35+ Simple Ways to Eat More Gelatin
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Earlier this summer we published our love letter to gelatin espousing the various benefits gelatin provides – and wouldn't you know that the very first comment we received was, “I've got the Great Lakes brand, but how do I use it?,” which was then echoed through other comments as well.
Silly me for not including at least a few ways to incorporate more gelatin in your diet! Mea culpa.
Thus, after a bit of reading on the Opportunity Health blog, I've now compiled a few of my favorite ways to easily add more gelatin to your diet. Listed below, in no particular order, are a few ways I like to use gelatin – some are practical and easy enough to do everyday, others are just-for-the-fun-of-it and might be done once or twice a year. But whatever way you choose to eat more gelatin, just know that you're doing your body good. 🙂
And if you've got a favorite way YOU like to enjoy gelatin, feel free to leave it in the comments! (Links to other recipes are welcome.)
And if you missed the original, be sure to read The #1 Reason We Should All Eat More Gelatin.
Where to find grass-fed gelatin powder: Both Great Lakes gelatin and Bernard Jensen gelatin are excellent. This one is 100% beef like the others (rather than porcine), but I haven’t been able to verify its source or the method of its processing.
Easy & Creative Ways to Eat More Gelatin
1. Add 1 tablespoon of gelatin powder to a cold smoothie in place of a protein powder or make your own superfood smoothie mix
2. Make panna cotta, an easy, elegant dessert (there are an endless number of flavor possibilities for panna cotta – get tons of ideas here)
3. Make homemade pudding cups
4. Make homemade gummy vitamins (which you can also make just as yummy, chewy candies)
5. Make gelatin squares (aka homemade finger jello)
6. Make homemade fruit snacks
7. Make fruit snacks with kombucha for an added probiotic punch too!
8. Make sour gummy candies
9. Make homemade jello cups
10. Eat stock-based soups – my favorites include Coconut Fish Soup, Chicken Stew with 40 Cloves of Garlic, and classic Chicken Noodle Soup (And if you want more ideas on how to get more broth in your diet without just drinking it straight, Wardeh's got some great ideas.)
11. Make marshmallows (go easy with this one, as even though you'll be getting more gelatin, you'll also be getting a heavy dose of sugar)
12. Make a simple demi-glace to spoon over meat entrees – yummy!
13. Make homemade bouillon
14. Make French Country-Style Pâté – this one isn't spreadable, it's more of a light lunch meatloaf, and it's delectable!
15. Make gelatin flu shots (the flu shot you *want* to get! 🙂 )
16. Sprinkle a 1/2 tablespoon into your bowl of oatmeal (be careful not to let it clump)
18. Top your favorite pie with a fruit gelée
19. Add it to dark chocolate peppermint cups
20. Make it into a frothy, fruity faux latte
21. Add them to coffee to make healthy energy shots
22. Add it to cookies
23. Add 1 tablespoon with your dry ingredients when making buttermilk biscuits
24. Make Vitamin C gummies
25. Make mini jello salads
26. Make a molded jello salad
27. Use it in a protein workout recovery shake
28. Make homemade gummy bears or even this flu-busting version
29. Make homemade gummy worms
30. Make easy homemade lunch meat
31. Add it to homemade whipped cream. (This helps it hold its shape better too, especially in warm weather!) Sprinkle 1 tablespoon of gelatin over 1/4 cup cold water (per quart of whipping cream), warm over low heat until fully dissolved, then when the cream begins to hold soft peaks, drizzle it in while whipping and continue whipping until the cream holds firm peaks.
32. Add it to homemade ice cream, which also helps it not become so rock hard in the freezer. Soften 2 teaspoons of gelatin in 1/4 cup cold water (for the standard recipe that makes 1 quart of ice cream), warm over low heat JUST until fully dissolved, then whisk it into the ice cream mix prior to churning. (I actually like to use a blender to mix the ice cream ingredients anyway, and this makes adding gelatin all the easier.)
33. Make a glaze for fresh fruit
34. Add it to your no-bake cheesecake or raw cheesecake. Sprinkle 1 tablespoon of gelatin over 1/4 cup cold water, warm over low heat until fully dissolved, then stir into your cheesecake batter and pour immediately into your prepared crust or prepared pan. Chill as usual.
35. Make chocolate custard
36. Make jellied cranberry sauce for your Thanksgiving table (or anytime!)
37. Fill empty gel caps and drink with a glass of water
38. Make homemade Velveeta or homemade Cheez Whiz – two totally real food versions of the nutritionally devoid versions you find at the store
Which leads me to the last but certainly not least tip: the way I usually get more gelatin in my diet is the absolute most boring-est way of all:
39. Stir 1 tablespoon into a large glass of cold water and drink it all at once (meaning, don't let it sit and don't sip it)
So, there are 35 or so ways to start to get more gelatin in your diet! Do you have other favorite ways to eat gelatin? Please tell us in the comments!
Awful food recommendations. You should really stop recommending foods that turn people into fat asses.
Clearly this is not the blog for you if you think these recipes will make you fat. Keep looking around, buddy.
I like to add gelatin to my hot tea. But when you recommend drinking it plain in water, you suggest drinking it straight down instead of sipping. Why is that? I haven’t noticed clumping or anything in my tea, which I normally sip for a half hour or so.
Are you sure you’re not drinking collagen hydrolosate, which looks exactly like gelatin, but has been processed at a different heat so that it doesn’t gel in hot liquids? Otherwise, if you poured gelatin directly into a hot beverage, it would most definitely clump.
(And if – out of curiosity – your package does indeed say “gelatin,” would you mind sharing the brand, as I’d like to do research into their processing methods?)
Maybe I should have clarified: per the instructions on the canister, I add a small amount to room temperature water while my water boils for tea, then add the hot water and tea bag after it has gelled. I am using Great Lakes beef gelatin. Does it clump or set after sitting in room temperature water? I am new to using gelatin, that’s why I am curious. Does the hot water affect the gelling?
Ah! That makes sense now. 🙂 Yes, the hot water does affect the gelling – for example, when you make jello, you soften the gelatin in cool water, but then it requires heat in order to dissolve fully and create the chemical change to adhere with the water/juice molecules and lock them into their firm yet smooth state. It doesn’t take much heat, but the gelatin does have to dissolve completely, so no, once you’ve let it sit in the tepid water and then poured over the tea water, it won’t clump – it will be smooth. However, the gelling will depend on how much you use! Just like with jello, if you use just a little bit of gelatin, the jello will be very soft. If you use a lot, you’ll end up with finger jello or even gummies. So if you’re just using a small amount in your tea, you likely won’t notice much of anything, but if you up the quantity, you most certainly will as it cools. 🙂
Hi Kresha,
I thoroughly enjoyed your two very informative posts on gelatin. I just learned that collagen hydrolosate is processed at a higher temperature. Does that make it less nutritious or desirable to use for health issues? Will I still get all the wonderful health benefits of gelatin if I use it in the collagen hydrolosate form? Thank you!
Yes, that is true, and yes, you will still receive the same health benefits – the heat has merely broken down the proteins more in the collagen so that no longer is able to gel. Otherwise, it still benefits the body the same way.
Enjoy!
I use butter on my homemade sugar free muffins (which also have no added fat, so I need/like adding the butter). Today I decided to try using “amped up”cream cheese, which I made by adding a teaspoon of beef gelatin and a teaspoon of honey to two TBSP of cream cheese. Tastes great! And I’m getting a wee bit of extra protein with my muffins now. Next time I’ll add more beef gelatin; I think the two TBSP of cream geese could handle more. (I used Great Lakes brand, by the way.)
What’s the daily recommended dose?
It’s a food, so there is no recommended daily dose. Simply enjoy!
GREAT RECIPES & INFO!.
How about a bit in yogurt?
Absolutely!
Thanks!
Are any of these recommendations for gelatin that is NOT a powder? Thank you.
Most of these don’t matter whether it’s a powder or not. Personally, I prefer to use gelatin sheets, but they’re harder to find outside of commercial sources, so powder tends to be default for most people. 😉