Okay, so a confession. I had never made jello shots before this post, and I have only had them once or twice in my life. But, I saw these really cute lemon drop jello shots on my friend Kim’s blog Liv Life Too, and got inspired to try making them vegan (that is, without gelatin). Packaged gelatin mix also is full of sugar and artificial color. Mine are low-glycemic, 100% natural, and still quite boozy and fun. Enjoy them at your Labor Day picnic!
Apparently you make jello shots by using lemon jello, vodka, and some water. The cute trick is using lemon rinds as the molds, which make these a party show stopper. And it isn’t very difficult at all. If you don’t want to make them in the lemon shells, you can simply cut them into squares like this:Suitable for:
vegan, gluten-free, low-sodium, reduced-sugar diets
Not for:
migraine diets
Today’s post is part of our mission to help you rebuild your health through food and lifestyle choices. Look for posts on Mondays featuring gluten-free, sugar-free recipes made with healthy plant-based ingredients, Tempting Tuesday photos, Wednesday essays, Thursday how-to’s, and Flashback Fridays recipe posts. We support Meatless Monday.
Lemon drop jello shots {vegan version}
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup lemon juice (fresh)
- 1/4 cup agave syrup
- 1/2 cup vodka
- 1/2 tsp agar agar powder (1 g)
Instructions
- You'll need 3 lemon rinds for this = 6 halves
- Scrub the lemons.
- Cut the lemons in half (crosswise as you normally would) and juice them. (Reserve any extra juice for another use, or make more shots by doubling the recipe. Since lemons vary widely in size and juiciness, you may have just enough juice or tons extra.)
- Using your thumbnail, carefully scrape out the inside of the lemon flesh and pith, leaving just the thin rind.
- Set the rinds in mini muffin tins. (If using regular muffin tins add crumpled aluminum foil to keep them upright.)
- Whisk the agave syrup, lemon juice, and vodka in a small saucepan and bring just to a boil. Slowly whisk in the agar agar powder, whisking constantly so you don't get lumps. Cook for two minutes. It will not really thicken much at all.
- Pour the mixture into the lemon halves, filling as full as you can without spilling over.
- Refrigerate for about 30 minutes until set.
- Slice each lemon half in quarters. Keep refrigerated until serving.
- Please enjoy responsibly; these are boozy!
Notes
- 21 calories
- 0 g fat
- 0 g cholesterol
- 0 mg sodium (2 mg sodium with sea salt omitted)
- 21 mg potassium
- 3 g carbohydrate
- 0 g fiber
- 3 g sugars
- 0 g protein
- 0Â Weight Watchers Points Plus
Doing research for some vegan jello shots. This was helpful for agar ratios. But noticed one odd thing with this recipe. Note that alcohol evaporates at 172 F, so if you boil the alcohol, as in this recipe, you could end up with virgin jello shots. Fine if that’s what you want. If not, perhaps it’s better to add the booze after the agar/juice mixture cools off a bit.
Hi,
How early in advance do you think I could prepare them? Also, just a jello shots newbie question: when warming up vodka, does the alcohol cook away, or could you still taste it in the hardened jello shots. Thanks a bunch in advance for some info. They look really good and am wanting to try to make them next week. :)
Hi AS, I didn’t keep them for long, so I can’t say for certain. I wouldn’t do them more than two days in advance. You definitely still taste the alcohol!
Gorgeous! Your inventive playfulness is inspiring.
Nice and definitely will get us in the mood for our group shower ;)
Thanks Liz!
isn’t agar from an algae? is eating algae vegan?
Agar is derived from red algae. Algae are considered plants, a form of seaweed. Nearly all vegan cheese recipes use agar. I hope this helps!
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You rock, Steph! Now I need to find me some agar agar powder. I think you should bring these to our next meeting – LOL!
I could. Maybe it would get us in the mood for the group shower photo.
These are fantastic!
Thanks Kim. Make sure you check out the original creative bloggers who inspired me!
my hero. ;)
I WILL be trying these!
Yes, they have your name all over them my friend.
Delicious vegan food (and drink :) is one reason why the number of vegans has doubled in less than 3 years.
Agreed JC! And people go plant-based for many reasons. Thanks for stopping by.