Homemade Fruit Snacks
Did you know it’s easy to make your own Homemade Fruit Snacks? They are so delicious and surprisingly easy! Made with real fruit and perfect for satisfying your kids’ sweet tooth without any added preservatives or artificial ingredients.
This fruit snack recipe is the perfect way to treat your kids to something they love without worrying and wondering what they are putting into their bodies. Plus they get an extra serving of fruit and veggies in!
This gummy recipe is perfect for the whole family to enjoy. They look exactly like store bought fruit snacks for kids but without added preservatives or artificial ingredients so you can enjoy guilt-free.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Everyone can lend a helping hand with this fun recipe. Little ones can even work on their fine motor skills by using the dropper.
- You have peace of mind knowing they are filled with fresh fruit and vegetables.
- The prep doesn’t take very long and you can finish clean up while you wait for the gummies to set.
Ingredients for Homemade Fruit Snacks
- Fresh fruits and vegetables – Use a blend of your favorites.
- Fruit smoothie – Bolthouse Farms and Naked are our go-to’s.
- Vitamin C – This is available in liquid form, perfect for adding to these fruit snacks.
- Honey – Raw honey adds sweetness without added sugars.
- Beef gelatin – This powder is used to set the fruit snacks and give them their gummy texture.
- Vegetable oil – Another light tasting oil like canola will work too. This is used to grease the molds.
Helpful Tools
- Large cookie sheet – This will keep the molds nice and flat when you refrigerate them.
- Liquid measuring cup – A liquid measuring cup will have a little more room when you are adding the mixtures together.
- Whisk/spoon – Make sure they are heat resistant.
- Small saucepan – Keep a close eye, you don’t want anything to boil.
- Q-Tips – These are used for greasing the molds.
- Fruit snack molds and dropper – There are so many fun shapes you can find, like these gummy bear molds.
- Blender – The mixture will be nice and smooth, just like a regular fruit snack.
How to make homemade fruit snacks
For red fruit snacks, add sliced strawberries, diced beets, diced apples and pomegranate seeds measuring 3/4 cup to blender.
Add Strawberry Banana fruit smoothie OR apple juice, Vitamin C and honey to blender.
Blend well until mixture is smooth.
Add half of the fruit mixture to small pot and heat about 3-5 minutes on low heat. Put the other half into a liquid measuring cup.
Add gelatin to the half of fruit mixture in the measuring cup and let it bloom for 5 minutes.
One the fruit mixture in the pot is lightly steaming, but not boiling, add it to the measuring cup with the gelatin and mix well.
Add the full mixture back into the pot and heat gently for 3-5 minutes. Whisk gently while it heats and do not allow to boil.
Remove from heat and allow to cool slightly.
Meanwhile, place the silicone molds on the baking sheet and use a Q-Tip to grease each cavity with a very thin layer of oil. Use the dropper to add the fruit snack mixture to the molds.
Place cookie sheet in the fridge and allow fruit snacks to set for about an hour. Leave them in the fridge an hour longer if they do not pop out of the molds easily.
How to Make Orange Fruit Snacks
For orange fruit snacks, measure 3/4 cup total of mango pieces and diced carrots.
Add Mighty Mango fruit smoothie OR apple juice, Vitamin C and honey to blender.
Blend well until mixture is smooth.
Add half of the fruit mixture to small pot and heat about 3-5 minutes on low heat. Put the other half into a liquid measuring cup.
Add gelatin to half of fruit mixture in the measuring cup and let it bloom for 5 minutes.
One the fruit mixture in the pot is lightly steaming, but not boiling, add it to the measuring cup with the gelatin and mix well.
Add the full mixture back into the pot and heat gently for 3-5 minutes. Whisk gently while it heats and do not allow to boil.
Remove from heat and allow to cool slightly.
Meanwhile, place the silicone fruit snack molds on the baking sheet and use a Q-Tip to grease each cavity with a very thin layer of oil. Use the dropper to add the fruit snack mixture to the molds.
Place cookie sheet in the fridge and allow fruit snacks to set for about an hour. Leave them in the fridge an hour longer if they do not pop out of the molds easily.
How to Make Green Fruit Snacks
For green fruit snacks, measure 3/4 cup total of fresh spinach and green grapes.
Add Green Goodness fruit smoothie OR apple juice, Vitamin C and honey to blender.
Blend well until mixture is smooth.
Add half of the fruit mixture to small pot and heat about 3-5 minutes on low heat. Put the other half into a liquid measuring cup.
Add gelatin to half of fruit mixture in the measuring cup and let it bloom for 5 minutes.
One the fruit mixture in the pot is lightly steaming, but not boiling, add it to the measuring cup with the gelatin and mix well.
Add the full mixture back into the pot and heat gently for 3-5 minutes. Whisk gently while it heats and do not allow to boil.
Remove from heat and allow to cool slightly.
Meanwhile, place the fruit snack molds on the baking sheet and use a Q-Tip to grease each cavity with a very thin layer of oil. Use the dropper to add the fruit snack mixture to the molds.
Place cookie sheet in the fridge and allow fruit snacks to set for about an hour. Leave them in the fridge an hour longer if they do not pop out of the molds easily.
How to Make Blue or Purple Fruit Snacks
For blue/purple fruit snacks, add 3/4 cup total blueberries, diced apples, sliced bananas and pomegranate seeds.
Add Blue Machine fruit smoothie OR apple juice, Vitamin C and honey to blender.
Blend well until mixture is smooth.
Add half of the fruit mixture to small pot and heat about 3-5 minutes on low heat. Put the other half into a liquid measuring cup.
Add gelatin to half of fruit mixture in the measuring cup and let it bloom for 5 minutes.
One the fruit mixture in the pot is lightly steaming, but not boiling, add it to the measuring cup with the gelatin and mix well.
Add the full mixture back into the pot and heat gently for 3-5 minutes. Whisk gently while it heats and do not allow to boil.
Remove from heat and allow to cool slightly.
Meanwhile, place the fruit snack molds on the baking sheet and use a Q-Tip to grease each cavity with a very thin layer of oil. Use the dropper to add the fruit snack mixture to the molds.
Place cookie sheet in the fridge and allow fruit snacks to set for about an hour. Leave them in the fridge an hour longer if they do not pop out of the molds easily.
How to store homemade fruit snacks
I recommend keeping the homemade fruit snacks in and airtight container in the refrigerator because they don’t contain any preservatives. Plus if they get too warm, they will melt. You can keep them in the fridge for 2-3 weeks, but I don’t think they will last that long!
Can I make these fruit snacks vegan?
Yes, you can make these sweet treats vegan. Use agar agar, which is made from seaweed, in the place of gelatin. You can use a 1:1 ratio, it is a nice and simple substitution.
Can I use a food processor?
You can use a food processor with the blade attachment if you do not have a blender at home.
Pro Tips
- If it turns out you don’t have any Q-tips at home, you can always use a new paintbrush to brush the oil into the silicone molds.
- Have fun with fruit and smoothie flavors, Pineapple, kiwi, papaya and peaches are top of our list to try out next time.
The whole family will love this fun homemade healthy fruit snack treat! These fruit gummies are so much better for you than the storebought ones without added sugar and preservatives. Plus it is so much fun to switch it up and try different flavors and colors.
More Healthy Snack Recipes
- I bet you already have everything you need at home to make Frozen Yogurt Bites.
- Ants on a Log will bring you back to your childhood.
- M&Ms add a little bit of chocolatey fun in our No Bake Beanut Butter Cereal Bars.
- An Energy Ball that tastes like cookie dough is sure to be a hit.
Homemade Fruit Snacks Recipe
Equipment
Ingredients
- ¾ cup blend of fresh fruits and vegetables i.e. apple, banana, beets, blueberries, carrots, grapes, mango, pomegranate, spinach, strawberries,
- ½ cup fruit smoothie i.e. Bolthouse Farms – Strawberry Banana, Green Goodness, and Naked- Mighty Mango, Rainbow Machine
- 1 Tablespoon vitamin c
- 1 Tablespoon honey
- 3 Tablespoons beef gelatin
- vegetable oil to oil molds
Instructions
For Red fruit snacks:
- Starting with red, measure enough sliced strawberries, diced beets, diced apples, and pomegranate arils (seeds) into a measuring cup to make ¾ cup and add to blender.
- Add half cup (4 ounces) of the strawberry banana fruit smoothie OR apple juice.
- Add 1 Tablespoon of vitamin C and 1 Tablespoon of honey.
- Blend together well until the mixture is smooth. You should have eight ounces of fruit mixture.
- Add half of the fruit mixture to a small pot and heat on low heat until very warm, about 3-5 minutes. It should be very lightly steaming when mixed.
- Add 3 tablespoons of gelatin to the remaining, cool fruit mixture that is in the measuring cup. Let it bloom (soften and gel) for 5 minutes while the fruit mixture in the pot is warming up.
- Once the fruit mixture in the pot has gently heated up, not boiling, but lightly steaming, add it to the measuring cup with the bloomed gelatin. Mix well.
- Add the mixture back to the pot and continue to heat gently for 3-5 minutes. Do not let this mixture boil. Whisk gently while it heats up.
- Remove the fruit mixture from heat and let it cool slightly. Place the fruit snack molds on a large cookie sheet or tray and use a Q-tip to grease each cavity with a very thin layer of vegetable oil. Once the molds are lightly greased, use the dropper to add the mixture to the fruit snacks mold.
- Place the cookie sheet with the filled fruit snacks molds in the refrigerator. Allow the fruit snacks to set up for about one hour. This should be enough time for them to set up. If you check at the one-hour mark and they do not very easily pop out of the molds, leave them in the refrigerator for one more hour.
- Pop the fruit snacks out of the mold and store in a clean, air-tight container in the refrigerator for 2-3 weeks.
For the orange fruit snacks:
- Measure enough mango pieces and diced carrots into a measuring cup to make ¾ cup.
- Add half cup (4 ounces) of the mighty mango fruit smoothie OR apple juice.
- Follow steps 3-11 above!
For the green fruit snacks:
- Measure enough fresh spinach and green grapes into a measuring cup to make ¾ cup.
- Add half cup (4 ounces) of the green goodness fruit smoothie OR apple juice.
- Follow steps 3-11 above!
For the Blue/Purple fruit snacks:
- Measure enough blueberries, diced apples, sliced bananas, and pomegranate arils (seeds) into a measuring cup to make ¾ cup.
- Add half cup (4 ounces) of the blue machine fruit smoothie OR apple juice.
- Follow steps 3-11 above!
