Vegan jello shots make a fun, colorful addition to any party. Easily made in minutes with just 4 ingredients - fruit juice, sugar, vodka, and agar agar to make them set.
When I started making vegan jello from fruit juice and agar agar, I knew I had to adapt the recipe to make some festive vegan jello shots too. They are fun to serve at holiday parties along with other festive treats like vegan candied pecans, spritz cookies, or vegan Christmas crack.
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🧾 Ingredients and substitutions
- Fruit Juice – most fruit juices will work. Apple, grape, and cranberry juice work the best. Store-bought orange will work as well, but it tends to come out firmer than the other juices. Citrus juices like lemon, lime, pineapple, kiwi, and papaya juices will not set correctly.
- Agar Agar powder – this is a white powder made from seaweed. It comes in powder or flakes, but the powder works better. If you can only find the flakes, you will need to triple the amount of flakes. (The best deals on agar agar are usually on Amazon or at your local Asian market. It tends to be very expensive at natural food stores). Note: you can also use kappa-carrageenan instead of agar agar in equal amounts. It is also derived from seaweed and works the same as agar agar, but tends to be more expensive and harder to find.
- Sugar – to sweeten the jello. Sugar is optional, but if you want it to taste like the traditional jello that you remember, it will require an added sweetener. You can use any type of sugar or sweetener that you would like. Added sweetener will help cut the strong flavor of the alcohol as well. Feel free to adjust the amount of sweetener to suit your taste.
- Vodka - for making this an alcoholic jello shot. Vodka has the most neutral flavor that hides well in the jello. You can also use jin if you would like, but that has a more flowery flavor.
- Vegan Whipped Cream - to make the jello shots look a little more fun and festive. You can easily make your own vegan whipped cream or find dairy-free whipped cream at many large grocery stores. (optional)
- Vegan Sprinkles - this is completely optional, but they do dress up your jello shots. Be sure and check and make sure that they are vegan sprinkles and do not contain confectioners' glaze.
🥃 Shot Glasses
- Shot Cups - You can purchase a variety of little plastic shot cups at liquor stores or party supply stores. Some come with lids so you can make the shots ahead of time and keep them stacked in the fridge. If you want to avoid plastic, you can also use little mini cupcake paper.
🥄 How to make vegan jello shots
Step 1 - Pour juice, sugar, and agar agar into a medium-sized saucepan and stir.
Step 2 - Turn on heat to medium and stir frequently with a whisk.
Step 3 - When the mixture begins to boil, turn the heat down and let it boil slowly for 5 minutes stirring occasionally. (This is necessary to activate the agar agar and get it to set properly)
Step 4 - After it boils, turn off the heat and slowly stir in 1 cup of vodka, mixing with a whisk until well combined.
Step 5 - Pour the jello mixture into shot glasses and allow them to cool in the fridge for about 45 minutes.
Step 6 - To make them look more festive, top with vegan whipped cream and/ or sprinkles.
👩🏻🍳 Pro Tips
- Be sure to add the vodka at the end after boiling the juice and agar agar or the alcohol will cook off. Adding at the end ensures a powerful punch to your shots.
- I purposely make the jello in these shots slightly looser than my traditional jello so that the shot will be loose enough to release from the bottom of the shot glass so party guests can consume it without a spoon. If you want firmer jello, simply increase the agar agar by about 1/4 teaspoon.
- Replace the vodka with additional juice for virgin jello shots. If kids will be at your party, they will surely want one of these yummy-looking treats, and the designated drivers deserve a little treat too!
- If you want different colored jello, use white grape juice, and add a few drops of vegan food coloring to achieve the desired colors.
🎉 More vegan party food ideas
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📋 Vegan jello shot recipe
Vegan Jello Shots
Instructions
- Pour juice, sugar, and agar agar into a medium-sized saucepan and stir.
- Turn on heat to medium and stir frequently with a whisk.
- When the mixture begins to boil, turn the heat down and let it boil slowly for 5 minutes stirring occasionally. (This is necessary to activate the agar agar and get it to set properly)
- After it boils, turn off the heat and slowly stir in 1 cup of vodka, mixing with a whisk until well combined.
- Pour the jello mixture into shot glasses and allow them to cool in the fridge for about 45 minutes.
- To make them look more festive, top with vegan whipped cream and/ or sprinkles.
Notes
- Be sure to add the vodka at the end after boiling the juice and agar agar or the alcohol will cook off. Adding at the end ensures a powerful punch to your shots.
- I purposely make the jello in these shots slightly looser than my traditional jello so that the shot will be loose enough to release from the bottom of the shot glass so party guests can consume it without a spoon. If you want firmer jello, simply increase the agar agar by about 1/4 teaspoon.
- Replace the vodka with additional juice for virgin jello shots. If kids will be at your party, they will surely want one of these yummy-looking treats, and the designated drivers deserve a little treat too!
- If you want different colored jello, use white grape juice, and add a few drops of vegan food coloring to achieve the desired colors.
Nutrition
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Click the stars above or leave a comment! I'd love to hear from you!
I'll be making this for Halloween, thank you so much for the recipe! I do wonder If anyone has figured out a way to make this work with lemon juice, and also If raspberry juice is too citric and would also not work.
Thank you!
Thanks for this fun & festive idea! Happy New Year to you with appreciation for your site and delicious & helpful recipes.
You're very welcome, Erika! Happy New Year!
Seriously. No quantities?
The quantities and the full recipe is listed in the recipe card at the bottom of the post.
OMG - these look like sooo much fun. I'm gonna make a batch today! You know, just for research, to make sure I get it right for New Years!