These rainbow Jello shots are playful boozy treats with bright and colorful layers of fruit-flavored box Jell-O, Malibu coconut rum, and creamy sweetened condensed milk jello. With striking appeal, no baking required, and a fun candy garnish, they’re the ultimate party showstopper that’s as enjoyable to make as it is to eat!
While everyone loves Jello shots recipes, I’ve also been known to use the same concept for other jello-inspired treats, such as this layered jello pie recipe and these fun jello popsicles – perfect for those hot summer days and pool parties! With each of these recipes, every layer is carefully poured and chilled to create a vibrant striped effect that’s incredibly eye-catching.
With a little patience, you’ll easily get 96 of these layered jello shots – the ultimate crowd pleaser for large-scale holiday gatherings, birthdays, and other celebrations. Don’t forget to top them with freshly whipped cream, colorful candy, or other favorite toppings!
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🫐 Ingredients:
These rainbow jello shots contain a number of basic ingredients, and all of them are easy to find at your local grocery store. Let’s talk about the most important ingredients.
- Box Jell-O – you’ll need 6 different colors of box Jell-O (cherry, orange, pineapple, lime, blue berry, and grape). If you use all of the Jell-O, be prepared to make 96 individual Jell-O shots! You’ll then also need to increase the homemade white jello mixture so that you have enough white layers between all the colored layers.
- White jello – since white box Jell-O isn’t something readily available, I’ve made my own version which consists of gelatin, sweetened condensed milk, and water.
- Rum – Malibu coconut rum instantly turns these playful layered jello shots into a boozy treat for the adults! You can use white rum or vodka if you don’t want the coconut flavor.
For a full list of ingredients and their measurements, 📋 please view my printable recipe card at the bottom of the post.
Optional Garnish:
Top these rainbow jello shots with whipped cream and fun Airhead candies or rainbow sprinkles, if you like. These additional toppings really make the layered jello shots stand out!
Substitutions and Variations
- Alcohol – Experiment with different alcohol, such as flavored vodka, silver tequila, or skip the alcohol completely for a kid-friendly version and replace it with additional water or fruit juice. This is what we do with our rainbow layered jello cups – you can really make any size!
- Flavors – Get creative with your flavor pairings. Instead of cherry Jell-O, use strawberry. Use peach Jell-O instead of orange. Lemon-flavored Jell-O would be a good substitute for the pineapple. Swapping these flavors will still give you the same layered colors that you see in these rainbow jello shots.
- Dairy-free- Use coconut milk with sugar and clear gelatin to make dairy-free white Jell-O layers. Almond milk will offer a lighter dairy-free alternative.
- Molds – The Jell-O mixtures can be layered in a 9×13-inch baking dish instead of shot glasses and then sliced into squares. You could also have fun with this and use silicone molds, such as hearts or stars for holidays and special occasions.
- Toppings – Use sour belts, gummy bears, candied fruit slices, edible glitter, or maraschino cherries to garnish these rainbow jello shots.
🔪 Instructions:
Step 1: Combine the packet of purple jello and 1 cup of boiling water in a bowl. Whisk until the jello is fully dissolved in the boiling water.
In a 2-cup measuring cup, pour in ½ cup – ¾ cup of Malibu rum. Add cold water to the 1 cup measurement line. Adjust the amount of Malibu depending on how strong you like the jello shots and add water as needed to make 1 cup total of liquid. Now add this to the grape jello mixture. Repeat for the remaining colors.
Step 2: Pour the jello mixture to fill an extremely thin layer in the bottom of plastic shot glasses (about 1 teaspoon per layer). Add less to create the same visual thickness of layer when using tapered glasses. In this instance, you probably only need ½ teaspoon for the first couple layers and then gradually up to 1 teaspoon for the final layers.
Set the shot glasses inside the refrigerator for about 30 minutes to chill and set. The jello layers set quickly because they are so thin.
Step 3: Repeat this preparation process for all of the colors/flavors of jello. You can mix them now or do each color as you are ready to pour. If the jello starts to solidify, simply pop it in the microwave for a few seconds and stir.
Step 4: After about 30 minutes, make the white jello layer mixture. It’s best to only make ⅓ of this mixture at a time so that you don’t have to mix it up all at once and manage such a large quantity.
To make ⅓ of the total white jello, sprinkle two packets of clear gelatin over 1 cup of cold water in a heat-proof bowl or measuring cup. Whisk together and set aside for 5 minutes to allow the gelatin to bloom. Place in the microwave for 15 seconds and then whisk to dissolve the gelatin completely. Add 1 cup of cold water and 1 full can (14 oz.) of sweetened, condensed milk. Whisk to fully combine the ingredients. Check that the mixture is room temperature. If it is warm at all, place the white jello mixture into the refrigerator or allow to cool to room temperature.
Pro Tip: Place all of your shot glasses onto a baking sheet (one with edges is preferred!) for easy transfer in and out of the refrigerator!!
Step 5: Add a very thin layer (about ½ teaspoon) of the white jello mixture over the purple layer. Return the jello shots to the refrigerator to chill until set (another 15-30 minutes).
Step 6: Repeat Step 2 above for each Jello color, if you haven’t already mixed them up. Continue adding white layers of jello and colored layers until you finish with the final red layer of jello. As you use up all of the white jello mixture, follow the same process in Step 4 to make another batch. IF you use all of the jello from each color (which makes 96 jello shots), you will need about 3 batches of white jello.
GARNISH: Whip heavy cream or use canned whipped cream to top the jello shots JUST BEFORE SERVING. Add a ¾-1” strip of Airheads rainbow candy or top with colorful sprinkles.
Recipe Tips for Layered Jello Shots
- Make sure all the colored jello mixtures as well as the white jello mixture are cooled completely before pouring the next layer. Any heat from uncooled jello layers will melt the layer underneath it and the colors will bleed together.
- You can easily adjust the amount of rum added to each colored jello layer depending on how strong or weak you prefer these boozy rainbow jello shots to be! Using ½ cup rum and ½ cup cold water in each of the colored layers of jello was my personal favorite as the flavors were able to still come through and the rum wasn’t overpowering. ¾ cup rum will definitely pack more of a punch.
- You will get a total of 96 rainbow jello shots if you use all of the colored jello sachets. It is quite a lot of shots and you will need to make 3 full batches of the white jello mixture. The number of shots you get from this recipe also depends on the type of glass or cup that you use since tapered glasses require less mixture for the first few layers. If you want to make fewer jello shots, toss the extra jello or repurpose it.
- Jello melts in hot weather, so it’s best to keep these inside or in a cool location and only top with whipped cream right as you are serving them.
- When using tapered glasses, you will need slightly more of the top layers than the bottom. You could use a Sharpie to divide 1 cup into 11 sections when using 6 colors of jello, and use that as a visual guide to get started, but don’t get too hung up on making it perfect – they will still look great and taste just as good too!
- Feel free to make less layered jello shots than what this recipe can make. Any excess colored jello and white jello can be poured into a baking dish and cut into rainbow squares. You could also skip the white jello layers and just layer the colored jello to make fewer jello shots.
Fun Fact
These party shots have gourmet roots since the technique of layering Jell-O is the same for making elegant pâtisserie desserts like gelée and mousse cakes!!
Recipe FAQs
Yes! The white jello mixture will stay liquid at room temp or with a few seconds in the microwave, so you can mix it all at once, but I prefer to do ⅓ at a time.
Leftover layered jello shots should be kept in the refrigerator, covered and ungarnished, for up to 3 days. Only add the whipped cream and candy topping just before serving.
Most types of rum or vodka work really well in jello shots and won’t overpower the flavor of the jello. Liquors such as whiskey or tequila can be used but they do tend to have a stronger flavor which can dominate other flavors in the jello shots.
Other Fun Jell-O Shots You’ll Love
If you tried this Rainbow Jell-O Shots Recipe or any other recipe on my website, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how you liked it in the 📝 comments below.
Rainbow Jello Shots
Ingredients
Colored Jello Layers Ingredients
- 1 – 3 oz. box jello mix for each color we used 6 colors: cherry, orange, pineapple, lime, blue berry, and grape
- 1 cup boiling water per flavor
- ½ cup Malibu coconut rum per flavor
- ½ cup cold water per flavor
White Jello Layers Ingredients
- 1.5 oz. clear gelatin 6 x .25 oz. packets
- 3 – 14 oz. sweetened canned condensed milk
- 6 cups water
Garnish
- whipped cream optional
- Airhead rainbow candies or rainbow sprinkles optional
Instructions
- Combine the packet of purple Jell-O and 1 cup of boiling water in a bowl. Whisk until Jell-O is fully dissolved in the boiling water.
- In a 2-cup measuring cup, pour in ½ cup – ¾ cup of Malibu rum. Add cold water to the 1 cup measurement line. (Depending on how strong you’d like the jell-o shots, adjust the amount of Malibu and then add water as needed to make 1 cup total of liquid).
- Add the rum and the cold water to the grape Jell-O mixture.
- Pour the Jell-O mixture to fill an extremely thin layer in the bottom of plastic shot glasses (about 1 teaspoon per layer. Please note: if you are using tapered cups, you will use less liquid in the bottom layers to create the same thickness of layer – so you may be using only ½ teaspoon for the first couple layers and then gradually up to 1 teaspoon for the final layers. Set the shot glasses inside the refrigerator for about 30 minutes to chill and set. (The Jell-O layers set quickly because they are so thin.)
- After about 30 minutes, mix together the white layer. We’ll do the ingredients for the white Jell-O ⅓ at a time so that you don’t have to mix it up all at once and manage such a large quantity. The Jell-O will stay liquid at room temp or with a few seconds in the microwave, so you CAN mix it all at once, but we prefer to do ⅓ at a time.
- For ⅓ of the total white Jell-O: Sprinkle two packets of clear gelatin over 1 cup of cold water in a heat-proof bowl or measuring cup. Whisk together and set aside for 5 minutes to allow the gelatin to bloom. Place in the microwave for 15 seconds and then whisk to dissolve the gelatin completely. Add 1 cup of cold water and 1 full can (14 oz.) of sweetened, condensed milk. Whisk to fully combine the ingredients. Check that the mixture is room temperature. If it is warm at all, place the white Jell-O mixture into the refrigerator or allow to cool to room temperature.
- Add a very thin layer (about ½ teaspoon) of the white Jell-O mixture over the purple layer. Return Jell-O shots to the refrigerator to chill until set (another 15-30 minutes.)
- Mix the next layer of Jell-O just as you did with the purple. Dissolve blue Jell-O in 1 cup of boiling water. Mix Malibu and cold water to make an additional 1 cup of liquid and combine with the blue Jell-O. Once cooled to room temperature, add your thin layer of blue Jell-O over the white layer.
- Continue adding white layers of Jell-O and colored layers until you finish with the final red layer of Jell-O. As you use up all of the white Jell-O mixture, follow the same process as Step 5 to make another batch. IF you use all of the Jell-O from each color (96 Jell-O shots), you will need about 3 batches of white Jell-O.
- Whip heavy cream or use canned whipped cream to top the Jell-O shots JUST BEFORE SERVING. Add a ¾-1” strip of Airheads rainbow candy or top with colorful sprinkles.
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Notes
- The white Jell-O mixture needs to be cooled COMPLETELY before pouring over the colored layers or it will melt the layer underneath and the colors will swirl together.
- Be sure each subsequent color of Jell-O is cooled to room temperature also before pouring over the white layer underneath.
- If you use tapered shot glasses, you will need slightly more Jell-O for the top layers than the bottom layers. I took a Sharpie and drew lines to divide one cup into 11 sections (adjust if you’re not using 6 different colors of Jell-O). This gave me a good idea of about how much Jell-O to pour for each layer. It’s not much. Using a ½ teaspoon or a single teaspoon works well to maintain control and not overpour. Remember, these don’t have to be perfect. They taste good whether the layers are perfectly even or not.
- Because we’re pouring such thin layers of Jell-O and using so many colors, this recipe will make about 96 Jell-O shots!! If you want to make less, simply fill the number of cups you want to make with each color Jell-O. Then, pour the remaining Jell-O into a greased square baking dish. Refrigerate the baking dish (be sure it is completely level) as you refrigerate the Jell-O shots. Skip the white layers in between each color (which will save you ingredients) and just add the leftover subsequent Jell-O as you work to fill the cups. Then, you will have a pan of rainbow layered Jell-O as well. (Remember that you’ve added liquor to the Jell-O, so maybe don’t just dig in with a big spoon.) You can cut the pan of Jell-O into small squares for serving.
Nutrition
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Comments & Reviews
Stefanie says
These take some effort, but man are they a fun and tasty adult treat! The recipe makes 96 of them, so it’s perfect for a crowd, I hope you love them!