Kayla Ruetten

November 8, 2024

Craving a fluffy, sweet, vanilla flavored marshmallow? This healthy marshmallow recipe will bring you right back to your childhood smores at the family fire pit. They are so satiating and a perfect holiday or summer-time treat. I wanted to re-create this recipe to be a healthier version than the store-bought marshmallows, and we are pleased with how similar and tasty they are! Only 4 ingredients, these marshmallows are compatible with many healing diets, such as GAPS, Paleo, Sugar-Free, Gluten Free, Dairy-Free.

gelatin vanilla homemade healthy marshmallow recipe on a plate gaps diet paleo

Why You Will Love This Healthy Homemade Marshmallow Recipe

Taste. These marshmallows are bursting with sweet, vanilla flavor that will take your right back to your childhood fire-pit. The comfort-food feeling makes it hard to resist!
Quick & easy to prepare. This recipe can be made in less than 30 minutes with only 4 ingredients.
Healing diet friendly. This recipe is gluten-free, dairy-free, sugar-free, and egg-free. Whether you are eating GAPS, Paleo, whole food, Whole30, or just becoming more ingredient aware, this recipe is compatible with many healing diets.
Naturally sweetened. Raw honey makes these marshmallows incredibly sweet and also eliminates the need for refined and processed sugar.
Customizable. You can make this into marshmallow fluff, marshmallows, or roasted! See info below.

Roasting Healthy Homemade Marshmallows

Our kids were super excited to be able to enjoy marshmallows, especially roasted. A couple considerations to roasting these marshmallows:

1. Because they are made of honey, they can melt and brown very quickly!

roasted gaps diet healthy marshmallow recipe — healthy homemade marshmallow beginning to melt during roasting

2. We found it worked best to cook very quickly over a hot fire- literally a couple seconds near the flames. This technique allows it to be quickly browned without melting, like this:

roasted browned healthy marshmallow recipe on roasting stick homemade gelatin gaps diet — healthy marshmallow roasted quickly over hot flames

Healthy Paleo Marshmallow Fluff

If you enjoy marshmallow fluff, you can skip the roasting and just lick this right off the spoon! We often eat the marshmallow fluff fresh before pouring the “batter” into a 9×13 pan to set into marshmallow consistency.

healthy marshmallow recipe with batter in 9x13 pan lined with parchment paper — marshmallow “fluff”/batter poured into a parchment paper lined 9×13 pan

GAPS Diet Marshmallows-No Sugar

Most commercially available marshmallows are no longer even made with sugar, but with high fructose corn syrup. We know both sugar and corn syrup compromise our immune systems and gut health. Our family enjoys plenty of desserts, but we generally sweeten them with honey. We have, on occasion, allowed the use of this brand of commercial marshmallow for travelling, holiday treats from family, etc. These have sugar and are not GAPS legal. So most of the time we prefer to stick with this sugar-free healthy homemade marshmallow recipe.

Following repeat strep throat infections, we opted to do another quick round of the GAPS protocol to help restore a healthy microbiome. We were all so excited to have this delicious healthy homemade marshmallow treat, as it is GAPS legal! In her famous GAPS book, Dr. Natasha cautions against the regular use of commercial gelatin. If significant healing is needed, be aware of not over-using this ingredient.

How to Make a Healthy Marshmallow Recipe

Ingredients

1 cup water (divided)
1 cup raw honey
3 tbsp grass fed beef gelatin
1 tspn real vanilla extract
1/4 tspn sea salt

Instructions

Line a 9×13 pan with unbleached parchment paper.
Add 1/2 cup of water, honey, and salt in a pot on medium heat. Slowly bring the mixture to a boil, stirring constantly. Once it boils and begins to foam, stir for about 5-10 minutes, until it the mixture looks a little thicker and grainy. Remove from heat immediately after texture change and allow to cool for 5 minutes.
Add 1/2 cup warm water and gelatin to the stand mixer bowl and mix on low/medium.
Slowly (over 3-4 minutes, so gelatin does not get too hot) pour in the honey mixture to the stand mixer bowl.
When all the honey is added, turn the mixer on high.
Continuously scrape the sides of the mixing bowl with a spatula while mixing on high speed.
Mix until the batter changes consistency. It should double in volume and begin to form “peaks”. This means when you lift the dripping spatula, the batter will look like a mountain peak, “standing up”. This may take about 6-12 minutes depending on your mixer.
Quickly pour batter into parchment paper lined 9×13 pans and smooth the top immediately.
Allow the marshmallows to set in the fridge for about 1-2 hours or at room temperature for about 6 hours.
Cut into desired sizes, once set.