Kids go crazy over Fourth of July Jell-O and Fruit Cups, making you the hit of any Fourth of July party! Adding Greek yogurt to the middle layer makes them healthier than traditional layered jello!
Cute and festive food is my thing! Fourth of July Jell-O and Fruit Cups are definitely cute and festive! I couldn’t wait to share them with you because I knew you would love them! My kids went crazy over them! Seriously, they belong at every forth of July party!
We’ve all seen layered Jello parfaits before. They usually have whipped cream or sweetened condensed milk in the white layer. I decided to make these cups a little healthier so I substituted Greek yogurt instead. I also wanted the kiddo’s to get a few extra servings of fruit so I simply added fresh blueberries to the blue layer and fresh strawberries to the red layer. Don’t forget the stars sprinkles if you have them because kids won’t even notice the fruit if they get sprinkles!
Whenever I get invited to anything, and asked to bring food, it takes me forever to decide what to bring. It has to be just right. Everyone must love it and it must be easy to make. Usually I spend so long deciding I end up with just a little time actually making my dish. Don’t spend forever deciding this Fourth of July and make Fourth of July Jell-O and Fruit Cups. Kids of all ages and sizes will love you!
Note: I have had a few people comment and report that they were having difficulty getting the white layer to set up properly. Without being in the kitchen watching the whole process it’s hard to tell exactly what is going wrong. I suspect that different types of gelatin may set up differently. I revised this recipe in hopes to ensure success for more of you, although it worked perfectly for me without revising the recipe. Hopefully this helps! Thanks for stopping by! Happy Fourth of July!
Forth of July Jell-O and Fruit Cups
Ingredients
- 1 6 oz pkg strawberry jello
- 1 6 oz pkg blueberry jello
- 2 c. fresh strawberries sliced
- 2 c. fresh blueberries
- 2 .25 oz pkg gelatin I used Knox
- 2 c. vanilla Greek yogurt
- whipped cream optional
- star sprinkles optional
Instructions
- NOTES:
- Serving size will depend on size of serving cups. You can make them smaller if you are serving a bigger crowd or if there are lots of little kids. I made 12 cups. Smaller cups will set a little bit faster too!
- Be sure to bring white and red layer to room temperature before adding or it will melt previous layer. Which is not good! Be patient!
- Pour each jello layer very gently or it will splash all over the cup. It may also leave a hole in the previous layer. I mixed the layer in an 8 cup measuring cup and poured it out from that. Worked great!
- INSTRUCTIONS:
- Pour blueberry jello in a mixing bowl. Boil 2 cups water and pour over jello. Stir to dissolve. Add one cup ice. Stir. Divide among cups creating bottom layer. Divide blueberries among cups. Refrigerate until set.
- For the white layer, add 1 cup boiling water to Greek yogurt. Set aside. In a small bowl sprinkle gelatin packets over 1/2 cup cold water. Let it stand for 2-3 minutes. The gelatin will absorb the water and it will become grainy. At this point, add 1/2 cup boiling water, stir, let set until gelatin is dissolved. Add the dissolved gelatin mixture to the yogurt mixture. Stir. Cool to room temperature. Pour over blue layer. (You could add bananas to white layer if you wanted to). Refrigerate until set.
- Pour strawberry jello in a mixing bowl. Boil 2 cups water and pour over jello. Stir to dissolve. Add one cup ice. Stir. Bring to room temperature. Divide among cups creating top layer. Divide strawberries among cups. Refrigerate until set.
- Just before serving add a dollop of whipped cream and sprinkle with stars sprinkles!
Jennifer says
I need more information about how to create white layer. When I mixed cold water with gelatin then mixed boiling water and yogurt mixture into that, I had a smooth mixture with hard lumps of gelatin. I tried reversing the mixture by mixing gelatin with boiling water and yogurt with cold water but when I combined the two, the result was more like tapioca. Not clear on how to combine yogurt with gelatin and create a smooth jello-like layer.
Amy Engberson says
Jennifer, I’m sorry this isn’t working out for you. It’s always hard to know exactly what is happening but, I wonder if different brands of gelatin require different steps to set up properly. I used a generic brand and I think it might be different than Knox gelatin. I would try doing this for the white layer. In a small bowl sprinkle gelatin packets over 1/2 cup cold water. Let it stand for 2-3 minutes. The gelatin will absorb the water and it will become grainy. At this point, add 1/2 cup boiling water and set until gelatin is dissolved. Add the dissolved gelatin mixture to the yogurt mixture. Stir. Cool to room temperature. Pour over flavored gelatin layer. Hopefully this helps! Happy Fourth of July!!
Jennifer says
I will try this method Amy. It was not clear how to do this in the directions and maybe they can be edited. Also, when I purchased the unflavored gelatin there were 1oz. Boxes but no 2.25 oz box so I used two of the1 oz boxes. Not sure how this changes the recipe.
Amy Engberson says
I’m finding out that there are several different types, sizes, brands, etc. of unflavored gelatin. I have edited the directions so hopefully they make more sense now! Sorry for the confusion.
Sara says
I’m so mad because I wanted to make this for tomorrow and the blue jello worked out great. The gelatin for the white part got really hard when I mixed it with the cold water and then when I tried adding it into the yogurt and boiled water it wouldn’t mix and was all lumpy. I don’t know why it didn’t work out and I followed your recipe step by step. Can you please help me out and give me any tips? I really want to make these for tomorrow considering I already started the process.
Amy Engberson says
Sara, I’m sorry you are feeling so frustrated. I feel terrible about that because it turned out great for me and was so much fun for the Fourth!Someone else just commented and said the white layer wasn’t working out for them. If there are two people having a problem with this recipe it must need revised. It’s always hard to know exactly what is happening but, I wonder if different brands of gelatin require different steps to set up properly. I used a generic brand and I think it might be different than Knox gelatin. Here’s what I suggest trying for the white layer. In a small bowl sprinkle gelatin packets over 1/2 cup cold water. Let it stand for 2-3 minutes. The gelatin will absorb the water and it will become grainy. At this point, add 1/2 cup boiling water and set until gelatin is dissolved. Add the dissolved gelatin mixture to the yogurt mixture. Stir. Cool to room temperature. Pour over flavored gelatin layer. Hopefully this helps! Happy Fourth of July!!
Amy Clark says
Hi,
I wish I had read you comment before I made the same mistake. Middle layer turned out gross and the wrong consistency. It seems to me that the gelatin needs the hot water not the cold water. Amy
Amy Engberson says
So sorry Amy:( I wish I would have known that there was a problem earlier then I could have experimented and tried to make it fool proof. Thanks for stopping by!
Pyper says
This is so cute! My boy is in love–he might try making them:)
Amy Engberson says
Thanks! This is perfect for your 4th of July loving boys!