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Any Fruit Juice Jello with gelatin allows you to make homemade jello with fruit juice — that basic master recipe you’ve been looking for — natural and delicious, with no added sweetener, plus reliable every time.
Make any flavor of jello with just gelatin and juice!
I tell you which fruit juices won’t gel, too! So you won’t waste expensive ingredients when making this recipe.
Enjoy Homemade Gelatin Jello made with any fruit juice for a healthy snack to provide fun and energy. This treat is great for kids, summer and an active lifestyle.
Get that dose of carbs, electrolytes and protein all in one place, as a fun and colorful snack.
Ingredients in Homemade Jello from Any Juice
Most of you will use store bought juice, which is great. That’s what I did for the photos in this post.
But if any of you make fresh homemade juices, you can use those, too. I give a tip for how in the Notes section of the recipe.
Ingredients for Gelatin Jello:
- fruit juice, store bought or homemade (pasteurized, or raw and fresh) — I only use organic 100% juice, with no added sugar.
- gelatin — This brand is recommended because the cows are pasture-raised their whole lives, and the gelatin is third party tested for pesticide residue. (I recommend avoiding Vital Proteins, as it’s owned by Hershey’s, who’s still using child and slave labor in West Africa. Nor is their product 3rd party tested for pesticides.)
Ratio information: Usually this recipe is made with 2 cups fruit juice to 1 tablespoon gelatin.
However: If you make jello from Concord grape juice, you’ll end up with a softer jello that’s delicious but that won’t cut into neat squares. I suspect this is due to certain enzymes in some fruits that break down the protein in gelatin. To get a firmer gel with this specific juice, you’ll need to increase the gelatin, which I note how to do in the main recipe below.
There may be other exceptions, as well, (juice varieties that need more gelatin) but this is the only one I’ve discovered. As mentioned, see the recipe for details (because Concord grape juice makes great gelatin jello!).
What juices won’t gel
While Concord Grape Juice requires more gelatin to gel … some juices won’t gel at all.
Although this recipe allows you to make homemade jello from any juice, some fruits actually have enzymes that liquefy gelatin (because they break down proteins). So a few juices just won’t gel, and you simply can’t make jello out of them.
Save money and heartbreak by avoiding juices from these fruits and foods: passion fruit, pineapple, papaya, mango, guava, paw paw, fig, kiwi and ginger.
Sometimes cooking these foods destroys the enzymes, but to be on the safe side, consider avoiding them, especially when raw or cooked at low temperature.
How to make Any Fruit Juice Jello
- Place 1 cup juice in small saucepan. Sprinkle gelatin over its surface. Allow about 30 seconds for the gelatin to soak up the liquid (to “bloom”), then whisk it into the juice.
- Heat juice over medium heat, stirring or whisking, for 1 to 2 minutes, until the mixture is steaming and foamier, but not simmering.
- Remove pot from heat, and add the remaining 1 cup cold or room temp juice.
- Pour into refrigerator container, and chill a minimum of 3 hours, but preferably 6 hours or even overnight.
- Slice into cubes or desired shapes, and serve.
What juices make the best jello
That depends on what textures you like.
The most classic tasting jello is made from filtered clear juices, like the Organic Cranberry Apple Juice I photographed (see photo above). This jello is also the most refreshing for hot weather.
But if you like pulpy juices or less filtered juices and think you’d enjoy jello from them, too, they do turn out great, just not as traditional. For example, I used Organic Peach Juice the day I photographed this post, and it was lovely.
So it just depends what you like and what you’re going for. Lastly, as mentioned above, the Organic Concord Grape Juice I made was very delicious. So any juice that’s already awesome (I’m also thinking of organic blueberry and blackberry juices by Knudsen) would be good.
Or, you can purée soft fruits, like watermelon, optionally add lemon or lime juice and a little sweetener, to make your own juice, before gelling.
Any Fruit Juice JELLO (master recipe with gelatin)
Equipment
- saucepan
- storage container: any shape dish is fine, but glass containers with lids like this (usually used for leftovers) work great, or a silicone mold like this
- refrigerator
Ingredients
- 2 cups juice store bought and pasteurized, or see Notes below for homemade (raw and freshly made)
- 1 Tablespoon gelatin EXCEPT for with Concord Grape Juice: Use 2 Tablespoons. Use this link for a 10% discount at Checkout on my favorite brand of gelatin (pasture raised and 3rd party tested for pesticides). Enter code BEAUTIFUL10.
Instructions
- Gather ingredients.
- Place 1 cup juice in small saucepan. Sprinkle gelatin over its surface. Allow about 30 seconds for the gelatin to soak up the liquid (to "bloom"), then whisk it into the juice.
- Heat juice over medium heat, stirring or whisking, for 1 to 2 minutes, until the mixture is steaming and foamier, but not simmering. Remove pot from heat. Add remaining 1 cup cold or room temp juice.
- Pour into refrigerator container, and chill a minimum of 3 hours, until firm enough to slice, but preferably 6 hours or even overnight.
- Slice into cubes or desired shapes, and serve.
Notes
Tip when making Gelatin Jello with raw or fresh juice
- Use just ½ cup juice to heat with gelatin, so the remaining juice stays fully raw.
Nutrition
You can Pin this recipe here:
Wanda says
too much fruit sugar…. fructose
Megan says
Hi Wanda, yes, this recipe is not for everyone. I do make a point of saying this recipe is ideal for kids and those who are very active. In context, I think it’s a healthy fun recipe, and doesn’t have to be for everyday, but lovely for a treat.
Mishqueen says
Wanda, maybe you are unaware that this is a nutrition and healing blog? Nutrition is about balance. A few extremes can be employed to reboot a system or help with a specific illness, but ultimately good nutrition will involve most natural foods. If you have diabetes or are on an extreme keto diet, there are plenty of blogs out there that specialize in those diets.
Personally, I’m excited to try this recipe today! I’ll be using the blackberry juice runoff from our Thanksgiving pie. I’m in the PNW, so I’m always looking for more blackberry recipes.
Dorothy says
You mentioned the option of using puréed soft fruits for this recipe. We have plenty of blueberries right now. Do you think they would work for this recipe, and of so, would I only use a half cup?
Megan says
Hi Dorothy, I need to try it to be sure, but you’d want to puree blueberries and water (and optional sweetener) to get the right juice texture, like a thin smoothie. I think you’d want more than 1/2 cup blueberries, probably closer to 1 cup berries to 1 cup water, plus 1 Tablespoon sweetener.
Dorothy says
Sounds good, thanks!!
Dan says
This turned out great. I used tart cherry juice. My husband immediately declared it a winner, and after demolishing half the jello mold, asked how soon I could make it again.
Thank you for sharing!
Megan says
Great to hear, and thanks for sharing! 🙂
Karen says
Could I add thawed frozen fruit to it and give it some texture?
Megan says
Sure, Karen!
Felicity says
Thank you for this concise, easy to follow recipe. I wanted to make my own gelatin vs store bought to avoid all the artificial flavors and colors. My creations were not ‘setting’ and I thought it was the electrolytes or collagen I was adding in addition but I think it was adding boiling water to the boomed gelatin. So I tried your method- success!
I have been experimenting using freshly squeezed lemon to start with and have been experimenting with TrueLemon products (like strawberry lemonade + juice of 1 lemon). I have even ordered natural extracts from Natures Flavors .com to make lower sugar varieties, but have not tried this yet.
Megan says
So happy the recipe has been helpful, Felicity, and that you’re having success and fun experimenting with new flavors and ingredients, now! 🙂
julie says
Hi,
Do know of a beef gelatin that is 100%grass fed/grass finished and is from the bones and NOT the hide?
Thank you!
Megan says
Hi Julie, PS’ gelatin is made from connective tissue and bones. Not hide.
Krislyn Elliott says
Hey Megan, have you ever used cream in your “jello”? I’m looking for a recipe that has more calories and fat for a toddler and can’t find one…would love to make something like peaches and cream or similar.
Megan says
Hi Kryslyn, I haven’t done it lately, but I have done it. What you’d do is: Instead of adding the final 1 cup of cold juice, add and stir in 1/2 cup cold juice, + then whisk in cold 1/2 cup sour cream, fold in cold whipped cream, or stir in heavy cream or coconut cream. I hope that helps! You could use peach juice. 🙂
Amber says
Used it for my kids and they loved it- then used it for my mither in laws bday Jell-O shots thanks!
Megan says
Wonderful to hear, Amber!! Thanks for sharing!! 🙂
An says
Other than Concord grape juice, which juices do not do well—I did not see that in your write-up. Thank you.
Megan says
Hi An, Fresh pineapple, papaya, passionfruit, kiwi, mango, paw paw, fig, ginger and guava juices do not gel with gelatin because they contain enzymes that break down the gelatin’s protein structure. To make gelatin with these fruits, using canned or cooked versions to inactivate the enzymes can be effective, but it’s not 100% guaranteed. As with the Concord grape juice, more gelatin is required to make that one work, so any of these are “dangerous” to try and gel with gelatin.
Sara says
I’m so excited to make these!! Thanks for the link to that nice looking gelatin as well. My toddler won’t drink enough liquid so this is my new plan. One thing I wanted to say though is you can totally make passion fruit jello! Maybe the juice doesn’t work but we made passion fruit Jell-O shots for our wedding using puree we bought in the freezer section. They set fine even with alcohol in them 😉
Megan says
Good to know, Sara, thank you!! Enjoy for your kiddo. 🙂
Rosalie Almas says
I just made pomagranate juice to have while I’m having this nasty cold. The jello will soothe my sore throat
Megan says
Great to hear, Rosalie, sounds delicious!!
Almas Rosalie says
I had it with yogurt and fresh fruit this morning. The jello could be a little firmer. I think next time I’ll add an other half tablespoon of gelatin.
Megan says
Sounds like a good experiment and plan for next time. Thanks for reporting back! 🙂
Traci J Cavner says
Hi Megan,
Can you use grapefruit juice or would that be on the list of don’t use? Ocean Spray Ruby Red Grapefruit juice for a diet snack idea. I love that juice!
Megan says
Sounds delicious, Traci! Yes, you can make this recipe with Ocean Spray Ruby Red Grapefruit juice! 🙂 Because it’s pasteurized, the raw enzymes ordinarily in grapefruit juice won’t be there to weaken gelatin’s protein bonds. Enjoy!