Elderberry Gummies Recipe | Homemade Immune Support 

Making your own elderberry gummies recipe at home is a simple way to use elderberry beyond homemade elderberry syrup. You’ll make a concentrated elderberry tea, cook it with honey and sugar to the soft-ball stage, then combine it with bloomed gelatin before filling small silicone molds. 

After the gummies set in the refrigerator, they can be coated with sugar and citric acid to help them dry and last longer. And the nice thing is, most of the work is hands-off. Once you get everything measured and your molds ready, you’re really just following a few simple steps.

Watch Me Make This Recipe 

What Makes This Recipe Unique?

I love having a few simple herbal preparations tucked away before cold and flu season arrives. Having them ready ahead of time means I’m not standing in the kitchen trying to figure everything out when somebody is already feeling under the weather.

And I know getting children to take an herbal tincture or herbal cold and flu tea can sometimes be a challenge. A little gummy bear can be a whole different story.

Here’s why this elderberry gummies recipe is worth making:

• It makes elderberry easier to take. The gummy format can be much more appealing than a spoonful of herbal syrup or a cup of strong tea.
• You can make them at home. You know exactly what ingredients went into them.
• They’re a practical addition to your herbal medicine cabinet. They can be prepared ahead of the cold and flu season to strengthen your immune system naturally.
• They’re mostly hands-off. There is some waiting involved, but you don’t have to stand over the stove for hours.
• They’re customizable. You can use a simple elderberry tea or experiment with other herbal tea concentrates.
• They’re a great family project. Once the hot candy mixture is handled safely by an adult, filling the molds can be a fun kitchen job to do together.

Benefits of Elderberry

Elderberry is a unique antiviral herb that falls into the category of immunomodulators. “Immunomodulators are medicines that change your immune system so it works more effectively. They include treatments that increase or decrease your immune response.”

This means an herb that helps boost, maintain, and sometimes even calm down your own immune system to help keep you healthy and in homeostasis.

In our society, we’re used to reaching for immunostimulating herbs because we’re sick and need something to help right now. But elderberry works differently. This article discusses elderberry’s ability to help shorten the length of influenza A and B virus infections. 

Also, a study in the Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine showed elderberry to inhibit several strains of influenza virus in vitro and a reduction of symptoms by an elderberry extract during an outbreak of influenza B. (1, no. 4 [1995]: 361-69)

You can learn more about elderberry health benefits here. 

Key Ingredients

For a full list of ingredients and measurements, check out the recipe card below.

• Elderberries - You'll need fresh or dehydrated elderberries for this recipe to create a concentrated tea. You can use either black or blue elderberries. I'm using Farmhouse Tea's Elderberry Syrup Mix because I wanted the benefits of the added herbal ingredients such as rose hips, astragalus, echinacea, orange peel, cinnamon, ginger, and clove.
• Gelatin - Make sure your gelatin is a really good quality. We buy our gelatin in bulk from Azure Standard. However, Farmhouse Teas also has a good-sized bag available. Homesteading Hack: If you’re a first-time Azure Standard customer, use coupon code “HOMESTEADINGFAMILY15” at checkout for 15% off your order of $100 or more! Find our other Azure favorites here.
• Honey - I like adding some honey to cut down on the amount of granulated sugar needed. Because this is getting heated so hot, there's no need to use your raw honey, as all the good raw honey benefits will be cooked out.
• Citric Acid - Make sure your citric acid isn't coming from a source of genetically modified corn. We like to buy our citric acid from Azure Standard because theirs is non-GMO and in bulk quantities (great for making homemade mozzarella and canning tomatoes).

Recipe Variations

One of the things I love about a basic herbal gummy recipe is that you aren't limited to elderberry.

Once you understand the process, you can make other herbal gummies by replacing the elderberry tea concentrate with another properly prepared herbal tea concentrate. You can check out my tutorial on steeping tea (for medicinal purposes) to ensure you are doing it correctly.

• Herbal Sleep Gummies - Make a lemon balm tea concentrate and use ½ cup plus 1 Tablespoon of lemon balm tea in place of the elderberry tea concentrate for delicious lemony sleep gummies.
• Indigestion Gummies - Make a fennel tea concentrate and use ½ cup plus 1 Tablespoon of the fennel tea concentrate in place of the elderberry tea concentrate for naturally soothing indigestion.
• Anti-Viral Gummies - Fight off a virus by taking these anti-viral gummies at the onset of an illness. Make a pine needle tea concentrate and use ½ cup plus 1 Tablespoon of the pine needle tea concentrate in place of the elderberry tea concentrate.
• Throat-Soothing Gummies - Soothe a sore throat with these lemon-eucalyptus gummies. Make a lemon eucalyptus tea concentrate and use ½ cup plus 1 Tablespoon of the lemon eucalyptus tea concentrate in place of the elderberry tea concentrate.

Elderberry Gummies Recipe Instructions

Step 1: Make the Elderberry Tea

Add the water and fresh or dried elderberries to a medium-sized pot.

Turn the heat to medium and bring the mixture to a simmer, stirring occasionally.

Once it reaches a simmer, reduce the heat to low, cover the pot, and simmer for 10 minutes.

Turn off the heat and leave the pot covered for another 20 minutes.

Strain the liquid into a Mason jar.

Place the elderberry tea in the refrigerator overnight, or until it is completely chilled.

Step 2: Prepare the Gummy Molds

Lightly spray your silicone gummy molds with cooking spray.

Turn the molds upside down over a towel-lined surface and allow the excess oil to drain away.

Right before you're ready to fill the molds, give them another gentle tap over the towel to remove any remaining excess oil.

You don't need a lot of oil here. Too much can make the finished gummies greasy.

Step 3: Cook the Gummy Mixture

Add the honey, granulated sugar, and 1 tablespoon of elderberry tea to a pot.

Stir to combine.

Turn the heat to medium-high and cook the mixture, stirring constantly, until it reaches 260°F.

This is the soft-ball stage of candy making, and your candy thermometer is going to be your friend here.

Homesteading Hack: Keep an eye on the pot as the temperature rises. The mixture can foam and boil over, so be ready to lower the heat if necessary. Nobody needs a sticky candy mess all over the stovetop.

Step 4: Bloom the Gelatin

Once the gummy mixture reaches 260°F, turn off the heat.

Let the mixture cool to 190°F.

While it cools, combine the gelatin with ½ cup of chilled elderberry tea.

Stir well and let the gelatin bloom for 5 to 10 minutes.

The gelatin will thicken as it sits. That's exactly what you want.

Step 5: Combine the Gelatin and Elderberry Mixture

Once the cooked mixture has cooled to approximately 190°F and the gelatin has bloomed, stir the citric acid and bloomed gelatin mixture into the pot.

Stir thoroughly.

You want the gelatin completely incorporated, without lumps.

Step 6: Fill the Gummy Molds

Place the silicone gummy molds on a cookie sheet.

This little step makes life much easier because you can move the entire tray to the refrigerator without trying to carry individual floppy silicone molds.

Using a dropper, carefully fill each gummy mold to the top.

Try to avoid trapping air bubbles in the gummies. If you see one, use a toothpick to gently pop it.

And here's where I really recommend having a kitchen buddy.

Filling tiny gummy bear molds takes a little time. One person can fill while the other keeps the mixture moving and watches for bubbles.

Step 7: Chill the Gummies

Transfer the filled molds to the refrigerator.

Let the gummies set for 8 to 12 hours, or overnight.

Once they're completely set, they're ready to eat or coat for longer storage.

Step 8: Coat the Gummies

Mix 6 parts granulated sugar with 1 part citric acid.

For example, combine 6 teaspoons of sugar with 1 teaspoon of citric acid.

Dip each gummy into the mixture, then place it back on the cookie sheet.

Return the coated gummies to the refrigerator and allow them to continue drying for up to 3 weeks.

Recipe Tips and Troubleshooting

• Use a Candy Thermometer - The temperature matters here. Getting the gummy mixture to 260°F helps you reach the proper stage for the finished gummies. This isn't a recipe where I recommend guessing based on how the mixture looks. If you don't have a candy thermometer, this is one of those little kitchen tools that's worth having.
• Watch for Boil-Overs - As the sugar mixture heats, it can suddenly foam up. Keep stirring and watch the pot closely. If it starts climbing toward the top of the pan, lower the heat. This is one of those small details that can save you from a very sticky cleanup job.
• Don't Skip Blooming the Gelatin - Give the gelatin those 5 to 10 minutes to bloom in the chilled elderberry tea. It helps the gelatin hydrate before you add it to the warm mixture.
• Let the Cooked Mixture Cool Before Adding the Gelatin - The recipe calls for cooling the cooked gummy mixture to approximately 190°F before adding the bloomed gelatin. Follow that temperature rather than adding the gelatin immediately after removing the pot from the stove.
• Remove Air Bubbles - Air bubbles won't disappear once the gummies have set. Keep a toothpick nearby as you're filling the molds. A quick little poke is all it takes to release most bubbles.
• Don't Get Discouraged by the Tiny Molds - This is probably the most tedious part of the whole process. If you're sitting there thinking, "This is taking forever," you're not doing anything wrong. It's just a lot of tiny gummy bears. Have somebody help you. Put on some music. Make it a kitchen project. Good enough is perfect.
• What If My Gummies Are Too Soft? I wouldn't recommend changing ingredient amounts by guesswork. First, make sure the gelatin was properly bloomed, the candy mixture reached 260°F, and the gummies had the full 8 to 12 hours to set. If you're still having trouble, check your measurements and thermometer before changing the recipe.