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We are big fans of gelatin at our house and we use it in a lot of different ways. These homemade fruit snacks and homemade marshmallows are the kid-favorites in our house, and I can feel good about giving it to them since it is a source of protein and vitamins.
Erase the idea of gummy bears as a junky treat from your mind… these homemade fruit snacks look just like them (although their texture is a little softer, like jello) but they’re actually health food!
Healthy Gummy Bears? Yes!
Why make homemade fruit snacks? I can think of three good reasons:
- It’s a really quick and easy recipe (even the kids can do this one themselves)
- They are SO much healthier than store-bought
- They’re really fun to make!
Not only do these fruit snacks have no artificial colors or flavors, they have the gut-soothing benefits and protein of gelatin. The kombucha adds nutrients as well, making these fruit snacks even healthier.
Tip: Add additional nutrition by make these chewable vitamins instead or make them flu-busting gummy bears with a few simple substitutions.
How to Make Homemade Fruit Snacks
Again, this recipe is super simple. All you need is kombucha or fruit juice (100% juice or freshly squeezed), a candy mold, and powdered unflavored gelatin from a good (grass-fed) source.
Heat the juice or kombucha, whisk in the gelatin, pour into molds, and let it set! You’ll have fruit snacks for a crowd in no time.
If you don’t have a mold, an oiled container works in a pinch. Cut gummies into small cubes once set.
Go with the classic bear shaped molds or try fun assorted geometric shapes, dinosaur molds, bugs and flowers, and even this unlikely combo Lego/hearts set so you have something to please everyone!
The recipe fills about 4-5 of these molds, or a medium baking dish (oiled). If you use a baking dish, just cut the fruit snacks once they gel. If you use the molds, stick them in the refrigerator to firm up. Tip: After they are set, put them in the freezer for 5 minutes to make them come out easier.
There really are endless ways this recipe could be adapted, and I’ve included our favorite below. If you experiment with different flavors or combinations, please share them below!
Homemade Fruit Snacks Recipe
Servings
Ingredients
- 2 cups fruit juice (or kombucha or other liquid of choice)
- ¼ cup honey (or maple syrup, optional)
- 1 cup berries (pureed, optional)
- 8 TBSP gelatin powder
Instructions
- Combine fruit juice or kombucha and honey/maple syrup if using in a small saucepan.
- Heat over low heat until warm and starting to simmer, but not hot or boiling.
- Add pureed fruit, if using.
- Sprinkle the gelatin over the juice mixture while whisking or using an immersion blender. Continue doing this until all gelatin is incorporated and the mixture is smooth. Adding the gelatin too quickly will make it more difficult to get the mixture to incorporate. An immersion blender is not necessary but greatly speeds up the process.
- As soon as the gelatin is mixed in and the mixture is smooth, pour into molds or a lined/greased baking dish and place in the refrigerator or freezer until hardened.
- Pop the gummies out of the molds and store in a sealed container in the refrigerator.
Nutrition
Notes
- It is important to have all ingredients ready before beginning as you'll need to work quickly once you start.
- Make sure you are using gelatin, not collagen hydrolysate or peptides as they will not gel. I've also had some feedback that the Great Lakes brand of gelatin doesn't work well in this recipe.
Like this recipe? Check out my new cookbook, or get all my recipes (over 500!) in a personalized weekly meal planner here!
What is your favorite healthy homemade snack? Ever made any like these? Share below!
Unfortunately, I JUST made this with a fresh pineapple and apple, without reading the comments about NOT USING PINEAPPLE!
It is sitting in my fridge in ice cube trays, still in liquid form. Is there anything I can add or do to fix it? I hate to waste it.:-(
You can drink it or blend in to smoothie. It still has the health benefits
hi katie! so i’m wondering about the boiling water killing the enzymes in the kombucha? we’ve been brewing our own kombucha for years and always thought all the benefits came from the good bacteria/enzymes and the fact that its a raw fermented food? if i remember right–i think i read that anything over 120 degrees would kill them, would it not? i’m just wondering how beneficial it still would be after that. thanks so much!
thanks for the recipe. made them last week. used mashed mango and fresh orange juice. my little girl loves them (she doesn’t really like eating fruit, apart from bananas, apples and grapes, so its a good way of giving her healthier snacks of different tastes. mango and orange juice turned to be a bit dull for me but she loves them. any ideas of other combinations of fruit and juice? (used hand blender and it worked fine).
I made these about a week ago & they were delicious. I only used about 1/2 of the lemon juice because I was afraid my kids would taste that more than the strawberries & not eat them, but now know I can use the full amount next time, hopefully soon! We will make strawberry fruit snacks much more in the summer when they aren’t as hard to find & much less expensive. Thank you Katie!
Just getting started with Kombacha…what brand is the best for now or what do i look for or stay away from?
I think this recipe is very customized to Wellness Mama and her family. If you want a vegan substitute, use that instead. If you are fine with her recipe the way it is, make it. Why all the banter about how unhealthy it is? Why troll her blog if you’d rather find a non-animal recipe blog? I am a pescatarian and found that being a vegan was so much more difficult, although giving up dairy and *most* animal products has not been hard at all. I actually feel like the best way to eat is a whole foods, plant-based diet but meat in moderation has kept many people, including centenarians, alive. Ask anyone who is over 90 and they will tell you that meat was an integral part but not the focus of their healthy diet. Make sense?
This looks great! Is there anything I can substitute for the items with sugar (the kombucha and the honey) as I am on a candida cleanse diet and cannot have sugar. The diet does stress the importance of consuming gelatin to heal the gut so I thought this would be a nice alternative to bone broth.
Oh thank you so much for the recipe! I’ve been wanting to try making these for a while now. My big bottle of gelatin just arrived in the post, so I’m all set! 😀
Aloha Wellness Mama- I love your blog! I have tried this fruit snack recipie twice now and they have not turned out at all. The first time I used an immersion blender and they came out foamy- like I blended too much air in- so the second time I just used a whisk and they set up so quickly even though I was working fast, and I couldn’t even pour the mixture and their were chunks of gelatin in the mixture. So I was thinking of using the hand blender next time when I add the boiling water to the gelatin and then just hand mix in the kamboucha and fruit. Do the ingredients need to be at room temp?
That helps, and you can try adding a little more liquid to keep them from thickening as fast….
Lots of great stuff on here. Thanks!
How would I make this recipe if I wanted to omit the pureed fruit? I am trying to figure out the ratio between the gelatin and the fruit juice. I’m looking at a bunch of recipes online and the ratios vary so much! If I want to use 2 cups of juice, and omit the water and fruit, how much gelatin should I add? I am thinking 4-6 TBS? Does that sound right? Thanks!
well juice has more water than simply puree’ing fruits
I love this, thank you! Using the geometric shapes mold (your link above) and 2tsp of Vitamin C, how many would you recommend daily for a 3 year old?
My kids would get 4+ at that age
I keep having issues with the gelatin clumping into these hard nasty things. Once it clumps in the cold water, there is no unclumping, arggh. I can’t seem to keep it from clumping unless I work with very little gelatin. Do you have any tips for this?
Thanks wellness mama for this awesome recipe. I hope I can try it out soon!
I am very annoyed that some people can’t keep their comments to themselves!!!!!!!!
You SHOULD NOT use a whisk! All the gelatin got stuck in it and I wasted a bunch of great organic ingredients!
Epic massive fail. There is no way to do anything “quickly” with this mixture let alone pour it into a mold. Huge disappointment.
Gelatin is not “healthy” at all.
This is comparable to stating “Milk” is good for humans above the age of 6.
Love your comment. I’m not sure milk is good for humans below the age of six either!
Oh that’s right, breast milk is terrible for babies I forgot. Get a life Ann, why spend so much time trolling on someone’s nice blog? Start your own and pick fights there.
she didn’t say breastmilk was terrible for babies, she’s talking about cow’s milk. How can you defend the consumption of milk designed for a baby cow?! Humans were meant to consume breastmilk until probably about the age of 6 or under – not suckle a cow’s teat!
Raw milk – research it
The Vegetarian Myth – read it
Love this. Ha-ha
maybe some supporting evidence would be more persuasive?
Gelatin by itself is not unhealthy it is just protein? (most stuff ending in “in” = protein)
I have tried making this twice now, but with no success. The first time I used mashed pineapple which apparently doesn’t work. I wish that one fruit would have been mentioned. This last time, it all dumped out into one gelatinous blob, I couldn’t even pour it out onto the pan. What is happening? I’m on such a limited food budget that I can’t keep wasting all of these things, especially the gelatin.
You can never use FRESH pineapple when making a jello dessert. It will never gel. I made these with apple sauce. worked great!
HI
Thank you for the recipe. Looking forward to making them.
Do you know if I can substitute pectin for gelatin? I have pectin from making jam and would rather not run to the store with two small children if I don’t have to lol.