Are you looking for a healthy alternative to the store-bought jello with all of the sugar and artificial additives? This recipe for homemade JELLO® is super simple and a great way to get extra protein into your diet, without all the extra “stuff.”
I love making homemade healthier versions of processed foods. Some of our favorites are vegetable broth powder, homemade ketchup, homemade gummy snacks, taco seasoning, natural blue food coloring, homemade chocolate chips and homemade white chocolate chips.
So when I found a way to make homemade “JELLO” – I was thrilled!
“Jello” is one of those things that has always perplexed me.
Why would someone pay over $5 per pound for a little box made up of mostly sugar, a teensy bit of gelatin, artificial color and flavor?
‘Cause you know- I’m the type of mom who never buys much of anything packaged and processed. So none of those itsy bitsy containers of sugar and artificial dye-laden boxes that cost about $1.10 or so for 1 batch of not-so-good-for-you stuff.
Well, a number of years ago, I bought brand name and generic brand gelatin for some reason or another. I’m sure it was probably an ingredient in a recipe that I wanted to try.
So I bought it and had the rest of the packets sitting in my pantry for a long time.
Don’t ask how long. Good thing gelatin doesn’t spoil :-).
Anyway, at some point, in my “making my own version of processed foods” trials and errors, I ended up making “Knox Blocks” (or generic “gelatin blocks”) for my kids whenever they’ve been sick and nothing else will calm their tummies, or as a treat when they’ve wanted something a little special.
I’ve made it following a few different recipes, but we recently tried it with lemon and lime juice and these versions were super refreshing (and candida friendly too!)
(For all you vegans out there, I encourage you to stick around. You can make this with agar agar as well. I just haven’t gotten around to it yet but I’m sure I will :-).)
This recipe turned out so beautifully that I just needed to get it out on my blog.
(This recipe was modified from this one on Cooks.com.)
Benefits of Homemade Jello
Of course, you save money over the store bought brand.
The gelatin is soothing to the stomach — and it’s a great healthy option for times when you are recovering from a tummy bug.
It’s a fabulous source of additional or complimentary protein.
Most obviously, you have total control over the ingredients and you can leave out those not so savory things like artificial colors and flavors – yikes!
Ingredient Sourcing
I am no longer using regular store brand gelatin. It’s REALLY important to use quality gelatin with all of the factory farming that is going on.
Here are some good choices for quality grass-fed beef gelatin:
Great Lakes Gelatin – this is the first grass-fed gelatin that I ever used. Nice people. Good customer service. Pasture and grass-fed sources from Argentina and Brazil.
Vital Proteins – these seem to be good people too. Pastured, grass-fed bovine from Brazil.
Perfect Supplements – also pastured, grass-fed bovine from Brazil.
It is made from pastured cows in Argentina that have not been treated with antibiotics or hormones. I bought a HUGE amount (remember – gelatin doesn’t spoil :-)!)
Please don’t use those icky “Not ReaLemon” bottles that are sold everywhere. They are filled w/ nasty preservatives and don’t taste like the real thing.
Because they aren’t. Have you ever drunk that stuff straight? :-(.
The Dream Foods brand costs more, but it is worth it–sooo tasty!! I buy mine in a super big combo pack at Costco. If you don’t that much, you can find it here on Amazon.
If you do go and buy the pack at Costco, you can use your extra juice for my Homemade Lemonade with Sugar-Free Option.
Stevia extract is a little hard to measure. These stainless steel mini measuring spoons from Amazon are super handy.
The 2nd smallest is the size of 1/32 of a teaspoon so you can easily measure stevia extract with these!
Additional Flavor Options
There are loads of possibilities for making all kinds of flavors of this Homemade “Jello.” I prefer to make it lower carb but you can do either. Here are some great ideas:
- Juice: Use any flavor of juice you like and skip the sweetener
- Tea: Try a flavored tea gelatin dessert
- Premade Drink: Flavored drinks like Bai would be lovely for this purpose.
I haven’t tried these yet, but I think using above liquids instead of the amounts of the juice plus water should work. Of course you could dilute for a lighter flavor.
Substitutions for Special Diets
- Stevia: 1/32 tsp is about as sweet as 1-2 Tbsp sugar. So you can substitute another sweetener for the stevia, but you will need to use a lot. See this post for more measuring and usage info.
- Sweeteners: You can use any sweetener you like for this recipe. I personally use low carb sweetener so that this recipe is candida friendly. If you use a liquid sweetener, you may need to use a different amount if using a liquid–see this post on how to substitute sweeteners. I like using a combo of 2 sweeteners often when using low-carb sweeteners. It helps give a more authentic flavor to the final dish.
- Juice: You could also use lime juice instead of lemon juice, or you could even use both for a lemon-lime jello.
- Rind: Use lemon rind for lemon gelatin — lime for lime.
- Vegan Option: Substitute agar powder for gelatin for a vegan option.
Recipe Notes
- Molds: Instead of the baking pans, you could of course use anything as a mold. Like the little heart molds I bought for my Healthy “Reese’s” Candy (with allergy options).
- Gelatin: For Gelatin Squares, use twice as much gelatin.
- THM: This is a “fuel pull” for those on the Trim Healthy Mama plan.
- Color: The resulting color of this Homemade Jello will not be as intense as that of store-bought gelatin mixes. You can use natural food coloring or even add food stuffs such as spirulina to add intensity to your final product, as desired. Making this recipe without added coloring using lemon or lime juice will result in a faintly colored gelatin dessert.
Homemade "Jello" Gelatin (sugar-free option)
Ingredients
- 3 Tbsp gelatin (granulated - 3 packets)
- 3/4 cup xylitol (see above for alternatives)
- 3/8 tsp stevia extract (see substitutions above)
- 1 1/2 cups boiling water (juice could be substituted)
- 3 cups cold water (divided--juice can be substituted)
- 1 1/8 cup lemon juice
- 1/2 tsp grated lemon rind (optional)
Instructions
- Soften gelatin by soaking in 1 1/2 cups of the cold water (or juice) for a few minutes.
- Add boiling water (or juice) and stir until gelatin is dissolved.
- Add remaining ingredients (including the other 1 1/2 cups cold water), stirring until thoroughly blended.
- Pour into 2 8x8 baking pans.
- Refrigerate until set.
- Store covered in fridge.
Nutrition
Want some other fun DIY Replacements besides Homemade Jello?
- Easy Chocolate / Carob Chips
- Powdered Sugar / Healthy Powdered Sugar Substitute
- Surprisingly Good Popcorn Seasoning
- Homemade Rice Milk
- Easiest Almond Milk Ever
- Easiest Coconut Milk Ever
Is the nutrition info you provided for both 8×8 pans together, or does it apply to each pan?
It’s for each piece as spelled out in the serving size info–let me know if that helps!
I’m still a little confused about sweetening. Can I just use stevia to sweeten instead of adding a 2nd sweetener? I have digestive problems and most other sweeteners mess up my insides. How much stevia would I use?
Hi there – sure you can do that, but it might not taste great due to stevia’s after taste. Maybe try using a liquid one? You can see how to use stevia here–
https://wholenewmom.com/kitchen-tips/stevia-what-it-is-and-how-to-use-it/
It would be 6 additional scoops (each is 1/32 of a tsp) which is 3/16. Enjoy!!
If you were to add cream to this recipe how much would you add?
Hi there – just adding regular cream to the gelatin?
I’M TRYING TO FIND A KETO NATURAL SUGAR FREE JELLO WITH FLAVORS LIKE BLUEBERRY, STRAWBERRY, RASPBERRY, HOW CAN I USE YOUR RECIPE BUT HAVE NATURAL BERRY FLAVORS BUT STILL BE NATURALLY SUGAR FREE?, ANY IDEAS?. ALSO A KETO AND/OR PALEO NATURALLY SUGAR FREE VEGAN CHOCOLATE & VANILLA PUDDING AND CUSTARDS RECIPES.
I would recommend using stevia extracts that are flavored. You can find some more info here about a DIY version and some others that you could purchase: https://wholenewmom.com/whole-new-budget/homemade-vanilla-liquid-stevia-extract/
I am trying to make my own version of bobo as i can not eat tapioca and i love bobo with tea. do you think i can make this with honey instead of the juices and what would you suggest?
Hi there. Sorry but not sure what you are asking. Are you wanting to know if you can make bobo out of this recipe and use honey?
The gelatin you suggest is $22 per lb, versus the Jell-o brand for $5 per lb. Plus, you need sweetener and juice. I get that your recipe is healthier, I just wonder about the price per lb.
Hi there. Yes, it is more expensive but I buy gelatin in bulk so that really helps. I just priced things out quickly and I see JELLO on Amazon for about $6 a pound and you can get this quality gelatin for $24 a pound, but if you buy 3 or more products you can get 25% off. So that would be $18 a pound.
A more accurate comparison would be comparing gelatin to gelatin – this is the most popular brand of gelatin (plain) on the market: https://amzn.to/2ZJ4gGW (affiliate link) – it’s $10.20 a pound. So you are paying a little over double to get quality gelatin, which I think is worth it.
The cost of the JELLO is offset by the fact that sugar is super cheap compared to gelatin. You can easily buy sugar for $2.50 a pound.
I think of it this way. Pay for healthier food, or pay for illness. You have to also choose where to spend and where to save. I personally choose to spend on healthier food that in general will keep you full longer and so you need less–think more fiber, etc. I then choose to save when I can and stock up when there are sales, etc.
Here is an example–I buy avocados in bulk and freeze them, so I can afford to eat them :). https://wholenewmom.com/kitchen-tips/freezing-avocados/
I literally buy everything that I can in bulk. I think I should maybe do a post / video showing how I do things. Would that be of interest? I actually buy my gelatin in bulk as well :). Hope that helps!
I am going to try this. My brother can not have store bought jello cuz of the all the added stuff. Have you tried any other flavors? His favorite is orange but that has to much sugar. Could I add orange flavoring? Thank you going to try this today.
You could for sure add juice or other flavorings as desired. I tried one a long time ago but not for awhile. You could use juice instead of the water in whatever flavor you like. I will edit the post to reflect that!
Stupid question #367. If you want like strawberry jello do you cook the strawberries and add the gelatin?
Not at all stupid! You do not need to cook them and can even use frozen ones–sounds lovely! My mom used to put fruit in gelatin all the time.
Do I you make it? How did it turn out? Did you use the lemmom or lime juice as well?
What do you think is the calorie intake for 1 cup of jello?
Hi there–we finally got the nutrition information in the post–it’s taking awhile to go through all of them. Hope that’s helpful!
Can you substitute xylitol for something else? I can’t get it in stores in this small town I live in.
Yes, there are substitutions above the recipe. Sorry we didn’t make that clear enough. We have since made it more clear.
I made my own last night using my regular recipe and just substituting erythritol for sugar, but I guess I should use what you used because it was fine last night, but filled with crystallized sweetener today. Ugh!
Oh no – sorry about that!! Crazy! Wonder why that happened! Some kind of scientific reason for sure!
Thank you for the recipe. I made jello blocks, what is the best way to store them after taking them out of dish ?
I just updated the recipe for you – thanks for reading and you are welcome!
Mahalo
Does this still give you the nail, hair and leaky gut benefits?
If you are referring to gelatin, yes and the brand I recommend is cleaner. There are several good ones out there.
Healthiest sweetener? AND Stevia? I’m confused?
Hi,
Sorry about that. I just changed things to make the ingredients more clear. You are supposed to use stevia in addition to another healthy granulated or liquid sweetener.
Would I be able to use the cherry juice or orange juice, too?
It might be sweet but I don’t see how much.
Or tart cherry juice to make cherry ?
Yes – yum!
Could I make orange Jello using orange juice?
Yes, you could!
You could also add unflavored kool-aid!
Do you mean unsweetened?
lol! yes unsweetened
Ha! Yes, you could, but there are some ingredients that are a bit “undesirable” – like artificial flavor and color and depending on your diet, the maltodextrin which is often made from GMO corn. What do you think about those ingredients?
my recipe calls for a box of lime jello. what ingredients and measurements would i use in lieu of that? thanks so much!
You would have to see how much it makes and compare it to the amount this recipe makes. I would assume that the liquid amounts could be compared and go from there.
Actually it will be off somewhat b/c they use lime flavor and this is using lime juice.
My kids love strawberry and all the other “red” jellos. Is there a way i can make those?
You could use a natural red color like beet powder and strawberry stevia.
I need to make a blue Jello. Could I add the natural blue food coloring you linked in the beginning of this post to make the color more like water? TIA
You have to make sure that you don’t add an acid to it so that’s the only concern w/ the juice you use.
I was thinking of jello that is completely free of sugar & diet sugars… why can fruits be used?
I used lemon and lime b/c they are very very low in carbs.