Homemade dandelion gelatin recipe – a sunny treat for a summer’s day! Forage dandelions for free in your backyard and use immediately for this healthy dessert.
Dandelion Gelatin
If you’re new to foraging, dandelions are a great place to start. Dandelions are:
- Easy to spot
- Bloom early in the spring until the late fall
- Are an ethical forage since they grow so abundantly
- Versatile in the kitchen
- Loved by children and bees alike
To learn more about the specifics of how to forage, best practices, equipment, etc. – click here.
Dandelion Gelatin
Have your sunshine and eat it, too, with this dandelion gelatin recipe. Forage fresh dandelions and use wholesome honey for a healthy treat.
Ingredients
- 2 Cups Dandelion Flower Tea* OR 1 Cup Dandelion Tea Plus One Cup Organic Apple Juice
- 2 Tbsp. Organic Beef Gelatin flavorless
- 1/4 cup raw sugar or coconut sugar
- 1/4 cup honey
- Dash of Turmeric for color - optional
Instructions
- Put the tea* Or the tea/juice combination into a saucepan.
- Add gelatin and let bloom**; stir in to combine.
- Bring to a simmer on medium heat and simmer for 10 minutes.
- Remove from heat and let sit for a few minutes - don't let it go too long or will get clumpy.
- Add honey and test sweetness until it makes you happy.
- Place into gelatin mold, ice cube tray, glass baking dish, whatever!
- Refrigerate for 4-6 hours OR for better results, leave in fridge overnight.
Notes
*To make a simple dandelion tea, gather 2-4 cups worth of dandelion flowers and pinch off the green backs.
Place them in a saucepan and cover with 2-3 cups of water. Bring to a boil; remove from heat; cover and let steep for 2-6 hours.
The longer it sits, the stronger the flavor (and the more beneficial for your health), so just taste test every so often. FYI, the longer you leave it, the darker the color will be from the bits of green that made it into the batch.
When it's done, strain out the flowers and measure the tea for this recipe. Drink whatever is left over.
**You can find organic beef gelatin on Amazon or your local health food store. I prefer these organic brands over Knox because of where they're sourced and how helpful they can be at building up health.
Notes on Gel Set:
If you’re living off grid and/or without a fridge, get creative with the cooling. This mixture will gel a bit left on its own regardless. However, in the warmer months it won’t ever really set up without a good temperature drop. You can also try what Amelia, an intrepid reader, pointed out:
“If no refrigeration, you can use agar agar, a vegetarian gelatin made from seaweed (no it doesn’t taste like seaweed, no taste). Texture is firmer and not as ‘jiggly’ as animal gelatin.”
Dandelion gelatin is great – so cool and tasty on a warm day! However, dandelion gelatin isn’t the only thing one can make with dandelions.
Dandelion Resources
Here are a few more helpful links regarding dandelions, healthy foods and wellness.
Dandelion Resources
Chocolate Dandelion Milkshake Recipe
A delicious and healthy mix of dandelion, cocoa, bone broth powder and homemade whipped cream.
Roasted Dandelion Root Chai
Dandelions for Food and Medicine that You Can Count On
Traditional Scandinavian Dandelion Syrup Recipe
Dandelion & Honey Ice Cream
Dandelion Pesto
Dandelion cupcakes with sunflower seeds
Your daughter is a genius! What a wonderful idea – pinning to my dandelions board for sure! 🙂
I say that all the time, Jan! I’ll pass on your compliment for sure. I need to go check out your dandelion board…
Wow – this is a great recipe! I know dandelions have some great benefits AND my kids love jello. Good way to get them some extra nutrition. Thanks for linking up at the Natural Living Monday and Healthy Meal Planning Linkup!
This is a new one for me…. I have never heard of this … or even thought of it!! Thank you for the great idea. 🙂
It was new to me, too! My kids have great ideas and I just run with them – that’s why they’re my best friends. Well, that and that the forgive me when I’m a creep and love my pancakes. What are friends for?
I know it’s been a while, but how much honey would be a good starting point? Making this with some of our middle school students and I don’t want to be tasting as we go…
Thanks!
That makes sense! Let’s see, if you use straight dandelion tea, I’d say start at a scant 1/2 cup of honey. If you use dandelion tea cut with apple juice, use a scant 1/4 cup of honey. Taste, especially sweet, is tricky because it’s so relative. However, I hope that will land you somewhere in the yummy zone.
If you like, email me at Tessa@homesteadlady.com for a little gift for you and your class that might be helpful for further fun!
Going to try this dandelion jello idea. If no refrigeration, you can use agar agar, a vegetarian gelatin made from seaweed (no it doesn’t taste like seaweed, no taste). Texture is firmer and not as “jiggly” as animal gelatin. Made some for Easter using mango juice/puree; the kids loved it.
Thanks so much for the tip about agar agar – I had no idea! I’ll go add that to the article so others know.
We actually just made some dandelion gelatin this week. It’s one of the first things we do with dandelions. I let it steep too long this time and it was much more green and plant-y flavored – I wasn’t sure my kids would like it as well. They slurped it right up, though! One of them even said they liked how it tasted like actual dandelions.
Kids surprise me ALL the time!
What an easy and delicious recipe that kids will appreciate. I may try it with maple syrup.
Maple syrup would be delicious!
This is great! I wonder, if the agar agar is firmer, could you make gummies with this?
It might be, I have yet to use it!
Yes, you can make gummies with this recipe by increasing the amount of gelatin. Try doubling it and see how it works with your gummy mold. Some molds release really well and some you have to argue with.
This is such a unique way to capture those lovely dandelions!
Tasty, too! Thanks for stopping by!
I can’t wait to try this! I wonder if we could add homemade apple cider vinegar as well, double the gelatin and make super healthy gummies… experiment incoming, methinks! 😉
Yes, it makes delicious gummies – have fun!
Loved by children and bees alike! Ha! I love that you used something growing in the back yard for a tasty treat. Great post.
The backyard is my favorite grocery store. 🙂 Thanks for stopping by!