Dandelion Jelly Recipe

This easy dandelion jelly recipe is perfect for early spring when the dandelions are in bloom.

I don’t know why we, as a society, went to war on dandelions. Why we decided that uniform, green lawns were prettier than cherry, yellow flowers, but I think we’ve realized our mistake.

Dandelions aren’t just one of the season’s earliest food for pollinators, but incredibly nutritious for humans too. From the roots, to the greens, to the flowers themselves.

And the flowers is what we’ll be using to make dandelion jelly.

Using the popular method, you would snip the yellow petals from the green stems, and steep only the petals to make the base for your jelly.

Sad to say, even using this method, much of the bright yellow jelly you see in example pictures of dandelion jelly has had food coloring added to it to make it that pretty, bright dandelion yellow.

A less popular method, but easier, and even more nutrition, is to steep the entire head of the dandelion to make the jelly base. This results in a somewhat darker jelly.

Where to find dandelions

Unfortunately, you can’t just grab any dandelions you see. Many public areas have been sprayed with weed killer, or plant food that could be toxic to humans.

Instead, you’ll need to make sure the dandelions you find are organic, or at least, have only been treated with products fit for human consumption. See how to forage dandelions.

As much pasture land as we have here, you’d think we have an abundance of dandelions, but since our farm is in a rather dry and sandy area, we don’t actually have many. So in order to make my dandelion based goodies, I order dried organic dandelion flowers from Etsy, as you can see in the prep photos.

Nutrition benefits of dandelions

Dandelion roots have been traditionally used to support liver health, and is rich in antioxidants. It is usually consumed as a tea. Be careful though! It can have a diuretic effect.

Dandelion leaves which can be used in salads, or prepared as you would collard or mustard greens contain high levels of vitamins A, C, and E. These greens are also high in magnesium, potassium, iron, and fiber. They’re definitely worth adding to your greens rotation!

Dandelion blossoms are packed full of many vitamins and minerals, and have high levels of antioxidants and anti-inflammatories. They can be used in a variety of ways, such as in tea, made into a salve, in soap, salads, and this jelly. Source

What does dandelion jelly taste like?

The closest flavor I can think of is honey. It’s mild, and sweet. Perfect toast for biscuits, and great on a peanut butter sandwich (unless you’re the strawberry-only type).

Ingredients for making dandelion jelly

You probably already know, since it’s a simple recipe, but here’s a list anyway.

• Dandelion flowers
• Fruit pectin (I use powdered pectin)
• Sugar
• Lemon juice

In this recipe, there isn’t much room for substitutions. Without dandelion flowers, it’s not dandelion jelly, without pectin, it doesn’t set up, because dandelions are not a high-pectin fruit, without sugar, it also doesn’t set up, and it doesn’t have much flavor – it’s just tea. Lemon juice could be skipped, technically, but it does add a lot of flavor. 

How to make dandelion jelly

1. Start by steeping the dandelions in boiling water to make dandelion tea. You can either do this with the while dandelion head, including green parts, or snip the petals off, and use only petals for a lighter color.
   
2. After the dandelions have steeped, strain out the flowers, and measure the tea
3. Pour the liquid into a large pot (at least four quart capacity), and stir in lemon juice, and pectin until pectin is dissolved
   
4. Heat over medium heat, and bring to a full, rolling boil
5. Add sugar, all at one, and stir until sugar is dissolved
   
6. Bring back to a rolling boil that can’t be stirred down, and boil for one minute
7. Remove from heat. If there’s any foam on top, skim it off before proceeding with canning steps.
   

From here, you can either can it, or simply store it in containers in the refrigerator or freezer. This is a fairly small batch of jam, but since it’s more of a rare treat, and not a staple jam for us, I go ahead and can it for longer-term storage. 

How to can dandelion jelly

Dandelion jelly, like most jams and jellies is preserved through the process of water bath canning. This is an easy process that leads to a lot of peace of mind, knowing that you have properly processed, safe jelly sitting on the shelves in your pantry. 

1. Prepare canning jars and lids by sterilizing them in hot water, or running them through a dishwasher cycle.
2. Label hot jelly into hot jars leaving a half inch headspace. (I use half pint jars usually, and Denali canning lids.)
3. Stir gently with a butterknife or spoon to remove air bubbles as much as possible
4. Wipe rims of the jars with a soft cloth to remove any jelly drips, and screw down lids and bands firmly
   
5. Prepare a water bath canner by filling it with hot water. This can be any pot that is at least two inches taller than the jars, has a lid,  and can fit a rack inside so that the jars are not sitting directly on the source of heat. I have a 16 quart water bath canner for this that I love.
6. Place hot jars into hot water, making sure that there is at least an inch of water over the jars
7. Heat over medium-high heat until a rolling boil is reached
8. Continue boiled for 10 minutes for pint or half pint jars
9. Remove from heat, and let cool naturally until safe to handle
10. After 24 hours, check for seal, and wash jars if needed (mine always have hard water residue to clean off)
11. Store jelly in a cool place out of direct light

Once canned and properly sealed, this jelly will stay good on your shelf for a very long time. That’s one of the nice things about jams and jellies – the high sugar content helps preserve them. 

More recipes for you

• How to make apple jelly from juice
•  Watermelon jelly recipe
• Strawberry jalapeño jam
• Carrot cake jam
• Strawberry rhubarb jam

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