Homemade Gummy Bears – Easy 3 Ingredient Recipe
These homemade gummy bears are a fun 3-ingredient recipe to make with the kids, using jelly, gelatine and water. You can change the jelly flavour to make different batches, and once they’re set you’ve got your own little gummy bears ready to pop out of the mould.
It actually took us a few attempts to get this recipe right. The first time we made them, I didn’t use enough gelatine and getting the gummy bears out of the mould was almost impossible!
After adjusting the quantities, we eventually found the balance that worked for us and gave the gummy bears a much better texture while still being easy to remove from the mould.
We’ve made them several times since, and the kids love getting involved – especially choosing which flavour jelly we’re going to use.
If you’re looking for an easy recipe to make together during the school holidays or at the weekend, these are great fun.
What you need to make homemade gummy bears
You only need three ingredients:
- 135g pack of jelly – I use Hartley’s jelly, but you can choose whichever flavour you prefer.
- 6 sheets of gelatine leaf – this is what helps the gummy bears set firmly enough to come out of the mould.
- ¾ pint water – divided into ½ pint hot water and ¼ pint cold water.
We’ve tried different jelly flavours, so this is an easy recipe to change without altering the basic method.
The amount of gelatine is important. Our first attempt didn’t contain enough and the gummy bears were very difficult to remove from the mould, so I wouldn’t reduce it without expecting the texture to change.
3 Ingredient gummy bears - easy homemade recipe
Ingredients
- 135g pack of jelly (if you are viewing from outside the UK, I used Hartley's jelly)
- 6 Sheets of gelatine leaf
- 3/4 Pint of water (1/2 pint hot and 1/4 cold)
Instructions
- Place the jelly and ½ pint of hot water into a small saucepan and gently heat, stirring until the jelly has completely dissolved.
- While the jelly is dissolving, place the gelatine leaves in a bowl of cold water to soften.
- Once softened, remove the gelatine leaves from the water and gently squeeze out the excess liquid.
- Add the softened gelatine to the warm jelly mixture and stir until completely dissolved.
- Remove from the heat, add the remaining ¼ pint of cold water and mix well.
- Place your gummy bear mould onto a baking tray before filling it – this makes it much easier to transfer to the fridge without spilling anything.
- Use the small dropper to carefully fill each gummy bear mould with the mixture.
- Transfer the tray to the fridge and leave the gummy bears for around 2 hours, or until completely set.
- Carefully pop the gummy bears out of the mould and enjoy.
What equipment do I need?
Unlike most of our recipes, this is one where we did need to buy something specifically for it – gummy bear moulds.
Mine came with the little droppers needed to fill each bear, which makes the process much easier.
You’ll also need:
- A small saucepan
- Wooden spoon
- Measuring jug
- Gummy bear moulds
- Small liquid dropper
- Baking tray
I definitely recommend putting the silicone mould onto the baking tray before you fill it. Trying to carry a floppy mould full of liquid to the fridge is not something you want to discover the hard way!
How to store homemade gummy bears
Once they’re set and removed from the mould, I keep our homemade gummy bears in a sealed container in the fridge.
Because these are homemade rather than shop-bought sweets, I prefer to make relatively small batches and enjoy them within a couple of days.
That’s assuming they actually make it into the container – our kids demolished the first batch before I really had a chance to worry about storing them!
Why won’t my gummy bears come out of the mould?
We had this problem with our very first batch.
I’d originally used less gelatine, and although the gummy bears looked as though they’d set, they were too soft to remove cleanly from the mould.
That’s why this recipe now uses 6 gelatine leaves.
Make sure the gelatine has completely dissolved into the warm jelly mixture and give the gummy bears plenty of time to set in the fridge before trying to remove them.
When they’re ready, gently push each bear out from the back of the silicone mould rather than trying to pull it from the top.
A fun recipe to make with the kids
These homemade gummy bears have become one of those recipes that are as much about making them as eating them.
The kids can choose their jelly flavour and help fill the moulds, then comes the hardest part – waiting for them to set before seeing whether all those little bears pop out!
After our first slightly unsuccessful batch, I’m glad we persevered and adjusted the recipe because we’ve had much better results since.
If you’re looking for more things to make together, have a look through our sweet recipes for more cakes, cookies, fudge and family baking ideas.
And if you make these gummy bears, leave a comment and let me know which jelly flavour you chose.
I would never have thought of making gummy bears. What a fantastic idea!
Never dreamed of making these
So simple thanks