Homemade Gummy Vitamins That Kids Love

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Wellness Mama » Blog » Natural Remedies » Homemade Gummy Vitamins That Kids Love

I get a lot of questions about how I get my kids to take vitamins. While mine will just take their fish oil, probiotics, and magnesium without a problem … it got me thinking.

I combined one of their favorite natural snacks (homemade gummy bears) with vitamins. The result are these healthy, gut-boosting, and kid-friendly multivitamin gummies.

Why We Need Vitamins

Decades ago we only had to eat a well-rounded diet low in processed foods and added sugar to get the nutrients we needed. Now, things are a little more complicated. Unless you’re growing everything you eat in really nutrient-dense soil (or buying from someone who does), food just doesn’t have the essential nutrients it used to.

In fact, fruits and veggies have less than 50% of the essential vitamins and minerals they used to. And even then there are certain nutrients no longer in the American food supply. We need these nutrients to help our immune system, to protect against heart disease, and for overall wellness.

As a mom, I’m more targeted in my approach to nutrition with my kids. We get vitamin D from the sun and vitamin A from fish oil. My kids also like taking healthy, non-GMO, and gluten-free vitamin supplements (without added sugar!) like this one. Adding an extra nutrient boost from homemade gummy vitamins is a fun way to pack more nutrition into their day!

Gut Soothing Gelatin

These rely on gelatin for their texture. Not only is it a good source of collagen, but it helps with healthier hair, skin, and nails. Gelatin is also a big plus when it comes to our gut health. As Hippocrates reportedly claimed many years ago “All disease begins in the gut.” Science is continuing to confirm how important our gut health is for overall health!

A healthy gut has health benefits that include immune support and better mental health.

One caution: If your kids aren’t regularly drinking bone broth (they should be!) then start slow and only give them a few of these at a time. Their guts may need time to adjust or they could have a little loose stool. Gelatin has a soothing effect on the digestive system.

Customize Your Gummy Vitamins

You can add different vitamins and nutrients here depending on your preference. Keep in mind that these won’t have a full spectrum of nutrients like premade dietary supplements or prenatal vitamins though. Certain oil-based vitamins, like vitamin E and fish oil also won’t mix in very well.

Making your own chewable vitamins means you can skip the sugar alcohols, additives, and corn syrup sweeteners found in many gummy supplements.

I can think of endless uses for these, but these are the ones I’ve tried so far. You can make different fruit flavors by changing out the juice.

  • Adding vitamin C Powder and using lemon juice to make sour vitamin C gummies for immune health.
  • Adding probiotics with a fresh juice base to make GAPS friendly gummy vitamins
  • Using homemade elderberry syrup as a base to make flu-busting chewable vitamins
  • Adding Natural Calm for chewable magnesium vitamins
  • Just making regular flavors and putting them in cute molds to make gummy snacks. They’re nut-free and sometimes approved for school activities.

You can also try adding some calcium powder (along with magnesium and vitamin D). A B complex vitamin with vitamin B6, vitamin B12, biotin, and folate (not folic acid), is also a good option.

I use probiotics from Just Thrive because they’re proven to make it to the gut (unlike many others). In general, if your probiotics need refrigerated and can’t stand any heat, they won’t make it past your stomach acid. They even have a kid’s probiotic gummy that my kids love!

Choosing Your Juice

Most store-bought juices have a shocking amount of added grams of sugar. They’re often flavored sugar water concoctions. Fresh pressed is the best option, but if you need a store-bought option look for something that’s just organic juice. No added sugars, flavors, or dyes.

Pineapple juice doesn’t work in these because it has bromelain, a digestive enzyme that breaks down protein. Great for digestion, but not so great when you’re trying to make gelatin gel. I’ve found it gives them a weird slimy texture and doesn’t work. Papaya has the same problem here.

Our favorite fresh juice combinations are mango/orange, lemon/lime (sour), or elderberry syrup as the base. They’re full of antioxidants and vitamin C, and taste delicious!

If you’re short on time or can’t make chewable vitamins, Hiya would be my next choice. They have clean ingredients and a wide variety of what kids need.

gummy vitamins

How to Make Gummy Vitamins

Homemade chewable gummy vitamins are a great way to give kids some extra protein and make their vitamins delicious and easy to take!
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cooling Time 2 hours
Total Time 2 hours 5 minutes
Calories 19kcal
Author Katie Wells

Servings

16 servings

Equipment

Ingredients

  • 8 tsp gelatin
  • 1 cup juice
  • 2 TBSP  honey (optional)
  • 2 tsp vitamins of choice (vitamin C, probiotics, magnesium, etc.)

Instructions

  • Combine the juice, vitamins or probiotics, and honey in a small saucepan.
  • Sprinkle the gelatin over the top and allow it to bloom for about 1 minute.
  • Heat slightly over low heat until gelatin is completely dissolved, about 2 minutes. It will be thick and somewhat syrup-like.
  • Quickly pour the mixture into molds or a small glass dish lightly oiled with coconut oil.
  • Place the molds in the fridge for several hours or until firm. The exact time depends on the size of your molds.
  • Remove and pop out of molds. Cut into squares if needed.

Nutrition

Nutrition Facts
How to Make Gummy Vitamins
Amount Per Serving (1 gummy)
Calories 19
% Daily Value*
Fat 0.02g0%
Saturated Fat 0.004g0%
Polyunsaturated Fat 0.01g
Monounsaturated Fat 0.002g
Sodium 5mg0%
Potassium 17mg0%
Carbohydrates 3g1%
Fiber 0.04g0%
Sugar 3g3%
Protein 2g4%
Vitamin A 0.2IU0%
Vitamin C 0.1mg0%
Calcium 2mg0%
Iron 0.05mg0%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

Notes

If your gummies aren’t coming out of the molds easily, pop them in the freezer for a few minutes first. Don’t leave them in for too long though or it will ruin the texture.
Nutrition data doesn’t include added supplements.

Like this recipe? Check out my new cookbook, or get all my recipes (over 500!) in a personalized weekly meal planner here!

Figuring Out Dose

Since these are more like food, I’m not too concerned with the exact dosage. If you want to know how much your kids are getting, here’s an easy way to figure it out. Take the mg or mcg of the vitamin you used and divide by the number of servings.

For example, say you added 400% DV vitamin C. If you used fun gummy molds and ended up with 20 vitamin gummies, divide 400 by 20. This ends up being 20% DV vitamin C per gummy. An even easier way is to make these in a square glass dish and cut the gummies into squares. You can do this calculation for each vitamin added.

Ever made your own vitamins or supplements? What combinations would you add? Let me know below!

DIY chewable vitamins are a wonderful natural alternative to store bough versions. Easy to make and you can customize to your child's needs.
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Katie Wells Avatar

About Katie Wells

Katie Wells, CTNC, MCHC, Founder of Wellness Mama and Co-founder of Wellnesse, has a background in research, journalism, and nutrition. As a mom of six, she turned to research and took health into her own hands to find answers to her health problems. WellnessMama.com is the culmination of her thousands of hours of research and all posts are medically reviewed and verified by the Wellness Mama research team. Katie is also the author of the bestselling books The Wellness Mama Cookbook and The Wellness Mama 5-Step Lifestyle Detox.

Comments

303 responses to “Homemade Gummy Vitamins That Kids Love”

  1. Mathea Avatar

    Hi Wellness Mama! I just tried making these…..and failed. I think my magnesium is the “fizzy” kind. It’s a powdered form (Vitacost brand). But I followed your recipe (I used water in place of juice). And I swear it resembles a puffy marshmallow cloud…not tummies 🙁 Any suggestions? As always, THANK YOU so much — I’m so grateful to have you as a resource. I save almost all of your posts for when I have babies in the future! xoxo – M

  2. Charity Avatar

    I’m wanting to make these I’m going to do fresh lemon juice and I’m using the pure radiance vitamin c powder you recommended and GL gelatin. If I double the recipe and put them in a 9×13 glass pan and cut them into 2 tsp servings would that work ok?

  3. Mallory Avatar

    How many T/t of probiotics do you add to this mixture? My boys refuse to take probiotics in powder form.

  4. Kristina Avatar
    Kristina

    5 stars
    I’ve made these a few times and finally perfected it…I added Natural Calm and finally figured out how to avoid the fizzing. Instead of adding at the end I added it at the beginning just as the juice was heating (I used kiju brand organic Pomegranate Cherry juice) and put in about 3 T Natural Calm. I swished it around the pot until it dissolved then added the 8tsp gelatin and whisked right away to avoid clumps (I omitted the honey). Then I put it right into a square GlassLock container and into the freezer for a few minutes…then cut it into cubes. By the way, one thing I noticed is that when I was making these in double batches they would grow mold before I finished them so now I’m going to stick to single batches. I make these for myself, not kids, to take gelatin for my joints and I love having them at night for the soothing effects…Thanks for this recipe, Katie!

  5. Elizabeth Avatar
    Elizabeth

    Hello, I have a question about serving size. I am using the red silicon mold suggested in this post. How many of these gummies is considered a serving?

  6. Jenae Avatar

    I was wondering about two things. Could you just crush a regular multi vitamin to make it into a powder to use in these? My aunt is a nutritionist and before i was taking the crappy synthetic gummy vitamins and she had me switch to the megafood multivitamins. My stomach does not do well on pills since I am taking a number (bio kult, fermented Cod liver oil and others) and my son also takes the kids of the same kind of vitamin and since they are to be swallowed she has me chop them up into a powder and then blend them into smoothies- I can get my son to take anything including cod liver oil that way. So I wanted to know if grinding down these vitamins would work to add to these? it would make taking vitamins so much easier .

    2nd….could you use gelatin from actual meat to make these? I know when I make the gaps chicken stock when i put my meat in the fridge it the liquid turns into gelatin

    1. Katie - Wellness Mama Avatar

      If the taste isn’t too bad, you could probably grind up the pills, but I’d start with a small amount. I’ve never tried using meat based gelatin, but I would think the taste would be difficult to overcome with fruit.

  7. miguel Avatar
    miguel

    1 star
    This kind of recipe is definitely not a good idea for children. You run the risk of vitamin overdose, which by itself increases the chance for developing câncer and inflammation, due to the prooxidant role of excess vitamins. In general it is not recommended to give kids any supplements unless there are clear medical reasons involved, prescribed by your physician. Better to give then the most varied healthy food possible. Just my opinion, based on science and common sense…

  8. Kate Avatar

    I’m trying this using my leftover citrus rind “candy” water. I hope it works.

  9. angela Avatar

    I used tart cherry juice, vitamin c powder, prebiotic and probiotic, honey, and acai powder.

  10. LoriS Avatar

    HI
    i plan to make those today , i want to add some probiotic powder to it for my kiddos ! here on label mentioned 1 scoop supplement facts, so how many scoops do i add to the main mixture? Thanks

  11. Katie Avatar

    I am happy to read this post and recipe. I’ll certainly try it. I do have a question. I made a similar recipe using another blogsite. My refrigerated magnesium gummies formed a white powdery substance on the outside at day theee and has grown every day. They are only a week old today. Although I havent thrown them out yet. I am afriad to eat them and give to my kids. Surely is isn’t mold (??). Any ideas/thoughts?

  12. Chelsea Riegel Avatar
    Chelsea Riegel

    4 stars
    So I am going to attempt to make my two year old these gummy vitamins. I am wondering, can you combine the probiotic and the vitamin C or do they have to be two different ones? She doesn’t drink her kefir(she will drink it, but not all in one siting or one day) or eat her yogurt as well as I would like.( or eat that well in general)

  13. Angeleigh Avatar
    Angeleigh

    Hi! Where do you store these?? fridge??? I can’t wait to try these! Thanks so much!

  14. Laura Avatar

    How much of the vitamins do you add? We’ve used natural calm for years & I just made some elderberry syrup. I’d love to make these today, but I’m not sure how much Natural Calm (or other vitamins if we get those later) to add. I’m sorry if I missed it somewhere. Thanks!! 🙂

    1. April M Avatar

      i have the same question. I am planning to add CLO and probiotics and I will be using the same exact mold that you have provided a link for. How much per batch can I put in? Do I multiply the amount of CLO and probiotics by the number of shapes in the mold, or do I try to mix them in inside each shape? Sooo excited to try this!

      1. Katie - Wellness Mama Avatar

        I just added them to the mix before the molds. I found that it varied slightly each time based on how I poured it (on how many it made) but I mixed the vitamins into the whole batch and just divided by the final number to figure out the amount of CLO and vitamins in each.

  15. julie Avatar

    I have perused the Great Lakes site and no where do they claim their products are to any degree from grass fed animals. Please let me know your process of verification of this claim.
    I am skeptical because, in an age when grass-fed is so desirable, why in the world would they keep it a secret on their own website?
    I can only use truly verified grass-fed gelatin, so any help on this would be greatly appreciated!

4.14 from 76 votes (52 ratings without comment)

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