These homemade blueberry gummies are so delicious and good for you too! They’re naturally colored and sweetened, easy to make, and contain grass fed gelatin, which is great for your gut health. They come together in 5 minutes in the blender, and make for the perfect healthy treat for kids of all ages.
If you ever want me to do you a favor, give me a bag of Sour Patch Kids – a big one. These days, they’re technically verboten, but maybe if the sugar police that live in my stomach aren’t on high alert, I’ll sneak a few ‘Kids, and I’ll also, incidentally, be yours forever. Short of anything dark chocolate, preferably laced with an herb or spice, Sour Patch Kids are the way to my heart. Let’s call these homemade sour patch kids, hold the little body shape and the questionable colors and flavors.
These blueberry gummies are a health food, you see: flavored with nothing but berries – for natural flavor, color and antioxidants – and fresh lemon juice – for contrast and because I can’t do this without just a little bit of sourness – and naturally-sweetened with maple syrup. Though that would be enough, in my book, to qualify these for the Healthy Dessert Hall of Fame, or My Post-Dinner Treat Rotation, as most people other than me tend to refer to it, there’s more.
The gelatin that thickens these has health benefits too, for the same reasons that bone broth is extremely beneficial for digestion and gut health. Gelatin contains the amino acids glycene and glutamine, which help your body rebuild tissue. This is extremely important if you have a damaged or leaky gut, and they also help build collagen and other tissue throughout the body so they can help strengthen hair and nails, tighten loose skin and – rumor has it – possibly even reverse cellulite. (For more information, you can read this article, including comments, or this one, or just Google health benefits of gelatin.)
My doctor has put me on supplemental glycene and glutamine powder, but also advised me that the more I can get, the better. While I try to drink and cook with bone broth as much as possible, I don’t really love it – at least not as much as, um, candy 🙂 However, in order to get the most benefits, you have to start with the highest quality, most nutritious type of gelatin. Yes, gelatin types are a thing. This is the kind I have been using and I really like it, but I’m sure there are other, similarly high quality brands out there. Check Amazon, Whole Foods or your local health food store.
These remind me of my favorite Passover candies – those little fruit slice gummies – but a little softer, and certainly less artificial tasting. If you’re not familiar with those, no worries. I’m sure you’ll still love these jiggly little treats!
2-Bite Blueberry Gummies
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups water, divided
- 2 1/2 cups blueberries, (fresh or frozen and defrosted)
- 6 Tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- 1/4 cup maple syrup
- 1/2 cup unflavored gelatin
Instructions
- Very lightly grease a 9.5"x13" baking pan (spray and then wipe off the excess) and set aside.
- Add the water, blueberries, lemon juice, and maple syrup to a blender and blend until smooth.
- Transfer the blueberry mixture from the blender to a small saucepan.
- Heat until it comes to a low simmer. Do not let it boil.
- Stir in the gelatin and whisk gently until gelatin is dissolved.
- Remove the pan from the heat and pour the mixture into the prepared pan.
- Allow the pan to come to room temperature (about an hour), then transfer to the fridge to firm up (about 2-4 hours)
- Use a very sharp knife or bench scraper to cut into 1.5"(ish) squares.
Notes
- Do not blend more than is absolutely necessary. The more you blend, the more air gets incorporated in, which makes the gummies turn out fluffier, sort of like a marshamallow-y consistency.
- If you'd like a more sour gummy, replace some of the 1/2 cup water that you add to the blender with lemon juice.
- Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a week. They are best within the first 2-3 days though. I like to divide the batch into 4-5 parts, and freeze each portion in an airtight container or zip top bag. That way you can defrost only a few at a time and keep the rest fresh!
- You can reduce the sugar/carbs in this recipe by skipping the maple syrup.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 70 Serving Size: gAmount Per Serving: Calories: 7Carbohydrates: 1gSugar: 1g
[wprm-nutrition-label align=”center”]
Wait: Were you expecting something green? Or Irish? Don’t worry, here’s some green, and you absolutely must try this gluten-free Irish Soda Bread. Happy St. Patty’s Day!
Becky Winkler says
Gorgeous! I have a huge thing of gelatin and have been looking for recipes to use it in. Come to think of it, I have ALL the ingredients for these gummies at home already!
Nora (A Clean Bake) says
Oh, what luck! I hope you get to try these!
Nancy @ gottagetbaked says
My best friend brought me sheets of gelatin from her last trip to Paris and they’re still sitting in my cupboard, waiting to be used. I love these natural, homemade gummies, Nora! They look amazing!
Nora (A Clean Bake) says
Oooh! I would be curious what the conversion is to sheets (I used powder). But I can’t think of a better way to use them!
Lynn | The Road to Honey says
I love these. The hubby and I have been getting a small bagful of natural gummy bears from Whole Foods to enjoy on our way home. I feel they taste so much better than the traditional gummy bears and have a better texture. These look like they would be right up my alley when I’m in the mood for a taste of candy.
Nora (A Clean Bake) says
Oh, I’ve always eyed those gummy bears at Whole Foods, but never really tried them! These gummies are not quite as firm as a gummy bear, but they’re pretty close!
Allie | Baking a Moment says
What a fun idea Nora! I had no idea that gelatin had so many health benefits. These sound so delish and perfect for Passover 🙂
Nora (A Clean Bake) says
Thanks, Allie! Neither did I, until recently. Talk about a pleasant surprise!
Monica says
So awesome that you created your own delicious gummy treats! I had no idea there were different types of gelatin or that it had these health benefits; good to know!
Nora (A Clean Bake) says
I know, isn’t it fascinating!? I think the easiest way to think of it is like meat (since gelatin is an animal product) – the more healthfully and humanely the animal is raised, the better quality the meat or gelatin 🙂
Felice says
Hi my gummies never firmed up its still like liquid. What did I do wrong!
Nora (A Clean Bake) says
Oh no! I’m so sorry to hear that! A couple things: 1) did you change anything about the recipe (add anything, leave out anything, eyeball quantities instead of measuring, etc)? and b) What kind of gelatin did you use?
Azu says
I’m a big fan of gelatin! it’s healthy and delicious, love your idea od making gummies with it. Gotta try them!
Nora (A Clean Bake) says
Awesome! Hope you like it!
Danielle says
Omg these sound amazing. I’ll definitely be trying them out soon!
Nora (A Clean Bake) says
Awesome! I hope you enjoy them! By the way, I got (and very much appreciate!) your email and will respond tonight or tomorrow. Please forgive my slacker-ish response time. 🙂
Taylor says
I LOVE Sour Patch Kids – I rarely, if ever eat candy but I recently bought a box while shopping at the grocery store, ate a few, then forgot I had it and when I found it in my pantry they were solid as rocks! It was so disappointing.
I have to say, though, that making your own gelatin candies sounds like the better (and obviously more healthy!) way to go.
Nora (A Clean Bake) says
Ahh those dead rock-hard sour patch kids are the worst! There will always be something so satisfying about those, even for someone who is a not a big fan of candy (I am with you on that, other than dark chocolate of course!)
Lacey says
I made these today. I love the flavor very fresh, but the texture isn’t quite as firm as I’d hoped. I used the same gelatin you listed, and they chilled out in the fridge about 3 hours before I couldn’t wait another minute to try them. They hold shape and have a little Bounce back in them but the texture is soft, and airy almost. Is this similar to what you got?
Nora (A Clean Bake) says
Hi Lacey! The gummies are definitely supposed to be softer than, say, a sour patch kid (which has tons of chemicals in it to make sure it gets to the right chewy texture) but I wouldn’t call them airy. Did you by any chance mix then with a hand mixer or stand mixer? That might have incorporated too much air into them. In the future, for a firmer texture, you could try adding a few more tablespoons of gelatin and see if you can get it more to the texture you prefer. I’m glad you liked the flavor though! 🙂
Lacey says
I used my ninja blender. I put all the ingredients in the blender while the gelatin bloomed, and then added the gelatin mixture, and blended everything together. I will give it another shot once I finish eating this batch. 🙂
Lacey says
Also, online sources are saying, sprinkle on water, allow to bloom 5-10 minutes, and if adding to cold liquids, microwave slightly.
Nora (A Clean Bake) says
Hm, I wonder if maybe it incorporates more air than mine did? I don’t have a ninja and I hear they are very powerful! Another suggestion would be to try to stir the gelatin in by hand (blend the berries first though so make sure you don’t have clumpy gummies!) so that you can prevent air from getting into them. That will make them denser.
Oh, and when you’re blooming: I have seen lots of different recommendations for the amount of water to use to bloom the gelatin. I tried several different amounts but found that a 2:1 ratio of water to gelatin (powder) worked best to be able to provide enough liquid for all of the gelatin to be able to bloom (without leaving any powder behind, and without some of the gelatin becoming hard from lack of liquid absorption) but if you’re curious, you can definitely play around with it and let me know if you find something else that works. I love a good kitchen experiment! 🙂
Lacey says
Eurika! Success! I did strawberries this time with the lemon. I pureed them in my ninja. Then bloomed the gelatin, microwaved it two times for 30 sec. and then stirred to combine the two mixtures. Yuhum. I could hardly get them into the container, my kids were scarfing them down by the handful. Delish. Thanks.
Nora (A Clean Bake) says
That sounds great! I love the strawberry idea. So glad your family is enjoying them!! 🙂
Shari says
Is this a 1/2 cup of powdered gelatin? Then add this gradually to 1 cup of water …
Nora (A Clean Bake) says
Yes, powdered gelatin! Sorry if that wasn’t clear 🙂
Bonnie says
Would honey work in the recipes calling for maple syrup?
Nora (A Clean Bake) says
Yep! That should work fine.
Sara says
Mine have been chilling for about 3 hours now and they are still REALLY soft. I followed the recipe except I used rsapberries. I used powdered gelatin.
Nora (A Clean Bake) says
Given that the moisture content of blueberries and raspberries is fairly similar, the fruit probably isn’t an issue. It could be any number of things, but my guess would be that your fridge might just be calibrated a little warmer than mine. I’d encourage you to leave the pan in the fridge overnight and see what they look like in the morning. If they’re still too soft, shoot me an email (acleanbake@gmail.com) and I’m happy to help you troubleshoot.
Jessica Flory says
Wow, these are fantastic! Such a perfect little snack or addition to a meal. I have gut issues due to a gluten intolerance I only found out about recently and these are life-saving!! Such an easy, tasty way to get gelatin in my diet.