Fun and fruity vegan jello with the perfect jello texture. Super easy to make and perfect for use in other desserts or to eat as is.
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!).
So off I went and tried to make a recipe that I found that used 2 tablespoons 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 a recipe that said to use half fruit juice and half water and only ½ teaspoon 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! Now I see. The penny droppeth.
So I then used the same recipe but adjusted for the fact that I was using agar agar flakes and not powder, so used 1 ½ teaspoons instead of ½ teaspoon and then the magic happened. Perfectly textured, delicious tasting jello!
Absolutely perfect to use in any 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 ½ tsp, so the calculation is close but not exact! Directions for both found inside the recipe card.
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.
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 in 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.
Did you make this recipe? Be sure to leave a comment and rating below!
Vegan Jello
Ingredients
For Red Jello:
- 1 ½ teaspoons Agar Agar Flakes or if using Agar Agar Powder, use ¾ teaspoon
- 1 cup Red Grape Juice (240ml) 100% fruit juice
- 1 cup Water (240ml)
- ¼ cup White Granulated Sugar (50g)
For Green Jello:
- 1 ½ teaspoons Agar Agar Flakes or if using Agar Agar Powder, use ¾ teaspoon
- 1 cup Green Apple Juice (240ml) 100% fruit juice
- 1 cup Water (240ml)
- ¼ cup White Granulated Sugar (50g)
- A few drops Green Food Color optional*
Instructions
- 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.
- Pour out into serving bowls or glasses.
- Refrigerate to set.
- 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.
Video
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 ¼ teaspoon 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
Hi! I’m curious, do you think I could substitute the apple juice with lime juice?
I think it would really work with any juice. 🙂
Hi, just wondering how long it takes for this recipe to set in the fridge?
Hi Crystal, it can take a few hours to set completely, but you should see it start setting pretty fast.
I just made this. I’ve made jello a few times with agar and it’s always super hard like you said. Well this is the best jello. It’s obviously not as “bouncy” or hard as gelatin jello, but the consistency doesn’t make me want to puke like it did when it was super hard!
I used the powder and followed your recipe measurements, using Maple Syrup instead of sugar! Same measurements. instead of water I used a strong infusion of cold fighting herbs for my sick daughter and I used cranberry juice. It worked so well. This is going to be my go to recipe from now on and I have you to thank for it. All your hard work had benefited us all! I’m really impressed with the perfect texture it has! Thank you so much!!!
Ps
Just gave my daughter it she is 2 and very sick right now, she just came to me with her empty bowl that was just filled with your jello and is saying “I want more Jell!” So cute!
Hi Chelsea! So glad to hear it was a success! Thanks so much for sharing and the wonderful review. Hope your daughter feels better soon! 🙂
Anyone thinking about making this, it is my go to recipe for making jelly. I’ve used different kinds of fruit juice for the flavour, honestly do recommend to anyone
So happy to hear that. Thanks so much Mary! 🙂
I wanted to thank you for this so now I can make my recently dairy, gluten free 5 year old daughter some jello she has been begging for – many thanks!
You’re so welcome! Hope it works out great! 🙂
Do you think I can use honey or maple syrup as a sweetener? If so, any idea how much? Should I just do it to taste? Or do you think the consistency would change depending on the amount.
Hi Tiffany, I’m really not sure, I haven’t tried any other sweetener other than sugar. But it’s worth experimenting! 🙂
Just wondering would this recipe work with any fruit juices IE pineapple cranberry, etc.
Hi Jess, yes, any fruit juice flavor should work great! 🙂
Hello! my question is, what would be the measurements for 20 children plus their parents. I’m make this jello with my preschool children.
I honestly have no idea! I have not tried increasing this recipe.
Trying for a second time now. Fingers crossed! First time I doubled the recipe and put it in a large jello mold dish. I also used agar agar powder rather than flakes so did as the recipe said and just put in 1.5 tsp (since I doubled it). I’m thinking maybe this kind of jello isnt conducive for a thick mold? Trying a shallower dish this time and not doubling it this time and using a bit more agar agar. 1 tsp instead of 3/4 tsp.
Fingers crossed!
I am just wondering about the sugar. What kind of sugar? And have you tried other kinds of sugar like coconut sugar?
I just used regular white sugar, but I don’t think the kind of sugar would have an impact, it might affect the color slightly that’s all. 🙂
Can you use almond or coconut milk for a more “dairy” lime jello? Would you use the same amount of juice? Thanks
Hi Arely, I really have no idea! If you try it, I would replace some (or all) of the water with the non-dairy milk and use the same amount of juice. 🙂
Was searching for a vegan jelly recipe to make my Boxing Day trifle here in South Africa and …. your recipe was the one I clicked on!!! Yay! My husband is American so is not a trifle fan but I was born in the UK and we ALWAYS had trifle for dessert on boxing day – and I always made it for my two sons for many years here in SA. We would even eat it for breakfast after the holidays! Too good to waste :). I can buy something in a box but all those E-numbers freak me out!
Hi Maureen! Yes it’s very much a UK/SA thing to have trifle with jelly in! 🙂 Hope you enjoy the recipe!
What kind of sugar did you use? Raw cane sugar? Can’t wait to try this out.
Regular white sugar, but raw cane sugar should work just fine too. 🙂
Hi Alison, I have tried it several times with 2 grape juices (Concord and white grapes) with no luck. It never hardens at all and stays liquid. I noticed after a few hours the agar settles on the bottom. Am I doing something wrong? I fallow the portions exactly. I then place it on the stove and continuously stir until it boils.. I wait 2 – 3 mins while boiling then I remove and place the entire content on a bowl. Let me know if I have to adjust something and thank you for posting this recipe.
Hi Henry, I really don’t know! That is so strange. Is your agar agar powder definitely still fresh and not expired? Otherwise I really can’t think of what might cause it to not set up. Agar is usually the miracle ingredient that causes things to set.
I just wanted to comment and say the same thing happens to me. I’m also using agar agar powder rather than flakes and tried pouring it into one dish instead of several. Wondering if that’s why ours didnt work? Just tried for the second time and used a bit more agar agar and used a more shallow bowl but it didnt work again.
Next I’m going to try pouring it into several small dishes instead of one larger one and try flakes instead of powder.
Fingers crossed!
Hi Lindsay, it might be not setting up properly while boiling. It must be at full boil for the 2 minutes. I have tried making it in a bigger bowl and it set up fine so I don’t think this is the issue.
Thanks Alison! After a few more attempts I tried doubling the agar agar powder and it finally worked! I’m not sure if my powder was just older or a little different, but I noticed the recipe listed on the back of the box used way more powder/liquid ratio so I decided to give it a shot! The brand is “Golden Coins”. It does list two ingredients, so it’s not 100% agar agar.. maybe that’s why? Sugar is the top ingredient.
Glad I finally got it to work!
So glad you got it figured out! I didn’t know that some brands did that – I checked mine and it is 100% agar agar, so that would be it then! 🙂 Thanks for sharing, that’s very helpful.
Same thing for me. Going to try more agar next time.
I made the jelly using agar agar powder and grape juice. I did boil for just over 2 mins. It looks the same as in the picture but the texture isn’t smooth. Is it supposed to be as smooth as normal jelly or more bubbly/grainy?
It’s not supposed to be grainy no, it is supposed to be smooth like normal jello. I’m not sure at all what might have gone wrong to cause the grainy texture.
Hi! I’m about to have surgery and need sugar free (vegan) jello options.. Can I just omit the sugar and use sugar free juices? Or do I need to find a sweetener option to replaced the 1/4 c sugar? Thanks! Otherwise (once I can have sugar again) I will definitely make this! I miss jello!
Hi Autumn, I think it might be tastier if you added a little sweetener such as stevia, but in terms of the amounts you would probably just have to taste test to get it to the right sweetness for you. Sugar free juices and omitting the sugar would be fine I think, it’s the agar that gets it to set up, so just make sure you like the taste of it and that it’s sweet enough when you’re starting with the mixture.