Looking for a fun and festive dessert to serve at your next Memorial Day or Fourth of July party? Look no further than these red, white, and blue jello cups! These colorful dessert cups are perfect for any patriotic occasion and will surely be a hit for kids and adults.
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Desserts should always be delicious, but when they are fun to make and fun to eat, that makes them even better. Just grab some jello and maraschino cherries for an impressive and colorful dessert.
This is why you will love these Jello cups
- They are super simple to make using boxes of jello.
- There's no need to wait for a holiday; make these layered Jello cups anytime you want a fun treat, like birthday parties, slumber parties, picnics.
- Jello comes in lots of flavors and for Halloween try these Candy Corn Jello Cups.
- Nothing says Happy 4th of July like a festive red, white and blue dessert, so plan ahead to get the gelatin chilled.
Try our other favorite patriotic desserts like this red, white and blue M&M ice cream recipe, or our favorite sugar cookie bars, thumbprint cookies with sprinkles, or firework sugar cookies. All of these desserts are perfect for a celebration.
Ingredients and cups
Red Jello- This can be cherry, red, raspberry or strawberry flavors.
Blue Jello - Berry blue Jello is the only blue-colored gelatin I can find.
Unflavored Gelatin - Knox Unflavored Gelatin is the most popular and easily found brand.
Sugar - Use white granulated sugar.
Milk - Use 2% or whole milk, and you can substitute with plant-based milk.
3-ounce cups - Use a clear cup to see the layers of Jello. You can use these disposable cups or a glass cup.
5-ounce cups- Use these 5-ounce plastic cups with lids perfect for storage and packing for picnics and potlucks.
How To Make Layered Jello Cups: With Step-By-Step Instructions
Step 1. Set the disposable cups on a cookie sheet or tray to easily move them in and out of the fridge.
Step 2. Place the blue gelatin in a medium-sized bowl, pour â…” cup of boiling water over the gelatin, and stir until combined. Allow the jello to cool before pouring it into each cup until about â…“ full—place cups in the fridge for at least 30 minutes to allow them to set.
Step 3. In another medium-sized bowl, sprinkle the clear gelatin over â…“ cup of milk and allow it to bloom. Meanwhile, heat the remaining â…” cup of milk to almost boiling. Add the hot milk to the clear gelatin and mix well until the gelatin is fully absorbed. Allow the mixture to cool. Pour the white jello over the cold blue Jello until about â…” full. Return to fridge for at least 30 minutes to allow to set.
Step 4. Place the red gelatin in a medium-sized bowl, pour â…” cup of boiling water over the gelatin, and stir until combined. Allow the jello to cool before pouring it into each cup.
Step 5. Place a toothpick into the top of each maraschino cherry so that you can press the cherry into the white jello to keep the stem upright while the red jello sets. Place cups in the fridge for 3-4 hours to fully set.
Step 6. When the jello is set, remove the toothpicks but gently twist the toothpick until it loosens from the cherry.
Step 7. The Jello cups will keep in the fridge for several days; store them in an airtight container or cover them with plastic wrap.
Jello Tip - Don't rush layering the gelatin. Allow a minimum of 30 minutes for each layer to set up properly.
Look how pretty these dessert cups turn out. Pretty impressive, aren't they?
Variations to try
Changing things up is always fun!
- Add some whipped cream on top.
- Change out the Jello flavors to make these dessert cups for any occasion.
- Pour the gelatin into a clear glass baking dish, then cut into squares.
More No Bake Desserts
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Recipe
Red, White And Blue Jello Cups
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Equipment
- 3 ounce Disposable cups or use any dessert cups
- 3 Medium-sized mixing bowl
Ingredients
- 3 ounce blue gelatin blue raspberry
- 3 ounce red gelatin cherry, strawberry or red raspberry
- 1 envelop unflavored gelatin Knox brand
- 1 ⅓ cups boiling water
- 1 cup milk
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- Maraschino cherries
Instructions
- Set the cups on a small plate or platter to move the gelatin to and from the refrigerator.
- In a medium-sized bowl, add the blue gelatin and pour ⅔ cup of boiling water over the gelatin. Stir until the gelatin is dissolved.
- Allow the blue gelatin to cool before pouring it into each cup until about ⅓ full. Place the cups in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes to allow it to set.
- In a clean medium-sized bowl, sprinkle the unflavored gelatin over ⅓ cup of milk and let it bloom. Meanwhile, heat the remaining ⅔ cup of milk to almost boiling, either in a saucepan, or in the microwave.Add the hot milk to the bloomed gelatin and stir until completely absorbed. Allow the mixture to cool. Pour the white jello on top of the blue Jello until about â…”full. Return to fridge for at least 30 minutes to allow to set.
- In a medium-sized bowl, add the red gelatin and pour ⅔ cup of boiling water over the gelatin. Stir until the gelatin is dissolved.
- Allow the red gelatin to cool before pouring it into each cup. Place the cups in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes to allow it to set.
- Place a toothpick into each maraschino cherry at the stem end so that you can press the toothpick into the white jello to keep the stem upright while the red jello sets. Place cups in the refrigerator for 3-4 hours to fully set.
- When the jello is set, remove the toothpicks by slowly twisting them so they can easily be pullout out of the cherry.
- Store the jello cups in the refrigerator until ready to serve. Cover the tops of the jello cups with plastic wrap or store them in an airtight container for up to three days.
Notes
Variations
- Feel free to substitute any flavor of Jello for this recipe.
- Add whipped cream on top and sprinkles.
Nutrition
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About Jere'
From learning to cook on a farm in Indiana to culinary school in California, my passion for food is never-ending. Turning on my oven to bake something for friends and family is my happy place, and I am glad to be here at One Hot Oven sharing sweet and savory family-friendly recipes for your cooking and baking inspiration.
Julianne
So festive and super creative! These are absolutely perfect for the 4th of July, everyone is going to devour them!
Shelby
These jello cups are so cute! Made them for a party this past weekend and now I think they're going to be a summer staple.
Sharina
These came out so festive and beautiful! We will surely have these jello cups again. I think these will be great with other flavors and for other holidays.
Jane
These Jello cups are so delicious and simple! To make them I used blue Jello and Red Jello. The white is made from milk, powdered sugar and vanilla extract. It was super easy to make, it only took about 5 minutes!
Sage Scott
Such a fun and festive 4th of July treat. I'm making these again for an upcoming picnic with just some random flavors. I can't wait to see the results. We also have Halloween parties and I want to make them like candy corn.