The summer sun has officially risen over Brooklyn and this Memorial Day weekend was a scorcher (which meant I got in some much needed beach and biking time). To celebrate the holiday weekend and the love of the sun I made this Tequila Sunrise jello which was served at a backyard BBQ. Its gradient layers are made with real orange juice, silver tequila, and grenadine with cherries. It was delicious. Happy summer everyone!
Tequila Sunrise
3 tablespoons (3 envelopes) of unflavored gelatin powder
3/4 cups cold water
1 1/4 cups boiling water
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup clear (silver) tequila
1 1/2 cups Orange Juice (without pulp)
3/4 cup + 2 tablespoons of Grenadine
3/4 cup pitted dark sweet cherries.
Sprinkle 2 tablespoons (2 envelopes) unflavored gelatin over 1/2 cup of the cold water and allow the gelatin to absorb the water. Stir in 3/4 cup of the boiling water until gelatin is fully dissolved. Stir in sugar until dissolved. Stir in orange juice and tequila. Reserve 1 1/4 cup of the orange juice and tequila mixture and pour the remainder into a 6 cup mold. Refrigerate until gelatin is set but not firm (should stick to your finger when touched).
Meanwhile, stir 2 tablespoons of the grenadine into the reserved 1 1/4 cup of the orange juice/tequila mixture. Gently spoon into the mold over the first orange juice/tequila layer. Refrigerate until gelatin is set but not firm.
Meanwhile, in a separate bowl, sprinkle 1 tablespoon (1 envelope) unflavored gelatin over 1/4 cup of the cold water and allow the gelatin to absorb the water. Stir in 1/2 cup of the boiling water until gelatin is fully dissolved. Stir in 3/4 cup of the grenadine. Refrigerate until thickened to the consistency of a gel. Fold in cherries and gently spoon into the mold over the second orange juice/tequila/grenadine layer. Refrigerate until firm. Unmold and serve.
The Jello Mold Mistress 
Yuuuum-yum-yum-yum! Definitely going in the To Make pile! On an unrelated note, I stumbled upon your book by accident while browsing for new books for my Kindle. Bought it, loved it and bought 2 hard copies (one’s a gift). Finally someone who loves jelly as much as I do!!
Thank you Sarah! So glad you love jello too!!
Can you replace gelatin with agar agar for this recipe? If so, do you know the conversion?
Thanks!
The conversion between agar-agar and gelatin is supposed to be equal amounts. I am not sure, however, how well agar agar will set with tequila. It may end up slushy. Maybe try a small batch first before diving into the whole recipe.
Thanks and good luck!
I grew up on jello molds! How lucky for me that I came across your site. I am definately going to look for your book. Thanks for helping to make jello molds “cool again”!
Thank you Sheila!
I am a very new reader to these posts. What is the name of your book(s) ? The Tequila Sunrise looks great, but knowone in my household likes Tequila. How would Vodka work instead of Tequila ? That is something everyone would love, since they all like screwdriver drinks
My book is called Hello Jell-O!: https://jellomoldmistress.com/the-book/. This recipe would work fine with vodka. You can sub out tequila for an equal amount of vodka. I also have many other vodka based recipes here: https://jellomoldmistress.com/category/vodka/
Looks great! What size mold? 6 cups?
Yes, a 5 or 6 cup mold will work. Thanks!
Hi There!
I’m going to attempt to make this in jello shot format and I want to make them a bit boozier. I only plan to do two layers. What ratios would you use to make them stronger but still jello-y?
I did make a two-layer jello shot version as well which has much more Tequila but less (no) fruit. The recipe is here: https://jellomoldmistress.com/2014/07/22/tequila-sunrise-shots With either recipe you could probably add a 1/2 to 3/4 cup of tequila and subtract 1/2 to 3/4 cup of OJ and it would still taste fine. Just depends on how much you like tequila! Good luck!