Valentine's Day Layered Gelatin

Name: Valentine's Day Layered Gelatin Cups
Prep time: 20 min
Total time: 3 h 20 min
Yield: 8
Cuisine: Dessert
Ingredients: 6 cups boiling water; 2 3 oz boxes cherry gelatin; 6 packages Knox unflavored gelatin (0.25 oz each); 1 14 oz can sweetened condensed milk; 2 3 oz boxes watermelon gelatin; ¼ cup cold water

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If you love the look of layered gelatin, here is a delicious treat for Valentine’s Day. Red, white, and pink gelatin in glasses or shapes is a light dessert that’s perfect for the day of love.

See how to make this Valentine’s Day layered Jelly recipe quickly, easily, and even if you don’t have dessert cups.

Three glasses of red, white, and pink layered gelatin. Tiny blobs of whipped cream top each one.

Red, Pink, and White Gelatin Layers

There’s something so satisfying about dipping into layered gelatin desserts. Yes, it takes a little time to layer everything nicely, but the end result makes it worth it, in my opinion.

Not just for Valentine’s Day, these layers also resemble candy canes, making them perfect for Christmastime, as well. Of course, you can easily swap out the colors to make them fit whichever theme or holiday you wish.

Gelatin packages, whisk, spoon, and bowls of gelatin mix and sweetened condensed milk.

Valentine’s Layered Jelly Ingredients

Serves 6-8 depending on container size and/or cookie cutter size.

(Measurements are in the recipe card below.)

Boiling water
Cherry gelatin
Unflavored gelatin
Sweetened condensed milk
Watermelon gelatin
Cold water

Layered Valentine Gelatin Directions

Spray dessert cups or an 8×8 or 9×13 glass baking dish with cooking spray. Set aside.

Boil six cups of water and keep on low.

Prepare the cherry gelatin as directed, adding two extra packages of unflavored gelatin.

Red gelatin in a bowl with a whisk in it and surrounded by other ingredients on a table.

Pour the first layer of cherry gelatin into your dessert cups or your prepared dish. Allow it to set in the refrigerator for one hour.

Prepare the white gelatin layer by combining two packages of unflavored gelatin with one cup of cold water. Mix the sweetened condensed milk with one cup of boiling water and combine with the gelatin mixture.

White gelatin in a bowl with a whisk in it.

Allow the white gelatin mixture to cool a bit before pouring over the red layer. Then place it back into the fridge until completely set.

Stirring pink gelatin in a bowl with a whisk.

Make the watermelon gelatin as directed, adding two extra packages of unflavored gelatin.

Three layers of gelatin in three dessert shooter glasses.

Allow to slightly cool before pouring over the white layer and place it into the fridge to set.

Three dessert shooters filled with red, white, and pink gelatin layers.

Repeat the layering process until the desired amount of layers are achieved and everything is completely set.

Dessert shooters with Valentine's Day layered gelatin in them.

If you used a baking dish instead of dessert cups, turn the gelatin over onto a cutting board and cut into hearts or squares before serving.

Top of layered gelatin with whipped cream dollop.

Gelatin Layers Recipe Notes and FAQ

What if I don’t have dessert cups?

The directions include a way to layer the gelatin into a glass baking dish as another option. Layer all the gelatin in the dish, and then cut it into shapes for a fun treat. Use an 8×8 glass dish for thicker jelly, or a 9×13 dish for thinner shapes.

Can I speed up the gelatin setting process?

Yes, you can set the layers in the freezer, which will speed up this process quite a bit. When using this method, the gelatin can be set in under an hour.

How can I stop the layers from bleeding together?

It’s important to let each layer of gelatin completely set before adding another layer. Allowing the layers to cool helps prevent the colors from bleeding.

Why do you use extra gelatin?

The reason you add extra unflavored gelatin to the mix is to toughen it up so you can grab it. If you’re cutting the gelatin into shapes, you want it to be grabbable (not a word?) as “finger gelatin.”

Spoon in a glass of layered gelatin with pink, red, and white layers.

Three shooter glasses with layers of white, pink, and red gelatin.

Yield: 8