My children were very upset with me last night when they saw I was making gummy bears. Why? I told them they could not eat any as I needed them for a morning photo shoot…for you all. The boys will be happy this afternoon when they get home from school and find this healthy candy ready to eat. These gluten-free gummy bears are the perfect thing to pack as a treat in school lunches, make a wonderful after-school snack, and are a great homemade Halloween candy for your little ghosts and goblins.
My boys (both teenagers now) are literally obsessed with these fruit juice-sweetened gummy bears and worked with me as I made them numerous times to perfect both the texture and flavor.
Gummy Bears
Ingredients
- 1 cup organic grape juice, pineapple, or pomegranate juice
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- ¼ teaspoon stevia
- 3 tablespoons gelatin
Instructions
- In a medium saucepan bring juice to a boil
- Allow to cool for 3 minutes, then stir in lemon juice and stevia
- Very gradually, Whisk in gelatin
- If you do not whisk gradually and thoroughly your bears will be lumpy
- Allow mixture to cool almost to room temperature, then pour into gummy bear molds
- Refrigerate for 2 hours
- Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3-4 days
Each healthy gummy bear candy has close to 2 grams of protein –not bad for a snack food. My older son likes to eat these with breakfast.
I haven’t played with gelatin for quite some time, however, Kelly kept telling me about her gummy recipe using pure gelatin (as in unflavored, without all of the sugar and dyes found in the more commercial product) and now I’m totally on the gelatin bandwagon.
Gelatin is fantastic for gut health and high in protein, which makes it an optimal food for my family. I make sure to purchase the grass fed gelatin and have found it to be very high quality. Here’s to the oxymoron of healthy candy, and gummy, or gummi, bears!
E says
We love these! I use 3tbs of raw honey instead of stevia. Pure Concord grape is our fave flavor :). These travel great in our cooler for road trips! Thanks for the recipe Elana.
Veronika says
I made these with Agar powder instead of gelatin and they turned out just fine – but I used only 1 tablespoon of Agar powder to the amount of liquid suggested above, and simmered it together for 5 minutes, and then followed Elana’s instructions for the rest of the recipe. I am not a big fan of stevia, so I might try another sweetener next time. I actually found the result too sweet, so I might reduced or drop the sweetener altogether as the juice is already sweet enough.
Wendy says
I just posted the problems I was having but I think you may have solved them Veronika.
Isabelle says
Hi!
My daughter can’t have citrus… What could I replace the lemon with?
KT says
2 grams of protein and how many calories? (since I fully intend on eating more than 1 :) )
Also, do you use liquid stevia?
Jessica says
I haven’t tried these, but it sounds like a jello recipe not a gummy bear one. Do these really have a similar texture to gummy bears? Or is it just jello bears? Even if jello, it is a wonderful idea :-)
Beth says
These are indeed more like a jello texture than a true gummy texture. However, they are more dense than regular jello (since much less liquid is used), so therefore a bit chewier.
monica says
this is by far the best healthy recipe i have come across!!!!
RGC says
Do you still use the stevia you recommend? The reviews on Amazon say the formula has changed and that it is awful now.
tara says
Elana: I attempted these gummies over the weekend and after a night in the fridge, they are gooey and have not set :( Any advice? I did substitute honey for stevia. My little one was so excited to have one after her first ski race this weekend and it was so disappointing… please HELP!
Nicole says
Try getting the moulds at Bulk Barn. They have tons of different kinds of moulds and are super cheap. Not sure if the gummy bears will stick though.
Lashonda says
I made these with just fruit juice, lemon juice, and gelatine. The consistency was fine. Not totally like a gummy candy but much firmer than jello. My concern is the flavor. They were really bland. I used cranberry grape juice, which I thought would be pretty strong in flavor. Was the juice the problem?
Beth says
I used grape juice and mine were also bland. I would try more stevia (or alternative sweetener, perhaps agave or honey) to sweeten them up a bit. Any other suggestions?
Melanie says
I make these with nothing more then gellatin and concentrate 100% fruit juice. Without adding water. My son is used to the store gummys, so I plan to slowly add water over time till he is used to less sweet gummys
Elana says
Thanks Melanie :-)