These homemade paleo and keto gummies are on point! Think wonderfully chewy and yummy goodies, at just 1.5g net carbs per a 25 gummy bear serving!
(Sour!) Paleo & Keto Gummies
Just 3 Ingredients!
It’s sometimes hard to believe that you can make candies at home that are actually good for you! Cue in these keto gummy bears, which are packed with collagen, antioxidants (courtesy of the berry powders!) and a healthy dose of vitamin C.
And yes, these are actually chewy and not just flavored jello! But they are less chewy than your store-bought gummies. Still, a great compromise for super clean ingredients in my book!
Do note that the sour gummy version is absolutely everything (and more!). Not gonna lie, they took me right back to college and late nights at the library (I studied Econ & Finance 😂!!). There’s just something about that sour punch and salivary-glands-in-action that just does it for me right?!
The Method
There’s not much to these keto gummies, in fact they’re shockingly easy! All you need to do is mix the ingredients, sweeten to taste, heat up until everything has dissolved and pour into silicon molds.
I (clearly!) used gummy bear molds, but you can use whatever you have around (bigger ones will be less of a hassle!).
The Ingredients
Honestly all you need is gelatin, a fruit juice (we’ll get to that) and a sweetener. I also really enjoyed adding some pure vitamin C powder though, as it gives it that ‘artificial’ gummy kick (but its actually really healthy… you know, vitamin C!).
Nothing fancy or pricey, but do check out my findings to ensure you get the ‘best tasting’ keto gummy bears! So here are my ingredient tips:
- You absolutely want to make sure you’re procuring gelatin and not collagen, which won’t gel. I love and always use this grass-fed one (arguably much more nutritional benefits!), but standard packets from Knox will work the charm too.
- For the fruit juice, I bought powdered dried fruit (unsweetened, all natural) in two flavors: raspberry (my favorite!) and black raspberry. So while the black raspberry was good (and from what I’ve been reading, has the greatest amount of antioxidants out of all the berries by more than double!), raspberry was the home run taste-wise!
- And you can also use the powders to flavor chia puddings, make yogurt a bit more fun, turn your cheesecake-for-1 fruity, similarly for the buttercream fat bombs, or vanilla ice cream (turned raspberry!), added to milkshakes … i.e. endless possibilities guys.
- But if you don’t want to buy powdered berries, you could also use a tea infusion (something like this raspberry tea would work, for instance). Or you can make your own fruit juice with fresh fruit too (duh right?!).
- For the vitamin C powder (i.e. citric or l-ascorbic acid) I used this organic one. While it’s totally optional and you can use lemon juice instead, I also highly suggest it. Also indispensable for the sour gummy version (see below!). And for the home run: I also mix the pure vitamin C powder with my face and body lotions at night for extra glowy skin!
The Sweetener
You’ve got a couple options here, and know that the recipe was thoroughly tested with xylitol, monkfruit, allulose and erythritol. And these are the findings!
1. Allulose is my top choice for best texture (no crystallization!) and closest taste to sugar (no aftertaste whatsoever!). Just note that this sweetener is 70% as sweet as sugar (i.e. you need to add 30% more). And you can always use it as a base and add some pure monkfruit (or stevia!).
2. Pure monkfruit extract (love Lakanto’s!) or stevia would work too if that’s your jam. Just remember that its roughly 300x sweetener than sugar, so start with only 1/8-1/4 teaspoon!
3. Xylitol works just as well as allulose, I’m just adding it in third place as its slightly higher GI and not pet friendly (I just personally find the other two to be ‘cleaner’ options, if you know what I mean). Note: I’ve been testing different brands of xylitol and have noticed Health Garden and XyloSweet are two solid ones (particularly if you tend to get occasional tummy pangs with the NOW brand which is corn derived).
And honestly just don’t bother with erythritol. As per usual when melted, you’ll likely get heavy crystallization (its really rare if you don’t).
If using xylitol, make sure to be careful if you have a pup (or kitty!) around the house, as it’s highly toxic to the little guys! 
How much sweetener? Now this is the question, and the good thing is that you can definitely sweeten to taste. My top tip is that you add a notch more than you think of sweetener, as the gummies do lose a tad once set.
For Sour Gummy Candy (!!)
I repeat, in all honestly I cannot believe how great these taste… and with suuuper clean ingredients! All you need to do is mix some allulose (my top choice for this) and vitamin C powder. Bonus fruity notes if you mix in a tad of fruit powder here too… sooo yum!
So if the keto gummies are good solo, these are actually terrific.
The one caveat? Because the gummy candies are not dried and we’re not using anti-caking agents etc, you need to coat them and eat them right away. Otherwise the moisture from the gummies dissolves into the coating (still yum though, I would know!).
Oh! And before I forget, you can most definitely whip up some keto CBD gummies with this recipe too (get the full deets over here… along with a little background on its medicinal properties and products I love).
(Sour!) Paleo & Keto Gummies
Ingredients
For the keto gummies
- 1/2 cup water
- 2 tablespoons raspberry powder
- 2-4 tablespoons allulose or xylitol, to taste*
- 1/2 teaspoon vitamin C powder or about 1 TBSP lemon juice, to taste
- 2 1/2 tablespoons gelatin ***
For the sour gummy coating
- 2 teaspoons allulose
- 1/2 teaspoon raspberry powder optional (but highly suggested!)
- 1/8-1/4 teaspoon vitamin C powder to taste
Special equipment
Instructions
For the keto gummies
- Add the water, raspberry powder (or flavor of choice), sweetener (starting with the lower amount) and vitamin C to a saucepan. Stir to combine and feel free to adjust the sweetness (or anything) to taste.
- Add the gelatin, stir to combine and turn on the heat to low. Continue stirring to ensure everything is well dissolved and evenly distributed, about 3 minutes (do not let it simmer though!). Remove from heat once the mixture is smooth and you begin to see some steam.
- Pour into a bowl right away and, using the gum drop, begin to fill up the silicon molds.
- Allow the molds to come to room temperature, about 15 minutes, and place in the fridge for 30 minutes or until set. Keep stored in an airtight container in the fridge for about 2 weeks.
For the sour gummy coating
- Mix all the ingredients together in a small glass or bowl, adjusting sourness with the vitamin C to taste (I do 1/8 tsp, but you could definitely go to 1/4 tsp!). Mix in a serving of gummies, toss until evenly coated and enjoy right away.
- Keep in mind that the sour version doesn't store well (the sour coating dissolves) and are best enjoyed right away!
Notes
- You absolutely want to make sure you're procuring gelatin and not collagen, which won't gel. I love and always use this grass-fed one (arguably much more nutritional benefits!), but standard packets from Knox will work the charm too.
- For the fruit juice, I bought powdered dried fruit (unsweetened, all natural) in two flavors: raspberry (my favorite!) and black raspberry. So while the black raspberry was good (and from what I've been reading, has the greatest amount of antioxidants out of all the berries by more than double!), raspberry was the home run! And you can also use the powders to flavor chia puddings, make yogurt a bit more fun, turn your cheesecake-for-1 fruity, similarly for the buttercream fat bombs, or vanilla ice cream (turned raspberry!), added to milkshakes ... i.e. endless possibilities guys!
- But if you don't want to buy powdered berries, you could also use a tea infusion (something like this raspberry tea would work, for instance). Or you can make your own fruit juice with fresh fruit too (duh right?!).
- For the vitamin C powder (i.e. citric or l-ascorbic acid) I used this organic one. While its totally optional and you can use lemon juice instead, I also highly suggest it! Also indispensable for the sour gummy version (see below!). And for the home run: I also mix the pure vitamin C powder with my face and body lotions at night for extra glowy skin!
For anyone who wants to get these chewier, I left them sitting out at room temperature for about 24 hours and the texture improved considerably. Very chewy.
Overall, this is a great recipe. I think it needs a little more flavor though. Mine tasted a bit bland. I would probably up it to 3 tablespoons of the raspberry powder.
Haven’t tried the recipe yet, but why couldn’t you add the sour mixture into the regular mixture to make it sour without having to coat the gummy bears? Just a thought!
Unfortunately I found that that changes the texture of the actual gummies 🙁
Hi how many days it last outside without molding , and need storage instructions
I love them!!! But I miss the chewiness of real gummies. Any way I can adjust the recipe to make the texture a bit chewier?
Best option to make them chewier is to use a dehydrator if you have one, after the gummies set. Take them out of mold, place on parchment lined cookie sheet. I put mine in my convection oven which also has a dehydrate option for 2 hours. You can always purchase a simple, inexpensive, multi-tray dehydrator (I also use my dehydrator to make Steak, pork and chicken Jerky) Since your dehydration time may vary, I suggest trying a gummie one at 1 hour, 2 hours, 3 hours… to test your desired level of chewiness.
To get the citric acid (sour coating) to stick, I mix up 1 tablespoon citric acid powder with 1/2 cup warm water into a measuring cup with spout and mix till dissolved. Then I pour mixture into a small spray bottle (got mine at the dollar store in beauty section).
Grab a plastic food container, add 1/2 cup of Stevia and I use 2 teaspoons citric acid for the sour impact, mix well,
Spray your gummies with wet mixture, then drop your 25 wet gummies (1 serving) into powdered mixture, close container and shake for 10 seconds (until coated). I use a slotted spoon to scoop them from container, gently tapping off extra powder. Now they are chewier, sweet n sour, gummies, ready to enjoy. Store remaining gummies in a separate container. Spray n repeat for each desired serving. You can always adjust wet or dry mixture to your taste.
Hey mamma-san, thanks for sharing! I’m going to try the dehydrator trick. Can I ask what temp you set it to?
So this tip melted mine in the dehydrator. I would share the picture of the melted goo if I could. 🤣
Is this keto if doesn t have any fat ?
Keto is an absence of carbs, not an excess in fats xo!
wrong…you need a diet high in fat to achieve ketosis.
That is why we use MCT oil in them
Actually, Lesa, you’re wrong. You’re diet doesn’t “need to be high in fat to achieve ketosis”. Your body will use fat from any source, diet or fat stores already in the body. A basic biology class will introduce ketosis as something called fatty acid oxidation – it happens when you’re starving. I.e. a diet not high in fat, or high in anything. Paola is correct – a (strict) Keto diet is the absence of carbs. Food doesn’t need to have any fat in it to be considered keto. It is encouraged to eat healthy (naturally occurring) fats while on a keto diet to help with satiety and energy levels, which is where the popularity of MCT oil comes from.
Fat is an amazing energy source. Perhaps one does not need high fat to achieve ketosis, but you are incorrect to say that the Keto diet is not high fat. Does that make sense? Keto is low carb but high fat. Achieving ketosis might not need high fat, as you said, but high fat percentage is part of Keto.
I tried using a different raspberry powder that is ZERO carbs!! Woohoo! But it was SO GROSS. And the powder was so expensive. So so sad. Is the raspberry powder brand listed here honestly a good candy flavor?
I am in uk and can’t find allulose, can I use a monk fruit/erithrytol blend or xylitol for the sour mix? Also I have some leaf gelatin can I use that?
I am new to keto treats, I was keto for over two years with no treats and finally caved in and binged on bad stuff, so now I’m back on track and adding keto treats. So many of yours that I want/to try.
Hi!
I really appreciate your attention to detail with all of your recipes! I am excited to make these but erythritol and stevia are all I have on hand and would rather not make a special purchase. Some commenters mentioned using stevia successfully, but you didn’t list it as an option. Is there a reason you avoid it? Thanks!
Made these last night with what I had on hand – raspberry tea, lime juice, allulose and gelatin – wonderful! I’ll be making them again and again. I poured them into silicone mini muffin cups, then cut them up when set.
Do you think tart cherry capsules would work?