Easy Homemade Elderberry Gummies Recipe (Kids favorite!)

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Packed with protein and immune boosting micronutrients, this elderberry gummies recipe is one of our family’s favorite snacks!

Why Homemade Elderberry Gummies?

To be completely honest, I am not a big fan of snacks. Most of the typical snack foods are not very high in nutrients. What’s more, standard snacks are typically only a source of carbohydrates and are lacking in fat and protein. To keep blood sugar stable, I try to make sure our meals and snacks are well balanced to include carbohydrates, protein, and fat.

But sometimes life calls for a snack. Especially when you have young kids and errands ran longer than expected. A snack can be just the thing to quell all the looming meltdowns. 

I wanted to have something on hand that I could easily whip out in case of these emergencies. That’s when we took the homemade elderberry syrup that we had made earlier in the year from foraged elderberries, added some gelatin, and these homemade gummies were created. 

What are Elderberries?

Elderberries grow from the elder plant, which is a large shrub that can grow up to 30 feet tall. Where we live in the Midwest, elder plants grow very well and you can find their berries almost anywhere; in forests, along paths, and even the ditches along the side of the road. 

The berries of the elder, or elderberries, are not to be eaten raw. They are poisonous when they are uncooked and can cause digestive distress. 

However, when cooked properly, these berries are a powerhouse of nutrition and have been long known for their ability to provide immune system support. Elderberries contain vitamin C, vitamin A, bioflavonoids, flavonoids, phenolic compounds, beta carotene, iron, potassium, and phytosterols. We like to have them available especially in the winter months and have found them to be personally helpful in combatting cold and flu symptoms. 

Elderberry Syrup

One of our family’s favorite late summer activities is to forage for elderberries. 

We will keep extra bags in our car for when the right opportunity arises. When we spot a good patch of easy-to-grab elderberries in an area suitable for foraging, we pile out of the car and go to town collecting elderberries. Our preferred method is to cut the whole branch where the berries are from the stem and put them in a grocery bag. Once our bag is full, we put it in our freezer.

Then, after we’ve collected several bags full of elderberries, we’ll make up a huge batch of elderberry syrup. This is the process of adding water and cooking down elderberries to make a potent elderberry juice. From there, add raw honey to make a syrup. My go-to recipe for elderberry syrup comes from Rosemary Gladstar’s book Medicinal Herbs : A beginner’s guide. 

A helpful tidbit we learned along the way is that the berries shake off their stems much easier when they are frozen. Come flu season, we take them directly from frozen to make our elderberry syrup. Elderberry syrup is a delicious way to use elderberries but other elderberry recipes call for using them in jams or wine.

All about Gelatin

Until we delved into the real food journey, my only framework for gelatin was the funky, brightly colored Jello dishes that showed up on tables at potlucks. But its benefits are numerous, including the many gut benefits of gelatin. 

Gelatin is colorless and flavorless and made from the collagen found in animal bones, skin, and tissues. Gelatin is a powerhouse of protein containing up to 18 different amino acids but is particularly packed with glycine, proline, and alanine.

Gelatin is hydrophilic (water loving) so it attracts liquids. In the stomach, it draws in digestive juices that then helps you break down food. The more digestive juices there are, the better food is broken down and the better your body is able to absorb the nutrients from that food!

How to Include Gelatin in Your Diet

My preferred method to get a regular dose of gelatin is through making gelatin-rich homemade bone broth, which I love to sip on every morning. My favorite cuts of meat for cooking bone broth to make it rich in gelatin are by using a whole chicken or chicken feet, pork hocks, and beef soup bones. 

Or, buying gelatin powder is another great option. The powder version can be used in a ton of fun dishes—like this elderberry gummy recipe. If you are purchasing gelatin powder, my preferred sourcing is Great Lakes Gelatin.

Simple elderberry gummies are a great example of a fun recipe to eat more gelatin. But there are many more! These include using gelatin in homemade marshmallows, soups, custards, puddings, or mousses.

Elderberry Gummies Recipe Tips and Tricks

Can I use cold elderberry syrup? No. You will want to make sure you are not using cold elderberry syrup, or even at room temperature. Instead, the elderberry syrup must be heated up before adding the gelatin. If the elderberry syrup is cold, it will immediately gel and you will not be able to pour it into your gummy molds. 

How to store your homemade elderberry gummies? Elderberry gummies should be stored in the fridge in an airtight container (we like to use a mason jar) and used within 2-3 weeks. If the gummies are removed on a warm day and out for a significant amount of time, they can melt, so bring an icepack.

Are elderberry gummies good for kids? Yes! Our kids love these gummies and they are perfect for little hands. They are like fruit snacks but without added sugar. Plus, you can make this recipe in all sorts of fun shapes. Kids love gummy bear molds for homemade gummy bears but any small molds or even pouring into a flat glass dish and cutting into squares will work.

Elderberry Gummies Recipe

Equipment Needed:

• Whisk or wooden spoon
• Small saucepan
• Silicone molds (Alternatively you can use a greased muffin tin—we like to do this with a little coconut oil. Or pour them into a greased 8×8 baking sheet and cut into squares)

Ingredients:

• ¼ Cup Gelatin
• 1 Cup Elderberry Syrup
• A few tbsp – ¼ Cup of honey or maple syrup (optional)*

Directions:

1. Pour elderberry syrup into saucepan and heat at low to medium heat until the syrup is warmed through.

2. Once warmed add in ¼ cup of gelatin and stir quickly to avoid clumping. Stir until the gelatin is completely dissolved in syrup.

3. Once dissolved, remove from stove and add in honey or maple syrup if you choose to add those.

4. Pour into silicone molds (or greased muffin tins or baking dish)

5. Refrigerate until your elderberry gummies are firm, remove from mold, and store in an air-tight container in the refrigerator.

Elderberry Gummies Recipe Notes

*If your Elderberry Syrup is already plenty sweet, adding additional honey or maple syrup may not be necessary. I like to make my elderberry syrup less sweet so I typically add ¼ cup of honey to our elderberry gummies.

This post is for educational purposes only, not medical advice. Always do your own research and consult your healthcare provider if you are unsure about adding this into your diet.

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Looking for more options for a well-balanced treat? 

Honey Sweetened Blueberry Ice Cream
Easy Homemade Peanut Cups – 5 Simple Ingredients
Fudgy Pumpkin Buckwheat Brownies
The Best Apple Bread

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