Red, white, and blue layered Jello Shots will be the hit of your summer party. Because it doesn’t matter if it’s Memorial Day or Fourth of July, you can even celebrate all summer long! Even if it’s just for a summer barbecue!
We love 4th of July recipes! For more patriotic goodness try our other Fourth of July recipes like our American Flag Sheet Cake or our Patriotic Chocolate Covered Strawberries.
Red, White and Blue Layered Jello Shots – 4th of July Jello Shots {whatever you call them, they rock!)
Summertime is for enjoying the outdoors. For us, that means hanging out by our pool with our neighbors and enjoying the warm summer nights. It also means barbecues, good desserts and of course, some adult beverages.
If you know me and my blog, then you know I always like to take something “traditional” and craft it up. After all, I look at myself as a food crafter. So, the jello shot is no exception.
So, if we take an ordinary jello shot (I know…there is nothing ordinary about a jello shot) and we take all of the fun patriotic summer holidays and blend them together, then we get our Red, White and Blue Layered Jello Shots.
They could also be called 4th of July Jello Shots, but then I don’t like to discriminate against Memorial Day and Labor Day! Both are fine holidays!
Pair these jello shots with our Red, White and Blue Strawberries or our Firecracker Cupcakes and you will have an epic 4th of July party that is so fun! However, you could do even better with some of our other great Red, White and Blue Dessert ideas to round out your menu!
Everything you need to know on how to make the best jello shots.
Holiday Jello Shot Ideas
I’ve got better news! Because, you actually don’t need to wait until Summer to enjoy these babies! Change up the colors with different layers and make them all year round!
Think about these fun holiday layered Jello shot ideas:
- Halloween Candy Corn Layered Jello Shots – layer white, yellow and orange
- Christmas Jello Shots – Red, green and white layers
- Valentine’s Day Jello Shots – Red, pink and white layers
- Rainbow Jello Shots – Go all ROY G BIV and layer all of the colors of the rainbow (or just pick 4 or 5)
How to make Layered Jello Shots
For our recipe we used glass shot glasses, but if you want to save yourself some clean up time, I would recommend using plastic mini-dessert cups rather than using glass.
I like the dessert cups rather than the shot glasses, just because I think they are so much prettier!
Top them off! If you want to go the extra mile, then you can top off your red, white and blue jello shots with a little something special.
I think next time I make them, right before I serve them I will spray some whipped cream on top and maybe even sprinkle them with red, white, and blue sprinkles or better yet red and blue Pop Rocks! How fun would that be!
Then you could call it a Firecracker Jello Shot!
How to make Red, White and Blue Layered Jello Shots
They are super easy to make, they just time a little time and patience!
- MAKE BLUE LAYER:
Let the blue gelatin completely dissolve in a cup of boiling water. Stir in vodka and cool. Pour in shot glasses. Chill at least 1 hour to set. - MAKE WHITE LAYER:
Let the unflavored gelatin completely dissolve in 2 cups of boiling water. Mix in the sweetened condensed milk and stir well to incorporate. Let cool for 5 minutes and pour on top of the blue jello layer, dividing it among the glasses evenly. Then chill for 1 hour or until the layer is set. - MAKE RED LAYER:
Let the red gelatin completely dissolve in a cup of boiling water. Stir in vodka and cool. Pour in shot glasses. Chill at least 1 hour to set.
Pair these jello shots with our Red, White and Blue Poke Cake and our adorable Pinwheel Cookies (just change the colors to red and blue!)
More Amazing Recipes
Red, White and Blue Layered Jello Shots
Ingredients
- 2 cups vodka divided
- 2 envelopes unflavored gelatin
- 4 cups boiling water divided
- 1 3 oz box Blue JELL-O gelatin (Berry Blue flavor)
- 1 3 oz box Strawberry or cherry JELL-O gelatin
- 1 14 oz can Sweetened condensed milk
Instructions
DIRECTIONS FOR BLUE LAYER
- Pour the Berry Blue gelatin into a bowl. Add 1 cup boiling water and let completely dissolve.
- Stir in the vodka and allow to cool for about 5 minutes.
- Then pour into each of your shot glasses, filling 1/3 of the way. Chill for 1 hour or until the layer is set.
DIRECTIONS FOR WHITE LAYER
- Pour the 2 envelopes of unflavored gelatin to a mixing bowl and stir in 2 cups of boiling water and let dissolve completely.
- Pour in the sweetened condensed milk and stir well to incorporate. Then cool for 5 minutes.
- Pour on top of the blue jello layer, dividing it among the glasses evenly. Then chill for 1 hour or until the layer is set.
DIRECTIONS FOR RED LAYER
- Pour the strawberry or cherry gelatin into a bowl. Add 1 cup boiling water and let completely dissolve.
- Stir in the vodka and allow to cool for about 5 minutes.
- Then pour on top of the white layer, filling the top layer close to the top of each glass rim. Chill for 1 hour.
Hi! I have a question. A lot of other recipes say you have to add half cup cold water and half cup alcohol into the boiled mix or else the jello won’t set if you add too much alcohol. Have you run into this issue replacing the full cup of cold water with alcohol? Thanks so much!
These turned out great, just like the picture.
The alcohol sets fine without water. I did have my vodka in the freezer to make sure it was cold
Can I make these non-alcoholic for kids?
I’m in the process of doing this now for mine! I’m just following the recipe but instead of alcohol, replacing it with water. 🤷🏻♀️
How do you eat the jello out of the cup or does it slide out when tilt back I’m confused about this
What size cups do I use for the Jell-O shot ? Which ones are best ?
Always cool the jello way down before adding vodka or the alcohol will evaporate.
How many does the recipe make
I made 72 of these ( 3x the recipe ) for my friend’s son who came home from the army. This is specifically what he wanted and the recipe tripled beautifully. So easy to follow, time consuming sure, but absolutely worth it. I stuck my Tito’s in the freezer last night to make sure the vodka was ice cold and I let the mixture cool before adding it, oh yes, you can taste the alcohol. Thank you for a wonderful recipe!! It’s a keeper!!
They turned out PERFECT! Got so many compliments on these, the recipe is great – just follow the directions and they will turn out exactly like the pictures!
The middle layer, white, does not work. I’ve got white soup. Boiled two cups of water, added gelatin as directed, and then evaporated milk. Soup. Frustrating.
Other directions were fine but self-explanatory. I picked this recipe bc the middle layer didn’t call for coconut milk or whole milk. I like the author’s voice but wish I picked differently.
The recipe calls for sweetened condensed milk, not evaporated milk. That could be why you ended up with soup.
I’m guessing you put alcohol in that layer.. won’t work.
You were supposed to use sweetened condensed NOT EVAPORATED milk
1 14 oz can Sweetened condensed milk
Could I use the Smirnoff red white and blue vodka? Does the flavor come though? Or would that be too much?
I haven’t tried it – but I would give it a go!