tray of gelatin shot green and red

It’s officially fall! The leaves are turning and its football season so our thoughts turn to tailgating, indoor cooking, and intoxicology. We, here at the Hooch Blog, thought we would share with you some of our favorite gelatin shot recipes that make us think of fall and the upcoming holiday season. Why gelatin shots? They are easy to serve at most any gathering and take very little preparation.

Fall Colored Shots:

  • Orange Tic Tac – boil 2 cups red bull, mix in 2 packages of orange gelatin for 2 minutes, add 2 cups orange vodka.
  • Lemon Drop – boil 1 cup water, add lemon gelatin, 1 cup citrus vodka, top with sugar sprinkles just before its fully set up.
  • Grape Crush – boil 1 cup water, add grape gelatin, ½ cup plain vodka, and ½ cup Chambord
  • Fruit Punch – boil 1 cup water, add mixed fruit gelatin, ½ cup blueberry vodka, and ½ cup raspberry vodka.
  • Cherry Cola – boil 1 cup coke, add cherry gelatin, 1 cup cold cola, ½ cup amaretto, and ½ cup spiced rum
  • Dreamsicle – boil 1 1/3 cup water & 2/3 cup orange juice, 1 cup vanilla vodka, ½ cup raspberry or berry vodka, ½ cup KeKe Beach Key Lime Cream Liqueur
  • Red Hots – boil 2 cups water, add cherry gelatin, ½ cup cold water 2 cups cinnamon schnapps
  • Fuzzy Navel – boil 1 cup water, add orange gelatin, 2 ounces vodka, 6 ounces peach schnapps
  • Apple Cider – boil 1 cup water, 2 cups apple cider, ½ cup Fireball Cinnamon Whiskey, ½ cup Sour
  • Apple Schnapps, 2 envelopes of plain gelatin

Holiday Colored Shots:

  • Green – 3 ounce package lime gelatin, 1 cup boiling water, ¼ cup cold water, 4 ounces vodka, 1 ounce triple sec
  • Red – 3 ounce package red gelatin, 1 cup boiling water, ¼ cup cold water, 4 ounces strawberry or raspberry vodka, 1 ounce triple sec
  • Margarita – 1 cup water, 3 ounce package lime gelatin, 4 ounces tequila, 4 ounces sweet and sour margarita mix, sprinkle with salt just before firm
  • Lemon Lime – boil 2 cups sprite, add lemon and lime gelatins, 2 cups citrus vodka
  • Sour Apple – 1 small box sour apple gelatin, 1 package plain gelatin, 1 tablespoon sugar; stir in 1 cup
  • Mt. Dew and mix well. Microwave on high for 1 minute, stir until powder is dissolved. Mix 2 cups vodka & ¾ cups Captain Morgan Coconut Rum.
  • Cherry Bomb – boil 1 cup red bull, add cherry gelatin, 1 cup vodka and drop in one maraschino cherry to each shot, stem up, before firmed
  • Jäger Bomb – boil 1 cup red bull (in place of water), add black cherry gelatin, 1 cup Jägermeister.
  • Rum & Coke – boil 1 cup coke, mix in dark cherry gelatin, and add 1 cup light rum.

We realize all of the recipes above are not vegan friendly. Gelatin is, after all, an animal by-product. However, we have found that there are some products out there that come highly recommended for our vegan and vegetarian friends. Here are three great alternatives and some tips for using them!

1. Agar, Agar-Agar, or Kanten. This is made from cooked and pressed algae and is most often used in Asian desserts and firm jellies. It’s flavorless and has a little less jiggle than regular gelatin. The agar needs to be heated to dissolve properly. Powdered agar is easier to measure and use whereas the bars and flakes should be dissolved in water first or could be broken down into powder using a coffee or spice grinder. This tends to set up in about an hour at room temperature.

  • 1 teaspoon gelatin = 1 teaspoon agar powder to set up 1 cup liquid
  • 1 teaspoon agar powder = 1 tablespoon agar flakes = ½ agar bar

2. Carrageenan, Carrageen, or Irish Moss. This is actually a type of dried seaweed and is most often used in soft jellies, puddings, mousses, soups, etc. Carrageenan is flavorless and sets up a little softer than gelatin in that it melts in your mouth. Use the iota carrageenan for soft gels and puddings and kappa for harder jelled products. To use it in its dried seaweed form (try to find it whole), rinse it well, soak it in water for about 12 hours until it swells, then boil it thoroughly with the liquid you want to set before you set it out.

  • To set up 1 cup of liquid, use about 1 ounce of dried carrageenan.

3. Vegan Jel. Unflavored Vegan Jel by Natural Desserts is made of vegetable gum, adipic acid, tapioca dextrin, calcium phosphate, and potassium citrate. This can be used anywhere gelatin is used. It sets softly, melts in your mouth, and is the closest thing to regular unflavored gelatin that we’ve found. To use, beat this powder into cold water until dissolved.

  • 1 teaspoon gelatin = 1 ½ teaspoons Vegan Jel

We hope you enjoy some or all of these recipes. Please feel free to comment below and let us know which ones did or did not work for you or send us some of your favorites that we didn’t list above. Happy Drinking!

Don’t forget to get some of these products for your party!
Polar Ice PI125200CT 125 Count Plastic Jello Shot Cups with Lids, 2-Ounce
25 Pack EZ-InjectTM Jello Shot Syringes (Large 2.5oz)