If you have a fruit snack lover in your house, these Homemade Jello Fruit Snacks are for you.
Only 3 simple ingredients (one of them is water!) and making them is a great summer activity to do with your kids.
I decided to give homemade fruit snacks a whirl and my son (who is absolutely fruit snack OBSESSED) loved them.
This recipe uses gelatin and jello. We thought they would come out a little bit like jello jigglers, but they are firmer and chewier, more like the texture of fruit snacks.
These don’t last long at our house, but we do have a great time making them.
Make any flavor of Fruit Snacks
One of the things we absolutely love about this recipe – you can make any flavor you want! We’ve made strawberry, lime, pineapple, and blue raspberry.
“I have so much time!” -No mom ever
Get My Meal Plans NOW!How many Jello fruit snacks does this make?
The quantity of fruit snacks depends on the size of your jello mold.
We used these cute silicone molds and got about 20 fruit snacks from each flavor (we made strawberry and lime)
You could use smaller molds (like these cute gummy bear molds) to get more fruit snacks, and they’ll set up quicker. in smaller molds, too.
Why are my fruit snacks sticky?
These fruit snacks shouldn’t be too sticky. The longer they set up, the firmer they become.
Make sure when you’re dissolving the gelatin that it dissolves completely. If you don’t take the time to dissolve it, they could turn out sticky.
If they’re not coming out of your mold, you may need to make sure they have set up completely. If you’re using a thicker or deeper mold, they will need more than 30 minutes to set up.
You can refrigerate these to help them set up faster, but they should set up within 20-30 minutes after pouring into your fruit snack mold.
How to make Homemade Jello fruit snacks:
- In a small saucepan, add water and sprinkle jello and gelatin packets over the water. Stir together over medium heat until the sugar is dissolved.
- Use a liquid dropper (or if your molds are big enough, you can pour it) to fill your molds.
- Let mold sit about 20 minutes (more or less depending on how big your molds are), then peel them out of the molds.
How to store:
These fruit snacks don’t need to be refrigerated, although in warmer environments (hot cars, direct sunlight) they won’t do well.
Keep them in an airtight container on the counter for up to a week (if they’ll last that long!).
Other Tips and Tricks
- If you want to make a double batch, we would suggest doing the batches one at a time. The mixture tends to set up quickly, and if you don’t work fast enough filling your molds it will set up in the pan.
- You can substitute sugar free jello (although they will be more tart) for regular jello – just straight across (no need to compensate for box size difference).
- To use juice for flavoring, omit the water and add 1/3 cup of juice and 2 Tablespoons sweetener (like honey or sugar). Add the two packets of plain gelatin and continue with the recipe as written (the texture may be slightly different, but it should still work).
Looking for more kid friendly snacks?
- Homemade Cracker Jacks
- No Bake Peanut Butter Marshmallow Squares
- Banana and Peanut Butter Mini Muffins
- Strawberry Granola Yogurt Bark
- Churro Caramel Corn Pops
- 4th of July Jello
Homemade Jello Fruit Snacks Recipe
Ingredients
- 3 ounces Jello, 1 package, any flavor
- .50 ounces Unflavored Gelatin, 2 ( .25 ounce envelopes)
- ⅓ cup water
Instructions
Notes
- To use juice for flavoring, omit the water and add 1/3 cup of juice and 2 Tablespoons sweetener (like honey or sugar). Add the two packets of plain gelatin and continue with the recipe as written (the texture may be slightly different, but it should still work).
Nutrition
Did You Make This Recipe?We’d love to hear your thoughts! Leave a review or a question in the comment section below the post.Be sure to not miss another recipe!
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They don't need to be refrigerated. Thanks!
I think they would be great with juice!
I am not sure how long they will stay good for. I stored them in an airtight container on my kitchen counter for 2-3 days and they were fine. I am sure you could even store them in little bags. Thanks!
I think that sugar free jello would be fine! Let me know how it goes!
I didn't have any problems getting them out of the mold. I just used my fingers and they came right out!
Do you think that you could just pour them into a pan and cut them into cubes when they set?
If you store them in a baggie do they get stuck into a big mass? Hoy sticky/messy are they for a toddler?
Are they hard to get out of the molds?
Thanks!
So after sprinkling the gelatin over the water in a small saucepan just stir in the gelatin at the same time the water is heating up over medium heat until gelatin is completely dissolved.
You can just let them set up on the counter. Thanks!
It depends on how big your molds are. I used an ice tray and filled them up about 2/3 of the way full and it made about 20 large fruit snacks. Thanks!
I am not sure how the ounces convert either. I just went by the amounts that were on the boxes that I purchased which were 1 (3 oz) package gelatin, 2 (.25 oz) envelopes unflavored gelatin and 1/3 c. water. I am sorry I'm not more help!
Yes, it is more the texture of a fruit snack rather than jello. It is firmer and chewier than jello would be.
cookingrecipetips
I think that would work fine but they might be really flavorful! Let us know if you try it!
Mine made about 15-20 fruit snacks that were the size of ice cubes, because I only had ice trays. It just depends on what size of molds you use. Sorry I'm not more help!
Sorry it took a few days to get back to you. They don't need to be refrigerated!
http://www.missinformationblog.com/2012/07/lego-fruit-snacks.html
Any time I need a conversion I google "how many __ in a __" and I just did it and it's 1 US oz = 6 US teaspoons. Hope that helps.
Can't wait to try the recipe! Thanks!
I used ice cube trays as my mold, and I had to let them set a little longer than you recommended, but it was still great!
Also, I used V8 Fusion instead of water, and it worked perfectly! In fact, compared to the ones I made with water, the V8 ones were prettier and had much more flavor. They seemed to set up a little thicker too, which I enjoyed.
I have never tried it but I am sure that would work! Let us know how it goes!
and then later, replacing the gelatin with pectin, which is a nice fruit-based alternative to animal products... I wonder if pectin would work in this recipe also? Perhaps using pectin and fruit juice, like so many others have suggested?
Just put the water in a saucepan and sprinkle the Jello and gelatin on top. Don't follow the directions on the box. Hope that helps!
At my local Costco (Seattle area), Treetop Fruit Snacks cost $12.24 for 80 pouches. Each pouch came with an average of about 8 individual fruit snacks (not nearly as much as I thought! Some only had six!!).
When I made the snacks using a heart silicone mold (I filled them to the same depth as the Treetop Fruit Snacks for a true comparison; they are not very thick, which I had never really noticed about the store bought kind, but it's true, they're pretty thin) at home, I was able to make 60 fruit snacks from one batch using the above recipe. 60/8 (8 snacks in one pouch compared to TreeTop) is 7.5 pouches, so the homemade way makes almost 8 pouches of fruit snacks.
At Walmart, each jello box was $0.50. The unflavored gelatin was $1.38 for four packets. Since you only need two packets per batch, that cost comes to $0.69. So, for 8 pouches of fruit snacks, it cost $0.50+$0.69= $1.19, making one pouch cost $1.19/8= $0.14875, so lets just say $0.15. One pouch of Treetop costs $12.24/80= $0.153.
So basically, costs almost exactly the same. If you wanted 80 packs of the homemade kind, you'd spend about $11.90, only $0.34 less than buying store bought.
Pros about homemade vs store bought:
-You can pick your favorite flavor! You can even create flavors by mixing and layering.
-Much less packaging involved; less waste
-You can choose your own design based on your mold
Pros about store bought vs homemade
-Convenience
-Not as sticky; a bit more chewy for those who like the chewier texture
Thanks for the recipe!!!