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    Home » Recipes » Cocktails and mocktails

    Vegan Jello Shots Starring Agar Agar

    Apr 12, 2017 by Becky Striepe
    Disclosure: This post may contain Amazon affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. See my Privacy Policy for more details.

    Recipe Print

    You don't need boring old Jello to make Jello shots! Here's how to use agar agar to make delicious vegan jello shots!

    vegan jello shots with text overlay

    Gelatin is not vegan. It's not even vegetarian! Conventional gelatin is made from ground up bones and tendons. YUM! Some folks have told me that Kosher gelatin is vegan, but from what I've read it's derived from dead fish.

    Luckily, you don't need powered bones to make a jelly dessert. You can just grab some agar agar and get to it!

    Confession: I am not a big booze-drinker. At most parties, I'd much rather stick to beer or wine. The way to get me to do the booze thing is to hide it in desserts, so when my friend Kip said that she wanted to make grown-up vegan jello shots for her birthday party, I was all in!

    We made root beer shoots and cosmopolitan ones, and we learned some lessons. For the cosmo shots, we used exactly the amount of agar that the recipe called for. For the root beer ones, we doubled it. The cosmo ones came out OK, but they were a little bit soft. The root beer ones....I think I'm still chewing the root beer one that I tried. The lesson: use one and a half times the amount of agar agar! Here are the recipes we used (adapted from Jelly Shot Test Kitchen), adjusted accordingly.

    cosmo jello shots on a plate

    cosmo jello shots on a plate

    Vegan Cosmopolitan Jello Shots

    You don't need boring old Jello to make Jello shots! Here's how to use agar agar to make delicious vegan jello shots!
    Prevent your screen from going dark
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    Course: Dessert, Drinks
    Cuisine: Vegan
    Prep Time: 15 minutes minutes
    Cook Time: 3 hours hours 15 minutes minutes
    Total Time: 3 hours hours 30 minutes minutes
    Servings: 12
    Calories: 102kcal
    Author: Becky Striepe

    Ingredients

    • 1 cup cranberry juice - the 100% juice blend kind
    • 1 cup orange vodka
    • ¼ cup lime juice
    • ¼ cup orange liqueur
    • 1 ¾ teaspoons agar agar powder
    • lime zest

    Instructions

    • In a small saucepan, heat half of the cranberry juice and lime juice with the agar agar, until it’s simmering. Stir for a few minutes, until the agar agar is fully dissolved.
    • Quickly add the rest of the juices, stir, then add your booze.
    • Pour the mixture into a square pan and chill for a few hours, until everything is gelatinized.
    • Flip your jello shots onto a flat surface, like a cutting board, and slice them into cubes. Grate some lime zest over them, and you’re ready to serve!

    Nutrition

    Nutrition Facts
    Vegan Cosmopolitan Jello Shots
    Amount per Serving
    Calories
    102
    % Daily Value*
    Fat
     
    0.02
    g
    0
    %
    Saturated Fat
     
    0.01
    g
    0
    %
    Polyunsaturated Fat
     
    0.01
    g
    Monounsaturated Fat
     
    0.001
    g
    Sodium
     
    1
    mg
    0
    %
    Potassium
     
    17
    mg
    0
    %
    Carbohydrates
     
    12
    g
    4
    %
    Fiber
     
    0.1
    g
    0
    %
    Sugar
     
    10
    g
    11
    %
    Protein
     
    0.04
    g
    0
    %
    Vitamin A
     
    9
    IU
    0
    %
    Vitamin C
     
    11
    mg
    13
    %
    Calcium
     
    3
    mg
    0
    %
    Iron
     
    0.1
    mg
    1
    %
    * Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
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    About Becky Striepe

    Headshot of Becky Striepe in front of a teal wall

    Hi there! I'm Becky Striepe (rhymes with sleepy), and I love using gadgets and shortcuts to create easy vegan comfort food recipes for busy people. Whether you love your Instant Pot, your air fryer, or just love delicious plant-based meals, stick around. You'll like it here.

    Learn more about me >>>

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

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      Recipe Rating




    1. Carmel

      April 30, 2019 at 9:54 pm

      Will it work with not 100% fruit juice?

      Reply
      • Becky Striepe

        May 01, 2019 at 6:35 am

        Yes, it should.

        Reply
    2. Aixa

      June 03, 2015 at 12:07 am

      The Vegan Cosmopolitan Jello Shots does not state a unit for the agar agar powder. Is it teaspoons, cups? Thanks.

      Reply
      • Becky Striepe

        June 03, 2015 at 9:31 am

        Oops! That's teaspoons. I'll fix it up. Thank you!

        Reply
    3. james

      April 08, 2015 at 4:47 pm

      what is the shelf-life of agar agar gels? If they were sealed how long could I make them in advance?

      Reply
      • Becky Striepe

        April 08, 2015 at 5:07 pm

        Ooh that's a good question. We made them a day ahead, so I'm not sure beyond that.

        Reply
      • Noah

        April 22, 2015 at 1:09 pm

        Hi. Alcohol is antiseptic but the gel itself contains a lot of free water, that is, water that bacteria or fungus/mold could use to grow. I think a shot like this could taste fresh for at least three days, maybe longer, and probably won't actually spoil for weeks because of the alcohol. You could probably also freeze them, where they'll keep for months (assuming they're packed really, really airtight). They will pick up flavors from other things in the fridge....

        Reply
        • Becky Striepe

          April 22, 2015 at 6:00 pm

          Thank you, Noah!

          Reply
    4. Sonja

      January 30, 2015 at 4:47 pm

      How much agar agar for the cosmos? Thanks. Going to try them now for my birthday party if I can get the mesurments

      Reply
    5. Vegangie

      August 28, 2014 at 9:30 am

      Hi, I'm wondering if the "t" after the measurement for the agar powder is supposed to mean teaspoon or tablespoon.

      These look lovely. I want to try some for a potluck <3

      Reply
      • Becky Striepe

        August 28, 2014 at 9:39 am

        It stands for teaspoon. :) Happy shot-making!

        Reply
    6. Jes

      August 03, 2011 at 10:50 pm

      Ohmygoodness vegan jello shots! I love it! I actually had my first jello shot the other day at a wine festival--I guess it was wine shot? (I was rather sloshed by the time we had that...hmm...)--and I'm loving your take on it. And I'm so breaking out the agar agar because real gelatin still gives me the shivvers.

      Reply
      • Becky Striepe

        August 04, 2011 at 9:52 am

        Wine shot! That sounds so good! Maybe with a bit of lime or something? I'm not sure if wine on its own would gel - you might have to experiment. Alcohol is tricky. Let me know how it goes!

        Reply
    7. Lizerati

      August 03, 2011 at 9:55 am

      Don't ask me why *this* is the thing that caused me to do more reading, but I poked around and kosher gelatin is absolutely NOT vegan as a matter of course. There are some versions made with carrageenan, agar-agar, etc, but they also make it with collagen, a mammal product (and there are fish versions too).

      I'm going to have to stop reading about it now, because this is the same kind of rabbit hole that led me to spend an hour and a half researching the Amish not too long ago.

      Reply
      • Becky Striepe

        August 03, 2011 at 10:01 am

        Even grosser than I thought! Thanks for going down the rabbit hole!

        Reply

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    About Me

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    Hi! My name is Becky Striepe (rhymes with “sleepy”). I love using gadgets and shortcuts to create easy vegan comfort food recipes for busy people. Whether you love your Instant Pot, your air fryer, or just love delicious plant-based meals, stick around. You'll like it here. → READ MORE

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