Healthy Homemade Jello with Real Fruit and Vegetables (High-Protein, Sugar-Free)

How to Make Healthy Homemade Jello

Jello is notorious for being high in artificial food dyes, artificial flavors, and refined sugar content (source). But it also is oh-so-smooth and especially tempting to young children.

Thankfully, making healthy homemade jello with fruit and vegetables is not complicated. And these nutrient-dense foods add all the flavor and color you could ask for.

Then honey comes along to add just the right amount of natural sweetness, and you’re spared all the ills of the little box mix.

Can Jello Be Keto?

Yes! Those following a Keto diet can easily consume jello as a treat.

The ingredients of healthy homemade jello are quite different than those of a boxed jello mix, however. So opting to make a keto jello recipe from scratch is your best bet to getting the nutrition you need and avoiding the huge amounts of refined sugar that you don’t want.

How to Add More Protein to Gelatin?

Gelatin itself is a high-protein food as-is (especially if you are using a grass-fed animal-based gelatin powder).

But how can you enhance that protein nutrition even more? By adding protein powder.

The stage at which you add the protein powder in the recipe is key to getting a smooth gelatin result.

High-Protein Homemade Jello Recipe with Protein Powder

Contrary to what you might think, adding protein powder to homemade jello is not difficult. Simply whisk it into the warm water along with the gelatin powder. The warmth of the water helps the protein mix well, giving both powders time to dissolve and fully incorporate before the gelatin solidifies.

Homemade Jello with Coconut Milk

This recipe has multiple things going for its flavor and texture.

One of the key ingredients is coconut milk. This creamy liquid not only makes the jello a bit more opaque, but it also adds to the smoothness of the gelatin.

Why not use organic whole milk? Because the heat of the boiling water would cause the milk to curdle…and no one wants lumps like that in their jello.

The type of coconut milk we use for this healthy homemade jello recipe is full-fat canned coconut milk. A quick search in the grocery store would reveal that coconut milk also comes in cartons, but we highly recommend that you grab the coconut milk in the can.

The difference? According to Pacific Foods, “Canned coconut milk is rich and thick, with a robust coconut flavor and higher fat content than coconut milk in cartons. Carton coconut milk has more water, a thinner consistency and a milder coconut taste.”

Ingredients for Healthy Homemade Jello (Sugar-Free)

• 1/4 cup peeled and chopped red beet
• 2 Tbsp. frozen cranberries
• 1/3 cup frozen raspberries
• 1/3 cup frozen strawberries
• 1/4 cup frozen sweet cherries
• 3 Tbsp. Linden honey or other raw honey
• 2 Tbsp. unsweetened, unflavored protein powder
• 1/3 cup full-fat coconut milk in a can, chilled
• 4 Tbsp. grass-fed gelatin powder
• 1 cup boiling water

How to Make Healthy Homemade Jello From Scratch

1. Steam chopped red beet for 20 minutes, or until tender. Cool slightly.
2. In a blender, pour all frozen berries (cranberries, raspberries, strawberries, and cherries), honey, and coconut milk. Add steamed beet and puree until smooth, with no lumps of fruit or bubbles of protein powder.
3. Pour the pureed fruit into a silicone bundt pan (or other jello mold, as desired).
4. In another bowl, mix together the boiling water, grass-fed gelatin powder, and protein powder until the gelatin is dissolved and the mixture is syrupy in texture.
5. Pour the gelatin on top of the fruit puree in the bundt pan. Mix well, making sure to scrape the crevices of the bundt pan to mix well.
6. When the gelatin is fully incorporated into the fruit puree, put the bundt pan in the refrigerator to set. This can take about 40 minutes to an hour.
7. Before removing the jello from the bundt pan, push on the sides and center of the silicone molding to see if any liquid still needs to set at the bottom of the pan. If there is still a significant amount of liquid, return the jello to the fridge for a few more minutes.
8. When the jello is completely set, push on the sides and center of the silicone bundt pan to loosen the jello. Place a plate or serving platter on top of the bundt pan. Slowly turn the pan upside down, holding onto the pan and the plate while turning.
9. Store in the refrigerator until ready to serve.

Tips for How to Make Healthy Homemade Jello with Real Fruit

• I highly recommend using a silicone bundt pan to mold the jello. Our favorite pan is the Trudeau structured silicone bundt pan. The built-in structure helps the pan not wobble every-which-way, and the pan is super sturdy quality.
• The type of gelatin available to me when I created this recipe was Now Foods Gelatin Powder. It worked well for this jello. However, because this gelatin does not claim to be grass-fed, use a gelatin like Zen Principle Grass-Fed Gelatin Powder, if possible.
• Our favorite protein powder (which we use in almost all our protein recipes) is Mt. Capra Unsweetened Grass-Fed Goat Whey Protein Powder.
• To make steaming easier, use a stainless steel vegetable steamer like this one.
• This recipe calls for frozen fruit. There is no need to thaw the fruit before blending it. In fact, the low temperature of the resulting puree is perfect for helping set the gelatin.
• If you prefer to use another vegetable in place of the red beet, you can easily substitute steamed carrot.
• You can also omit the red beet entirely, if desired, without significantly affecting the texture or flavor of the jello.
• To make the jello even more fun for kids, pour it into a 9″x9″ pan instead of a bundt pan. Once set, cut the jello into shapes using cookie cutters.

FAQs about Jello

Can jello go bad in the fridge?

Most jello (including this recipe) can last for a few days or up to a week if stored in the refrigerator. However, jello will not keep indefinitely.

How to tell if jello has spoiled?

Use your eyes and nose to observe jello for spoilage. Smell to see if there is a rancid or slightly-off (possibly alcoholic or musty) aroma to the jello. Look for signs of mold or changes in texture (such as crystallization or drying out). Also, look under the jello to see if any cloudy liquid has started to collect under the gelatin. If you see or smell any of these signs, it is safest to throw away the jello.

Can jello go bad if left out?

Like all foods with real-food ingredients, healthy homemade jello will spoil if left at room temperature for awhile. Never store jello on the countertop for longer than an hour or two. Not only will the jello’s texture change if left out for extended periods of time, but bacteria will get a chance to grow in the jello, leading to faster spoilage.

Will jello melt at room temperature?

Yes, most jello will melt at warm room temperature, so it is best to keep jello in the refrigerator until ready to serve.