Kayla Ruetten

November 7, 2025

This 3 ingredient homemade hard honey candy recipe is a great treat for special occasions, a fun snack, and soothing for sore throats. Whip up this easy to make treat in under 30 minutes. Enjoy this sugar-free, corn syrup free treat without guilt, just nourishing ingredients!

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Hard Honey Candy Recipe Without Sugar

Conventional hard candies are typically made with corn syrup or sugar. Using natural sweeteners, like honey, can sometimes yield a softer candy. The trick to making these with honey, and still yielding a more hard and brittle candy, is the cook time! This recipe is very similar to our homemade caramel candies (which is soft and gooey), but has a longer cook time + acidity (lemon juice + vinegar). You will know when you’ve reached the “brittle” stage by the mixture turning from a honey yellow to a caramel brown color. See the recipe notes below.

Why You Will Love This Honey Hard Honey Candy Recipe

Taste. This homemade honey candy is sweet, and satisfying. They are pleasant to use for soothing sore throats.
Quick & easy to prepare. You can make this recipe with just a few ingredients and simple directions.
Healing diet friendly. This recipe is gluten-free, dairy-free (optional), sugar-free, and egg-free. Whether you are eating GAPS, Paleo, whole food, or just becoming more ingredient aware, this recipe is compatible with many healing diets.
Naturally sweetened. Use honey as the sweetener to eliminate the need for refined and processed sugar.
Customizable. You can use different fats, such as butter, coconut oil, ghee, or mild tasting fats like lard. If you reduce the cook time, you have gooey caramel sauce to pour over peanuts or pecans for caramel covered nut clusters!

Gluten-Free, Sugar-Free, Dairy-Free Desserts

As our family healed from food allergies using the GAPS diet protocol, we learned how to re-create favorite childhood recipes with healthier alternatives. We have healed and transitioned off GAPS, but still enjoy so many of these healthy dessert options regularly!

See this post for a list of our favorite gluten-free, sugar-free, and dairy-free desserts with all the recipes included.

Hard Honey Candy FAQ

Can I substitute coconut for butter?
I have not personally tried this. In many caramel recipes, you can substitute coconut milk or cream for the butter. I do not know if they will harden as well as they do with butter, but it will make for a nice gooey caramel.
Do I need a candy thermometer?
A candy thermometer can be helpful, but it is not required. Simply bring the mixture to a boil, turn the heat down, and allow to simmer for 20-30 minutes until the consistency/texture and color change.
Will this make a hard or soft caramel?
If using a shorter cook time, you will end up with a gooey or a soft caramel. A longer cook time + vinegar yields a harder candy. See recipe notes below for more details.

Helpful Tools to Make This Recipe:

9×13 pan or candy molds
unbleached parchment paper (to line 9×13 pan, if using)
measuring cups

Ingredients Needed to Make Hard Honey Candy

1 stick butter (8 tablespoons) or other preferred fat
1 cup raw honey
2 tablespoons water
Juice from 1 lemon (or 2 tablespoons lemon juice)
1/2 teaspoon vinegar

Instructions

Add butter to sauce pan and melt.
Add honey, water, lemon juice, and vinegar to the sauce pan.
Turn heat to medium to high until the mixture begins to bubble and boil.
Maintain stovetop temperature where mixture is boiling and bubbling, constantly stirring to prevent burning. Exact temperature will depend on the size of your sauce pan.
When mixture begins to change into a thicker consistency (time will vary 10-20 minutes) and turn to a light brown color, continue stirring for about 2 more minutes. It will continue to thicken and reach a deeper brown color.
QUICKLY pour into candy molds or a 9×13 pan lined with unbleached parchment paper.