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This sugar free jello is a fun and tasty treat! Made without any refined sugar or artificial dyes, this is an easy recipe for Easter (or any day!).
We typically limit sugar in our house, but that doesn’t mean we don’t enjoy treats!
I love taking classic recipes and making them sugar free. My kids love it, and so do I.
I remember chowing down on jello as a kid, especially around Easter time. I remember how exciting it was to pick out the color and shape I wanted.
Now I do the same for my kids, but I use this sugar free jello recipe instead of a box from the store.
My kids beg for this, and I won’t lie: we have this way more often than Easter Day. They love to help make it, and I love that they are getting a sugar free treat.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Simple ingredients: This recipe calls for just three simple ingredients. It doesn’t have any refined sugar, artificial food dyes, or artificial flavoring.
- No-bake treat: Jello is one of the easiest desserts to make, and you don’t even have to turn on the oven! Get your Easter treat ready in no time, and enjoy the rest of your holiday.
- Customizable: Choose your fruit juice and add any fresh fruit or coloring you like to make your jello one of a kind.
Ingredients and Equipment
- Fruit juice: You can use almost any of your favorite fruit juice, fresh or bottled. My kids’ favorites are apple juice and grape juice. Keep reading for more suggestions.
- Gelatin: This is what gives jello its famous jiggly texture.
- Water: You’ll need some cool water and some hot water.
- Baking dish or molds: You can use an 8×8 glass baking dish or silicone molds. The molds allow you to make fun and festive shapes, but a baking dish works just fine.
How to Make Sugar Free Jello
Step 1. Add the gelatin to 1/4 cup water and stir.
Step 2. Bring the other 1/4 cup of water to a boil, remove from heat, and let cool slightly. You want the water to be very hot but not quite boiling.
Step 3. Pour the hot water over the gelatin and whisk together.
Step 4. Add in the juice of choice and continue to whisk.
Step 5. Pour the liquid into an 8 by 8 baking dish or into the silicone shape molds.
Step 6. Place in the refrigerator for 6 to 8 hours or until it is fully set.
Step 7. Pop the jello out of the molds or serve out of the baking dish.
Helpful Tips
- Feel free to add fresh fruit to your jello like I did. Slice up a cup of fruit and line your molds or baking dish with the fruit before pouring the juice in.
- Our favorite flavor combination, and the one that is pictured, is organic apple juice with fresh strawberries!
- Don’t forget to plan ahead. Your jello needs adequate time to set in the fridge, or it will be very difficult to eat.
- Store leftover jello in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
What Kind of Juice is Best for Jello?
This is the fun part! You can make any flavor of jello by choosing different types of juice. Our favorites are apple and grape. I like to stick to organic fruit juice with no added sugar.
You can make the jello with freshly squeezed juice, too, if you want! Stay away from fresh fruits like pineapple, kiwi, and papaya. These fruits contain an enzyme that will prevent the gelatin from gelling.
Some juices to try:
- Grape
- Strawberry
- Orange
- Apple
- White grape
- Cranberry
Natural Food Dyes for Jello
When I ask my kids what kind of jello they want to make, they all respond with a color. They aren’t nearly as concerned about the taste as they are about the color.
The different types of juices can change the color of the jello, but if you want to make more colors, you can use natural food dyes. You can make your own out of foods, or you can purchase natural dyes.
Try out these foods to make your very own food dyes!
- Red: beets, pomegranate
- Orange: carrots, paprika, sweet potatoes
- Yellow: turmeric, golden beets
- Green: matcha, spinach
- Blue: red cabbage juice
- Purple: blueberries, purple sweet potatoes, purple carrots
- Pink: strawberries, raspberries
Recipe FAQs
Gelatin is the protein that comes off of bones, cartilage, ligaments, and tendons when boiled in water. It is what gives jello the jiggly texture. Have you ever made homemade bone broth, and the next day, when you grabbed it out of the fridge to make soup, it was solid? That is the gelatin!
This recipe gets the sweetness from the fruit juice, but if you want it sweeter, you can add sweetener of your choice. I recommend honey or pure maple syrup.
More Sweet Treats
If you tried this Sugar Free Jello Recipe or any other recipe on my website, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it went in the 📝 comments below. Thanks for visiting!
Sugar Free Jello
Equipment
- Silicone jello molds or an 8×8 baking dish
Ingredients
- ¼ cup water
- 1 tbsp gelatin
- ¼ cup hot water
- 1 ½ cups fruit juice
Instructions
- Add the gelatin to 1/4 cup water and stir. The gelatin will thicken up quite a bit.
- Bring the other 1/4 cup of water to a boil, remove from heat, and let cool slightly. You want the water to be very hot, but not quite boiling. Pour the hot water over the gelatin and whisk together.
- Add in the juice of choice and continue to whisk.
- Pour the liquid into an 8 by 8 baking dish or into the silicone shape molds.
- Place in the refrigerator for 6 to 8 hours or until it is fully set. Pop the jello out of the molds or serve out of the baking dish.
Video
Notes
- Feel free to add fresh fruit to your jello like I did. Slice up a cup of fruit and line your molds or baking dish with the fruit before pouring the juice in.
- Avoid using fresh kiwi, papaya, or pineapple juice as they contain an enzyme that will affect the gelatin.
- Don’t forget to plan ahead. Your jello needs adequate time to set in the fridge, or it will be very difficult to eat.
- Store leftover jello in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
I have made this recipe many times and I love it!
We love hearing that! Thanks for sharing
I love this recipe, I made two batches just today!
That’s wonderful! Thanks for sharing!
it looks amazing! I can’t wait to try it!