Learning to make your own vegan gummy bears is the easiest thing ever! The results are so fun that you are going to want to make it again and again.
This recipe is super simple and only uses 3 easy ingredients that you can switch up and customize completely to your tastes!
I made this recipe originally for my boyfriend because he is obsessed with gummy bears and fruit snacks and I wanted to try a vegan version. Update: he loved it!
However, they are truly one of the best Vegan Recipes For Kids!
Not only do kids love eating vegan gummy bears, they can also help make them every step of the way!
From choosing the flavor to helping fill the gummy bear molds and then taking them out of the fridge and popping them out, this recipe is a great way to get kids involved!
If you are going to be making it already for the kids, why not teach them some life skills and have them help?
The best part about making gelatin-free gummies is that you can customize the flavor!
When you buy gummy bears from the store, you are stuck with what you get! But with these fun homemade vegan gummy bears, you can change it up to your heart’s content!
You can also choose the amount and type of sweetener that you put in the vegan gummies recipe!
I choose white sugar, but you can also use agave, maple syrup, or just leave the sweetener off completely and just use the flavor from the juice to sweeten the recipe!
Either way, I know you are going to fall in love with making your vegan own vegan gummy bears for all occasions!
Are Gummy Bears Vegan?
The short answer is no, gummy bears are not vegan!
The long answer is, no, gummy bears are not vegan, they aren’t even vegetarian!
Gummy bears use gelatin which is made from animal bones. It is most often made by boiling animal bones, but skins, tendons and ligaments can also be used and boiled too.
For whatever reason, I didn’t check ingredients hard enough in the past and I am kind of shocked to find out all of the things I had accidentally eaten that contained gelatin.
There is no such thing as vegetarian gummy bears or vegan ones at the regular store. Some health food stores do carry vegan brands.
Fruit snacks that are popular with the kids also contain gelatin.
Always make sure to check the ingredients to ensure that it is gelatin-free.
Where To Find Gummy Bear Molds
In order to make your vegan gummy bears, you are going to need to buy a gummy bear mold.
They usually cost about $7-$12 from Amazon and come with a little dropper that allows you to carefully drop the liquid mixture into each tiny bear.
This is the Gummy Bear Mold I Use! It comes with four molds and two droppers so that you can have someone help you or save one for when the first gets lost!
This mold allows you to do Both Gummy Bears And Worms and also comes with a dropper of its own. It comes with a variety of animals, not just bears, so make sure you want that! This is a good choice if you want to make vegan fruit snacks and prefer options other than just the bears.
There are a ton of options on Amazon, but I am very happy with the mold I chose because it came with four molds which allowed me to make pretty many bears all at one time!
How To Make Vegan Gummy Bears
As I said above, making homemade gummy bears is painfully easy!
It requires only 3 ingredients and just a little bit of your time!
First, you are going to choose what flavors you want.
The flavors in my photo are cranberry, apple, grape, and grapefruit. You can choose literally anything under the sun that is in a liquid form that you want to eat as a gummy!
You are going to need 1 cup of each juice to fill four gummy bear molds so just keep that in mind when buying the juices!
Believe it or not, 1 cup of liquid will make A LOT of vegan fruit snacks, so you can halve this recipe or even cut it into 1/4’s if you don’t want to waste the mixture when you are done.
You may even want to buy multiple gummy bear molds so you can make a large batch!
The first thing you are going to do is put the fruit juice or liquid of your choice in a small saucepan on the stove.
Then, add in your Agar Agar Powder. This is what is going to make the vegan gummy bears gel up and become solid! Make sure to get powder NOT flakes or else this recipe won’t work well!
You can buy Agar Agar Powder from Amazon or at your local health food store.
Then, add in your sweetener of your choice. I recommend 2-3 tablespoons of sweetener, but you can use more or less to taste.
You can also use any sweetener you like. You can use granulated sugar, maple syrup, agave and more!
Play it up to your tastes.
Once the mixture comes to a boil, remove it from the heat and let it cool for a few seconds.
Then, transfer it to a small bowl to continue cooling for about 5-10 minutes.
You want the mixture to not be boiling, but not so cooled that it is starting to gel and you have a hard time working with it.
You can cool the gummy bear mixture in the pot you boiled it in, but I find that this takes longer and that transferring it to another container helps!
Then, take out a big plate and put your gummy bear mold on it!
I find that putting the mold on a large plate is a good way to transfer the vegan gummy bears to the fridge in order to cool.
Use the little dropper that comes with the mold and carefully drop a little gummy mixture into each bear.
This is easier than it sounds, but does take a little bit of time. Not too long to hate it, but it is a slower process!
Once you fill up the molds, transfer them to the fridge to cool for 10-20 minutes.
If you aren’t sure, try popping one of the Agar Agar gummies out and see if it retains its shape.
The mixture will gel fairly quickly and the vegan fruit snacks are ready to eat in around 10-15 minutes after being popped into the fridge!
Then, repeat until you have enough flavors! I generally boil 2-3 pots of gummy mixture at one time so they can all cool while I work on the first flavor!
How To Store The Vegan Gummy Bears
Storing the vegan gummy bears is super easy! Simply place them in an air-tight container in the fridge and they should keep for 3-5 days!
You can also freeze the vegan fruit snacks for 2-3 months in a freezer-safe container!
To eat, simply let them thaw out on the counter until they are room temperature! Then you can enjoy!
I recommend making a large batch so that you can save some or at least have some for a few days! Despite there being quite a few bears, the bears are small so the finished amount using 4 molds isn’t quite that much!
Did You Try This Recipe?
If so, I would love to keep in touch! I enjoy seeing photos and comments about the recipes that you make! You can follow me on Instagram and I will repost your goodies in my stories and comment on it too! Just tag me at @wowitsveggie and hashtag #wowitsveggie. I can’t wait to see what you make!
3-Ingredient Vegan Gummy Bears
Learning how to make your own homemade vegan gummy bears is so easy! You can customize the flavor with pretty much any liquid you like as well as the sweetener that you would like to use! This vegan gummy bears recipe is perfect for kids and adults alike.
Ingredients
- 1 cup fruit juice [or any liquid of your choice]
- 2 teaspoons Agar Agar powder [NOT flakes!]
- 2-3 tablespoons sweetener [sugar/maple syrup/agave]
Instructions
- Place your Gummy Bear Mold on a large plate and set aside.
- In a small saucepan, place juice, sweetener, and Agar Agar Powder and bring to a boil. This usually takes about 5 minutes. Remove from heat after boiling for 1 minute and let the mixture cool down for about 5-10 minutes. I find that putting it into another bowl to cool helps it cool faster. You just don't want the vegan gummy bear mixture to be scalding hot when you pour it into the mold! But not cool enough that it starts to harden completely.
- Using the dropper included in your gummy bear mold, drop the liquid into the little bears until the mold is filled up.
- Transfer the large plate with the filled mold to the fridge and let it harden for 10-20 minutes.
- Once vegan gummy bears are hardened, take the mold out of the fridge and pop them out onto a plate or into a container.
- Repeat this process with each flavor!
Notes
Nutrition Information
Yield
4Serving Size
1Amount Per Serving Calories 49Total Fat 0gSaturated Fat 0gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 0gCholesterol 0mgSodium 37mgCarbohydrates 12gFiber 0gSugar 11gProtein 0g
3-Minute Vegan Ranch Dressing Recipe
The gummies did not firm up. More like jelly than gummy. The liquid may need to boil longer to activate the agar agar but no time is stated.
May try with qtr teaspoon more agar agar.
Thank you for your comment! Did you boil for between 5-10 minutes? If so, then I agree if it didn’t work, possibly use a tiny bit more agar agar. So sorry!
I’m going to try this, too. Maybe there can’t be too much agar agar! They didn’t have that chewable consistency that I was remembering and craving. perhaps agar agar doesn’t do that?
I think that since it isn’t real gelatin, it will be a mock version, but not 100% exact as most vegan mock ups are. It is close, but not quite the same as gummy bears in the chewy consistency. Kids love it though, especially if they aren’t familiar with the orignals!
I have been watching alot of different videos to make gummies and one said you could use more agar agar to adjust to the consistency you like. More you use the firmer they will be!
I’ve been looking for a vegan candy since I’ve recently became vegan and I crossed your website and I thought I’d give this a try. I used pomegranate juice and some sugar as well as 2 tsp of agar agar. I boiled it for a solid 5 minutes. I used some skull moulds for Halloween and then I let them set in the freezer for 10 min. Omg so yummy, they are perfect for my Halloween party. My daughter approves too. Thank you, I will be making this one again with different juices.
Thank you so much!!! i am so excited you loved it!!!! it is so much fun!
Please revise the recipe to reflect that the mixture needs to boil for 5-10 minutes then. The way it is written currently, it says to remove it from heat the moment it reaches a boil. There is no duration specified to boil the mixture for. I ruined a batch of perfectly delicious homemade juice with this recipe. As written, this makes something inedible. Trust me.
Hello! I am so sorry it didn’t work out for you! It is not how I have practiced this recipe to have the mixture be at a rolling boil for 5-10 minutes so I don’t feel comfortable adding it. The way that I do it is I bring to a rolling boil. And once it is rolling, I remove and let it sit for the 5-10 minutes. Thank you for explaining this alternative!
I had the exact same problem I know it’s a lot but I could too tablespoons work much better than 2 teaspoons
these are not gummy style gummies you got your recipe correct check out doing fruit pectin ones
Can we use sugerfree jello and how much please thank you for sharing:)
I’ve never tried it but i dont see why not….
Jello is not vegan- it has pork in it.
This recipe including the photos feature…..vegan jello…..?
Cook it longer to activate the agar agar consistency ..try adding more agar agar too if need be.
My daughter and I use 1cup to 2 teaspoons of agar agar and it firmed up really nicely! We let it boil for a few minutes maybe 3 max and turned out well.
How long do these stay good for? I’m trying to find a shelf-stable recipe good for 2+ weeks without needing to add preservatives.
I wouldn’t keep these outside of the fridge. I also personally wouldn’t keep them for 2 weeks as I think it would make their consistency get weird! So sorry! Good luck on your search!
Hey Ali did you find a shelf stable recipe?
Annie’s gummies at supermarkets are vegan…
Can we use honey for the sweetener?
I have not personally tried it before but I don’t see why not!!! The agar agar is what thickens the honey shouldn’t mess with it!! Go for it!
Thank you for this. Living in South Africa, vegan anything, is hard to find! The jelly sweets I did find once tasted really weird, I guess there is a reason manufacturers continue to use gelatin, YUK!
I’ll give these a try! I was thinking of adding Vitamin C powder that you dissolve in cold water to drink, to the recipe, vitamin chews! Great for people who can’t swallow tablets, like me!
You TOTALLY could try adding the powder! Please let me know how this goes for you! Thank you!
Good idea 💡👍🏼
Be careful with the temperature. Heat destroys vitamins and probiotics; vitamin C is one of the most sensitive and unstable, and it doesn’t take much heat for it to start breaking down. Vitamin C is vulnerable to oxidation, too, so if you can somehow manage to include it in the gummies, you’d want to store them in an airtight container.
Hi! Thanks for the recipe! I noticed that it says 2 tsp of agar in the recipe, but in the video it said 2 TBSP. Could you please let me know which one is correct?
Thanks!
Tablespoons!!! I am so sorry! I must have mis-typed!!! Thank you!
It is still incorrect in the recipe – you should update it – not everyone will read the comments.
Really glad I read the comments to get the actual recipe! Is there a possibility that you could edit the recipe itself in this post so people don’t make it and think the recipe is a dud? Guessing that’s the case with some people like the person who said they had to boil it for ten minutes…
I’m glad I read the comments! I used 2 tsp and they’re wait too soft. Ugh!
Hi Victoria. Thanks for taking the time to share the recipe and for the write-up. If it indeed should be 2 Tbsp (tablespoons) of agar agar, rather than 2 tsp (teaspoons), please please update the recipe as it is still showing 2 tsp. This is why you’re getting the comments that you are about the recipe not working!
Hello! It is really 2 teaspoons! That is the correct measurement!
I wish one of the bloggers for the vegan gummy bear recipes had been more upfront about the texture of these sweets. Some of you admit they are softer but I think we need to come right out and say that these are small jellies, not gummies.
I hate jelly so this was a bit of a waste of time and money for me. I tried this recipe and several others but didn’t get anything close to what I was hoping for. If wine gums are a 10, jelly babies are a 5 and jelly is 0, this are a 2 on firmness.
However, they are pretty, have a nice taste and are easy to make so if you like a jelly texture, this recipe is for you. I just wanted to get this out there because I’ve seen so many comments complaining about the mix not setting. If you hate jelly, or are hankering for actual candy, steer very clear!
Thank you for this!!!! We actually feel they are “harder” than “softer” so we appreciate this comment
your recipe needs a summary in the usual format
how much agar agar is needed? this is not stated
sophomoric if you ask me
the amount is in the recipe card at the end of the post…
Yet in the comments you say a different amount than in the recipe?? Which is it? Because I made it with 2 tsp and it was not chewy at all, it was like jello.
I agree with C. If the recipe is supposed to be 2 Tablespoons Agar Powder, why does the recipe card still say 2 Teaspoons? It is really confusing & results in 2 totally different end products. Please update the recipe to reflect how it is actually supposed to be made. I almost ruined a batch when I went off of the recipe card. Thankfully, I added more Agar Powder to my mixture because it didn’t seem to be the right consistency.
It is 2 teaspoons!
i used 2 teaspoons and they had the weirdest texture, kind of like they shattered, nasty. just tried remaking with 1 teaspoon and the texture is much better
Lol way to not follow simple directions. Maybe your reading level is below sophomoric?
Can gar gum be substituted for agar agar ?
Ive not tried it so I can’t speak! You can for sure try it and let us know!!
this didn’t work for us, it was super crumbly and we even added extra agar agar powder and it tasted rubbery.But it was fun to try something new, I would say on the website that they will not be like gummy bears we are used to. Sorry for the bad feedback but we just wanna share our experience.
Hello Rosy, I did not delete your comment, I just hadn’t gotten around to approving the original one as my Dad died and I was dealing with his estate problems this past week so I haven’t worked in a few days. I am sorry that your experience wasn’t good. Of course since there is no gelatin it isn’t a 100% match, but for 3 ingredients and making it at home with “clean” things, it is pretty decent! Thank you for sharing your feedback!
I’m glad I scrolled through the comments before making this recipe.
If I wanted to add canna-oil to my gummies, when would I add it in? Great recipe. Thanks much.
I would add it in the beginning stages while everything is liquid and before it gels together
You can do that, but you should add 1 teaspoon of powdered lecithin (soy or sunflower) or 2 teaspoons of liquid lecithin.
Made them and agree with others — they are like jelly and wasted a ton of money since I added CBD isolate. Did you even make this recipe before posting? I’ll never come back to this website again. crappy recipe = mistrust
Yes I did….you can see my photos and even my video included. I am sorry it wasn’t what you were expecting
In the comments you say two tablespoons but your typed recipe says two teaspoons. That might be the issue everyone is having and would be best if you would revise your typed recipe since more people read vs watching a video for recipes.
This would be a great recipe if the correct amount of agar agar powder was listed.
Made these exactly as the recipe is written and they came out perfectly. Commenters having issues likely aren’t using good quality agar powder because this recipe worked great.
thank you! this is also my experience!
Warning! Do not use honey!!! It made the gummies really mealy and gross.
I thought this recipe was great!
For people having a hard time setting their agar: I recommend checking the sugar content of your juice. The more sugar in it, the harder it will be to set. I used a simple syrup instead of a juice so I had to use half a cup of the syrup, and half a cup of water.
If there’s enough sugar in the juice for it to be sweet, consider omitting a sweetener. I didn’t realize this at first and my batch came out like collapsed gelatin!
Excellent recipe all around though 🙂 I made little strawberry gummy hearts with edible glitter inside them and they look adorable!
Thank you so much!!! Omg the edible glitter i love that!
I tried this but they came out firm and just crumble when you bite them . Did I miss something?
I had to leave my review. I’m currently sick, hard time breathing, IDK why I decided to make these for fun with my 2 year old while making dinner. I didn’t read the comments, so we ended up with yummy peppa pig jellies. Also, it didn’t help that my spatula broke and sank into the hot jam. So as I ate the peppa jellies which my toddler didn’t like, I said well at least we had fun, right? And she said NO. It wasn’t fun. Hahahha anyways.
Idk what I did wrong ! I followed the instructions perfectly but I was only able to fill two of four molds, before the mixture turned into jelly in the pan before I could fill them all 🙁
I used bigger heart shaped molds that are about 5mL and so they made around 30 gummies if I fill them up 3/4 of the way.
My only gripe is that the texture isn’t “gummy” it’s more like “jelly”… if you squish them they’re going to break into pieces rather than bounce back and I’m not crazy about that texture but I think that’s just the nature of agar agar and not any problem with this specific recipe. im fine with this because i made THC gummies so I’m not eating them because I like the taste haha.
I used light pineapple juice + rum for the first batch and hibiscus tea + raspberry cheong syrup for the second and got some beautiful yellow and red colors.
I made these today and they were not “gummy” at all. I used Organic dark cherry juice, agar powder and agave syrup. When you bite into them, they crumble in your mouth. I’m wondering if this is just the way the agar gelatinizes and maybe I should seek out a better vegan gel ingredient. Thoughts? Thank you!
Hello Holly! As with many vegan products, they are the best imitation of the regular product as they can muster. So sometimes the agar agar is not EXACLTY the same as gelatin, as it isn’t the same ingredient but does its best to mock up the same way. Im not familiar with other vegan gel ingredients, what were you thinking?
Holly Belt, did you use 2 Teaspoons or 2 Tablespoons of the Agar Powder?
try using less agar agar, mine did the same with 2 t and it was ansty but i just used 1 t and i might either try cooking a bit longer or maybe add a tiny bit more agar agar
Anyone have a shelf life idea for these please?
Add citric acid. It is 100% natural. It is the same as Vitamin C and behaves as a preservative.
I’m excited to make these gummies with juice made from frozen berries! I’m also thankful to have seen the comment about using 2 tablespoons of agar agar as the recipe didn’t update for the actual amount. Many people didn’t have success, because of this, so fixing that would be beneficial. Thank you!
The recipe of 2 teaspoons is what is correct. If you look up other food bloggers they also include a similar amount! I hope it turns out for you!!!
Hey Victoria! I’ve been reading comments for the past few minutes 😁 and just wanted to let you know, that in one of your comments (you were replying to someone asking) you said that the right amount of agar is 2 tablespoons. In every other comment (as per the recipe) you wrote 2 teaspoons. I think if you delete that one comment of yours, with that small mistake, it may clear things up for everybody 😉 sending my best wishes 💚
Oh my gosh let me look into this ASAP! thanks!!!!
Made this 04/06/2024 and turn out great thanks for sharing! I used organic orange mango juice and two teaspoons Agar agar powder.
Can we use agar agar strips?
The gummies turned out way too soft with the written recipe. The gummies disintegrated 🙁 I regret not looking at the comments before making them as the amounts are wrong for the agar and other people are having success with boiling the mixture.
Is there a way to make these sweeter without adding sugar? I used cherry juice and maple as this is what was on hand…and they didn’t have the taste I was hoping for .. not sour just bland. I’m using this recipe for kids not myself 😆, what are some suggestions for sweeter and a juice that’s popular with taste for the kids.. apple with honey for example .. or…?