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Ditch the artificial colors and flavorings by making your own Jell-O like healthy gelatin dessert using fresh fruits and fruit juices.

How to Make a Healthy Gelatin Dessert (Like Jell-O)

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Last Modified: January 26, 2018 // by Tracy Ariza, DDS // September 1, 2016 I may receive a commission if you purchase through links in this post. Learn more here.

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Ditch the artificial colors and flavorings by making your own Jell-O like healthy gelatin dessert using fresh fruits and fruit juices.

Ditch the artificial colors and flavorings by making your own Jell-O like healthy gelatin dessert using fresh fruits and fruit juices.

Pineapple gelatin in a glass, covered in whipped cream. In the background, there's a glass with homemade watermelon gelatin.

Here in Spain, gelatin desserts aren’t as popular as they are in the US. We don’t have the Jell-O brand, and most people aren’t used to making desserts from mixes (or at all, actually). Other than knowing how to make coca, a typical plain almond cake often served in small pieces after a meal with coffee, many women seem to have never made a dessert at all.

A while back, I had tried making a Jell-O like gelatin dessert from fruit for my son, but he saw it as something completely foreign and strange and didn’t want to give it a real try. So, for some time, I didn’t bother and only occasionally made it for my husband and I.

The other day, though, we went to eat at the in-law’s house, and after dinner my step-mother handed out a gelatin dessert from the fridge section of the supermarket to the kids, and, to my dismay, my son happily gobbled down the entire container of bright red artificial whatever-it-was. Ugh.

My son looks up to my niece. She’s a few years older than he is, and can do no wrong, unless they’re fighting, of course, which also happens often. Anything that she does, he wants to do to; that includes eating the same foods. When it comes to something like pop/soda, it makes me want to cringe. On the other hand, her love of apples got him to eating them occasionally again.

In this case, it got him to try a Jell-O like gelatin dessert again. And, even though I was a bit repulsed by it, that was OK with me.

Don’t get me wrong, I wasn’t exactly happy about him eating the tub of bright red whatever, but I was happy that he was giving something new a try and was enjoying the strange new texture. It allowed me to go home and whip up a batch of homemade healthy gelatin and get him to give it another try.

The great thing about making a gelatin dessert at home is that you can control the ingredients AND you have a whole new world of flavors available to you sans the artificial colors and ingredients! (Unless you’re the type of person that wants those too; in which case, feel free to add them in.) 😉

What ingredients do you need?

To make a healthy gelatin dessert at home, you can either use fruit juice or make a juice or puree yourself from fresh fruit.

By now I have made all sorts of different flavors of gelatin. I’ve juiced citrus fruits and made the dessert with the juices, I’ve pureed berries, and slightly watered them down and strained them before making gelatin with those thicker purees.

It’s fun trying out all sorts of different fruits to see how they’ll turn out. By now, my favorite two are probably watermelon made from pureeing a watermelon, and pineapple made with store bought pineapple juice.

Why would you use a store bought fruit juice rather than puree the fruit?

Certain fresh fruit purees, like pineapple, won’t allow the gelatin to set.

Overhead view of a homemade pineapple gelatin and a homemade watermelon gelatin
My favorite fruit puree gelatin is watermelon!

Fresh Fruits to Avoid (They won’t set!)

There are some fruits that have proteolytic enzymes that, when used fresh, will keep the gelatin from gelling. The proteases in the following fruits break down the protein bonds of the gelatin, keeping it from setting. You may recognize some of these fruits as being natural meat tenderizers for the very same reason. Heck, pineapple is so good at breaking down proteins, that my mouth often feels a little sore after eating it!

  • Pineapple
  • kiwi
  • mango
  • figs
  • papaya
  • ginger
  • guava
  • pawpaw

I found out the hard way, a long time ago, when I tried to make myself pineapple gelatin from the fruit I had at home. Using the raw pineapple juice didn’t work, and I ended up with a gelatin fortified pineapple juice for my smoothie. 😉

Don’t fear, though! You can still make a tasty pineapple gelatin using a store bought fruit juice.

Two dessert cups of homemade pineapple gelatin
Pineapple gelatin is one of my favorites.

Why do store bought fruit juices work?

If you puree or juice either fresh or frozen fruit, the proteases in those fruits are still intact and ready to break down the bonds in the gelatin, keeping it from setting.

On the other hand, almost all store bought fruit juices are pasteurized, and the pasteurization process kills off the enzymes that are keeping the gelatin from gelling. While that’s great for making a gelatin dessert, keep that in mind the next time you buy a store bought fruit juice thinking it’s going to be the same as one you’d make at home from fresh fruit!

While organic, pure fruit juices are definitely better than other store bought options, I really only ever occasionally buy them for these sorts of desserts. In fact, when I buy juice for making desserts, rather than drink what is leftover, I pour it into popsicle molds and make yet another dessert with it. I think of fruit juices as being more of an occasional treat rather than an every day beverage.

To get the healthiest fruit juice available, look for one that isn’t sweetened, be it with sugar or artificial flavorings, and one that isn’t from concentrate. I try to buy my juices organic, if possible, because I use them sparingly and the difference in cost really doesn’t add up to much at the end of the month.

How to make a healthy gelatin dessert (Like Jell-O)

The ratio that I’m providing with the recipe normally makes a gelatin with a consistency similar to that of Jell-O. If you want a thicker gelatin that you can cut into squares (like finger Jell-O), you’ll need to increase the amount of unflavored gelatin. The consistency may also vary somewhat between different juices/purees.

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Ditch the artificial colors and flavorings by making your own Jell-O like healthy gelatin dessert using fresh fruits and fruit juices.

How to Make a Healthy Gelatin Dessert (Like Jell-O)

Ditch the artificial colors and flavorings by making your own Jell-O like healthy gelatin dessert using fresh fruits and fruit juices.
4.34 from 9 votes
Print Rate
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 5 minutes
Total Time: 2 hours 20 minutes
Servings: 4 1/2 cup servings
Calories: 78kcal
Author: Tracy Ariza, DDS

Ingredients

  • 2 cups fruit puree or juice
  • 1 Tbsp. gelatin
  • honey (optional, to taste)
Switch units back – Convert units

Instructions

Making gelatin from a fruit puree

  • When using a fruit puree to make gelatin, begin by softening the gelatin in a little bit of water. (If you are using a thin puree like watermelon, you can soften the gelatin in a little bit of the cold puree instead.) I usually use around 2 Tbsp. water for every Tbsp. of gelatin.
  • Make your fruit puree by placing the small fruits, or small pieces of larger fruits, into a blender container and blending until smooth. Fruits with lots of water like watermelon will make a thin, juice-like puree that is perfect for making a smooth gelatin. Other fruits, like berries, will make a thicker puree that you can slightly water down (with either water, coconut water, or juice) if you prefer a smoother gelatin. You can also strain out any seeds for fruits like strawberries or raspberries that have small seeds. You should try end up with around 2 cups of puree mixture (whether watered down or not.)
  • Pour around 1 cup of puree into a saucepan and heat it on low to medium heat. It doesn’t need to boil, but should be hot enough to dissolve the softened gelatin.
  • Add the softened gelatin to the saucepan with the fruit puree and stir until the gelatin is dissolved.
  • Remove the saucepan from the heat, and pour in the rest of the fruit puree, stirring it until the puree is well incorporated into the gelatin mixture. You can also add in some honey or maple syrup to sweeten the mixture if you feel it needs it.
  • Pour the mixture into serving dishes and place in the fridge until the gelatin is fully set.

Making gelatin from juice

  • Soften the gelatin in around 1/4 cup of the juice.
  • Heat around 1 cup of the juice over medium heat in a saucepan. It doesn’t need to come to a boil, but should be warm enough to dissolve the gelatin well.
  • Add the softened gelatin to the saucepan with the juice, and mix together well until the gelatin is completely dissolved.
  • Remove from the heat source and add in the remaining juice, stirring until well incorporated. You can also add honey or maple syrup to sweeten it more.
  • Pour the mixture into serving dishes, and put into the refrigerator until the gelatin sets.

Notes

Nutritional information based on using 2 cups of pineapple juice.
Course Desserts
Cuisine American
Other Diets Dairy free, Gluten free, Paleo
Tried this recipe? Tag me today!Mention @thethingswellmake or tag #thethingswellmake!
Calories: 78kcal | Carbohydrates: 16g | Protein: 3g | Sodium: 9mg | Potassium: 162mg | Sugar: 12g | Vitamin C: 12.5mg | Calcium: 16mg | Iron: 0.4mg

If you love gelatin, why not make some healthy gelatin popsicles?

Category: Appetizers & Snacks, Desserts & Sweets, MIY Pantry Basics, Recipes

About Tracy Ariza, DDS

Tracy Ariza, B.A., D.D.S., left dentistry and the United States to found Oh, The Things We'll Make!, writing to you from the Spanish Riviera. She loves making things herself in order to keep control of what goes in them. While far from perfect, she strives each day to live a healthier, more sustainable lifestyle.

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Tina DelGiodice

    May 26, 2020 at 6:53 PM

    Can I use agar agar instead of gelatin in these recipes? Do you know the proportions? Would be grateful for your help. Thank you, T.

    Reply
    • Tracy Ariza, DDS

      February 10, 2021 at 3:01 PM

      Hi Tina,
      From what I understand, you can sub it with the same amount of agar powder. It’s also important to boil it so that it will set.
      Agar will give a different consistency.

      Reply
  2. Rose

    February 29, 2020 at 2:30 PM

    What a disappointing article! I was so interested to learn how to make gelatine from fruit… but after wasting my time reading the enrire page all I learned was to go BUY the gelatine, MELT it, and USE it in a dessert! Not one word about how to “MAKE the gelatine” to start with.

    You wouldn’t say “buy a cake” and add some cream was “how to make” a cake, or “buy some chicken soup” and add a vegetable was “how to make” soup, so why say “buy some gelatine” and add fruit as “how to make” gelatine !!!

    What a completely ridiculous, time-wasting, let-down. Your WORST atricle ever 🙁 Please don’t do a “how to make banana custard” article that says “buy a tin of custard” and add a banana … duh!

    Reply
    • Tracy Ariza, DDS

      February 10, 2021 at 3:08 PM

      Gelatin is made from boiling bones and skin and then refining the resulting liquid. I doubt you could refine it enough at home so that you could use it similarly in a sweet dessert.
      That said, this was not titled “How to make gelatin from scratch.” It was how to make a gelatin dessert (like Jell-o). I’m sorry it disappointed you that I didn’t go out and butcher a pig and then show the process of how to skin it and boil it to obtain gelatin in the process. I do like to make things from scratch, but sometimes it is a lot more practical to buy certain ingredients that would be nearly impossible to make at home.

      Reply
  3. Rebecca

    January 27, 2020 at 1:27 AM

    5 stars
    I admire all you have done and are doing 🙂

    Reply
    • Tracy Ariza

      January 27, 2020 at 10:14 PM

      Thank you, Rebecca! 💖

      Reply

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Hello, I’m Tracy!

I love making my own natural products like soaps and lotions and my own pantry items like yogurt and salad dressings.
Why do I do it? Sometimes to save money, sometimes because it's healthier, but I always love having control of the ingredients!​
Oh, the things we'll make!...

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Ditch the artificial colors and flavorings by making your own Jell-O like healthy gelatin dessert using fresh fruits and fruit juices.

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