As a food writer, I practically live on TikTok, saving recipes and nutrition hacks to try. One ingredient that keeps popping up in my social media feed? Aloe vera.
When you type “aloe vera” in the search bar of TikTok, you’ll come across clips of creators touting the purported health benefits of this ingredient. You’ll spot home cooks blending the jelly-like substance into smoothies and hikers rubbing the plant’s juices on their skin to soothe sunburns.
I’ve appreciated aloe long before it became a trend. As a Haitian-American, Caribbean culture runs through my veins, so I’m familiar with the gel as the succulent grows on many islands. (Fun fact: Aruba even has an entire museum and factory dedicated to the plant.) My grandmother, whom I grew up with, often kept aloe leaves on the kitchen counter, right beside her other natural remedies. Whenever the sun got the best of me, I knew she’d have a cool slab of that green leaf ready for me. She was ahead of her time.
I’ll always follow her advice without hesitation, but I’m wary of viral trends. Let’s be honest: people often exaggerate the effectiveness of wellness hacks. Luckily, you can’t really go wrong with aloe vera.
The Health Benefits of Aloe Vera Gel
Let’s start with a quick disclaimer: eating either aloe vera gel from the plant’s leaves, unprocessed gel with no additives, or drinking aloe juice is safe, but you should not ingest aloe vera gel-based skincare products. While you can find aloe vera skincare products marketed as pure, some may actually be 98- or 99-percent pure. This means they can include other ingredients that are OK for your skin, but not for consumption, like alcohol, an antiseptic, or lidocaine, a numbing and pain-relief agent that is great for treating sunburns or itchy bug bites.
Aloe Vera Is a Hydration Powerhouse
Aloe vera helps hydrate your body when ingested (and when applied to the skin) due to its high water and electrolyte content (particularly magnesium and potassium), says Aderet Hoch, a registered dietitian based in New York. “These minerals help replenish electrolytes lost through sweat, making aloe vera a potential addition to post-exercise hydration,” she says.
Scientific evidence also suggests that consuming aloe vera gel improves blood circulation and supports kidney, liver, gallbladder, and digestive functions, says Maria Emerick, a registered dietitian nutritionist based in Hawaii.
It Can Reduce Pain and Inflammation When Applied to the Skin
Studies show that aloe vera offers natural analgesic (pain-relieving) and anti-inflammatory properties, says Dr. Geeta Yadav, a board-certified dermatologist based in Toronto. This is thanks to compounds in the plant called anthraquinones, which “block the synthesis of enzymes and hormones responsible for pain and inflammation, relieving discomfort, swelling, and redness,” she explains.
For sunburns or scrapes, you don’t need much—just a thin layer of aloe vera gel will do the trick. Be sure to avoid applying it to open wounds, Yadav says. “I’d also recommend refrigerating the aloe gel if possible—the added cooling sensation can be very soothing,” she says.
How Much Aloe Vera Gel Is Safe to Ingest Daily?
Nutritionists typically recommend starting small, with about two ounces (approximately one-quarter cup) per day, until your body adjusts. This is because anthraquinones also have a laxative effect, which can cause diarrhea when consumed in excess, says Amy Davis, a registered dietitian nutritionist based in New Orleans, Louisiana.
I Tried These 4 Aloe Vera-Based Recipes
Despite all of the amazing health benefits of aloe vera, I’ll be honest: it’s not that appetizing on its own. It tastes bitter, and its slimy texture doesn’t feel great on the tongue, so I set out to find delicious ways to enjoy the clear goo. These are the few recipes I discovered and tested. Here’s how it went.
1. Fruity Mint, Avocado, and Aloe Vera Smoothie
TikTok creator @katielopynski shared a smoothie recipe that involves blending one cup of frozen pineapple, half an avocado, half a cup of spinach, four mint leaves, half a cup of water, half a cup of aloe vera gel (I substituted this for pure aloe vera juice instead because it’s easier to find in grocery stores and helps you skip the process needing to extract gel from the plant), and the juice from half a lime.
“This smoothie contains healthy fats from avocado, fiber from the pineapple and spinach, and added electrolytes and nutrients from the aloe vera,” says Davis. To make it even more balanced, try adding a source of protein, like half a cup of Greek yogurt or a few spoonfuls of protein powder, she says.
Emerick recommends reaching for this smoothie as a hearty snack or post-workout drink to aid recovery.
The Verdict: Creamy, Refreshing, and Nostalgic
This smoothie transported me to my maternal homeland of Bermuda. The pineapples and citrus give it a bright, tropical, and sweet taste. The avocados impart a delicious creaminess, too. All the ingredients blended together nicely, masking the bitterness of the aloe vera.
To test its effects on satiety, I blended up this shake after my morning barre class to see if it would keep me full until lunch. It definitely did the job.
(Watch the author make the fruity mint, avocado, and aloe vera smoothie in her kitchen. Video by Ashia Aubourg)
2. Aloe Vera and Agave Lemonade
Lemonade is one of my go-to hacks for loading up on good-for-you ingredients. (If you haven’t tried creatine lemonade, you totally should.)
This recipe by @youcancookvegan on TikTok is simple and took me less than five minutes to make. To prepare this lemonade, I combined half a cup of aloe vera juice with the juice of two lemons, one-and-a-half cups of water, and a tablespoon of agave. Then, I poured it over ice once I was ready to enjoy it.
This drink is packed with hydrating ingredients like aloe vera and water, says Emerick. It also has a good dose of vitamin C, thanks to the lemon, which “boosts immunity and supports skin health,” she says.
The Verdict: Crisp and Refreshing
I’ve been hiking more now that the weather is warming up, so I jumped at the chance to pour this lemonade into my insulated water bottle and take it with me. As I tackled the steep inclines, sipping this drink kept me feeling good.
The sourness from the lemon and sweetness from the agave masked any harsh notes from the aloe vera. Moving forward, I’m keeping a pitcher of this in my fridge.
3. Grainy Mustard and Aloe Vera Salad Dressing
I was first introduced to aloe vera vinaigrette while traveling to St. Lucia, and I’ve been hooked ever since. I’ve made a few variations of this topping on my own, but recently, while Googling how to incorporate aloe juice into salad dressings, I came across an idea from the food blog Lucky’s Recipes that had a similar ingredient makeup to the one I tasted during my travels. I knew I had to try it.
Following this recipe, I blended half a cup of olive oil, a quarter cup of grainy mustard (which tends to be spicier and more robust in terms of flavor than the yellow squeeze-bottle stuff), three tablespoons of honey, a third of a cup of aloe vera juice, or gel from a four-inch piece of an aloe leaf, three tablespoons of fresh basil, and two tablespoons of lemon juice.
“This aloe vera dressing has plant-based fats (from the olive oil), a touch of sweetness from the honey, and overall, healthier ingredients compared to many store-bought options, which can contain high amounts of sodium, added sugar, or artificial ingredients,” says Davis. To kick it up a notch, Hoch recommends adding ground flaxseeds (about a quarter cup) for an extra boost of omega-3s.
The Verdict: I’ll Be Putting It on Everything.
While it didn’t taste exactly like the one I first enjoyed in St. Lucia, this version still exceeded all of my expectations. It’s filled with basil flavors, similar to pesto, which helps calm the bitterness of the aloe vera in this recipe.
I poured it over a simple salad of crunchy lettuce, yellow peppers, red onions, and croutons. This topping was the star of the show. I can’t wait to use it again. I plan to drizzle it on pasta, wraps, or grilled chicken in the future.
4. No-Churn Chocolate Coconut and Aloe Vera Ice Cream
Perhaps the most exciting recipe I found was this tutorial from TikTok creator @kenapeay, who turns this gooey plant gel into ice cream. The best part? No fancy machine is needed.
Instead of using an ice cream maker, the creator relies on a no-churn method, and all you need is a freezer-safe bowl. To make this frozen dessert, I blended a cup of coconut cream, a cup of cashews, three tablespoons of maple syrup, one tablespoon of cocoa powder, and three tablespoons of aloe vera juice. Then, I poured the mixture into a bowl and let it thicken up in the freezer for at least six hours.
“This recipe, which combines coconut cream, cashews, maple syrup, cocoa powder, and aloe vera, is rich in calories, healthy fats, and protein,” says Emerick. (One cup of cashews has over a whopping 20 grams of protein.) But since it’s pretty high in sugar, she recommends enjoying it as an occasional sweet treat rather than a daily dessert.
The Verdict: Unreal.
Honestly, I’m predicting that aloe vera ice cream might be the next viral trend. For starters, it’s so easy to pull together. It took me under five minutes to get it in the freezer (though you’ll need to be patient while it solidifies!).
The result was a creamy, light, and smooth frozen dessert filled with delicious chocolate flavors. You can’t taste the harsh taste of aloe at all. It satisfied my sweet tooth, and I can’t wait to make it again with other fun add-ins like matcha, strawberry syrup, or vanilla.
As a bonus: if you’ve got leftover aloe from any of these recipes, don’t toss it—trust me, your skin will thank you.
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