These fluffy, pillowy healthy homemade raspberry marshmallows are made without corn syrup and are sweetened naturally with maple syrup or honey! They come together effortlessly and quickly, require just a few wholesome ingredients, and are paleo-friendly! This post contains tons of tips on how to make homemade marshmallows, like how to make them with or without a candy/sugar thermometer!
Marshmallows without corn syrup
Who says marshmallows can’t be healthy?! With this healthy raspberry marshmallow recipe, you can enjoy a light, fruity, and satisfying treat without the artificial flavorings, sweeteners, and preservatives. Made with real raspberries, gut-healthy grass-fed gelatin, and honey or maple syrup, these marshmallows are perfect for snacking, s’mores, or even topping your favorite hot cocoa.
Homemade marshmallows are absolutely worth the effort. Store-bought marshmallows are formulated with a ton of sugar and preservatives for a longer shelf life and are usually pretty dry, firm, and have that weird texture that’ll linger on your tongue. While homemade marshmallows come out cloud-like, super soft, and once you try them you’ll never go back!
These healthy raspberry marshmallows are more than just a better alternative—they’re a flavorful, fun, and wholesome treat the whole family will enjoy! Pair them with your favorite dark chocolate or add them to lunchboxes as a fun treat for kids 😉 Love making homemade marshmallows? Try my snickerdoodle marshmallows!
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Naturally sweetened – no corn syrup or white sugar! These are naturally sweetened with honey or maple syrup. They’re a lower sugar option than classic marshmallows.
- Real fruit flavor from fresh or frozen raspberries
- Perfect for paleo-friendly and low-sugar diets
- Perfect healthier sweet snack or dessert that are kid-approved and easy to make!
- They are gut-healthy, made with grass-fed gelatin which offers some collagen and protein. They are also Gluten-free & dairy-free!
- These melt great, just like store-bought marshmallows! Great for hot cocoa, matcha, or dipped in chocolate!
Raspberry Flavored Marshmallows
To get that raspberry flavor into the marshmallows we are using two types of raspberries – frozen & freeze-dried.
How to Make Healthy Homemade Raspberry Marshmallows
Tools needed
- Spatula
- Square baking dish: I like to use a 9×9 for thicker marshmallows, but you can also use a larger rectangle pan and cut them into mini marshmallows!
- Small sauce pan
- Candy thermometer (optional!): You’ll want to boil the sugar mixture until it reaches at least 220F. Using a candy thermometer works great for this, however i’ve made them plenty of times without one! I’ll leave notes in the recipe card.
Ingredients
To make these delicious raspberry marshmallows, you’ll need:
- Frozen raspberries and freeze-dried raspberries – the combination of the two creates the perfect mixture that doesn’t add too much liquid to the recipe while giving the marshmallows optimal raspberry flavor!
- Water (divided)
- Grass-fed gelatin – Not all gelatin is created equal! To receive the gut-healthy and beauty-boosting benefits of gelatin, be sure to use a high quality, grass-fed option. I love Further Foods as it’s pasture-raised, grass-fed, non-GMO and gluten-free. It’s great for healing your gut-lining and benefits your hair, skin, and nails!
- Raw honey or maple syrup – either works! You can also use a mix of the two.
- Vanilla extract
Steps to make Homemade Raspberry Marshmallows
- Line a 9×9 pan with parchment paper or use a silicone pan. Spray the paper with spray oil. This ensures the mallows won’t stick – don’t skip this step!
- In a blender, combing 1/2 cup water, both types of raspberries, and blend until smooth. Press this mixture through a strainer to remove all the seeds. In the bowl of your stand mixer, add the raspberry puree mixture, vanilla extract, and gelatin. Give it a mix and let it sit while you make the syrup.
- In a small pot, add the water and honey or maple syrup. Bring the mixture to a boil and let it bowl for about 10 minutes. If you have a candy thermometer, you want it to reach between 220-240F. If you don’t have a thermometer, no stress. Letting it boil for 10 minutes at a high heat is usually enough!
- Remove the pot from the heat. Attach the bowl to your stand mixer with the whisk attachment. With it going on low, drizzle in the syrup mixture. Allow the mixer to whip on high until the mixture triples in size and gets super thick and fluffy. This usually takes 5 minutes.
- Once it’s done, use a spatula to pour the marshmallow mixture into the pan. You can use the spatula to press it in firmly and smooth them out, but i’ve found that wetting my hands with some water and using them is a bit easier.
- Cover the pan and let it sit at room temperature for 30-60 minutes until they’re firm. Then cut into marshmallows (I like to use scissors to make it easiest!).
Expert tips
- Tips for cutting marshmallows: I’ve found it easiest to cut the mixture into marshmallows using scissors. Sometimes they can be difficult to cut with a knife.
- How to make marshmallows without a candy thermometer: Typically, you’d want to use a thermometer to make sure the sugar mixture reaches around 242°F, but they will also work if you can get the mixture around 220°F. This usually takes about 10 minutes of boiling. If you don’t have a thermometer, simply boil the mixture for at least 10 minutes, as this should be long enough to get them to temp!
- Can you make marshmallows vegan? You can make vegan marshmallows using agar agar. Here is a great vegan marshmallow recipe!
- Can you roast paleo marshmallows? Yes! These will roast great, just like store-bought marshmallows.
- Don’t over-mix! You’ll want to stop mixing once the marshmallows have tripled in size and forms stiff peaks when you lift the whisk from the bowl. If you beat it longer, it may be hard to spread and turn into what we call “brains” lol.
How to enjoy homemade Raspberry marshmallows
- Add them to your favorite warm beverage like hot cocoa or matcha (strawberries and matcha are delicious together!)
- Use them to create snickerdoodle rice crispy treats.
- Dip them in chocolate or some white chocolate and store them in the freezer for a sweet treat!
- Package them up in cute treat boxes or cellophane bags and give as a DIY birthday or Christmas gift or even as a party favor!
- Place them on lollipop or cake-pop sticks for a sweet marshmallow pop!
- Add them to chocolate chip cookies or make S’mores cookies!
- Toss a few in your hot chocolate!
Storage Tips
Store your homemade raspberry marshmallows in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days.
More healthy desserts to try
- Gut-healthy homemade fruit gummies
- Raw vegan cinnamon rolls (Erewhon copycat!)
- Strawberry frozen yogurt bites
- Strawberry shortcake ice cream bars (vegan, paleo)
- Dairy-free homemade ice cream sandwiches
- Strawberry almond joy bites
Healthy Raspberry Marshmallows
These fluffy, pillowy healthy homemade raspberry marshmallows are made without corn syrup and are sweetened naturally with maple syrup or honey! They come together effortlessly and quickly, require just a few wholesome ingredients, and are paleo-friendly! This post contains tons of tips on how to make homemade marshmallows, like how to make them with or without a candy/sugar thermometer!
Ingredients
Raspberry puree
- 1/2 cup frozen raspberries
- 1/2 cup freeze-dried raspberries
- 1/4 cup grass-fed gelatin
- 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup water
Syrup mixture
- 1/2 cup water
- 1 cup honey or maple syrup
Instructions
- Line a 9×9 pan with parchment paper or you can use a silicone pan. Spray the paper with spray oil. This ensures the mallows won’t stick – don’t skip this step!
- In a blender, combine 1/2 cup water, the frozen & freeze-dried raspberries, and blend until smooth. Press this mixture through a strainer into the bowl of your stand mixer, to remove all the seeds. Add the vanilla extract and gelatin. Give it a mix and let it sit while you make the syrup.
- In a small pot, add the water and honey or maple syrup. Bring the mixture to a boil and let it bowl for about 10 minutes. If you have a candy thermometer, you want it to reach between 220-240F. If you don’t have a thermometer, no stress. Letting it boil for 10 minutes at a high heat is usually enough!
- Remove the pot from the heat. Attach the bowl to your stand mixer with the whisk attachment. With it going on low, drizzle in the syrup mixture. Allow the mixer to whip on high until the mixture triples in size and gets super thick and fluffy. This usually takes 2-3 minutes. Be careful to not over-whip or it’ll thicken too much & turn into what looks like “brains”. The mixture should have tripled in size and stick to the whisk when you remove it while still being pourable.
- Once it’s done, use a spatula to pour the marshmallow mixture into the pan. You can use the spatula to press it in firmly and smooth them out, but i’ve found that wetting my hands with some water and using them is a bit easier.
- Cover the pan and let it sit at room temperature for 30-60 minutes until they’re firm. Then cut into marshmallows (I like to use scissors to make it easiest!).
Notes
Don’t over-mix! You’ll want to stop mixing once the marshmallows have tripled in size and forms stiff peaks when you lift the whisk from the bowl. If you beat it longer, it may be hard to spread and turn into what we call “brains” lol.
- Tips for cutting marshmallows: I’ve found it easiest to cut the mixture into marshmallows using scissors. Sometimes they can be difficult to cut with a knife.
- How to make marshmallows without a candy thermometer: Typically, you’d want to use a thermometer to make sure the sugar mixture reaches around 242°F, but they will also work if you can get the mixture around 220°F. This usually takes about 10 minutes of boiling. If you don’t have a thermometer, simply boil the mixture for at least 10 minutes, as this should be long enough to get them to temp!
Hey! Recipe looks delicious! How do we store the marshmallows ? And how long do they last? Is it possible to make the recipe without the freeze dried raspberries ? Thanks!
Hi Cynthia! You’ll want to store them in a container on the counter! They’ll last for a week or so! You can also refrigerate them if your house is too warm (as they can melt), but the texture is best at room-temp! I haven’t tried making them without the freeze-dried raspberries, as they add SO much raspberry flavor and i’m not sure if using all frozen raspberries would be too much liquid, but it’s worth a shot! (:
Hi Dani and Cynthia! I didn’t have freeze dried strawberries, so I just used 3/4 cup frozen raspberries and omitted the freeze dried ones. They weren’t as bright in colour (my 6yo convinced me to add a drop of pink food colouring gel)- and they took about 7-8 mins to whip up to the right consistency. I’m waiting for the hour for them to set- but they look pretty good!
Hi Caroline! Thank you for letting us know – i’m eager to hear how they’ll turn out! FINGERS CROSSED! Lol
hi can i use sugar instead of honey/suryp
Hi! Unfortunately, the syrup mixture needs to be liquid for this exact recipe to work. I know there are many homemade marshmallow recipes using granulated sweetener out there, though! I just can’t say for sure how it’d work with my recipe – so sorry!