The Viral Sour Patch Grapes Are My New Go-To Summer Snack
Sour Patch Kids are a candy aisle staple (and have an impressive following on TikTok, believe it or not). Those fruity, sour little gummies are the perfect road trip or pool day snack, but sometimes you're craving something a little bit fresher. Enter the viral sour patch grapes.
In an attempt to capture the sour-sweet goodness with something a bit more fruit-forward, TikTokers have been recreating their favorite movie night snack but making it a tad healthier by tossing grapes with lemon juice and Jell-O powder. Some say that the poppable sour-sweet grapes rival the popular candies. To put that claim to the test, we made the recipe (and tested its portability). Read on for all the sweet (and sour) details.
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What Are Sour Patch Grapes?
TikTok's sour patch grapes are inspired by the nostalgic candy, only they swap actual candy for grapes—green grapes to be exact—which are sprinkled with lemon juice and Jell-O powder and then dumped into a freezer bag for shaking. After they're coated, they head to the freezer for about an hour to get nice and frosty. Creators favor green grapes over red ones because they're less sweet. Add in the tangy lemon juice and sweet powder for a candy dupe that's perfect for pool time snacking.
People can't seem to get enough of these grapes on TikTok and although there has been some debate about whether to freeze or not to freeze, TikTokers agree on one thing—these grapes are an absolute delight. "Oh my! Those grapes look so GOOD!! ??" said one commenter. "Love these, esp around the pool or beach!!’??????" said another.
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What Is the Recipe For Sour Patch Grapes?
The "recipe" (I hesitate to even call it that) couldn't be simpler. Take one pound of washed green grapes, sprinkle with the juice of half a lemon and place in a gallon freezer bag. Pour in one pack of Jell-O powder, shake it up and freeze for an hour. TikTokers also have many variations for this recipe, which include:
Adding lime juice instead of lemon juice or adding a packet of TrueLemon or TrueLime powder along with juice to up the sourness.
Adding monk fruit, stevia or Swerve instead of the Jell-O powder to make it low-carb and lower-calorie.
Using regular table sugar instead of Jell-O powder, or an alternative sweetener.
Using cotton candy grapes (which are in season from mid-July through September) instead of regular green grapes.
One commenter makes them with sugar-free Jell-O, saying "I make these too!! I use sugar-free Jello ?? since I am diabetic soooo good!"
Making the grapes with Nerds powdered drink mix instead of sugar or Jell-O.
Puncturing the grapes and covering them in prosecco and liquor, refrigerating them overnight and then shaking them in Jell-O powder the next day.
Courtesy of Jessica Wrubel
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What I Honestly Thought of Sour Patch Grapes
These are extremely messy and that's something that none of the TikToks talk about. If you're not eating these in the pool then make sure you have a wet paper towel nearby because you will get sticky. These are (sadly) not the snack for a car ride, movie theater or a Netflix binge on the couch, unlike their candy counterparts. They're definitely a kitchen table-with-a-wet-nap snack.
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Freezing for an hour was fine texture-wise, but as they defrosted in the freezer bag, they became even messier to eat and some of the Jell-O powder seemed to melt off the grapes and gunk up the bag, culminating in one giant, gelatinous glob at the bottom. Next time I make them, I'm going to try rolling them in a bit more Jell-O powder and freezing them in a single layer (or not at all).
Courtesy of Jessica Wrubel
Some of the TikToks I watched had super interesting flavors mixed in, like Starburst gelatin (which I only saw available at Walmart and Amazon) or strawberry banana Jell-O, which my local supermarket didn't have. I grabbed a basic box of berry blue because I thought the contrast would be nice with the green grapes.
I chose correctly because not only were these a sparkly bright blue but they were highly poppable and satisfied my craving for a sweet snack as I scoured TikTok looking for other fun variations to make. These were easy, super refreshing and the perfect balance of sweet and sour with a slight crunch from the Jell-O powder (just like the candy!).
I would definitely make these again but I would for sure try the other variations I found and adjust the recipe so they aren't as messy.
Courtesy of Jessica Wrubel
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