This post may contain affiliate links, please see the privacy policy for details.
If you thought a shamrock shake or pint of Guinness were the only options for St. Patty’s Day, let me introduce these magical rainbow pot o’ gold Jello vodka shots! You only need 6 ingredients, one of which is boiling water, and these rainbow shots are so pretty! These rainbow shots with a Jello sky and Cool Whip clouds are perfect for St Patrick’s Day or Pride. I’m quite certain this is the cutest St Patrick’s Day cocktail ever!
Add some colour to your party with these fun and festive rainbow pot o’ gold jello shots! Perfect for St. Patrick’s Day or any occasion that calls for a little bit of luck and a lot of deliciousness.
Also try shamrock shakes, corned beef hash au gratin, Irish tacos with potatoes and don’t forget Bailey’s Irish cream pie for dessert!
They boast plenty of berry taste as well as creaminess and they’re garnished with candy rainbows and gold star sprinkles so you can just imagine how cute they look and how yummy they are.
This St. Patrick’s Day cocktail is versatile enough for either St. Patrick’s Day or Pride Day because of the sour rainbow candy. So it’s well worth making these versatile Jello sky and Cool Whip clouds shots.
Ingredients for Rainbow Shots
Along with blue Jello gelatin packet and water to make it, plus vodka and whipped topping, you will need rainbow candy belts and gold sprinkles. I love these edible gold stars but you can use any kind of gold stars you want.
Any blue-coloured Jello would work, and any type of vodka. Cool Whip is a great whipped topping to use or you can use another type if you prefer or even freshly whipped cream although that does tend to melt into the Jello and won’t look as tidy. You will want the blue Jello sky and Cool Whip clouds to resemble the sky and clouds underneath that magical rainbow.
How to Make this St. Patrick’s Day Cocktail
Since rainbow pot o’ gold Jello vodka shots are made with gelatin, you will need to give them time to set so make them well ahead.
Dissolve the gelatin powder in boiling water then mix in the vodka. Pour this into a scratch-resistant baking pan then chill for 2 hours in the refrigerator until thickened. Scrape it with a fork to crumble it.
If you let the Jello set more it will be harder to crumble but you can always crumble it after 2 hours then keep the crumbled pieces until you’re ready to assemble the rainbow pot o’ gold shots.
The next step for this St. Patrick’s Day cocktail is to add some of the Jello mixture to a shot glass then add some whipped topping. Try to make cloud shapes with the whipped topping. You don’t need to be too exact when layering the ‘sky’ and ‘clouds’ since cloud formations are pretty random anyway!
Once you’ve finished making the Jello sky and Cool Whip clouds in all the shot glasses, add more whipped topping on top of the jello shots (piped like shown or just a dollop of Cool Whip) then make an arch with a rainbow candy belt and press each end into the creamy topping. Sprinkle some edible gold stars at the end of the rainbow to finish the rainbow jello shots off perfectly. These are such fun jello shots!
How to Store These Rainbow Shots
These St. Patrick’s Day or Pride Day vodka shots will keep for up to 2 days if you keep them covered with plastic wrap and refrigerated. Since the gold stars tend to sink slowly through the cream topping, I’d recommend adding those shortly before serving. Else your ‘pot of gold’ is going to be floating in the ‘clouds’ rather than at the end of the rainbow where it’s supposed to be!
7 Curious Facts about St. Patrick’s Day
- The first celebration of St. Patrick’s Day in North America was in 1737 in Boston.
- The reason shamrocks are associated with this holiday is they are the national emblem of Ireland.
- According to legend, the 4 leaves on a clover represent love, hope, faith, and luck.
- Beer is the most popular beverage but shamrock shake is also in demand on St. Patrick’s Day.
- The shortest parade is held in an Irish village and it only lasts the 100 yards between 2 pubs!
- St. Patrick was never actually canonized by the Pope, so he’s a ‘saint’ in name only!
- Chicago dyes the river green for several hours on St. Patrick’s Day and has done so since 1962.
Are you thinking of having a St. Patrick’s Day party at your house this year? Now only are these St. Patrick’s Day rainbow pot of gold shots ideal but you can also have fun decorating. How about making a balloon garland with green, white and gold balloons so people can take selfies there?
St Patrick’s Day Jello Shots
Rainbow Pot O’ Gold Jello Vodka Shots
Ingredients
- 2 Cup water , boiling
- 1 Box gelatin, 6 Ounces, blue
- 2 Cups vodka, chilled
- 8 Ounces whipped topping, such as Cool Whip
- 8 candy, Rainbow coloured candy belts, such as Airheads Xtremes, halved
- sprinkles, gold, I used these gold stars
Instructions
To Make Jello Mixture
- Remove boiling water from heat source. In a 1.5-quart saucepan (or other similarly sized heatproof container), add gelatin to boiling water. Whisk until gelatin has completely dissolved. Add chilled vodka. Stir to mix.
- Pour gelatin-vodka mixture into a 9”x13” scratch-resistant baking dish. (You will be using a fork to crumble the gelatin after it has been refrigerated.) Cover and chill in the refrigerator for 2 hours. Gelatin will be under-set.
- Remove gelatin from the refrigerator and, using a fork, scrape its surface, crumbling the gelatin into small pieces. Continue scraping until all of the gelatin has been crumbled.
To Assemble the Shots
- Using a spoon, place about 2-teaspoons of the crumbled gelatin into the bottom of a 2-ounce shot glass. With another spoon, tap a small amount of the whipped topping onto the interior of the shot glass, forming cloud shapes just above the gelatin line. Continue making “clouds” in layers, filling with gelatin as you work your way up the side of the shot glass, until you reach the top. Don’t worry about perfection. Clouds are imperfect!
- Dollop or pipe whipped topping onto the top of the filled shot glass. Creating an arch with your candy belt, insert each end into the whipped topping until it stands on its own. Finish off with gold sprinkles at the end of the candy rainbow.
Notes
Nutrition
Consider a fun costume contest, play Irish music and get making some jello shot recipes. You could also make some other festive drinks or simply add green food dye to beer! They also make rainbow themed Pride shots.
Now you are set to ready for St. Patty’s Day with these fun and festive jello shots! These rainbow cocktail shots are the perfect addition to your party and special occasions. Just follow the easy cocktail recipe to learn how to make rainbow shots that will impress your friends and add some colour to your celebration.
Other Recipes to Try
Bella Bucchiotti
Bella Bucchiotti is a Canadian-based syndicated food, travel, and lifestyle writer, photographer, and creator at xoxoBella. She founded xoxoBella in 2015, where she shares her love for food, dogs, sustainability, fitness, crafts, outdoor adventures, travel, and philanthropy to encourage others to run the extra mile, try new recipes, visit unfamiliar places, and stand for a cause. Bella creates stress-free and family-friendly recipes for weeknight dinners and festive feasts.
These are so freakin’ cute – have to make them this summer with the grandkids. BUT what do I use instead of Vodka to make it kid-friendly? Thanks!
My first thought was something like Sprite or 7Up but I think if you sub half the vodka for that and the other half for plain water, you’ll avoid these being too sweet. Let me know how they come out!
They look so adorable. Enjoyed making these!
These jello vodka shots are so much fun! They would be great for St. Patrick’s Day or a themed birthday celebration.
These are the cutest jello shots I’ve ever seen! My friends are going to love these. Thank you for the recipe.
These are so cute! I actually never had a jello shot so I’m curious to try it
This is absolutely adorable and would be great at a party. Since my Type 1 child is 16, I’d make it sans vodka – would that affect the carb count?
These are absolutely adorable!!! These would be fun to make at any time of the year! I love fun Jell-O shots!
I know what I am making this year! This are so darn cute