Homemade Gummy Worms

Gummy worms served on a plate with crushed up cookies.

5 from 7 votes

Gummy worms are a classic treat and it's easy to make a refined-sugar-free version of it at home! With fruits and veggies right in the mix, these homemade gummy worms make for a fun-shaped snack your kids will love!

Prep Time15

Chill Time2

Total Time2 15

Course: Snack

Cuisine: American

Servings: gummy worms

Author: Lily Payen

Equipment

Ingredients

Spinach Apple

1 cup unsweetened applesauce
¼ cup unsweetened apple juice
¼ cup packed spinach
2 tbsp maple syrup
3 tbsp unflavored gelatin

Carrot Apple

1 cup unsweetened applesauce
¼ cup unsweetened apple juice
¼ cup cooked carrots use canned carrots for a quicker option!
2 tbsp maple syrup
3 tbsp unflavored gelatin

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Blend the applesauce, apple juice, maple syrup, and veggies (spinach or carrots) in a blender until smooth. Let it blend for around 3 minutes until the vegetables are completely smooth and dissolved into the puree (we don't want any chunks here!). Taste the mixture at this point and adjust the sweetness as desired.
Pour the mixture into a bowl and sprinkle the gelatin all over the top of the mixture. Let it sit as the gelatin "blooms" for 5 minutes.
After 5 minutes, the fruit and veggie mixture will begin to look wrinkly at the top. Transfer this mixture to a saucepan over medium heat to allow the gelatin to dissolve. You want the mixture to be heated through, not boiling
As the mixture begins to heat up, quickly whisk the mixture until it is smooth and there are no clumps of undissolved gelatin. If you notice any small clumps of gelatin, break them up with a cooking utensil until the mixture is smooth. The mixture should be the same liquid consistency it was when it was blended.
Place the gummy worm molds on top of a baking tray. Use a dropper to portion the liquid into the molds. If you'd like to make multi-colored worms, fill half of the mold with one flavor and the other half with the other
Transfer to the refrigerator and let the gummies set for at least 2 hours, or overnight. The longer they set, the better. Remove them from the molds and serve!

Notes

Make sure to use a powerful blender to blend all of the ingredients together. I love using this nutribullet blender because it ensures that there are no clumps and that the mixture is as smooth as possible.

These molds make the perfect-sized worms that pop right out of the molds!

For the carrot apple flavor, I recommend using canned cooked carrots to speed up the process.

When placing the liquid into the gummy worm molds, make sure that the molds are on top of a baking pan. It will be much easier to transfer the molds to the fridge to set if they are on a baking pan.

These gummy worms do not have the same texture as store-bought worms since they don't have added preservatives, corn syrup, or waxes. They are more jelly-like in texture, but very easy for little ones to break down and chew. If you'd like a chewier texture, you can try adding in an extra tablespoon or two of gelatin.

Nutrition