Strawberry Lemonade Healthy Homemade Fruit Snacks

These strawberry lemonade healthy homemade fruit snacks are easy, delicious, and made from natural ingredients! Sweet and slightly tangy with just the right amount of jiggle, these healthy gummy snacks are a great alternative to store bought fruit snacks. With a bonus protein boost form gut-friendly gelatin, these gummies are guaranteed to be a hit! My whole family gobbles these fruit gummies up in less than 24 hours. 

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What are fruit snacks made of?

If you bought them at the store, then your fruit snacks are probably made of high fructose corn syrup, artificial dyes, artificial flavors, and preservatives! Most conventional fruit snacks have 10+ added grams of sugar, and the fruit flavor is probably not even be from real fruit.

Instead, this healthy recipe uses (real) fresh fruit juice, natural sweetener (honey), and collagen protein. Bonus, these healthy homemade gummies are DELICIOUS! You won’t even miss the processed version, promise. 

Tools you will need

• 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 for Strawberry Lemonade Healthy Gummy Snacks

All the ingredients for this recipe are nourishing and real food ingredients. 

• 5 TB Grass-fed beef plain gelatin (I get mine from Thrive Market). Opt for an unflavored gelatin that has no fillers or additives. 
• 2 Cups Strawberry Lemonade Fruit Juice (preferably not from concentrate).
• 1/3 Cup Raw honey
• 2 Scoops Strawberry Lemonade Collagen from Ancient Nutrition If you prefer to leave this out you can, but it really takes the strawberry lemonade flavor to the NEXT LEVEL and adds a great protein boost. AND it gives these gummies a lovely pink color, with no artificial colors used here. 

Health Benefits of 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% protein. 1 TB of beef gelatin has 9 grams of protein! One of the primary reasons that gelatin is consumed is for it’s amino acid profile. 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. Try and find grass-fed gelatin, which 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. 

Tips for making healthy gummy snacks

Tip #1: 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.  Bonus, lemons are a great natural source of vitamin c. 

Tip #2: 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 into small squares like you would traditional jello. 

Tip #4: Get your kids involved! My son Jace 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.

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 dinosaur molds to gummy worms, bears and more fun shapes. I bought this pack on amazon, or you can find some good options at your local Walmart.

Tip #6: Don’t forget to let the gelatin bloom! It’s a game changer for dissolving the gelatin. I wouldn’t recommend using a small saucepan for this part – you want to have lots of room for the gelatin to spread out. 

How to make strawberry lemonade gummy fruit snacks:

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

How to store homemade healthy gummies

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 healthy snacks. 

Other Flavor variations

The options are really endless when it comes to homemade fruit snacks. You can substitute just about any fruit juice as long as you keep the proportions of gelatin to juice the same. I have found that stronger, more tart juices turn out the best. If the juice doesn’t have a strong enough flavor the gummies end up kind of tasteless. I would stay away from juice like orange juice and apple juice, these are somewhat bland unless you add some real lemon juice to your recipe. Here are a couple of delicious options to try:

Mango Fruit Gummies – Try this mango blend fruit juice from lakewood organic. This recipe is probably our favorite way to make our healthy fruit snacks. 

Elderberry Fruit Gummies for Immune system support – Use Elderberry syrup or juice as a base for an immune boost during cold and flu season. I also like to add some acerola cherry powder, it’s a great way to add some whole food vitamin C to your diet. 

Sour Lemon Fruit Gummies – Try squeezing fresh lemons. The sour balanced with the honey will make for a tasty treat! 

Tart Cherry Gummies – Tart Cherry juice has a wide range of benefits. It also gives homemade gummy candies a delicious flavor! 

Summary

I hope you enjoyed this recipe for healthy fruit snack alternatives! These are so good to have in your fridge for healthy snack options, a perfect treat for your whole family to enjoy! The next time you or your family is craving some gummy candy, give this recipe a try. If you like it, please leave me a review or a comment and let me know what you think!