Black Magic Jello Shots

ByJulie Kotzbach October 22, 2017January 4, 2025

Black Magic Jello Shots are fun layered jello shots that are perfect for your Halloween party! Everyone will think they’re magical!

What’s your favorite part of Halloween? Is it all the costumes, the parties, fun decorations, treats, or cocktails? I love it all, and so does my family. Halloween has gotten even more fun since my boys are old enough to really have a blast with it too.

We put out a few animatronic statues around the house (they love to make them go off) and decorate everywhere! They plan their costumes months in advance and change them at least 7 times before we make them give a final answer.

The excitement is contagious!

LOVE THIS RECIPE? PIN IT FOR LATER!
Follow Bread Booze Bacon on Pinterest

But today, we’re not doing something for the kids. Today we’re making a fun vodka jello shot for us that looks super cool and tastes awesome! Because parents should get to have some fun too, even if you wait until after bedtime.

These shots are layered for a magical effect and topped with a little black sanding sugar for some sparkle and a little extra sweetness. I have full intentions of having a buffet of jello shots for our Halloween party this year. Something for every palette that’s sure to get the party started!

You can also probably see the sugar “melted” on top of the shots. The shots are wet. Water makes the sugar dissolve. It happens.

But because the sugar is black and you sprinkled it on, it still looks really cool and helps the effect. Just go with it!

How to Make Black Magic Jello Shots

Place all 24 plastic cups on a baking sheet or on your serving plate, for easy transport. Leave the lids off the cups.

Blue Layer

Place the berry blue jello mix powder in a medium mixing bowl. Add 1 cup boiling water to the powder and whisk to combine until the powder is dissolved.
Add the cold water and vodka. Whisk to combine.
Fill each plastic cup halfway full with blue jello. Place the cups in the fridge and chill until the jello is just about set, about 45 mins.

Purple Layer

Place the grape jello mix powder in a medium mixing bowl. Add 1 cup boiling water to the powder and whisk to combine until the powder is dissolved.
Add the cold water and vodka. Whisk to combine.
Remove the plastic cups from the fridge and carefully pour the purple jello over the blue jello, to create layers, filling each cup the rest of the way.
Return the jello cups to the fridge and chill until completely set, at least 1-2 hours

Finishing

Remove the jello cups from the fridge, and sprinkle the top of each shot with black sugar. You don’t want to completely mask the purple, but there should be a good layer of sugar.
Place a lid on each cup and refrigerate the shots until ready to serve or put out at your party.

These Halloween jello shots will be a hit with all the guys & ghouls!

Grab more Halloween Jello Shots!

More Halloween cocktails!

Black Magic Jello Shots

Julie Kotzbach

Black Magic Jello Shots are fun layered jello shots that are perfect for your Halloween party! Everyone will think they’re magical!

4.68 from 140 votes

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 5

Cook Time 10

Chilling Time 2 45

Total Time 3

Course Drinks

Cuisine American

Servings shots

Calories 49 kcal

Ingredients

Blue Layer:

3 ounces Berry Blue Jello mix (1/2 cup powder mix)
1 cup boiling water
½ cup cold water
½ cup vodka

Purple Layer:

3 ounces Grape Jello mix (1/2 cup powder mix)
1 cup boiling water
½ cup cold water
½ cup vodka

Supplies:

2 ounce plastic cup with lids (24 of them)
Black Sanding Sugar

Instructions

Place all 24 plastic cups on a baking sheet or on your serving plate, for easy transport. Leave the lids off the cups.

Blue Layer:

Place the Jello mix powder in a medium mixing bowl. Add 1 cup boiling water to the powder and whisk to combine until the powder is dissolved.
Add the cold water and vodka. Whisk to combine.
Fill each plastic cup halfway full with blue jello. Place the cups in the fridge and chill until the jello is just about set, about 45 mins.

Purple Layer:

Place the Jello mix powder in a medium mixing bowl. Add 1 cup boiling water to the powder and whisk to combine until the powder is dissolved.
Add the cold water and vodka. Whisk to combine.
Remove the plastic cups from the fridge and carefully pour the purple jello over the blue jello, to create layers, filling each cup the rest of the way.
Return the jello cups to the fridge and chill until completely set, at least 1-2 hours

Finishing:

Remove the jello cups from the fridge, and sprinkle the top of each shot with black sugar. You don't want to completely mask the purple, but there should be a good layer of sugar.
Place a lid on each cup and refrigerate the shots until ready to serve or put out at your party.

Video

Notes

I recommend making the jello for the purple layer right after you put the blue layer in the fridge. Then let the purple layer cool off while the blue layer sets up. That way the hotter jello won't melt the first layer when you add it in.

Nutrition

Calories: 49 kcalCarbohydrates: 2 gProtein: 0 gFat: 0 gSaturated Fat: 0 gCholesterol: 0 mgSodium: 28 mgSugar: 6 g

All nutritional information is based on third party calculations and is only an estimate. Each recipe and nutritional value will vary depending on the brands you use, measuring methods and portion sizes per household.

Keyword jello shot

Tried this recipe?If you made this recipe, leave a comment and star rating to let others know how it turned out.

Julie Kotzbach

I’m Julie, the creator of Bread Booze Bacon, where I share bold, flavor-packed recipes for everyday meals and easy entertaining. From hearty comfort food to crowd-pleasing appetizers and cocktails, these are recipes built to impress without overcomplicating things.

4.68 from 140 votes (133 ratings without comment)

49 Comments

Rachel @ {i love} my disorganized life says:

at

Hand them over, NOW! Or like in a few minutes, whatever works for you.

Reply
Sharleen Miller says:

at

Are we gonna have black lips ??

Reply
1. Julie says:
  
  at
  
  You shouldn’t, unless you purposefully rub the black sugar all over your lips. If you’re worried at all, just leave the black sugar off the top. 🙂 The jello itself is blue and purple.
  
  Reply
Eden Passante says:

at

This is so fun and perfect for a Halloween party!

Reply
Michael says:

at

How Many minutes do you let the layer set before adding the second layer of jello?

Reply
1. Julie says:
  
  at
  
  About an hour or so, until the bottom layer it set.
  
  Reply
Eden Passante says:

at

I like the added touch of black sugar on top! So charming!!

Reply
Steph says:

at

My party is in 2 days, should I wait to add the sugar until the day of?

Reply
1. Julie says:
  
  at
  
  Yes! Wait to add the sugar until right before you serve them. It melts faster than you think.
  
  Reply
Ron August says:

at

I would actually let the second layer cool a bit before adding to the first layer – this way the heat of the second layer will not melt the top of the first layer and mix the color… Happened to me when I tried to add the 2nd layer and it was too hot…. still tasted good though….

Reply
1. Julie says:
  
  at
  
  Yes! I usually make the purple layer right after putting the blue in the fridge. I’ll make a note for everyone. Thank you!
  
  Reply
Lillian says:

at

Can you use flavored vodka?

Reply
1. Julie says:
  
  at
  
  Hi Lillian! You can!! Cake, whipped, and vanilla vodkas would all pair well with both flavors of jello. Or try a flavor combination you like. 🙂
  
  Reply
xaksaroph says:

at

My friend and i made jello shots for our Halloween party (not these ones sadly) but an idea she came up with would work well with this.
“trick or treat jelloshots” you add a little citric acid to the tops of some of the jellos, not enough to make it horrible but boy its a surprise when you pick one!

Reply
1. Julie says:
  
  at
  
  That sounds like the best thing ever!! Would it be okay if I shared this with everyone on the blog next year?!
  
  Reply
Megan says:

at

OH! I’m adding another blue layer and making Thin Blue Line shots for my LEO hubby’s promotion party!!

Reply
1. Julie says:
  
  at
  
  Love this idea so much! My dad was a LEO in Beverly Hills when I was little.
  
  Reply
Crystal king says:

at

Seems nice I would have to give it a try sometime but Idk if I would like it because I’m not much a vodka person I’m more a rum person well what the hell I will just give it a try ?? sometime in June because that’s my birthday well I hope that my husband and I like it lol

Reply
1. Julie says:
  
  at
  
  Hi Crystal! Vodka is such a neutral spirit you taste the jello and get an alcohol sting. 🙂 They’re sweet enough you should be good.
  
  Reply
  1. Kelly J says:
    
    at
    
    Crystal- Make them with Malibu instead. Malibu goes well with both of the jello flavors.
    
    Reply
    1. Julie Espy says:
      
      at
      
      That sounds pretty amazing! I’ll have to do that next time!
      
      Reply
Dawn says:

at

Hi. Can you use sugar free Jell-O?

Reply
1. Julie Espy says:
  
  at
  
  Hi Dawn! Yes, you can use sugar-free jello if you prefer.
  
  Reply
Jordan says:

at

Hi!! I love this idea!! I’ve made blue jello with Hypnotiq and they’re the best!!

I think I’m gonna mix the blue and purple for a black look!
Love it!

Reply
1. Julie Espy says:
  
  at
  
  Love the idea of using Hypnotiq for these shots!!
  
  Reply
Kristen Jacobsen says:

at

Do you spray cooking oil in the cups so the jello slides out or does the jello stick to the cup?

Reply
1. Julie Espy says:
  
  at
  
  Hi Kristen! I do not spray cooking oil in the cups. The jello sticks a little, but comes out when you suck it out of the cup while squeezing or use your tongue to help it. Also, you could run your finger around the edge of the cup before shooting it.
  
  Reply
2. Michelle says:
  
  at
  
  Or you can get a small bowl and puthot water inbit and just gild your jello shooter in the warm water for a few seconds and itll loosen it off the cup walls and slide right out :). Just take care not to dunk it deep enought to get water in the jello cup
  
  Reply
Cat says:

at

Can I use substitute vodka for the cold water potion as well to pay it stronger?

Reply
1. Julie Espy says:
  
  at
  
  Hi Cat! You can absolutely double down on the vodka!
  
  Reply
Christine @ myblissfulmess says:

at

Oh my goodness Julie! These were delicious and a big hit! I had no idea they would be such a big hit, mostly because I hadn’t tried them so I turned my guests into guinea pigs (I do that a lot LOL) and also because I’ve never served Jello shots at any of my parties, until now. So I had no idea if my friends would go nuts over them. Next time, I must at least double the recipe! For those concerned about getting black lips from the black sugar, no one here got black lips.

Reply
Susan says:

at

I have made these twice! We enjoy a non-alcoholic version made with apple juice or white grape juice. They turn out great! I love blue jell-o. The purple looks so dark on top. This is a cool jell-o recipe!

Reply
Sheryl says:

at

Love these Jell-O shots! We substituted the black sugar with Pop Rocks. You put pour the Pop Rocks on just before you eat them. They were a huge hit. Everyone still talks about it.

Reply
1. Julie Espy says:
  
  at
  
  Love the idea of using pop rocks!! Good call!
  
  Reply
Shelby says:

at

I cannot find grape jello. What can I do for the second layer?

Reply
1. Julie Espy says:
  
  at
  
  Hi Shelby! Black cherry or blackberry would taste good with the berry blue jello and look pretty. 🙂 Option B is to use all berry blue jello instead. Hope this helps!
  
  Reply
Henrietta Matejek says:

at

Does mixing the purple and the blue make black? Because that’s what I need for one of the colors in my Jell-O shots.
Thanks Henrietta

Reply
1. Julie Espy says:
  
  at
  
  Hi Henrietta! You would get a violet color mixing them together. The best way to get black jello is to buy some black food coloring (liquid or gel) and add it to your jello. Hope this helps! 🙂
  
  Reply
Taryn says:

at

What do they taste like?

Reply
1. Julie Espy says:
  
  at
  
  Hi Taryn! These shots are nice and fruity. They taste like blue raspberry and grape together. 🙂
  
  Reply
Sandy says:

at

Could I use the black cookie part of an ores instead?

Reply
1. Julie Espy says:
  
  at
  
  I’m not 100% sure how it’ll taste with the fruit flavors, but you could absolutely try it out! Great idea. 🙂
  
  Reply
Red says:

at

What great ideas! Can’t wait to try them!

Reply
Daisy says:

at

Can I replace vodka with tequila?

Reply
1. Julie Kotzbach says:
  
  at
  
  Hi Daisy! You can use tequila if you prefer I’m not sure how it’ll pair with those jello flavors though. I would recommend a tester to check before making the whole batch. 🙂
  
  Reply
Kerry Hanson says:

at

These are delicious and no sting at all. I could not find grape jello so I used Raspberry and added a little blue food coloring. I also used not just regular vodka but some raspberry vodka and little bit of Chambord. These were gone so fast

Reply
Reema says:

at

Could I use vodka and Coconut Malibu? How do you think those flavors would pair?

Reply
1. Julie Kotzbach says:
  
  at
  
  For sure!
  
  Reply
Sam says:

at

I made these for a Halloween party and they were all gone by the end! Thanks for the recipe. 🙂

Reply