like the real deal! using grass fed gelatin and using honey instead of sugar… could there be a more healthy dessert? we have the grass fed gelatin and we have honey and juice. i could make this for dessert TONIGHT. i believe i will.
And you should! It’s actually, dare I say, better than the “real thing,” Mena.
Oh i know it. Much better than the real thing. Thank you so much!!!
Hi, the gelatin in the pictures looks so pretty. I can’t wait to try this. Do you have a recipe or link to a recipe for whipped cream? Thanks in advance.
Hi, Nm, all you have to do to make fresh whipped cream is to place chilled heavy-whipping cream in a bowl and beat it with a handheld mixer or stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment (or by hand with a whisk which is an arm workout but totally doable) on medium speed just until stiff peaks form. If you’d like to sweeten it, once the cream becomes foamy during beating, add about 1 tablespoon confectioners’ sugar per cup of cream and continue to beat until stiff peaks form. That’s all!
yippee! This is a great addition to our recipe box, thank you Nicole :)
So glad you survived, Lucy! I knew you could do it—but I also knew you’d be worn out. :)