© Owlbbaking, LLC. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without permission from owner is strictly prohibited. Click here for round-up feature consent.
Beach Pudding Jars are the perfect beach picnic dessert! This no bake, make ahead, kid-friendly dessert is creamy, cool and delightfully playful. Layers of blue Jell-o, homemade whipped cream, lemon pudding and cookie crumbs make a fun beach scene that you can eat!
I've been on a big jar-dessert kick and I've got one more for you right here!
I recently posted my Picnic Pudding Jars and I love having a great recipe that is easy to make and easily portable.
Thinking about dining in outdoor spaces, the beach obviously came to mind, so I was so excited to work on a beach themed recipe!
This recipe is extremely similar to my Picnic Pudding Jar recipe, but in my opinion is a little more fun.
It's made with similar elements; my 60 Second Lemon Pudding, homemade whipped cream, and cookie crumbs. The only difference is that for the bottom, I made a layer of blue Jell-o and popped in a few gummy sharks to make an ocean-floor scene.
The Perfect Dessert for a Beach Picnic
This is such a fantastic dessert for when you're on vacation at the beach.
It's no bake, make ahead, kid-friendly and the ingredients can be easily found at any supermarket, mini-market, or even convenience store.
The finished jars can be easily transported to go with you on a day trip to the beach or can be easily made while you're on vacation. They're also fantastic for a themed party too!
Despite lots of delicious layers, this recipe is not overly sweet, which I love. The pudding is on the sweeter side so I opted for a minimally sweet whipped cream to lighten it up.
How to make them
This recipe is super simple. There's hardly any work involved but just takes a little time for everything to set.
Starting off with the jars, you can use any type of glass jar you want. Just make sure they have strong, tight lids if you'll be transporting these. I chose to use these large Weck jars. They make a hefty serving for one person, but it's a good size to share with your beach BFF. You can definitely use smaller jars too.
Don't forget to bring spoons with you! I chose to use adorable shovel spoons to go with the theme. I'm so obsessed with them.
Ingredients for Beach Pudding Jars
For this recipe, you'll need...
- Blue Jell-o
- Gummy Sharks
- Homemade whipped cream
- My 60 Second Lemon Pudding (sweetened condensed milk, heavy cream and lemon juice!)
- Cookies (a combination of cookies to achieve the sand in order to achieve a realistic sand look. More on that below!)
- For decoration (totally optional) I added some seashell cakes that I made using my Nordic Ware Seashell Cakelet Pan. I think this pan has been discontinued but you can definitely find something similar on Amazon.
The blue Jell-o makes up the bottom layer of these cups, so that needs to be made first.
Once the Jell-o is cool, then you can add the gummy sharks. Allow the to chill until firm.
Add a generous layer of whipped cream, then a layer of the pudding and a layer of the cookie sand.
Lastly, decorate the top with molded chocolate, mini cakes, other gummies etc. Anything goes!
Once done, seal them up and store in the fridge until you're ready to go on your picnic! The jars can be made up to 2 days in advance.
How to make realistic cookie sand
If you ever held a palmful of sand in your hands, you've noticed that it's not perfectly beige all the way through. There are tiny specks of black and dark brown and lots of variation. Well, that's how it is down by the Jersey shore at least. 😉 I'm sure it's a different story down in the Caribbean!
So clearly, grinding up just plain vanilla cookies won't give us that variated look.
The secret to getting cookie 'sand' to look realistic in the way I just described is by adding the cookie part of 1 or 2 Oreos (or chocolate wafers) into the mix.
It doesn't sound like much, but trust me, it's just enough to add that little bit of interest to making cookie sand look like the real thing!
These Beach Pudding Jars were so fun to make! Comment below where you would take them to!
Beach Pudding Jars
Beach Pudding Jars are the perfect beach picnic dessert! This no bake, make ahead, kid-friendly dessert is creamy, cool and delightfully playful. Layers of blue Jell-o, homemade whipped cream, lemon pudding and cookie crumbs make a fun beach scene that you can eat!
- Total Time: + 4 hours chill time
- Yield: 2 or 4 jars
Ingredients
- 1 (3oz) box of Blue Jell-o
- 2 c water
- 6-12 gummy sharks
- 2 c lemon pudding (try my 60 Second Lemon Pudding recipe!)
- 2 c heavy whipping cream
- 1 Tbsp granulated sugar
- 1 ½ c vanilla wafer cookies
- 1-2 Oreo cookie sandwiches (creme removed) or 4 chocolate wafers
- Other edible beach themed décor for the top such as molded chocolate, mini cakes, other candies etc. (optional)
Instructions
- Set aside 2 (20oz) glass jars or 4 (8oz) glass jars, with lids.
- Prepare the Jell-o with the 2 cups of water as instructed on the box.
- When ready, pour the prepared Jell-o equally among all of the jars.
- When the Jell-o is room temp, add the gummy sharks equally to the bottom of the jars. I did 3 sharks for the larger jars and 2 sharks for each of the smaller jars.
- Chill for at least 3 hours until the top of the Jell-o layer is set.
- In a large bowl, add the heavy cream and the sugar. Using a hand mixer, beat the cream at high speed until medium – stiff peaks form. It should take 2-3 minutes. Set aside.
- Next, crush the cookies into medium – fine crumbs, by using a food processor or a large plastic bag and crushing with a rolling pin. Set aside.
- Begin to assemble the jars.
FOR 4 (8OZ) JARS
- For each jar, add about ¼ cup whipped cream on top of the Jell-o layer. Then, an equal amount of the lemon pudding.
- Next, add 3 tablespoons of the cookie crumb mixture.
- Top with other edible, beach themed decorations if desired.
- Chill for 3 more hours until Jell-o is fully set.
FOR 2 (20OZ) JARS
- For each jar, add about ½ cup whipped cream on top of the Jell-o mixture. Then, an equal amount of the lemon pudding.
- Next, add a heaping ¼ cup of the cookie crumb mixture.
- Top with other edible, beach themed decorations if desired.
- Chill for 3 more hours until Jell-o is fully set.
- Close the jars with the lids and store in the fridge until ready to enjoy or transport to the beach. These jars are best when made at least 8 hours ahead and can be stored up to 2 days in advance.
Notes
Recipe by Owlbbaking.com
This recipe can be easily halved to make 2 (8oz) jars or 1 (20oz) jar.
- Prep Time: 15
- Cook Time: 0 min
- Category: Pudding
- Method: No bake
Keywords: beach dessert, dessert on the go, pudding, jar desserts, summer desserts, no bake, make ahead, beach picnic, beach themed party
Leave a Reply