Name: Healthy Homemade 3 Ingredient Fruit Gummy Snacks
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 5 min
Total time: 20 min
Ingredients: 2 cups Fruit Juice; 5 tbsp grass-fed gelatin; ⅓ cup raw honey

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These healthy homemade fruit snacks are easy, delicious, and made from natural ingredients. They also pack a protein punch from grass-fed gelatin! The best part? You can whip up this easy recipe in only 15 minutes, making these gummies a wonderful alternative to the processed fruit snacks you will find at your local grocery store. This healthier version is so yummy even older kids (and husbands) will love them!

Say no to store-bought fruit snacks

Have you ever stopped to read the nutrition labels on standard store-bought fruit snacks? Ingredients like high fructose corn syrup, artificial dyes, and preservatives are in nearly all the popular brands. As soon I learned that commercial fruit snacks were trash (sorry not sorry), I started looking for healthier alternatives but there wasn’t much to be found. Even the healthier brands still generally have preservatives or ascorbic acid. The solution? Make your own fruit snacks at home!

blonde boy smiling and eating homemade fruit snack gummy worm

Tools you will need:

Illustration of tools needed for homemade fruit snacks

Medium / Large Saucepan (I like a larger pan to give the gelatin room to spread out and bloom)
Whisk
Glass measuring cup (or other glass container)
Droppers & silicone molds
Large cookie sheet or baking sheet (you may need two depending on how many silicone molds you have)

Ingredients to make healthy fruit snacks:

You will only need 3 simple ingredients to make these delicious, healthy homemade gummies!

Grass-fed beef gelatin (I get mine from Thrive Market). Opt for an unflavored gelatin that has no fillers or additives.
Fruit Juice (preferably not from concentrate)
Raw honey

Optional Bonus ingredients: Acerola powder (vitamin C boost), collagen protein powder

What is beef gelatin?

Beef gelatin is a powder made from collagen found in cows and has numerous health benefits. Gelatin contains hardly any fats, carbs, sugars, fiber or other vitamins and minerals, and is actually about 98 to 99% protein. 1 TB of beef gelatin has about 9 grams of protein! One of the primary reasons that gelatin is consumed is for it’s amino acids. Beef gelatin is especially potent in amino acid glycine, which has benefits for joints, sleep, cognitive health and more. Gelatin becomes “jelly-like” when it is dissolved in hot liquid and then cooled, making it a perfect ingredient for homemade gummy snacks!

Where can I buy beef gelatin?

You can find beef gelatin at most health food stores, or online. I have purchased grass-fed gelatin from thrive market, as well as from perfect supplements. I’ve also heard good things about vital proteins gelatin. You should be able to find gelatin anywhere that supplements are sold, but be sure to read the nutrition labels and check for any unnecessary ingredients.

Thrive Market gelatin, Perfect Supplements Gelatin, and Vital Proteins gelatin side by side

Why grass-fed gelatin?

Choosing grass-fed gelatin will ensure that the gelatin is coming from animals that have not been treated with artificial hormones or antibiotics. Pasture-raised or grass-fed cows are generally healthier animals overall.

What is fruit juice from concentrate?

Another important nutrition label to read is the one on the back of the juice bottle. Concentrated juice undergoes a filtration and extraction process that removes the majority of its water content, leaving a thick syrup laden with sugar but stripped of the nutrients and fiber. Though water is reintroduced, the nutrients and fiber are gone forever. Additionally, many concentrated juices include extra sweeteners, preservatives, “natural flavors,” and synthetic Vitamin C, also known as ascorbic acid. Gross!

Tips for making homemade fruit gummies

Tip #1: While you can use any type of juice, some are better than others. The options are endless for different flavors of homemade fruit gummies, but I have found the most success when using a stronger or more tart juice.

My absolute favorite juice so far is the organic mango juice blend made by Lakewood Organic (buy it here). Another good one is tart cherry juice! The key here is to use a stronger flavored juice because the gelatin can make the gummies taste like well, nothing. And we want our fruit gummies to taste like something – preferably fresh fruit!

Tip #2: Adding a little bit of lemon juice (1/8 – 1/4 Cup) can also add a nice tart flavor to the gummies if the fruit juice is not strong enough. I’ve made these before with orange juice + lemon juice and the finished product is good (not as good as the mango though).

Tip #3: Use a dropper to speed up the process of filling the silicone mold, and to minimize the mess. If you don’t have droppers or the silicon molds, you can also just pour the liquid into a 9×9 glass pan and cut them like you would traditional jello squares.

Tip #4: Get your kids involved! My son Jace (2) loves helping to make homemade fruit snacks. It’s a fun activity to do together and also good hand-eye coordination practice for your littles.

View over the shoulder of a blonde boy using droppers to put juice into colorful gummy fruit molds

hand using a dropper to put mango fruit juice into gummy bear molds

close up of pink dropper putting orange juice into silicon gummy worm mold

Tip #5: Buy some fun molds. There are so many variations of silicone gummy molds out there for a reasonable price. You can find everything from gummy bear molds to gummy worms, dinosaurs and many more fun little shapes. I bought this pack on amazon, or you can find some good options at your local Walmart.

purple and pink droppers next to a variety of silicone gummy molds

How to make healthy homemade gummy fruit snacks:

Pour the juice into your sauce pan. Don’t turn the heat on yet!
Sprinkle the gelatin evenly across the top of your juice.
Wait 5 minutes, allowing the gelatin to “bloom”. This will prevent a clumpy final product!
While the gelatin is blooming, lay out your gummy molds on 1-2 baking sheets
Turn the heat on medium-low
Whisk continuously until the gelatin has completely dissolved and the mixture has warmed (don’t let it boil!)
Add the raw honey, and stir until it’s dissolved
Turn off the heat, and pour mixture into a large glass measuring cup (I find this easier to work with than the sauce pan)
Use the droppers to transfer the liquid into the gummy molds
Transfer the baking sheets to the fridge
Allow to set for 30 minutes to an hour
Remove from the molds, and store in a glass airtight container

glass jar of homemade fruit gummies on a wooden cutting board

How to store homemade fruit gummy snacks

Store your homemade fruit snacks in a glass container in the fridge for about a week! If your kids are anything like mine though, they won’t last more than a few days. Seriously ours disappear so fast. You could also leave these gummies out for a couple days at room temperature, as long as they don’t get too warm. These are great to send in your kid’s school lunches or to pull out of the fridge for snack time.

Notes

Do I have to add honey?

No, you don’t have to use honey. I’ve actually forgot to put the honey in the recipe before and they turn out just fine! Obviously not as sweet. You could also use maple syrup as an alternative sweetener but I imagine this would leave a maple flavor which might not be the best.