Zucchini Gummy Candy – A Fun and Easy Zucchini Recipe

ByLaurie Neverman

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Need a new easy zucchini recipe? Make some zucchini gummy candy! This zucchini gummy candy recipe is made without jello or pectin tastes like commercial gummy treats with no artificial flavors, colors or refined sugar.

I saw a recipe online that made them with drink mix and sugar, and coated them with more drink mix – more sugar and artificial color and flavor than I prefer. So I decided to experiment with a simpler version using fruit juice concentrate. It worked out great!

zucchini gummy candy

For those who are not familiar with fruit juice concentrate, it’s concentrated juice that gets mixed with water for drinking. I usually buy it in the frozen foods section, but sometimes you can find it in the juice section.

can of apple cranberry juice concentrate
This is an example of the 100% juice frozen concentrate that I use for making zucchini gummies.

Naturally Sweetened Zucchini Gummy Candy Recipe

Ingredients

  • 8 cups summer squash or zucchini, peeled, seeded and cut into roughly 1/2 inch cubes
  • 1 can fruit juice concentrate (11.5 ounce)
  • 1 can water

Directions

Prepare zucchini. This is a good use for overgrown garden zucchini – just cut around the seed cavity.

zucchini on cutting board
chopped zucchini in hand

Place cubed zucchini in a large, nonreactive stockpot. (I use an 8 quart stainless steel stockpot.)  Pour in juice concentrate and water.

pot with zucchini and fruit juice concentrate for zucchini gummy candy

Cook gently until translucent and tender, about 30 minutes. Drain in a colander, spread out on dehydrator sheets so the pieces are not touching. In the photo below I have three flavors (top to bottom):  cranberry-raspberry juice concentrate, blueberry juice, and strawberry-kiwi juice concentrate.

zucchini gummy candy in dehydrator

Dehydrate at 135° F for 8-12 hours or until tacky but no longer moist. I usually do mine overnight. As you can see, they shrink dramatically. The dehydrator shown in the photos is my nine tray Excalibur, which I invested in a couple of years ago to keep up with the garden bounty. I also have an older Snackmaster dehydrator, which is a great beginner dehydrator for around $50.

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zucchini gummy candy recipe in dehydrator, no gelatin

The original recipe I saw called for rolling these in powdered lemonade mix to do a sweet/sour gummy, but the juice provides plenty of sweetness for me. I’d suggest storing these in the fridge and eating them within a month, or freezing for longer storage. With the sugar content and water content, it’s tough to get them dry enough to ensure long shelf life without cooler temps.

And there you have it – summer squash gummy candy made with no artificial flavors or colors and unsweetened fruit juice.

homemade zucchini gummy candy on white plate

How Many Gummy Candies can you make with one Zucchini?

One large zucchini will probably yield 8 cups with careful cutting. To get some different colors for the photos, I tried two different types of juice concentrate and plain blueberry juice (without added water).

You may notice that the blueberry gummies are less shiny than the other two. They were also less sweet. The texture and taste is amazingly similar to a commercial gummy candy. I used the leftover juice concentrate to flavor kombucha.

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Zucchini Gummy Candy – A Fun and Easy Zucchini Recipe

zucchini gummy candy
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5 from 3 reviews

This zucchini gummy candy recipe without jello or pectin tastes like commercial gummy treats with no artificial flavors, colors or refined sugar.

  • Author: Laurie Neverman
  • Yield: 2 cups 1x
  • Category: Snacks
  • Method: Stove top Cooking/Dehydrating
  • Cuisine: American

Ingredients

Units Scale
  • 8 cups zucchini or summer squash, peeled, seeded and cut into roughly 1/2 inch cubes
  • 1 can fruit juice concentrate (11.5 ounce)
  • 1 can water

Instructions

  1. Place cubed zucchini in a large, nonreactive stockpot. Pour in juice concentrate and water.
  2. Cook gently until translucent and tender, about 30 minutes.
  3. Drain in a colander, spread out on dehydrator sheets so the pieces are not touching.
  4. Dehydrate at 135F for 8-12 hours or until tacky but no longer moist. I usually do mine overnight.
  5. Enjoy right away or pack for snacking. For longer storage, place in a sealed container in the refrigerator and eat within one month. Makes around 2 cups.

Notes

This is a good use for overgrown garden zucchini – just cut around the seed cavity.

Share a photo and tag us — we can’t wait to see what you’ve made!

Please take a moment to “Like” or Pin the post if you’ve enjoyed it, and leave a comment below with your favorite ways to use up a bounty of zucchini or summer squash.

More Zucchini Recipes

You may also enjoy:

If You You Don’t Have a Dehydrator

Check out “Home Food Drying – 6 Things You Need to Know to Dehydrate Food at Home” for an assortment of DIY dehydrator options. If you can get your oven cool enough (around 135° F), you could try trying these on cookie sheets, stirring every hour or so until dry.

zucchini gummy candy with no Jello or pectin
Laurie Neverman, fall 2023

This article is written by Laurie Neverman. Laurie grew up in the kitchen, learning baking and home cooking from her momma. At age 15, she and her mom and two sisters created Irene’s Custom Cakes & Catering, which was her summer job through most of high school and college.

Originally published in 2012, last updated in 2024.

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123 Comments

    1. The texture will be a little different with oven drying, but if you want to try it, set the oven as low as possible and spread the prepared zucchini on a sheet pan. Prop the oven open a bit for air circulation if possible. Put the zucchini in and stir and check dryness every 15 – 20 minutes.

      Reply

  2. Please tell me what and where you get the fruit concentrate. I even looked for 11.5 ounce canned fruit concentrate, and so far, have not found anything I would consider putting in my mouth!

    Reply

    1. The juice concentrate typically available either frozen or in the canned juice section. The product I use is normally sold frozen in a can about the size of a soda can. You thaw it and mix it with several cans of water to make juice for drinking. There are many different flavors available, but I usually opt for one that’s a concentrated juice or juice blend with no added sugar.

      Thank you for asking. I will snap a photo next time I’m in the grocery store to help clarify.

      Reply

  3. I stumbled on your gummy recipe from a blog post by The Purposeful Pantry — I plan on making her zucchini jerky! I’m so excited to try making these gummies however I’m very new to dehydrating and was wondering… can I make the jerky and the gummies in the dehydrator at the same time? Or will the flavours of each infuse into the other?

    Reply

    1. Maybe. Depending on how strong the jerky flavor is, some of it may infuse into the gummies. I generally avoid mixing savory and sweet, because they sit in the same space for a long time.

      Reply

  4. Where do you get the sodium content in your nutrition information? Zucchini have 16 mg per medium sized. Most fruits have little to none. Even powdered drink mix is only 15 mg per serving. There is no way 1/4 c of the gummy zucchini has over 800 mg. Brings all of your nutrition information into question.

    Reply

    1. Ack! Sorry about that. The stupid nutrition calculator “helpfully” substituted canned Italian styles zucchini for plain raw zucchini, and I didn’t catch the substitution. The browser I use by default (Chrome) stopped displaying the nutrition information recently, making it harder to catch mistakes.

      I went back into the calculator and put in raw zucchini instead, so the numbers should be more accurate now.

      If you are on a strict diet, I’d advise rechecking any recipe you find online. The calculators sometimes substitute the wrong ingredients, and there can be big differences between brands if packaged products are used as part of a recipe.

      Reply

  5. I just made these and they’re amazing! Such a surprising texture and flavor. (I used lemonade and blueberry pomegranate juice.)



    Reply

    1. I’m glad that they worked out well for you. Thanks for taking time to share your experience and the flavors that you made.

      Reply

  7. I’m currently making these using fruit punch concentrate. Great idea for using those oversized zucchini that my husband misses when picking

    Reply

  8. Hi there!
    Im doing the keto diet and came a cross this recipe. Wondering if you have tried cooking the zucchini in sugar free jello or sugar free kool aid? Don’t want to use Splenda or stevia. Splenda does have some carbs and I don’t like the taste of Stevia. But I do like sugar free Jello which has no carbs. I think If It was cooked and dehydrated with those it would have very little or no carbohydrates. Just looking for a little something to satisfy my sweet tooth. 🙂 Whats your thoughts?

    Reply

    1. I’m sorry, I try to avoid artificial colors and most artificial sweeteners, so I don’t have any experience with these products, but I would think you should be able to use them. Try a single batch and see how you like the results. Zucchini, jello and kool-aid are all fairly inexpensive, so it wouldn’t be a huge investment.

      Reply

    1. I don’t think it’s sticky enough to hold together and set up into the shape of the mold, but I may be wrong. If you try to dry it in the mold, it would take a really long time to dry.

      If you decide to try it, test with a small batch. If you get it to work, I’d love to hear how you did it.

      Reply

  10. I just brought in my first 5 yellow and zucchini squash. And I am dying to try this, as my granddaughter always wants treats.
    But I am wondering if I can put the zucchini and juice in my electric pressure cooker. Just so I can be a little lazy and sit back and wait for it to finish.
    Ha’s anyone tried this and how long and what setting do you us?

    Reply

    1. I have not tried this, but maybe 3 minutes on high with the chunks and the juice? That’s the time I’m seeing for butternut squash chunks.

      Reply

    1. We’re still waiting on ours this year, too, due to the late start to the season, but I know others are already harvesting and wanted to share.

      Reply

  12. This is one of the most unique uses for zucchini that I’ve seen yet! I made a delicious mock crisp myself, and that was so incredible that I had to share it on my blog, too. We no longer have zucchini popping up so this will be a fun project next summer- but thank you for the really unique and neat recipe idea!

    Reply

    1. I used my leftover concentrate to flavor kombucha. You could try using it for another batch, but it’s not likely to give as much flavor because the water from the squash has diluted the concentrate. If you wanted, you could mix it with water to taste and drink it.

      Reply

  15. I just finished dehydrating marinated zucchini slices with the peel on and when they were finished it occurred to me that they look similar to apple slices. With that my thought my brain started pondering how to make mock apple slices with zucchini. I don’t want to mess with simmering. I have a vacuum marinator, so marinating is an option. In your experience, do you think raw zucchini would take on the flavor of apple juice if it is just marinated? Do you think the addition of a bit of salt would help with the marinating? I also need to consider the best step to add cinnamon – during marinating, or dusted lightly with cinnamon/sugar before dehydrating. If they end up sticky afterwards I plan to dust with arrowroot powder – that always keeps my mandarin orange slices from sticking together.

    Reply

    1. I’ve never used a vacuum marinator, but they seem to work pretty well for infusing flavors on the cooking shows. Why not try a small batch with apple juice and cinnamon in the marinade, and another with apple juice in the marinade and cinnamon sprinkled on right before dehydrating and compare the results? That’s usually what I do when experimenting with new recipes.

      Reply

      1. Thanks for the speedy feedback! I’ll try both, first using plain apple juice as a marinade and then stirring in a little cinnamon to see if it is picked up by the zucchini. This will be a weekend project.

        Reply

          1. Update: I tried marinading zucchini slices in apple juice concentrate and then dehydrating them. Meh. Bland, very little apple flavor. I tried. 　 Then I cut up a bunch of zucchin in “gummi” sized pieces and simmered the in the leftover juice concentrate. My intention was to not waste the apple juice and try the natural fruit-flavored gummis. It didn’t get that far. I tasted one of the zucchini chunks after it was simmered in the apple juice. After they cooled I measured out enough for an apple crisp recipe. Hubby declared it almost impossible to tell from apple pie. I’ve had mock apple pie made with zucchini slices before, but it was just OK, very bland in flavor. The apple-juice infused zucchini chunks improved the flavor, and the texture of the chunk zucchini vs slices is very good in the crisp. I have another batch of chunk zucchini simmering in the apple juice to get one more use out of it. I will measure out the zucchini and mix it with the other filling ingredients before putting it in the freezer. This wasn’t a win for dehydrating, but it was a homerun for using giant zucchini and cheap apple juice for a terrific dessert. 😀

          2. Thanks for sharing your experience. I’ve made the zucchini mock apple pie, but had good results without using apple juice. (https://commonsensehome.com/zapple-pie/) I do precook the zucchini with lemon, sugar and spices, so it probably gives similar results. The boys wolfed the last one down and I’m waiting for the zucchini to get bigger. Our plants were hit by hail this year and have had a heck of a time recovering.

      2. I make a mock apple crisp using zucchini slices that I’ve boiled in lemon juice sugar and cinnamon. They taste juste like a granny smith apple when baked with the oatmeal/ brown sugar crumble topping. I’d think lemon juice infused zucchini would taste like green apple gummies? Maybe?

        We love gummies….gonna try this. My zucchini plants are producing a bountiful supply this summer!

        Reply

        1. Maybe? I wonder if a little bit of sugar and cinnamon would help to suggest more of an “apple” taste? Let me know how it turns out. We make zapple crisp and zapple pie, too.

          Reply

  16. My grand kids love these!! But they don’t visit often and I wonder if these could be vacuum sealed and stored in the freezer.d

    Reply

    1. I don’t see any reason why you wouldn’t be able to do that for extra long storage. They keep very well in the refrigerator, too.

      Reply

  18. Loved these! I’ll try them with reduced homegrown orange juice next time. I used pineapple concentrate and took advantage of our heat wave (116F) yesterday to dry these in the sun and they came out fantastic. Very addictive, too! Great recipe, thanks!

    Reply

  19. Well color me intrigued…. I’ve pinned this & will be sharing on my FB page too. Hubby is a big fan of dried fruits, and zucchini usually is quite prolific in the garden. Wouldn’t it be great if I could provide him the snack he craves at a mere fraction of the cost using excess from the garden? Thanks for sharing!

    ~Taylor-Made Homestead~
    Texas

    Reply

  20. These were great – a keeper thanks! I just need to find some flavoring that doesn’t have as much sugar as juice concentrates but that will be no problem. 🙂

    Reply

  21. Curious if drying simply on a committee sheet out in the hot summer sun would work the same? I make fruit leather that way, so I assume it could written? Has anyone tried?

    Reply

    2. Our humidity levels are so high most of the time that I don’t try air drying, but if you used small pieces and fruit leather works in your area, the odds are good that it would work.

      Reply

  22. This is a great idea! I usually make gummies with gelatin, but this is a perfect way to use up squash! I never know what to do with it all, and it just keeps growing!!

    Reply

  23. Just wondering. Can you RE-dehydrate zuchinni? I ask because what if you dehydrate then soak them in a juice concentrate (I put my blueberries in my pressure cooker in a steamer basket with 1/2 C water for 1 minute to make a blueberry juice concentrate) let them soak up the juice then dehydrate them again.
    Not sure if it’s worth it or not. You think soaking the undried cubes in juice in a vacuum sealed mason jar (foodsave sealer here) might get the juice in without first dehydrating? Vecuum sealing works well this way with marinades for meat an veggies.

    Just some thoughts for those wanting to stay away from the sugar and koolade.

    Reply

    1. I’m not sure I’m following. You want to dehydrate, then soak, then dehydrate again? Zucchini can be rehydrated, but the texture is never quite the same as fresh.

      Reply

  24. These sound fantastic! What a great idea! We’re a foot deep in snow right now but the zucchini in the summer is always prolific. I’ve let more giant zucchini go to the chickens than I can count. (or the compost) This is a wonderful option. I have a question for you. Do you think that these little gummies would freeze. I’m wondering if I could use a food saver & freeze some while the zucchini is on so that there are some available during these gardenless winter months. Any thoughts?

    Reply

    1. I’m sure they’d freeze fine, and I did end up with part of a batch getting stuffed to the back of the fridge door that I found mid-winter and they were just fine.

      Reply

  25. Okay these are in the Excalibur right now! I’ve been swimming in squash from my CSA box, I did half zucchini and half pattypan squash, I’m hoping the pattypan works out!!! 🙂 They should be grape flavored, I’ll update when I pull them out tomorrow. Thanks for the recipe I love that this is such a unique idea!!

    Reply

  26. I have a question related. Can you use cucumbers to do this with too? I have an abundance of those and if this works for those too, would be outstanding.

    Reply

    1. I’ve never tried it, but I suspect the texture and flavor might not work out quite as well. Squash tend to be more bland and a little mealy in texture, while cucumber have a more distinct flavor and crunchy texture. There’s only one way to find out for sure, by trying it. If you do, I’d be very curious to see how it worked out for you.

      Reply

    1. You can find it frozen, bottled or canned. What your looking for is juice with less later, because during the cooking process, quite a bit of water comes out of the summer squash. If you just use juice, it won’t give a strong flavor.

      Reply

      1. Thanks so much I just found this recipe this morning and I am going out now to get all the ingredients to make it. Also I got a dehydrator at a yard sale and there is no manual and the ones I found online don’t tell me what to set the vents on? Do you have any idea? I have a Ronco model 187-04. Thanks for your help and a great recipe!

        Reply

      2. Have you ever tried to cut the zucchini into thin planks and making the gummy that way? My cubes shrunk up into nothing so maybe next time I’ll try it that way.

        Reply

        1. I did cut it in strips the first time I made it, but it didn’t photograph well. Zucchini has a LOT of water in it, so keep that in mind for sizing. The only thing you really want to avoid is a huge mix of sizes, because then some will be dry and some won’t.

          Reply

          1. By the way these were great! I will have to borrow another dehydrator to make multiple batches! My 2 year old loves them!

  30. I really want to try making these, but I do not have a dehydrator. Do you have any recommendations for making them using an oven? Thanks!

    Reply

    2. i have 2 different type also a freeze dryer, you can get a dehydrator realatively cheap on ebay!!! and use the tar out of it its worth it!!!

      Reply

  31. I made these with pineapple orange concentrate, they are delicious. My husband thought that it was dried pineapple. The next batch I am going to puree in the ninja after they have simmered and pour them out to make leather. I see you have the calorie count down but dont see where it says what a serving is. I would be interested in that as they are addicting and I’m sure I’m eating more then I should. Thanks for such a great recipe.

    Reply

    1. The calorie count is automatically calculated by the recipe plugin, so I suspect it’s not very accurate. I’d enjoy like you would a dried fruit – in moderation.

      Reply

  33. I was wondering if you have ever tried this recipe using yellow squash. I didn’t plant zucchini this year but will soon have an abundance of yellow squash. I also have a 4 year old boy who loves fruit snacks, but I’ve been forbidding them lately, due to all the sugar and artificial additives. I’d love to try it out and use up some yellow squash. Think it would work?

    Reply

    1. Yes, the first time I made it I used yellow squash, and called it “summer squash gummy candy”, but more people recognize zucchini than the other summer squashes, so when I updated the photos, I changed the title.

      Reply

    1. I use heavy duty stainless steel. Glass, ceramic or a coated pan of some sort would be fine. I would not use an uncoated aluminum pan. The aluminum may react with acidity of the fruit juice to produce an “off” flavor.

      Reply

    1. Thanks, Misty! I always seem to find a few that missed picking the first time around that are perfect for this.

      Reply

    1. If you had juice available, you could always cook it down gently to reduce the volume and concentrate it.

      Reply

      1. I make blueberry concentrate with a pressure cooker. Place 1/2 C water in the pressure cooker, then a steamer basket, then your blueberries. Cook on high pressure for about 1 minute and the berries will be juiced. If you use enough blueberries (about 4 pints) you get a strong juice. Works just as well with chili peppers to make hot sauce.

        Reply

      1. When you mix concentrate into juice, you normally use 3-4 cans of water per can of concentrate. With only one can of water added, the concentrate is still concentrated, not the same strength as juice. You can use juice, but it will not give a strong flavor to the zucchini – unless you cook it down to concentrate it.

        Reply

  39. Say whaaaaaaat? Get out! These are the coolest, most creative thing EVER to do with zucchini! Totally going to give this a try!

    Thanks!

    Reply

    1. lol – thanks, Jacquelyn. I wish we’d get some rain so my zucchini would get bigger and I could make some more to try and get prettier pictures. They look funny, but they taste really good!

      Reply

  40. Just found your site and am IN LOVE! So thank you. My question is, would the ratios be the same if using organic bottled grape juice versus concentrate? Thanks!

    Reply

    1. Welcome, Tami, and thanks for your enthusiasm. 🙂

      The organic bottled juices I’ve tried have been fairly strong, so I think it would probably work, although I haven’t tried it. Drying will concentrate the flavor, and if that’s not enough you could cook down the juice a bit before cooking the summer squash in it.

      Reply

  41. Elaine – I believe that with the sugar soaking from the fruit juice, further reduction of sugar from cooking and the extended cooking time, the zucchini is serving as a carrier and no longer has real food value as a vegetable and should be treated as a candy treat, not dinner side.

    Reply

    1. Yes – this is true. Even though it’s not using artificial anything, it’s still concentrated sugars.

      Reply

  42. these are great! i made both grape and apple and i did dust them with a store brand lemon drink mix which made them even better! i’m so excited that i now have a way to get my son to eat zucchini!
    thanks for sharing

    Reply

  43. I wonder if you could roll them in some citric acid, which is the main component of sour gummies.

    My autistic son is a very oral child, and I am always trying things to fill his need to chew and not give him crap like licorice all the time. Raisins are his fave, but we will definitely try these.

    Reply

    1. You probably could, but if you’re dealing with autism, large amounts of citric acid may not be a good idea, as it can act as an excitotoxin.

      Reply

      1. Thankfully K is not into sour things, but for another child who it it may work. Or I might try it for myself as I have the occasional craving for sour patch kids.

        Reply

        1. I wonder if a flavored vitamin C drink mix would work, too? I just bought some in bulk from Frontier. I may have to try it.

          Reply

    2. Careful! Citric acid is now made from GMO mold. Some people are linking GMO’s with autism, although no human studies have actually been done, because the companies that hold the patents don’t allow human studies (but, tell us GMO’s are safe. Huh?) You will have to do your own research. Not enough room here. But, you might want to start with the film ‘Genetic Roulette’. Then do some web searches. Here is a link about citric acid and GMO’s.
      http://www.nogmo4michigan.org/hidden_gmo_exposed_citric_acid

      Reply

  44. I’m curious if you’re using Paraflexx sheets in your dehydrator for this. I was trying to figure out from the picture. I’m drying tomato leather at this moment on parchment paper, which I’ve never done before, and I’m curious what you use for this situation. Also, I guess if you have any other thoughts on which method is best.

    Thanks for the cool idea!
    Sarah

    Reply

    1. I’m using the sheets that were listed on Amazon with the dehydrator, they’re not the Paraflexx. I’ve seen the material referred to as reusable parchment paper before, but it’s fiberglass coated with Teflon. Not great, I know, but I don’t cut on it and I don’t use it at high temps. The American harvest units have plastic inserts for small foods. You could probably dry it on the mesh safely, but some of my pieces were pretty small.

      Reply

  45. That is so awesome! Grape sounds perfect. I wonder if cherry concentrate (from a brew supply) would be good, too.

    (Now if only our zucchinis will accept this morning’s rain as a sign to put out some fruit. )

    Reply

    1. I think any sort of strong flavored concentrate would work great. Something more bland like pear might still taste more like squash.

      Reply