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    Home » Desserts » Fruity Vegan Jello

    Fruity Vegan Jello

    Published: Dec 20, 2016 Modified: Mar 21, 2019 by Alison Andrews This post may contain affiliate links

    Jump to Recipe
    4.2Kshares
    Vegan Jello

    Red and green vegan jello in glass dishes.

    Wow, it took me quite a long time to nail this vegan jello recipe.

    I’m not much of a jello person really, which is good because it’s not something you find vegan varieties of very often. Usually jello’s use gelatine which is a by-product of the meat industry.

    But I decided to rise to the challenge of making a vegan jello because I wanted to make a Christmas Trifle!

    And in South Africa a Christmas Trifle almost always contains jello. Or what we call ‘jelly’. Green and red jelly/jello to be precise. You know, lovely Christmas colors!

    Everything I read online told me that agar agar was the magic ingredient in vegan jello. So off I went to find some.

    An organic/health food store had some in stock, but only the flakes version (and at first I didn’t know there was any other version to get!).

    Red and green vegan jello in glass dishes. Red and green vegan jello in glass dishes.

    So off I went and tried to make a recipe that I got from PETA, that advises to use 2 Tbsp of agar agar along with fruit juice and a little sugar. Well…. if jello is meant to be a rock hard brick, then sure!

    But there was no jiggle in that jello and that’s just not jello in my view!

    So… back to the drawing board.

    I found another recipe that said to use half fruit juice and half water and only 1/2 tsp of agar agar. Needless to say that is a HUGE difference.

    But when I tried it that way my jello didn’t set at all.

    Again…back to the drawing board. And that’s when I found out from this article that agar agar is either in flakes OR in powder form. When it’s in the flake form you need up to 3 times as much as if it was in the powder form.

    OH! I see! The penny droppeth!

    Red and green vegan jello in glass dishes. Red and green vegan jello in glass dishes.

    So I then used the same recipe but adjusting for the fact that I was using agar agar flakes and not powder, so using 1 and 1/2 tsp instead of 1/2 tsp and then the magic happened. Perfectly textured, delicious tasting jello!

    Absolutely perfect to use in a recipe calling for jello – like my Trifle – or to enjoy as is!

    So remember this lovely people! Agar agar powder is up to 3 times as strong as agar agar flakes. So if the recipe calls for powder and you have flakes, use up to 3 times as much. Easy as that. Update: I have since made this recipe using agar agar powder and found it takes a little more than 1/2 tsp, so the calculation is close but not exact! Directions for both inside the recipe card.

    Red and green vegan jello in glass dishes.

    You will love this vegan jello, it is exactly like the ‘real thing’! It’s:

    • Fruity
    • Jiggly
    • Perfectly textured
    • Sweet
    • Perfect for use in desserts
    • Only 4-ingredients!

    Enjoy it as a dessert or use it in a recipe that requires jello. You can mix and match flavors just by switching out the fruit juice you use. Pretty cool.

    Vegan Jello in fun and fruity red and green colors in glass dishes.

    Let me know in the comments what you think of this vegan jello and rate the recipe too, thanks! And if you’re going to use it in another dessert recipe, let me know where you’ll use it.

    Other than a trifle I’m not sure what else I would put it in. Oh wait, vegan jello shots of course! But eating it as is, is pretty fun too.

    And if you haven’t already, sign up to our email list to get a fabulous free recipe ebook containing 10 awesome recipes and to stay in touch with all our latest recipe postings. Yippee!

    Vegan Jello in fun and fruity red and green colors in glass dishes. Vegan Jello in fun and fruity red and green colors in glass dishes.

     

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    Vegan Jello

    Vegan Jello


    ★★★★★

    5 from 14 reviews

    • Author: Loving It Vegan
    • Prep Time: 1 min
    • Cook Time: 4 mins
    • Total Time: 5 mins
    • Yield: 2 cups
    Print Recipe
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    Description

    Fun and fruity vegan jello. Perfect for use in other desserts or to eat as is. Perfectly textured, deliciously sweet, gluten-free and vegan.


    Ingredients

    For Red Jello:

    • 1 and 1/2 tsp Agar Agar Flakes (if using Agar Agar Powder, use 3/4 tsp)
    • 1 cup (240ml) Red Grape Juice (100% fruit juice)
    • 1 cup (240ml) Water
    • 1/4 cup (50g) White Sugar

    For Green Jello:

    • 1 and 1/2 tsp Agar Agar Flakes (if using Agar Agar Powder, use 3/4 tsp)
    • 1 cup (240ml) Green Apple Juice (100% fruit juice)
    • 1 cup (240ml) Water
    • 1/4 cup (50g) White Sugar
    • A few drops Green Food Color*

    Instructions

    1. For the red jello: Add the agar agar flakes or powder, water, fruit juice and sugar to a pot on the stove. Bring to the boil stirring regularly. Allow to boil for 2 minutes.
    2. Pour out into serving bowls or glasses.
    3. Refrigerate to set.
    4. For the green jello: Follow the steps as above, but after boiling for 2 minutes, remove from the heat and stir in the green food coloring. Pour into serving bowls or glasses and refrigerate to set.

    Notes

    *The green food coloring is added in to get the green color because green apple juice is more cloudy in color than green. However, if you don’t like using food coloring you can omit this step. Some brands of green food coloring I’ve used up to 1/4 tsp of color before it gets to the right shade, other brands are stronger and I’ve only needed a couple of drops, so go slow if you’re adding it in.

    *Each batch (green or red) makes around 2 cups of jello.

    To make jello shots, check out our recipe for Vegan Jello Shots.

    *Adapted from Manjula’s Kitchen

    • Category: Dessert, How To
    • Cuisine: Vegan

    Nutrition

    • Serving Size: 1 cup (of 2 cups per batch)
    • Calories: 172
    • Sugar: 42.9g
    • Sodium: 6mg
    • Fat: 0.1g
    • Saturated Fat: 0g
    • Carbohydrates: 44.2g
    • Fiber: 0.7g
    • Protein: 0.4g

    Keywords: vegan jello

    Did you make this recipe?

    Tag @lovingitvegan on Instagram and hashtag it #lovingitvegan

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    4.2Kshares
    Alison Andrews

    About the Author

    Hi I'm Alison Andrews, I'm the voice and cook behind Loving It Vegan. I love making delicious vegan food and creating vegan versions of all your old favorites, so that you’ll never feel like you’re missing out. Find out more about me here.

    Loving It Vegan is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. This site may contain some of these links to Amazon.com. If you make a purchase through one of those links, Loving It Vegan will receive a small commission from the purchase at no additional cost to you.
    Previous Post: « Vegan Gingerbread Cookies
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    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. AvatarChiara says

      April 13, 2021 at 6:42 am

      Hi, thank you for the recipe.
      How long does it take for it to set?

      Reply
      • Alison AndrewsAlison Andrews says

        April 13, 2021 at 10:02 am

        An hour or two.

        Reply
    2. AvatarDavid D. says

      March 12, 2021 at 11:43 pm

      This is exactly the recipe that I was hoping for.

      Mostly all natural, although I might change the sweetener, and use McCormick Nature’s Inspiration Food Color which is made from fruits and vegetables (no dye).

      And I can experiment with other fruit juices besides just green apple juice and and red grape juice.

      ★★★★★

      Reply
      • Alison AndrewsAlison Andrews says

        March 13, 2021 at 11:15 am

        So glad you liked it David! Thanks for the great review!

        Reply
    3. AvatarPrashanthi says

      January 20, 2021 at 10:26 am

      Hi Alison,
      Can I use gelatin powder instead of agar agar?

      Reply
      • Alison AndrewsAlison Andrews says

        January 20, 2021 at 11:02 am

        Not sure, I haven’t used that.

        Reply
      • AvatarDavid D. says

        March 12, 2021 at 11:47 pm

        If you use gelatin, you are basically making Jello. The package of gelatin should have instructions. Just substitute good ingredients for whatever they suggest.

        ★★★★★

        Reply
      • AvatarDavid says

        March 14, 2021 at 7:16 pm

        Prashanthi,

        Since you came to this web site, I assume that you are possibly vegetarian. If so, you would want to be aware that gelatin is not vegetarian. It is obtained by boiling parts of pigs or cows.

        Agar, however, is completely vegan. It is obtained from seaweed.

        ★★★★★

        Reply
    4. AvatarAna says

      December 20, 2020 at 5:41 am

      Hi there!! I just made this today with the agar agar flakes. How long does it take to set? It’s been about 9 hours and it’s still liquify. Thanks! 🙂

      Reply
      • Alison AndrewsAlison Andrews says

        December 20, 2020 at 9:08 am

        It shouldn’t take that long, so that doesn’t sound good for it setting.

        Reply
      • AvatarMary says

        December 21, 2020 at 8:17 pm

        Hi Ana,

        I also made these the other day using the agar agar powder. Mine never set either. I didn’t see that Alison answered your question however I would suggest using more Agar agar flakes. I’m going to remake mine using more of the agar agar powder, hoping they will set!

        Reply
    5. AvatarTarryn Rochester says

      August 11, 2020 at 8:14 pm

      So happy to have come across your recipe. Can’t wait to try this for my son who loves jelly. I love to use your recipes because it is not so easy to find vegan ingredients in South Africa, the struggle is real. Are you able to advise where your best place or online store is to buy ingredients from. Thanks!

      Reply
      • Alison AndrewsAlison Andrews says

        August 12, 2020 at 9:16 am

        Hi Tarryn, Dischem is a good place to get ingredients like agar agar etc. Otherwise Wellness Warehouse is a good option for online stuff. 🙂

        Reply
      • AvatarS says

        April 15, 2021 at 12:57 pm

        Hi there
        Try any Indian spice shops
        You should find it there
        Chohans spice
        Gorimas
        Shan
        Etc

        Reply
    6. AvatarPreeya Shyam says

      June 15, 2020 at 11:53 am

      You’re a god send… I’ve been heartbroken by the way my vegan jello turned out as I’ve been using like really large quantities of the Agar agar powder (mentioned in the recipe in fact). Came across this and just used a teaspoon for 500ml of juice + water. It’s amazing! Thank you so much

      ★★★★★

      Reply
      • Alison AndrewsAlison Andrews says

        June 15, 2020 at 12:37 pm

        So happy to hear that! Thanks for the great review. 🙂

        Reply
        • AvatarPreeya Shyam says

          June 17, 2020 at 10:14 am

          Hi Alison, absolutely. Please would you have any idea of how to turn these to gummy bears? Should a bit harder still chewy.

          Reply
          • Alison AndrewsAlison Andrews says

            June 17, 2020 at 10:16 am

            Hmmm, sorry no idea at all! I imagine it would require a lot more agar agar but other than that I don’t know.

    7. AvatarSebastian sheppard says

      May 04, 2020 at 6:44 pm

      I am wondering if i could use corn starch instead of agar agar flakes?

      Reply
      • Alison AndrewsAlison Andrews says

        May 05, 2020 at 11:39 am

        Definitely not in this instance.

        Reply
    8. AvatarSakura says

      May 04, 2020 at 5:00 am

      Followed the recipe exactly and it hasn’t set (been in the fridge for 6 hours now). Not sure why it didn’t work but it’s pretty disappointing. I am going to try reboiling it in the morning with more Agar Agar and see if that works.

      Reply
      • Alison AndrewsAlison Andrews says

        May 04, 2020 at 12:28 pm

        Hi Sakura, check your agar agar, it should be pure agar agar and not mixed with other ingredients.

        Reply
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    Hi I’m Alison Andrews! I love making delicious vegan food and creating delicious vegan versions of all your old favorite dishes, so you can have your vegan cake and eat it too!

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