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Dandelion jelly is a honey-like floral preserve that tastes like sunshine in a jar. It’s lovely spread on morning toast, dolloped on a scone, or set out alongside a cheese and charcuterie board.
Table of Contents
- Notes from My Kitchen
- Quick Look at the Recipe
- What Does Dandelion Jelly Taste Like?
- Tips for Success
- Identifying and Harvesting Dandelion
- Ingredients for Dandelion Jelly
- Low Sugar Options
- How to Make Dandelion Jelly
- Canning Dandelion Jelly
- Altitude Adjustments
- Ways to Use Dandelion Jelly
- Dandelion Jelly FAQs
- Flower Jelly Recipes
- Dandelion Jelly Recipe
- Jelly Canning Recipes
This recipe has been reviewed for safety and accuracy by a Master Food Preserver certified through the University of Cornell Cooperative Extension.
Dandelion jelly is more than a sweet treat. It’s a way to celebrate spring’s first flowers and to enjoy the humble dandelion in a fun, unexpected form.
Whether you’re putting together a homemade gift or just want a jar of honey-like sweetness to open on a cold winter day, dandelion jelly is a cheerful preserve that captures the season.
Notes from My Kitchen
There’s something satisfying about turning a flower most people spend all spring trying to get rid of into a jar that tastes like honey. The dandelions in our yard come up in a wave, and once they’re open, gathering a quart of blossoms takes only a few minutes.
I like keeping a few jars back for winter. Spreading dandelion jelly on a warm biscuit in February is a small, sunny reminder that spring will come back around.
Quick Look at the Recipe
- Recipe Name: Dandelion Jelly
- Recipe Type: Flower Jelly Recipe
- Canning Method: Water Bath Canning
- Prep/Cook Time: 30 Minutes
- Canning Time: 10 Minutes
- Yield: 5 to 6 half-pint jars
- Jar Sizes: Quarter Pint, Half Pint, or Pint
- Headspace: 1/4 inch
- Ingredients Overview: Dandelion petals, water, lemon juice (not optional), sugar, and pectin
- Difficulty: Easy! You’re basically making a floral tea and setting it with pectin.
- Similar Recipes: The same steep-and-set method makes other spring flower jellies, including Violet Jelly, Redbud Jelly, Forsythia Jelly, Grape Hyacinth Jelly, and Lilac Jelly.
What Does Dandelion Jelly Taste Like?
So what does dandelion jelly actually taste like? It’s floral with a gentle sweetness that lands a lot like honey. Dandelion honey is a well-known vegan honey substitute made by cooking dandelion tea down into a syrup, and you get that same flavor here, just thick and spreadable.
It isn’t only honey, though. There’s a floral note with a warm, earthy undertone, but it stays light and delicate, nothing like the bold bitterness you get from dandelion roots. It works as a spread, a glaze, or a spoonful straight from the jar to brighten the day.
Tips for Success
Be picky about where you harvest. Dandelions are often the first thing treated in lawns and along walkways, so gather only from areas you know are free of herbicides and pesticides, away from roadsides and spots with pet traffic. A clean corner of your own yard is ideal.
The flavor lives in the yellow petals, and the green parts are bitter, so use only the petals. The quickest way I’ve found to separate them is to break each flower in half from top to bottom and pull the petals out of each side, leaving the green base behind.
Identifying and Harvesting Dandelion
Just about everyone can spot a dandelion, with its rosette of toothed leaves and bright yellow flower head on a hollow stem. Common dandelion (Taraxacum officinale) is the one you want, and the flowers are at their best picked on a sunny morning when they’re fully open.
Keep in mind that dandelions have at least 12 close look alikes, and many people mis-identify coltsfoot as dandelion…resulting in a distinctly unappealing preserve. Make sure you have actual dandelions!
You’ll need about 4 cups of whole blossoms for a batch, which works out to roughly 2 cups of cleaned petals. They’re quick to gather once they’ve opened for the day, so it’s worth waiting for a sunny stretch when the whole yard lights up with them.
Ingredients for Dandelion Jelly
Dandelion jelly uses the same handful of ingredients as other flower jellies: fresh blossoms steeped into a tea, then set with sugar, pectin, and a bit of lemon juice for balance and safety.
- Dandelion Petals: Use only the yellow petals, with the green parts and stems left behind, since the green is bitter. You’ll need about 2 cups of petals, which comes from roughly 4 cups of whole blossoms picked somewhere free of chemicals.
- Water: Water steeps the petals into dandelion tea, the base for the jelly. Use clean filtered water if your tap has a strong chlorine taste, which can muddy the delicate floral flavor.
- Lemon Juice: The lemon juice balances the sweetness with a light tartness that lifts the floral notes, helps the pectin set, and lowers the pH enough to make the jelly safe for canning. Use bottled lemon juice for consistent acidity. For a more neutral flavor, you can use about 1 teaspoon of citric acid powder in place of the 1/4 cup of lemon juice.
- Sugar: Regular powdered pectin needs plenty of sugar to gel, so this recipe uses the current Sure Jell ratio of 5 cups sugar to 4 cups of liquid for a classic old-fashioned jelly that sets reliably. There’s a lower-sugar option in the block just below.
- Pectin: Use regular powdered pectin (like Sure Jell), which is dependable and gives a consistent set.
Low Sugar Options
For a less sweet jelly, switch to a low-sugar pectin like Sure Jell low sugar pectin or Pomona’s Universal Pectin, both of which set with as little as 1 to 2 cups of sugar. If you use Pomona’s, increase the lemon juice to 1/2 cup, since Pomona’s doesn’t include the citric acid that other pectins do, so the batch needs the extra acidity to be safe for canning.
Pomona’s comes with its own calcium packet and works a little differently from the boxed powders, so follow the mint jelly directions in the box. If it’s new to you, my guide on how to use Pomona’s pectin walks through it.
How to Make Dandelion Jelly
Making dandelion jelly isn’t much different from making any flower jelly, once you’ve separated the petals from the bitter green parts. Just don’t skip the lemon juice, since it matters for both flavor and safe canning.
Prepare the Dandelion Petals
Gather your dandelion blossoms, choosing fully open flowers from a spot free of pesticides. I usually pick them straight into a quart jar, which ends up being about the right amount.
Pull the petals from the flowers, leaving behind the green parts and stems. The easiest way is to break each flower in half from top to bottom, then pull the petals out of each side. From one quart of whole blossoms you should get about 2 cups of petals.
Make the Dandelion Tea
Place the petals in a heatproof jar or bowl and pour 4 cups of boiling water over them. Let them steep for 15 to 20 minutes, until the water turns a deep yellow.
Strain out the petals, keeping the yellow liquid, which is your dandelion tea. This is the fragrant base for the jelly.
Add Lemon Juice and Pectin
Pour the tea into a large pot and stir in 1/4 cup of lemon juice. (The lemon balances the sweetness, helps the pectin set, and lowers the pH enough to make the jelly safe for canning, so don’t skip it even if you’re keeping it in the fridge.) Bring the mixture to a boil over medium-high heat.
Add one box of powdered pectin and stir until it’s completely dissolved, then let the mixture boil hard for 1 full minute before you add any sugar.
Add the Sugar
After that minute, add 5 cups of sugar. (Do NOT add the sugar before or at the same time as the pectin, or the jelly won’t set.) Stir until the sugar is fully dissolved, then bring everything back to a full rolling boil for 1 minute.
Take the pot off the heat and skim off any foam. Ladle the hot jelly into prepared jars, leaving 1/4 inch headspace.
Canning Dandelion Jelly
Canning is optional. You can keep dandelion jelly in the refrigerator for up to a month, or freeze it for up to 6 months in freezer-safe jars. I like processing it in a water bath canner, since it lets me keep that honey-like flavor on the pantry shelf year-round.
Prepare your canner, jars, and lids before you start, and it’s easy to get the canner up to a simmer while the petals steep. To can the jelly, be sure you’ve used the lemon juice, which lowers the pH enough for safe canning. After ladling the hot jelly into jars (leaving 1/4 inch headspace), wipe the rims with a clean, damp cloth, then center the lids and tighten the bands until fingertip tight.
Process for 10 minutes, then remove the jars to cool undisturbed on a towel for 24 hours, where you’ll hear the lids ping as they seal. Check the seals, refrigerate any that didn’t take and use them within a month, and keep sealed jars on the pantry shelf for 12 to 18 months. Refrigerate after opening.
Altitude Adjustments
For water bath canning, processing times increase at higher elevations:
- 0 to 6,000 feet: 10 minutes
- Above 6,000 feet: 15 minutes
Ways to Use Dandelion Jelly
Because it tastes so much like honey, dandelion jelly is at home anywhere you’d reach for a sweet floral spread. Try it on toast, biscuits, or scones, stirred into tea or yogurt, or brushed over warm cornbread.
It also works as a glaze for chicken or carrots, and it holds its own on a cheese board next to something mild. A few jars make a cheerful gift, especially for anyone tickled by the idea of eating dandelions.
Dandelion Jelly FAQs
No, not when you use only the yellow petals. The bitterness people associate with dandelions lives in the leaves, stems, and the green base of the flower, so leaving all of that out gives you a clean, honey-like jelly with just a light floral note.
You’ll want about 4 cups of whole blossoms for a batch, which gives roughly 2 cups of cleaned petals once the green parts are removed. Picking straight into a quart jar is an easy way to gauge it.
The usual reasons are adding the sugar at the same time as the pectin (the pectin needs its own full minute of boiling first), boiling too long after the sugar goes in, or scaling the batch up. Give it a day or two before deciding, and if it’s still loose, use it as a floral syrup or read through my guide on troubleshooting jelly set.
Yes. Use a low-sugar pectin like Sure-Jell Low Sugar or Pomona’s Universal Pectin and follow the mint jelly directions on the box. If you use Pomona’s, raise the lemon juice to 1/2 cup, because it’s the one without added citric acid in the powder. A lower-sugar batch will yield a little less.
Flower Jelly Recipes
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Dandelion Jelly
Equipment
- Canning Jars, Lids and Bands
Ingredients
For the Dandelion Tea
- 2 cups dandelion petals, from about 4 cups whole flowers, petals only, no green parts
- 4 cups water
For the Jelly
- 4 cups dandelion tea, strained
- 1/4 cup bottled lemon juice, or 1 teaspoon citric acid
- 1 box powdered pectin, 1.75 oz, regular, such as Sure-Jell original, or 6 Tbsp bulk pectin
- 5 cups granulated sugar
Instructions
- Gather dandelion blossoms from a spot free of pesticides, picking into a quart jar.
- Pull the petals from the flowers, leaving behind the green parts and stems. Breaking each flower in half and pulling the petals from each side makes it go quickly.
- Place the petals in a heatproof bowl and pour the boiling water over them. Steep for 15 to 20 minutes, until the water turns a deep yellow, then strain out the petals and keep the liquid.
- Pour the tea into a large pot and add the lemon juice. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat.
- Whisk in the powdered pectin until dissolved and boil hard for 1 minute. Don’t add the sugar yet, or the jelly won’t set.
- Add all the sugar at once and stir to dissolve. Return to a full rolling boil and boil hard for exactly 1 minute. Remove from heat and skim off any foam.
- Ladle hot jelly into prepared jars, leaving 1/4 inch headspace. Wipe rims clean, center lids, and apply bands fingertip-tight.
- Process in a boiling water bath for 10 minutes, adjusting for altitude. Turn off heat and let jars rest 5 minutes before removing. Cool undisturbed for 12 to 24 hours before checking seals. If not canning, refrigerate up to a month or freeze up to 6 months.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Jelly Canning Recipes
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My kids and I make a batch of this every single year. It’s such a fun project and the perfect way to get outside with my littles each spring.
Hi! I’m not able to pick enough dandelions at one time to make a batch of this. Would it be ok to freeze the dandelions I pick until I have enough? And if so, would you recommend freezing them whole or just the petals? Thanks!
Yes, you can freeze them until you have enough. You definitely want to clean them while they’re fresh, as it’s very hard to get the yellow petals out after the flowers have sat (or been frozen). The other thing you can do is make a small batch of the tea and freeze that liquid until you have enough. And you can always make a half or quarter batch. A box of pectin is 6 Tbsp and sets 4 cups liquid to make about 4-ish jars of jelly. You can use 3 Tbsp with 2 cups tea, or 1 1/2 Tbsp with just 1 cup of tea.
Enjoy!