Watermelon might be the ultimate summer fruit, but if you’re ready to put ‘em into party mode and make your friends do a serious double take, it’s time to turn it into Jell-O. These Watermelon Paloma Jell-O Shots are full of fresh watermelon flavor, a healthy amount of tequila, and they're packed with protein from the gelatin, collagen and chia seeds. Plus, they look like cute, jiggly watermelon slices! 🥹 Find the recipe for these super fun Jell-O shots at the link below, and prepare to be crowned the hostess with the mostess, cuz your crew’s about to get watermelon sugar tipsy.
Prep the fruit. Cut 1” off the top of a seedless watermelon and a sliver off the bottom so it sits flat, but not so much that it’ll cause the insides to leak out. You need both of these cuts to be parallel so the top cut isn’t on a diagonal.
Make the mix. Scoop the fruit out of the melon (top too), and blend until smooth, or you can use an immersion blender to carefully puree the fruit inside of the rind. Measure the amount of watermelon puree you have, then add the puree to a medium pot, sprinkle over the gelatin, let bloom for 10 minutes, then whisk in and bring to a simmer. Turn off the heat, add the collagen and dissolve, then add the tequila, lime juice, chia seeds and salt and stir to combine.
Chill and slice. Pour the watermelon mixture back into the watermelon rind, filling all the way to the tip top, then cover and chill on a flat surface for 8 hours or overnight. Once set, remove from the fridge, slice into wedges and enjoy!
Notes
For the tequila, you’re looking for around a 4:1 ratio of watermelon to tequila, but you can go up to a 3:1 ratio if you’d like! Choose your own adventure.
For the gelatin, you’ll need 2 pouches (2 tablespoons) per 1 cup of mix. You’ll need to measure your watermelon puree, then account for the appropriate amount of tequila to determine this. So, if you end up with 6 cups of watermelon puree, you’ll add anywhere from 1 ½ – 2 cups of tequila, plus ½ cup of lime juice and chia seeds (the collagen ends up being negligible and doesn’t add near a full ½ cup to the overall volume). That means you’ll need about 1 cup of gelatin.
MICRONUTRIENT HIGHLIGHTS
Nutrition varies depending on the size of your watermelon, but a cup of cut watermelon has around 15% of your daily vitamin C, and, assuming a cup of gelatin, you’re adding 140 grams of protein to this whole ordeal between the gelatin, collagen and chia seeds. WOAH!
I'm a big eater, a huge fan of pasta (and mac n cheese), and I'm on a mission to prove that indulgence and balance can exist well together without silly restrictions or dieting. Life's too short to eat bad food!
