I’ve shared my recipes for chewable gummy vitamins and healthy fruit snacks before, and today I’m sharing a flu-busting combination of the two.
It seems that this flu season is going to be a bad one, and elderberry syrup is one of my favorite natural remedies for avoiding or beating the flu. These flu busting gummy bears combine the immune boost from elderberry syrup with the gut benefits of gelatin for a healthy and delicious way to beat the flu.
Elderberry Gummy Bears Recipe
My kids love these! In fact, that is why the ones in the picture above look a little rough — little hands kept touching them while I was trying to take pictures!
To make this recipe, you’ll need to make homemade elderberry syrup first (don’t worry, it is easy!) and then make them into gummy bears.
Elderberry Gummies Recipe
Servings
Equipment
- Glass container or silicone molds
Ingredients
- 1 TBSP coconut oil
- 1 cup elderberry syrup
- ¼ cup gelatin powder
- ½ cup hot water but not boiling water
Instructions
- Grease molds or glass pan with coconut oil to prevent sticking.
- Place ¼ cup of cooled elderberry syrup in a 2 cup measuring cup and quickly whisk in the gelatin powder.
- Add the ½ cup of hot (not boiling) water and stir quickly until smooth.
- Add the rest of the elderberry syrup and stir or whisk until completely smooth.
- Pour into molds and refrigerate for 2 hours or until completely firm.
- Pop out of molds and store in airtight container with parchment paper between layers.
Nutrition
Notes
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Ever tried to make homemade healthy gummy bears? How did they turn out? Share below!
I love love love these gummies!!! My oldest son (10) doesn’t like drinking any elderberry syrup but he loves it in gummies. We make fun lego shaped gummies and I just got a gingerbread man mold that I know we are going to get lots of use out of. Thank You so much for this recipe!! 🙂
can these gummies be frozen? I would like to make them in a larger batch.
Thanks for this inspiring recipe! I changed it up a bit to get my daughter to drink elderflower and calendula tea for her fever. Instead of water, I just replaced it with the infusion. Thought that would be nice to share on this wonderful blog.
I got collagen peptides and I thought I read somewhere that they are interchangeable. I ordered the Vital Proteins brand (they were out of the regular gelatin which is why I got the collagen). It did not gel up when I put it in the fridge. It has been in there for 1 day and still nothing. Should I try adding more? Did I need to mix it in a different way, or does it not gel? If it doesn’t gel, can I just administer the elderberry syrup which is now mixed with collagen.
Thank you
Collage Protein from Vital Proteins will gel, Collagen Peptides are the same as Collagen Hydrolysate and will not gel
Collagen peptides does not gel, only the protein (https://wellnessmama.com/3058/collagen-hydrolysate/) . It should not hurt to take it in liquid form, and will still carry the benefits of the gelatin/collagen.
When making my elderberry syrup I add dried rosehips to steep along with the elderberries. They are a great source of vitamin C. I put 1/4cup to the recipe.
we love this recipe! thanks so much for posting it. I use your recipe for elserberry syrup, too, but find that 1/4 cup of honey is plenty sweet for us! I know local raw honey has benefits, but any more honey is just way too sweet for our taste. maybe I am making more of a liquid instead of a syrup? either way, the gummies always turn out just fine!
I also freeze ours because I only have one little one who eats one a day and we can’t get through a batch fast enough before they start to mold in the fridge.
Have agar agar instead of gelitin. Hope to try it tonight with my silicone herb freezing trays. We have honey elder syrup and would love to add pureed blueberries also. Any suggestions would be great
Is the store-bought elderberry syrup ok to use in place of the homemade syrup? Also, what age should my child be while taking this remedy?
I have made an elderberry tincture – can I use that in place of the syrup? I’m worried the alcohol may effect the gel process.
Thanks.
Yes, it should be fine. I’ve had champagne jello so I think alcohol can gel.
This is a great recipe! I used as my gateway to making natural remedies. I’m thrilled that the syrup is so easy to make. I just made the gummies and they turned out a bit gritty and bouncy. I’m wondering if I stirred the gelatin too long or not long enough. Has anyone else had the same experience? Or does anyone have any advice on making them a bit more like a gummy bear and less like a plastic bouncy ball that tastes good? Thanks 8)
I’m wondering that same thing! Also, the tops of mine are softer than the bottom half. Having a hard time getting the same consistentency throughout.
Is there any reason that I couldn’t use Knox gelaton?
Nope. It just isn’t as high quality but it will work.
I’ve been jealous of people who are making all things with elderberry. Where I am in Florida, they don’t grow, and I’ve never seen them at the market. Where can I get elderberry syrup? Thanks, with hubby sick right now, wish Id seen this before. 🙂
Jeanette, whereabouts in Florida are you? I live near Clearwater and I get the dried elderberries at an organic foods store.
This recipie came out great! However, I have hashimotos I couldn’t figure out why I kept getting sick, achy and more and more fatigued (than usual). Now I’m broken out in cold sores.
Just did some research and hashimotos and elderberries don’t mix!
That’s odd cause I have hoshimotos and I’ve been using elderberry syrup daily for a year now.
I seen that the shelf life on these were only 1 week in the fridge. Can you tell me why that is? Thanks!
They might last longer, but I haven’t personally had any last that long without my kids eating them so I can’t say first hand.
Hi, I was wondering how long the elderberry gummies last? Your elderberry syrup, you said, lasts several months. Do you think then the gummies would be good that long in refrigerator?
My kids always eat them within a week so I haven’t been able to test, but I would think if you could keep them in an air-tight container they would las a while.
Has any tried this with store bought elderberry syrup? I would hate to waste it if it doesn’t work :/
Yes I used store bought and they worked fine for me. I also froze them and gave them to my son when he had a slight fever with his illness. They of course didn’t help the fever but they were nice and cool for him.
Regarding elderberry, I have a question 🙂
I had a friend give me fresh elderberry and I froze them on the stem. Once they were frozen, I took a fork and loosened the berries, but I also have quite a few stems. The stems are many and some are very small, so I cannot remove them all. I have heard that the stems are somewhat poisonous. Can I still make elderberry syrup even with the stem pieces in there. I do know not to put them through a foley mill but just let them sit on cheesecloth to drain. I hope I haven’t ruined my berries 🙁
Take the frozen berries and put in a fine colander and shake around. The stems should fall out . Do a little at a time as the berries will defrost and cause moisture then the stems will stick .
I dehydrate the berries on the stem and use this method with the dry berries .
What a great idea for getting rid of the stems! I will remember that next summer!
Thanks for reposting these, Katie. When I’ve made other gummies (from your Tangerine recipe), they’ve popped right out of the silicone molds for me. Are the elderberry ones stickier? I’m wondering why you would use the coconut oil to grease them…
They are stickier because of the honey in the syrup and the oil just helps with that 🙂
Can you add vit c & d?
Oops- I see recommendation for molds. That’s what I get for multi-tasking! Thanks for the great recipe.
Hi- I can’t wait to make these. What molds are people using? Also- is elderberry safe for nursing mothers? Thanks!