These Christmas Jello Balls are a fun and festive treat you won’t want to miss this holiday season! With flavored Jello mixed into creamy yogurt, these little desserts are soft, sweet, and bursting with flavor. Rolled in sweetened coconut, they’re as pretty as they are delicious.
No Bake Christmas Jello Balls
If you’ve never tried Jello balls, now is the time to change it! These chewy treats are fruity and delicious. It’s a simple recipe that you can make with your children this year. Plus, they are pretty cute! I love the coconut coating and you can see the color of the Jello poking through.
Once they are fully set, they aren’t gooey or messy. They hold together well, making them great gifts or party favors! They are cheap and fun to make, so there’s no reason you shouldn’t add them to your list of Christmas desserts this year.
Why You’ll Love These Jello Balls
- Easy to make. This is an incredibly simple recipe to make. It requires only a few ingredients and steps to make them! They are also super cute, which makes it even more worthwhile to try this recipe for a holiday treat.
- Only 4 ingredients. I only use 4 ingredients to make these gelatin balls. They are common, inexpensive items that you can find at any grocery store.
- Customizable recipe. You may use any combination of Jello flavors that you want. I chose flavors to make red and green for a Christmas theme, but you aren’t limited to those options.
What You’ll Need
You don’t need a large list of ingredients to make this Jello ball recipe. It’s extremely simple, which is what made it most appealing for me to try! Traditional balls are made with “thick cream” but that has been discontinued. For me, I haven’t found anything better than plain Greek yogurt as an alternative. It works great!
- Strawberry and lime Jello: I chose these two Jello flavors because they make the perfect red and green for Christmas. You may use another variety like raspberry in place of the strawberry if you prefer.
- Coconut: You will need finely chopped or desiccated sweetened coconut for this recipe. The large shreds don’t mix as well with the other ingredients.
- Greek yogurt: I found that this mixes well with the Jello and holds its shape well when chilled. It also has a slightly tangy flavor that compliments the sweetness.
How to Make Christmas Jello Balls
The process of making these Christmas gelatin balls is super simple and quick! Once the mixtures are made and the balls are rolled, the refrigerator will do the rest of the work so they can be eaten!
- Prepare baking sheets. Line your baking sheets with parchment paper or a silicone mat.
- Make the red Jello mixture. Combine half the Greek yogurt, red Jello powder mix, and 2 ½ cups of coconut in a mixing bowl. Stir until the ingredients are well combined.
- Form into balls: Divide and roll the mixture into ½ tablespoon balls.
- Roll in coconut. Fill a separate bowl with ¾ cup of coconut. Then, roll each red ball in the coconut and place it on the baking sheet.
- Repeat for green Jello. Do the same thing for the green Jello mixture using the same measurements. Grab a fresh bowl of coconut to roll the balls in to keep the colors separate.
- Chill. Place the pans into the refrigerator for at least 2 hours to set. Enjoy!
Tips for Success
- Try a food processor. If you can only find shredded coconut, pulse it a few times in a food processor (or blender if you don’t have one) to break up the coconut into smaller pieces.
- Equipment needed: I recommend a pair of rubber gloves to make rolling the balls easier. You will also need a couple of mixing bowls for each Jello flavor so you may keep the colors separate.
- Make them for another holiday: Try grape and orange Jello instead for a Halloween theme, cherry and blue raspberry for July 4th, or any combination you like! There are no limits as to what kind of Jello balls you can make.
Proper Storage
Store these Jello balls in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks in the refrigerator or up to 3 months in the freezer. Transfer them to the refrigerator to thaw slightly before serving!
More Jello Recipes to Try
- Layered Jello Salad
- Jello Roll-Ups
- Frozen Candy Grapes With Jello
- Raspberry Pretzel Salad
- Homemade Gumdrops
Christmas Jello Balls
Ingredients
- 1 3 ounce Strawberry Jello
- 1 3 ounce Lime Jello
- 6 ½ cups Sweetened Desiccated or Finely Chopped Coconut divided
- 1 ½ cups Plain Greek Yogurt divided
Instructions
- Line two 9×13 baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.
- Add ¾ cup yogurt, the red jello, and 2 ½ cups of the coconut to a medium mixing bowl. Stir until fully combined.
- Add about ¾ cup of the coconut to a small bowl.
- Grab some gloves. Scoop up a slightly heaping ½ tablespoon of the mixture and roll it into a ball. Roll the ball in the bowl of coconut and place it on one of the prepared cookie sheets.
- Repeat until all of the red mixture has been rolled into balls.
- Repeat steps 1-5 for the green jello. Be sure to swap out the coconut you were using to roll the red balls with a fresh ¾ cup of coconut to roll the green balls in. This will ensure no colors mix.
- Place in the fridge for 2 hours or until set. Enjoy!
Last Step:
Please leave a rating and comment letting us know how you liked this recipe! This helps our business to thrive and continue providing free, high-quality recipes for you.Equipment
- 2 9×13 Baking Sheets
- Measuring Cups & Spoons
- 2 Medium Mixing Bowls
- 2 Rubber Spatulas
- Rubber Gloves
Notes
- Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 2 weeks or in the freezer for up to 3 months.
- You can use other flavors of jello to get other colors, if desired.
- Once set, these can be stored stacked on top of each other without issue.
- These used to be made with Nestle’s thick cream in a can. However, that has been discontinued. Through testing, we found Greek yogurt to be the best replacement, and it ended up making them taste even better than the original recipe!
- We did not find another replacement that worked as well. If you don’t want these to be as sweet, you can use unsweetened coconut instead. However, be aware that unsweetened coconut might soak up more of the moisture, so start with only a portion of the coconut and add more as you mix.
- If you find it difficult to locate desiccated coconut, you can just grab regular shredded coconut and pulse it a few times in a food processor. Works perfectly.
Nutrition
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4 comments on “Christmas Jello Balls”
Really want to try these, but so many here do not like coconut! Any ideas for a sub?
Hi Linda. How about some white sprinkles or jimmies?
These look delicious and fun ! I think my grandkids will love these ! ( I was hoping for an adult version too )
Thanks Denise! I don’t think it would be too hard to make these into a boozy version. I would add vodka or rum to the mixture but you may need to adjust the Greek yogurt amount until you get the right consistency.