Homemade Fruit Gummies // Healthy Snacks

Sweet and chewy fruit snacks have been a longtime favorite treat in our house – for both kids and adults.  You’d think that since fruit is in the name of the pre-packaged versions, it means they’re healthy. Unfortunately, if you check the nutritional labels you’ll see that they’re made with high fructose corn syrup, preservatives, artificial flavors, and artificial colors.

That’s why I love making these easy and healthy homemade gummy fruit snacks.  It’s made with four simple ingredients — fresh fruit/veggie puree, 100% fruit juice, raw honey, and high-quality gelatin.

Gelatin is what binds all of the ingredients together.  Its texture is a mix between a gummy and firm jello. I use this grass-fed unflavored collagen gelatin, which is great for digestion, better skin, hair and nails, and bone and joint health.  It’s also loaded with protein. Each batch of my homemade fruit snacks has 30 g of protein.

Collagen gelatin should not be confused with collagen peptides.   Although they both have the same health benefits, they are two different forms and used for different purposes.  Collagen peptides dissolve instantly in hot or cold liquids. Since it doesn’t change the texture of a liquid, it’s a perfect addition to any drink.  You can read more about how I use collagen peptides in this post.

Collagen gelatin fully dissolves in hot liquid and solidifies when cooled.  It creates the kind of consistency needed for these chewy fruit snacks. If you want to make these vegan, substitute the agave for honey and agar powder for the gelatin.

You can purée almost any fruit, vegetable, and use almost any fruit juice.  Fruits to avoid are pineapple, mango, papaya, grapefruit, ginger root, guava, fig, and kiwi because they have an enzyme that prevents the gelatin from setting.  When choosing what flavors to use, I consider the combined taste and color. My favorite flavor and color combinations are spinach and apple juice, strawberries and pomegranate juice, blueberries and grape juice, and peaches and orange juice.

Once you pick your flavors, simply blend your fruit and/or veggies with your juice of choice in a high powered blender until smooth.  I personally love using whole fruits and veggies for the added fiber, but they can be made with just juice too.

You can use any mold you want and there’s so many to choose from.  I use these fruit shaped molds and these bear molds.  Some other cute ones I found are these lego, flower, animal, and dinosaur molds.  Most come with a dropper, which makes it more easy and precise when filling the molds, but you can also use a pitcher or measuring cup.  If you’re not using molds then simply spread the mixture in an 8×8″ pan lined with wax paper..

The gelatin sets when it cools, so it’s important to lay out all of your materials beforehand.  I measure out the fruit puree, fruit juice, gelatin, and honey into separate containers. Then I set my molds on a tray for easy transport from the counter to the fridge and make sure I have my dropper or pitcher ready nearby.

These gummy snacks are far superior to the average store-bought fruit snacks!  They’re not loaded with a ton of extra sugar, so if you want them to taste sweeter just add more honey.  I hope you find this recipe as easy as it is delicious. It’s a healthy, high-protein snack loaded with nutrients that will satisfy the whole family.

Homemade Gummy Fruit Snacks

Yields 2 cups or about 90 gummies

Ingredients

• 1 ½ cups of fruit puree OR 1 ½ cups of fruit juice*
• ½  cup of fruit juice*
• 3 tablespoons of powdered gelatin**
• 2 tablespoons of raw honey

*Avoid using pineapple, mango, papaya, grapefruit, ginger root, guava, fig or kiwi as they contain enzymes that prevent gelatin from setting

**If you want to make these vegan, substitute the agave for honey and agar powder for the gelatin.

Directions

1. Combine the fruit/veggie puree, juice, gelatin, and honey in a small saucepan.
2. Cook over medium-low heat until the gelatin is dissolved, about 1 minute.  Do not let the mixture boil.  
3. Using a dropper or pitcher, fill the silicone molds or prepared baking pan with your mixture.
4. Transfer to the refrigerator to set for at least 2 hours.
5. Once set, remove from the molds or slice into pieces with a sharp knife.
6. Store these homemade fruit snacks in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to one week.

Note: Recipe can be cut in half if making multiple flavors.  If adding vegetables, I recommend only using ½ cup of veggie puree with 1 ½ cups of fruit juice.

What are some of your kids’ favorite snacks?