Homemade Chia Seed Fruit Snacks (3 Flavours!)
A simple, homemade fruit snack made with real fruit and chia seeds. Soft, flexible, and perfect for snacks or lunchboxes.
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Equipment
- 1 Blender or Food processor
Ingredients
Base Recipe
- 1¼ cup fruit Strawberries or orange pieces, or mango cubes (I used frozen but fresh also works)
- ⅓ cup orange juice
- 1½ tablespoon honey
- 2 tsps chia seeds
- 2 tablespoon gelatin 2 packages
Instructions
- Add the fruit to a blender and blend until completely smooth.
- Pour the fruit purée and honey into a small saucepan and cook over medium-low heat for about 10 minutes, stirring often.
- While the fruit is cooking, bloom the gelatin by sprinkling it over the orange juice in a small bowl and whisking to combine. Let it sit for 3-5 minutes.
- Add the bloomed gelatin mixture to the warm fruit purée. Stir continuously for 3–5 minutes, until the gelatin is fully dissolved. Once the gelatin is added, keep the heat low and avoid boiling, as high heat can prevent it from setting properly.
- Remove from heat and stir in the chia seeds.
- Carefully transfer the mixture into silicone molds (a food dropper works well here).
- Refrigerate for 1.5-2 hours, until fully set before removing from the molds.
- I like to pop them on a drying wrap for ~5-6 hours to dry them out a bit more. They will shrink a little and firm up a bit more but you can also go ahead and eat them now!
Notes
Pineapple and kiwi contain natural enzymes that can prevent gelatin from setting properly (bromelain in pineapple and actinidin in kiwi). If you’d like to use either of these fruits, be sure to boil the fruit for a few minutes first to deactivate the enzymes before blending and continuing with the recipe. Most other fruits, including mango, work well without any extra steps.
This can happen if the mixture was boiled after adding the gelatin, if pineapple or kiwi were used without boiling first, or if the gelatin wasn’t fully dissolved. Keep the heat low once the gelatin is added and stir until completely smooth. They’re too soft. How can I fix it?
Try chilling them longer, or slightly increasing the gelatin next time. Measuring the gelatin carefully also helps ensure the right texture.
Troubleshooting Tips
My fruit snacks didn’t set. What went wrong?This can happen if the mixture was boiled after adding the gelatin, if pineapple or kiwi were used without boiling first, or if the gelatin wasn’t fully dissolved. Keep the heat low once the gelatin is added and stir until completely smooth. They’re too soft. How can I fix it?
Try chilling them longer, or slightly increasing the gelatin next time. Measuring the gelatin carefully also helps ensure the right texture.