Healthy Homemade Gummy Bears
This post contains affiliate links. Read our disclosure policy.
Healthy Gummy Bears are a delicious treat made with only 3 ingredients & done in 15 minutes. Gluten free, refined sugar free and paleo – you’ll love them!
This post was originally shared in March of 2018 but has been updated.
These healthy homemade gummy bears are:
- simple to make
- taste amazing
- are low in sugar
- have a good amount of protein in them (compared to other candy!)
I thought it would be nearly impossibly to make a gummy bear recipe healthy… but it was surprisingly simple.
My candy of choice has always been gummy bears (after chocolate, obviously). On top of being super delicious, they’re so cute! Who doesn’t like a gummy bear?
Even though they’re super cute (and tasty)… their ingredients list is less than impressive. Most gummy bears have Corn Syrup, Sugar, Dextrose, Artificial Flavors, and Artificial Colors. Which I’m really not a fan of.
Of course, we believe in everything in moderation, and we definitely enjoy these things every once in a while.. but if you’re like me and you really love gummy bears – you’re going to need a better solution.
What makes this gummy bear recipe healthy?
If you’re wondering – can gummy bears be healthy, the answer is yes!
- Better ingredients – There are no weird additives, flavors, or dyes in these gummies!
- Gelatin rich – gelatin is amazing for gut health + high in protein!
- No refined sugar– these gummy bears are only sweetened with honey + fruit juice!
On top of having waaaay better ingredients, these gummy bears taste so good. It’s hard to believe that they’re actually good for you.
I made these gummy bears with unflavored gelatin. Before you let your mind run.. I know beef gelatin in candy sounds strange, but it doesn’t taste like beef!
Homemade Gummy Bears Ingredients
To make these healthy gummy bears you’ll only need:
- fruit juice – I like orange juice or pomegranate juice.
- gelatin powder
- honey
- You’ll also want to grab a gummy bear mold. We got our silicone gummy bear molds on amazon.
How to make Gummy Bears:
To make these homemade gummy bears, you’ll need about 10 minutes.
- Bring your fruit juice + honey to a boil.
- Add the gelatin in the mix once heated, and whisk rapidly until gelatin is dissolved.
- Pour your gummy bears into the mold.
- Place in refrigerator and allow them to solidify for 20 minutes. That’s it!
Substitutions
Fruit Juice: You can use orange, pineapple, cranberry, grape or other fruit juices. I would not use lime juice or lemon juice because it would be too tart. I haven’t tried making these with elderberry syrup but I think it would be great.
Sweeteners: I haven’t tried substituting in other sweeteners in this recipe so I can’t be sure how it will work. I think that maple syrup would work but without trying it I can’t be sure!
Gelatin: You can’t substitute gelatin in this recipe. It’s essential for making gummy candy!
Sour Gummies: I have been trying to replicate a sour gummy recipe, but I haven’t gotten in right just yet. I pulsed citric acid and organic cane sugar to make a sour powder, but it was too fine. I have also tried adding citric acid into the gummies, but haven’t gotten the desired ‘sourness’ that I want!
In case you’re still on the fence about making these and using gelatin – here are a few more reasons why we love it!
Are gummy bears a good source of gelatin? Most gummy bears are not a good source of gelatin. However these gummy candies are a good source of gelatin!
Best Molds for Healthy Homemade Gummy Bears
These are my favorite silicone molds for gummy bears.
There are tons of cute silicone gummy bear molds on amazon – this one has a bunch of different animal shapes!
Tips for How to Make Healthy Gummy Bears:
- Experiment with different flavors – We love trying different juices and adjusting the amount of honey to test the sweetness. Our favorite juices to use are orange and pomegranate.
- Get good molds – These silicone gummy bear molds are the best and so easy to use/clean!
- Have patience! These take much more time than running into the store and grabbing a bag of candy, but I promise they are the best healthy gummy bears and SO worth it!
Gummy bears that have 3 ingredients, help your hair/skin/nails, improve your gut health AND have protein in them?! Doesn’t get much better than that!
Storage for This Healthy Gummy Recipe
Because these gummy bears have no preservatives, they need to stay in the fridge. Store in an airtight container for up to 1 week. If you leave them out at room temperature, they will get moldy!
Freezing: You can’t freeze this recipe. They will become very hard!
Other Flavors for Health Gummies Like These:
Our favorite way to make these gummies are from pomegranate and orange juice. You can also make them with:
- strawberry
- cranberry
- pineapple
- apple juice
Any juice will work!
What are the healthiest gummies?
The healthiest gummies are made with organic ingredients and don’t have added dyes or loads of sugar. This best gummy bears are homemade gummy bears, but if you don’t want to make them check out these store bought gummy bears:
- These are my favorite healthy gummy bears! You can find them in most health food stores or on amazon.
- These are another good healthy gummy bear option. I’ve spotted them at costco.
- I don’t love these healthy gummy bears but many people do. I find that they have an artificial taste to them.
Check out these healthy desserts:
Looking for other easy desserts? Check out these 40+ Healthy Dessert Recipes.
Healthy Gummy Bears
Ingredients
- 1 cup fruit juice (orange or pomegranate are our favorites)
- 3 tablespoons honey
- 3 tablespoons unflavored beef gelatin
Instructions
- Tip: For easy transport to the fridge, set your molds on a baking sheet.
- In a pan, bring the juice and honey to a low simmer.
- Once the honey is melted, add the gelatin and mix in rapidly with a whisk until it is fully dissolved. You don't need to cook the gelatin, just let it mix in.
- Pour into molds immediately. Place in refrigerator for 20 minutes to set
- Once the bears have set, take out of the molds and enjoy! Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for freshness
Video
Notes
- Experiment with different flavors – We love trying different juices and adjusting the amount of honey to test the sweetness. Our favorite juices to use are orange and pomegranate
- Get good molds – These silicone gummy bear molds are the best and so easy to use/clean!
- Have patience! These take much more time than running into the store and grabbing a bag of candy, but I promise they are the best healthy gummy bears and SO worth it!
These Gummie Bears are fantastic. So easy to make. I doubled the quanity.
I used orange juice and cranberry juice (store bought juice). I only used a heaped teaspoon of honey. I bought really good quality fresh gelatine. Bought gelatine from a health food shop after read a post about the gelatine smelling awful.
These gumnie bears will be a family favourite snack.
This makes us so happy to hear – thank you!!
Hi, I made these and I only had enough for 35 or so gummies. They smelled awful to, I don’t know what I did wrong.
Gelatin can smell a little funny. Different molds have different sized gummies so that’s probably why!
Love love love these
Love ‘em!!
Wow – love these!
We used mango juice and only 1 tbs of honey. Still sweet but definitely not overtly so, which I like. I couldn’t get all of the clumps out when whisking but didn’t seem to be an issue overall as I just made sure they didn’t end up in the molds. I also didn’t use the plastic dropper that our silicone molds came with since I didn’t like how hot the plastic was getting so just used a glass beaker/measuring cup and then spatula-ed any excess around.
Overall, this whole process was super easy and I’m very novice at cooking/baking. They aren’t hard/chewy but they aren’t soft jelly either. I think they are the safest consistency for toddlers.The MOST important factor is that my toddler loves them so this will be in the regular rotation for us.
Thanks!
So glad you enjoyed them!!
Can these be frozen?
No they can’t be frozen. Check the storage section in the post for notes on storage 🙂
Such a fun, simple recipe – which works!
I really wanted to love these! I followed the recipe exactly and they ended up being very much like firm jello, so the texture is not really like gummy bears. Very time consuming for what ended up not tasting like I’d hoped. I’ll probably just stick to store bought and enjoy only as an occasional special treat.
Sorry you didn’t like them!
This looks so good! Is the texture like normal gummy bears or more jelly like and less chewy?
More jelly like, less chewy
Hi! Is the honey necessary for it to come together or could I omit?? Thanks! Just made and love them!
I don’t think they will taste very good without the honey, but I honestly haven’t tried it!! It might work without it. If you try let me know how they come out 🙂
Hi , if you make a lot – how long are they good for in the fridge ?
We’ve included this in our storage section: Because these gummy bears have no preservatives, they need to stay in the fridge. Store in an airtight container for up to 1 week. If you leave them out at room temperature, they will get moldy!
Hi there,
I would love to try this recipe, as it sounnds great. I do have one question – do you squeeze the orange juice fresh or do you only use shop bought one, as the one from the shop is full of bad things and not healthy at all?
I use store bought juice. Look for one made with 100% orange juice and nothing else
I made these with my granddaughter. So much fun, easy & delicious!
Possible to use water instead of juice? Just curious.
Definitely not. The juice is what gives them the flavor.. they’d be really gross without juice.
Can the honey be left out if the juice is sweet enough on its own?
Would lemonade be okay? Maybe it would require the honey but I would love to be able to make these without honey if possible.
Thanks
I don’t think you can skip the honey, but I’ve never tried. I’ve also never tried lemonade – it might be too tart. Sorry that’s not much help but if you try it let me know!
I have Vital Proteins Collagen Peptides already. Can I use that instead of the beef gelatin or do I specifically need to use the beef gelatin? Thanks!
You definitely need to use gelatin. Collagen is not like gelatin. Gelatin actually gels. If you use collagen these will not set at all.
Made these and yes allot of work but tasted yummy, ate a ton and no tummy ache 👍
So glad you liked them!
Hi there, you mention collagen and then had a link. I’m not sure what I should be looking for in the store. Is it beef gelatin or should I try to find a collagen powder?
The recipe calls for beef gelatin, that is what you should use! You can find it at Whole Foods or via the links in the recipe. Here’s an amazon affiliate link: https://amzn.to/2Hdejvb
Have you tried this using seamoss?
I’m not familiar with that ingredient, sorry!
I like that you use honey but I am trying to add more potassium and magnesium into my diet. Any thoughts on using black strap molasses in place of the honey?
Hi Linda – If you need to add potassium/magnesium – molasses isn’t the best source for that. Fruits and vegetables are a much better source. I haven’t tried replacing honey with molasses but I don’t think it would work or taste good.
I tried this out and they came out with a jello consistency, not as hard and chewy as I would like. I could also slightly taste the gelatin. Any tips?
Hi Ariana – what kind of juice did you use? These are definitely softer than a regular gummy bear, but shouldn’t be jello consistency. As for tasting the gelatin, I’ve never had that issue so I’m not sure why that would be!
They worked great but I found them a bit on the too sweet side–would they still work with half the honey??
Sorry Chey, but I haven’t tried that. I’m not sure if that would work but if you try it let me know!
It works with no honey if you so desire.
How many can you eat? Is there a limit to getting too much gelatin?
Hi Denise – You can eat as many as you like. There really isn’t a limit on how much gelatin you can consume!
Mine turned out more like bear shaped jello. Bouncy and firm enough to unmould but soft enough that I think they’d melt in my hand. I’d definitely like a gummier version if anyone can share. I tried adding more gelatin but then I lost the fruity flavour. Thanks!
Hi Jessie – Something must have gone wrong here.. these gummies are definitely softer than your regular gummies, but they shouldn’t melt in your hand. Did you use the sweetener? What kind of juice did you use?
Does it matter if I use fresh squeezed orange juice? Also, what brands of juice have you used?
Hi Terisa- I haven’t tried using fresh squeezed orange juice. If you do, I’d recommend straining it. I buy 100% fruit juice. There are many different brands, or I just buy the generic brand. I don’t have one in particular I recommend, I’d just look and see the ingredients on the ones in your store!