Healthy Homemade Green Juice Gummy Bears, Sugar-Free, Dairy Free, Gluten Free, Refined Sugar-Free, Preservative Free, No Added Colors, or Artificial Flavoring.
No matter how old I get, I’ll never turn down a gummy bear.
I don’t know if it’s the chewy texture and fruity flavors that I love, or if it’s the nostalgia of being a kid that comes along with each bite.
About five years ago, I made some pretty healthy gummy bears on my blog. They ended up being a huge hit, but I think these green juice gummy bears are even better. Why? Well, they’re less work, take about fifteen minutes to make, they’re gluten free, dairy free, refined sugar-free, nut free, and paleo friendly. I’ve also decided to try out Vital Proteins this time, and I feel like it made a huge difference in the texture. Vital Proteins (tasteless) beef gelatin is a 100% pure collagen protein dietary supplement. It’s so good for your hair, skin, nails, your joints, and can improve your gut health. Instead of indulging in sugary gummy bears, these healthy alternatives are high in protein! They’ll add a punch of nutrients while giving you the candy fix. If you have kids, this would be such a fun activity and recipe to make with them! It’s a great way to get them to eat their fruits and vegetables too!
I found the cutest little inexpensive gummy bear molds online. If you don’t have molds or want to make these asap, you can just pour the mixture into any bowl or dish, and cut them into squares once they’ve chilled.
Let’s get to the juice.
You do not have to do green juice or follow my juice recipe. And if you don’t have a juicer, you can also purchase juice at the store for these. This recipe will work with any liquid.
I decided to stick with my go-to green juice recipe. I used lemons, green apples, kale, spinach, cucumber, celery, and a lot of ginger!
Once you’ve juiced all of your fruits and vegetables, you’ll want to remove the foamy layer off the top. But, don’t waste it! Add it to a different cup and drink it. That foamy layer has a ton of nutrients, and if you used a lot of ginger, it’ll have a nice kick to it! I think that was my favorite part.
Add one cup of the fresh juice to a pot, and another cup in a separate bowl.
Add seven tablespoons of the gelatin to the cup, mix well, and set aside.
The gelatin and the green juice will start to thicken. While that’s happening, heat the green juice in the pot on a medium heat. You don’t want it hot enough to boil, but hot enough where you can see the steam coming from the green juice.
Turn off the heat, and mix in the cold gelatin and juice mixture.
Continue to mix until the gelatin is completely dissolved, and stir in honey and spirulina (optional.)
Fill the gummy bear molds.
Refrigerate for about 10-13 minutes. I was shocked at how fast they became firm.
The gummy bears will pop right out of the molds!
Store them in the refrigerator.
You don’t have to have any self-control with these gummy bears. I was eating them by the handful. No shame 🙂
They tasted just like green juice in the form of a gummy bear! I loved them 🙂
Healthy Homemade Green Juice Gummy Bears
Ingredients
- 2 Small Lemons
- 1 Medium Cucumber
- 2 Cups Kale
- 2 Cups Spinach
- 3 Inches Ginger
- 2 Stalks Celery
- 1 Tsp Spirulina
- 1/4 Cup Honey
- 7 Tbsps Vital Proteins Beef Gelatin
Instructions
- Juice your fruits and vegetables. Remove the foam layer from the top of your juice.
- Add one cup of juice to a saucepan, and set aside an additional cup of juice.
- Stir the gelatin into the cup of juice (that is not in the saucepan) Mix well, and set aside.
- Heat the juice in the saucepan over medium heat until the juice starts to steam. Do not bring the juice to a boil.
- Add the gelatin and juice mixture to saucepan with the warm juice. Stir until the gelatin is dissolved and no lumps remain. Mix in the honey.
- Fill molds with the mixture. Refrigerate until firm. (about 10-13 minutes)Store in the refrigerator.
Questions for you!
- Have you ever made homemade gummy bears?
- What flavor should I make next?
- Ginger or no ginger?
Chelsea says
Could you add stevia or Splenda? Would you add before you put it on the stove or after? I wonder if it would affect the “setting” of the gelatin! 💚 love it!
Taralynn McNitt says
You can add anything you’d like. I’d mix it in when the mixture is warm!
Charmaine Ng | Architecture & Lifestyle Blog says
This is so creative, I’ve never seen a healthy gummy bear recipe before! 🙂 I’m not really a big fan of gummy bears (I don’t like candy and never did, I much prefer chocolate), but I know a LOT of people who’d love this recipe! 😀
Charmaine Ng | Architecture & Lifestyle Blog
http://charmainenyw.com
Taralynn McNitt says
I wish I didn’t like candy lol! my weakness. 🙂
Linda @ the Fitty says
Would you say they are chewy as Gummy Bears? I question the chewiness of gelatin.
Taralynn McNitt says
If you want it chewier, just add more gelatin! That’s the secret 🙂
Rachel @ Better LIVIN says
This AWESOME!!!!!!! I am going to do this for myself and my little when he’s old enough to eat solid foods. 🙂 🙂 🙂
Taralynn McNitt says
That’ll be so fun!!
LK says
How many gummy bears does this make? I’m excited to try!
Susie | Mile High Dreamers says
This is such a cute idea! I love how bright and green they are. I’ve tried to make homemade gummy bears but I attempted to use agar, which is a vegan swap for gelatin. They firmed up, but definitely weren’t like a chewy gummy bear. More like, a squishy fruit thing haha. But still, it was fun!
I vote for a berry flavor. That would be so pretty!
And ALL the ginger! Best flavor EVER. Especially in juices!
Lia says
What’s the calorie count looking for these?
Taralynn McNitt says
They are pretty high protein, but I didn’t do the nutrition because I didn’t know the numbers in the juice! 🙂
Meghan says
Gummy bears are seriously a weakness for me! I just can’t resist them, especially the pineapple ones. Who knew they were so easy to make! I haven’t juiced in awhile, but I’ll have to bust out the juicer one weekend to make these!
Taralynn McNitt says
Ahhhhh yes pineapple!!!
Charnze says
I’ve never made homemade gummies- but now I’m planning to make some with my friend’s kids in a few weeks! Yay! We’ll probably do mango lemon and watermelon. Their favorite flavors. But I may need to make myself some ginger gummies. I wonder how much ginger I’d need to juice? 😂
Taralynn McNitt says
I really want to try to do this with mangos! I just bought some 🙂
Lol I could add ALL the ginger!!
Anonymous says
Awhhh those look amazing! I too loveeeee gummy bears! They are one of my favorite candies – this looks soo good. I need to give it a try asap.! Have a good weekend girl!!
XO, Katie | http://www.meshkomoments.com
Taralynn McNitt says
Thanks girl!
Hope you enjoy!!
Katie Mondulick says
Awhh yum these look delicious! I’m a big fan of gummy bears myself!! I need to try these ASAP! Such a fun and creative way to get those greens in! I bet moms would love this recipe for their kiddos 😉
XO, Katie | http://www.meshkomoments.com
Taralynn McNitt says
Definitely a great recipe for kids!:) (and adults who LOVE GUMMIES) LOL
Ana Balsano says
Do we have to use a juicer? Can we mix it in a nutribullet? Maybe add more lemon for a liquid consistency? I don’t have a juicer, but I would like to try these!
Taralynn McNitt says
Nope you just need two cups of any liquid 🙂
Liv says
Do you have any recommendations for a vegan alternative to the gelatin?
Love this idea of healthy gummy bears, and always love your blog!!
Taralynn McNitt says
Hi, Liv! 🙂
You can use
Jolee says
Hey, Tara! Do you know how these compare calorie-wise to your average gummy bear? Also, you specifically mentioned these particular gummies are nut and dairy-free; I admit I sometimes assume things about the food I eat, but do most gummy bears have those things? I generally try to avoid dairy, but I didn’t think gummies were something I needed to check!
Taralynn McNitt says
Hi, Jolee!
I didn’t add the nutrition facts because I don’t know the exact numbers in the juice I make. But the comparison to store-bought gummy bears is significant. LOTS of protein in these ones.
Kiki says
Do you know if this would work with collagen peptides or it has to be beef gelatin? Thank you!!
Casandra says
Gummy bears and gummy fruit snacks are my absolute favorite and always in my house. My son loves them as much as I do. I’m excited to try these out and get some extra goodness in his diet and not have to bribe him with actual fruit snacks to eat healthier things. What is the shelf life on these in the fridge? If I wanted to make bulk batches.
Taralynn McNitt says
I’ve had mine in the fridge for like a week and a half and they are still good! 😀
Ariel LaVenture says
Oh my gosh, I just bought some gummy bears from Lucky’s Market and was thinking how cool it would be to have a good, healthy recipe for my candy addiction! THANK YOU!
I’ve never made ’em before, because they seemed too daunting, but now I’m excited to try.
Have you ever made pina colada ones?
Cheers,
Ariel LaVenture
Jenna Siverson says
Hey Taralynn,
I tried out this recipe last night and the gummy bears have not set at all and they’ve been in the fridge all night! I’m wondering if you have any tips?!? We used vital proteins like you and bought fresh juice from Whole Foods so I’m not sure why it didn’t work. Let me know if you could 🙂
Taralynn McNitt says
Hi, Jenna!
Did you buy the vital proteins beef gelatin?
These won’t work with their regular collagen.
Anonymous says
Yup! Vital Proteins Beef Gelatine!
Taralynn McNitt says
And you did 2 cups of liquid + 6 scoops of gelatin?
low heat not boiling?
Anonymous says
Sorry for the second post – the only thing that comes to my mind is that I added the gelatin to the non-saucepan cup of liquid and it totally solidified before the saucepan cup of liquid started to steam. Should I add the gelatin immediately before adding it to the warm liquid?! The recipe tastes really delicious and I’m excited about the healthy alternative!! Hopefully it’s just operator error 🙂
Jenna says
I figured it out! I ended up combining 1/2 cup juice, 2 tablespoons gelatin, and 2 tablespoons sugar in a small saucepan and heated until steaming then added to my molds. It worked great!!! That amount made 150 mini-gummy bears which I calculated have 1 gram of protein per 7.5 bears. Thanks for the recipe Taralynn!!!
Anonymous says
I tried a similar recipe before, and the gummies just tasted like gelatin and had a funny texure. How do these taste? Is the texture similar to a normal gummy bear?