Healthy Fruit Snacks Recipe | Sugar Free Strawberry Fruit Snacks (2024)

Feb 26, 2017

Dairy FreeFat FreeGluten FreeLow CarbPaleoSugar Free

You’ve surely seen my Healthy Homemade Gummy Bears right?? Well, I keep getting asked, “What’s the difference between your gummy bears and fruit snacks?” The gummy bears are super chewy and “gummy” while the fruit snacks are softer and your teeth sink straight through (kind of like pate de fruit)! Both are amazingly delicious, but I had to make both because Ilove gummy bears but my sisterloves fruit snacks. I made these Healthy Fruit Snacks for my big sis because we’re going to the movie theatre soon and need to sneak in some healthy treats (we ain’t paying $9 for a big tub of trans fat-filled popcorn, naw thanks).

Those prepackaged “Fruit Snacks” from the grocery store and vending machines get on my nerves… with their shiny blue packages claiming they’re “Made With REALFruit” and “FAT FREE” (when in realityit’s really just straight up corn syrup, sugar, and artificial food coloring). Thishealthy homemade versionis actually made with real fruit, and no corn syrup, sugar, or synthetic food dyes in sight!

These Healthy Fruit Snacks are sweet, soft, chewy and packed with fresh strawberry flavor.

But wanna know what makes this recipereally great? It requires only 5 ingredients!! This recipe took quite a bit of tweaking to getjuuuust right. I think I made a trial batch every weekend for a little more thana month (the checkout employeesat Costco must’ve been wondering why I was buying so many darn strawberries on a weekly basis…)

In my 1sttrial(and probably the worst trial of them all), the fruit snacks were a complete disaster. I could taste the gelatin (EW… like, BIG ew) and there was gelatinized foam on the surface of the gummies. Not very appetizing. Oh, and I didn’t strain the mixture so there were eighty billion strawberry seeds in every gummy. I hate seeds with a passion. I’d like to have a treat without having to whip outsome floss! Plus, storebought fruit gummies are totally seedless (mostly because they are basically 100% corn syrup)

In my 2ndtrial, the texture was more like Pate de Fruit. I love Pate de Fruit so this wasn’t a huge issue with me, but I was aiming for thatslightly gummy fruit snack texture! Also, I didn’t strain the mixture well so some seeds ended upin the gummies, but definitely not as much as the first trial.

In my 3rdtrial, I used a little too much lemon juice so they were really tart. Delicious (and SEEDLESS thanks to my new nut milk bag!) but not authentic-tasting.

In my 4thtrial, I got the perfect amount of strawberry flavor and a really good texture… like in between Pate de Fruit and Gummy Bears. These Healthy Fruit Snacks are YUM!

These Healthy Fruit Snacks aretotally drool-worthy. BIG taste, minipackage.

Healthy Homemade Strawberry Fruit Snacks

Prep Time: 30 minutes mins

Cook Time: 30 minutes mins

Total Time: 1 hour hr

These Healthy Homemade Fruit Snacks are sweet, soft, chewy and packed with fresh strawberry flavor!

Ingredients

Instructions

  • Wash your strawberries, slice the greens off and puree in a blender. Measure 1¾ cups of the puree and place in a medium-sized bowl.

  • Stir in the lemon juice, stevia extract, and natural food coloring.

  • Hold open a nut milk bag over a large bowl while you pour the strawberry mixture into the bag. Squeeze the bag to get as much liquid out as you can. You should get 2¼ cups of the mixture after straining.

  • Pour the strained mixture into a nonstick saucepan, sprinkle the gelatin overtop, and let sit for 5 minutes. Stir it together and smush any big clumps of gelatin, don't worry about the small ones, they'll dissolve).

  • Place the pan over medium-high heat and stir occasionally, until it comes to a light boil. Stir constantly when the mixture boils harder. When you can't stir the bubbles away, keep it on the heat for 30 seconds and then remove from the heat.

  • Let the mixture sit for a few minutes so the foam/bubbles have a chance to dissolve. Carefully scoop the mixture into your silicone molds of choice (I used a variety of gummy bear molds, Hershey "Kiss" molds, and square molds). Let cool slightly on the counter, then transfer the moldsintothe fridge. Refrigerate until firm. To store, keep the gummies in a tightly sealed container in the fridge.

Course: Dessert, Snacks

Cuisine: Candy

Keyword: DIY, Fat Free, Gluten Free, Low Carb, Paleo

I really want to make these fruit snacks with other flavors soon (like raspberry, blueberry, grape, orange, maybe even lemon or lime) but I think I’ll stick with what I know is good for now 😉

.

With love and good eats,

.

–Jess

.

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Healthy Fruit Snacks Recipe | Sugar Free Strawberry Fruit Snacks (3)

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posted in 5 Ingredients or Less, Bite-Sized Treats, DIY

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Healthy Fruit Snacks Recipe | Sugar Free Strawberry Fruit Snacks (2024)

FAQs

Are fruit snacks healthy or unhealthy? ›

Contrary to a common belief, most fruit snacks aren't healthy. In the past, there were cases in which manufacturers of fruit snacks faced lawsuits over their marketing claims that their product is “healthy” when it is mainly made of simple sugars.

How to make strawberries sweet without sugar? ›

Lay your strawberries out on a baking tray and put them in a pre-heated oven at 350 °F (177 °C) for about 20 minutes. The heat from your oven will cause the natural sugars within the strawberry to concentrate, making them sweeter to your tongue.

Are fruit snacks healthier than gummy bears? ›

Although they are often marketed as a healthier alternative to regular gummy candies, the veracity of these claims is disputed, as fruit snacks typically contain fruit flavoring instead of actual fruit (though some brands do use fruit juice or puree) and contain added sugar more comparable to a typical candy.

Which is healthier, Motts or Welch's fruit snacks? ›

Even though Welch's uses more natural ingredients, they're not all that more healthy due to the 7 grams of added sugars. Mott's may have 10 grams, but they also have added vitamins. And if you're vegan, you're in luck. Mott's are vegan, according to shoppingfoodie.com.

What fruit is the healthiest snack? ›

Good choices include oranges, blueberries, apples, avocados, and bananas, but there are many more to choose from. Fruits are an excellent source of essential vitamins and minerals, and they are high in fiber. Fruits also provide a wide range of health-boosting antioxidants, including flavonoids.

What can I feed strawberries to make them sweet? ›

The choice of fertilizer here is key – you want one with lots of potassium because it has been proven than plants fed with a potassium rich feed develop more sugar and a better flavour! Tomato feed [Tomorite or similar] is the most well known fertilizer within this category, it's easy to find and use.

What is it called when you mix strawberries with sugar? ›

Macerating fruit simply means to soften or steep it. It might sound fancy, but the process is really quite simple: Macerating typically involves adding sugar and often a liquid (like fruit juice or liquor) to fruit, and letting it all marinate until the fruit is soft or more tender.

Does Epsom salt sweeten strawberries? ›

🍓Here's how you can grow sweeter strawberries: Epsom salt helps BOOST chlorophyll levels in your. plant ➡️ giving the plant more energy ➡️ which. means sweeter fruit!!

Why are Mott's fruit snacks so good? ›

Mott's Fruit Flavored Snacks are made with natural flavors and colors from natural sources and are an excellent source of Vitamin C.

Why are Annie's gummies so good? ›

These gummies are made with certified organic ingredients for ultimate wholesome yumminess. Plus, they are made with real fruit juice. * Everybunny in your family can enjoy the fruity flavors of Annie's tasty fruit-flavored snacks.

What does putting strawberries in vinegar do? ›

Vinegar Bath Method

Soak berries in a vinegar solution that is 3 parts water and 1 part white vinegar. Let soak for 15 minutes. Like the previous method, this one is about killing bacteria and mold dead.

How many strawberries can I eat a day? ›

In general, consider a daily serving size to equal about 1 cup or eight medium strawberries. Your best bet is to eat strawberries (or any fruit) in moderation. If you consume too many fruit sugars and fibers, you may get digestive symptoms such as stomach pain, bloating, diarrhea, or gas.

How to sweeten strawberries without using sugar? ›

No extra sugar needed with this method — just crank up the oven to increase the sweetness of bland berries. Roasting strawberries in a 350°F oven for about 20 minutes works to concentrate the natural sugar in the fruit, leaving it with a heightened sweetness, deep, rich flavor, and slightly softened texture.

Is eating fruits for snacks healthy? ›

Fruit is healthy for most people. While excessive sugar intake can be harmful, this doesn't apply to whole fruits. Rather, they are high in nutrients and satisfyingly filling. If you can tolerate fruit and you're not on a low carb or ketogenic diet, by all means, eat fruit.

Are fruit snacks high in sugar? ›

Despite the name, fruit snacks aren't always the healthy snacks that people want them to be. Some brands put actual produce in their snacks, but most popular fruit snack brands make products loaded with sugar, syrups, and very little fruit (if any).

Is frozen fruit a healthy snack? ›

Because most frozen fruits and veggies are frozen shortly after they're harvested, they're allowed to ripen fully, which means they're chock full of vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants, and freezing "locks in" many of their nutrients, according to the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.

References

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