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This berry and banana terrine is one of my favorite summer desserts. It’s so pretty!
It’s packed with potpourri of berries, speckled with banana slices, and held together with a grape-juice based gelatin.
Think Jello, but a grown-up, sophisticated version, with all natural ingredients and much less sugar.
I first got the idea from a Martha Stewart recipe in her (now defunct) Every Day Food magazine from years ago. Since then we’ve made versions with rhubarb, nectarines, cherries, and pluots. Basically any easily slice-able fruit will do.
You can layer the fruit so that when you slice the terrine you get a decorative pattern (red white and blue for patriotic holidays), or do what I’ve done here and just toss them all together in a jumble.
It’s all good. Every bite comes with an explosion of fruit. Enjoy!
Want a visual step-by-step? Check out the video below!
Berry and Banana Terrine Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 envelopes (1/4 ounce each) unflavored gelatin
- 2 cups white grape juice, divided
- 1/2 cup white granulated sugar
- 6 cups of mixed fresh berries and slices of banana (berries can include blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, and sliced or quartered strawberries)
Method
1 Soften the gelatin: Put 1/4 cup of the white grape juice into a small bowl. Sprinkle the gelatin over the grape juice and let sit for 2 to 3 minutes while the gelatin softens.
2 Make grape juice gelatin base: Put another 1/4 cup of the white grape juice and a 1/2 cup of sugar into a saucepan and heat on medium high heat until the sugar has dissolved.
Remove from heat and stir in the gelatin mixture until it has dissolved. Stir in the remaining 1 1/2 cups of grape juice.
3 Put fruit in loaf pan, cover with grape juice gelatin mixture: Put the berries and banana slices in a 4x8 loaf pan. Pour the grape juice mixture over the berries, and press down on the berries to submerge them into the juice/gelatin mixture.
4 Chill: Cover with plastic wrap. Chill in the refrigerator until firm, 3 hours.
5 Un-mold: To un-mold, fill a basin half-way with hot water. Carefully lower the bottom of the loaf pan into the hot water and hold for 5 to 8 seconds. This will melt the gelatin at the edge of the pan, helping it to release.
Run a dull knife around the edge of the pan as well.
Place a serving platter topside down on top of the loaf pan and turn the whole thing over. Shake gently to release the mold.
Slice to serve.
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Elise Bauer is the founder of Simply Recipes. Elise launched Simply Recipes in 2003 as a way to keep track of her family's recipes, and along the way grew it into one of the most popular cooking websites in the world. Elise is dedicated to helping home cooks be successful in the kitchen. Elise is a graduate of Stanford University, and lives in Sacramento, California.
Berry and Banana Terrine
Wonderful results! Family loved it. I used apple juice, and it worked well. I also used slightly less sugar, and while it was great tasting, i will try to use less sugar next time. Thank you!
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Hi. I grew up in the early 70’s and was always in my neighbors kitchen and she’d make one similar to this but with lime jello and frozen mixed vegetables and she served a tiny bit of mayo on the side. It was delicious and refreshing. I’m not good at modifying recipes so if you or anyone else knows her recipe I’d love to have it….thanks for your wonderful site, Elise, you’re my first choice for new recipes! Always!
Hi Terry, oh those jello salads! My grandmother loved making them for us. Her favorite was a lime jello salad with cucumbers, pineapple, and horseradish. It was an acquired taste (that some members of my family never acquired).
This is a really fun idea. Now I’m looking around in my pantry for my own ingredient combinations.
This is fresh and light! A great summer treat now that the fruit is abundant. I would even add a touch of alcohol like prosecco.
Hello, I was just wondering if this needs to be served and eaten the same day it’s made or will it last a few days in the fridge? I’ve never made something like this and I don’t know how well homemade gelatin keeps.
Hi Alisha, it lasts several days in the fridge.