Red White and Blue Jello Shots Recipe
Nothing says Happy Fourth of July like this Red White and Blue Jello Shots recipe! It’s perfectly colorful, fun to make and equally refreshing!
Looking for a festive and fun way to add a little sparkle to your Fourth of July celebration? Our Red White and Blue Jello Shots are the perfect answer to your 4th of July desserts dilemma!
These colorful and delicious treats are sure to be a hit with your guests. Whether you’re hosting a Fourth of July barbecue or just looking to add some flair to your party spread, these jello shots are the perfect way to show off your American spirit.
And these are not layered jello shots with your typical red layer, white layer and blue layer. Nor do they taste like the typical blue raspberry and strawberry jello 4th of July shots.
We created them to look a bit more elegant to resemble fireworks. Even better, these jello shots taste like an actual cocktail. (So you’re not just throwing some vodka into a jello mix, eek!). The Red White and Blue Jello Shots feature a more refined palette of citrus and coconut flavors. They’re a creamy, citrus-y summer refresher, almost like sherbet or an ice cream float.
Ingredients Needed
- Gin — Substitute with vodka for the same results. However, try experiment using peach schnapps, Blue Curaçao (which will give it a blue tint as it does for the Blue Motorcycle Cocktail and Irish Trash Can), cherry brandy or even rum! Play around with different alcohols to find out which one you like best.
- Freshly squeezed lemon juice
- Lime juice
- Simple syrup
- Low-fat sweetened condensed milk — If you want a dairy free recipe, use cream of coconut milk instead. The sweetened condensed milk gives it a creamy white base for the berry blue jello and red “broken glass” chunks of jello to pop through.
- Knox unflavored gelatin — Or any other brand of your choice.
- Kosher salt
- Red and blue food coloring — To create the blue and red jello. We used the natural food dyes available online and at specialty stores like Whole Foods.
- Cold water
- Ice
How to Make Red White and Blue Jello Shots
1 — In a medium saucepan, mix in the simple syrup, salt, lime, and lemon juice until well combined. Then, sprinkle in 3 envelopes of gelatin. Allow the gelatin to soak for 2 minutes.
2 — Heat the mixture over very low heat, stirring constantly, until the gelatin is fully dissolved (for about 5 minutes). Remove from heat.
3 — Add the gin, stirring well to blend. Divide the mixture into 2 bowls. Add red dye to one bowl and blue dye to the other half
4 — Pour the mixture into 2 very lightly greased loaf pans. Chill until fully set, for several hours or overnight.
5 — Slice the red and blue jello loaves into small squares. Then, carefully mix them in a lightly greased 9″ x 13″ baking pan, lightly greased silicone ice cube trays (our preference) or jello shot cups by spooning some of each color into each square.
6 — In a separate bowl, sprinkle the remaining 2 envelopes of gelatin into 1/2 cup cold water. Allow the gelatin to soak for 2 minutes, then add 1 1/2 cup boiling water and stir until dissolved.
7 — Add the can of condensed milk. Stir and allow to cool to room temperature but NOT set.
8 — Pour cooled milk mixture over jello and chill overnight. If you use a baking pan, carefully turn out the jello, cut into blocks, and serve.
If you use ice trays, carefully turn out the jello but skip the cutting part!
Recipe Notes and Tips
Customizing the recipe to any holiday or special occasion:
The colors can easily be switched up for any other occasion or holiday. You could make a red and green combination for Christmas jello shots or super dark purple and orange for Halloween jello shots too. So wouldn’t pink and blue be fun for a baby shower or gender reveal?!
Serving your jello shots:
Since you’re likely to not want a lot of dishes to handle during an outdoor 4th of July party, we made and served ours in individual slices on a chilled serving plate. If you prefer the typical shot glasses, we would not advise glass shot glasses for jello shots. Plastic disposable shot glasses are easier to shoot a jello shot.
You can also use molds. Some of the most popular jello shot molds are star-shaped ones that come in 3 different colors. If you’re looking for something a little more festive or want more patriotic jello shots, try finding a mold that is specified in the shape of the American flag.
Topping ideas:
- Cherry
- Whipped cream
- Cool Whip
- Dollop of cream cheese
- Fresh berries like raspberries or blueberries.
- Diced strawberries
- Pineapple chunks
How to store 4th July jello shots:
You can easily make these jello shots in advance and store them in an airtight container for up 7 to 10 days. That said, they’re always better served fresh!
More Easy DIYs & Recipes for the Fourth of July
If you want to bring your A-game to your 4th of July party, these jello shots are definitely for you! It’s definitely much more of a statement contribution than glasses filled with beer.
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Red White and Blue Jello Shots Recipe
Equipment
- Medium saucepan
- Loaf pans
- Baking pan or ice trays
Ingredients
- 12 oz gin
- 3 oz fresh lemon juice freshly squeezed and strained
- 3 oz lime juice
- 3 oz simple syrup
- 1 can low-fat sweetened condensed milk
- 5 envelopes gelatin
- 1/8 tsp kosher salt
- Red and blue food coloring
- Ice
Nutrition
Instructions
- In a cocktail shaker filled with ice, add the simple syrup, salt, lime, and lemon juice. Shake well. Then, pour the mixture into a medium saucepan and sprinkle in 3 envelopes of gelatin.
- Allow the gelatin to soak for 2 minutes. Then, heat over very low heat, stirring constantly, until the gelatin is fully dissolved (for about 5 minutes).
- Remove from heat and add the gin, stirring well to blend. Divide the mixutre into 2 bowls, then color each with red and blue dye. (I use the natural food dyes available online and at specialty stores like Whole Foods).
- Pour the mixture into 2 very lightly greased loaf pans. Chill until fully set, for at least 2-4 hours or ideally overnight.
- Slice the red and blue jello loaves into small squares, then carefully mix them in a lightly greased 9 x 13 inch baking pan OR lightly greased silicone ice cube trays (my preference!) by spooning some of each color into each square.
- In a separate bowl, sprinkle the remaining 2 envelopes of gelatin into 1/2 cup cold water. Allow the gelatin to soak for 2 minutes, then add 1 1/2 cup boiling water and stir until dissolved.
- Add the can of condensed milk. Stir and allow to cool to room temperature but NOT set.
- Pour cooled milk mixture over jello and chill overnight.
- If you used a baking pan, carefully turn out the jello, cut into blocks, and serve. If you used ice trays, carefully turn out the jello but skip the cutting part!
Don’t forget to share your Red White and Blue Jello Shots with us on Instagram using the hashtag #sugarandclothloves. We always love seeing all of your creations! Looking for more quick and delicious recipes? Find them all right here!
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