Sugar Free Marshmallows
My sugar free ginger cake with toffee sauce may be my Bonfire Night showstopper, but I discovered another holiday hero just in time for it this year! The idea of sugar free marshmallows probably sounds as ludicrous to you as it did to me. I mean seriously, how do you make something sugar free that is essentially just sugar.
But I played around with the idea sparked by Whole New Mom’s sugar free option on her homemade marshmallow recipe until I got the sweetener to the minimum amount possible while still getting a sweet, white, soft and spongy delicious marshmallow, and it was just too perfect not to share.
The recipe makes a large batch that is perfect for freezing as individual mini and/or large marshmallows that you can eat straight from the freezer, chuck on top of low sugar hot chocolate, melt into recipes that call for marshmallows as the sweetener, or toast and sandwich between two low sugar cookies with a little melted 85% dark chocolate to make s’mores.
Because yes, not only do these marshmallows look and taste like regular sugary marshmallows, but they also act just like them. They melt, they toast, they spring back, they don’t freeze hard.
This recipe opens oh-so-many sugar free doors. I’m thinking melting them with really dark chocolate a-la-Nigella for a low sugar chocolate mousse, heating and mixing them with puffed rice or grains to make sugar free puffed rice squares, and even attempting to make a yummy sugar free marshmallow frosting for celebration cakes.
I just need to keep reminding myself that they are still a treat. Because they are very more-ish and completely amazing! 😉
A sugar free recipe for homemade marshmallows - it sounds like it'll never work, but it really really does. Soft, squidgy, sweet, they look, taste and act just like regular sugary marshmallows. They even toast and melt like them!
- 1 cup (250ml) water
- 1 heaped tbsp gelatin (grass-fed, antibiotic-free like Great Lakes*)
- 1 cup (100g) xylitol
- 3 tbsp glycerin (ideally organic and non-GMO)
- 1 tsp sugar free vanilla extract
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Mix 1/2 cup (125ml) of the water with the gelatin and allow to sit while you make the rest.
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Mix the other 1/2 cup (125ml) water in a saucepan with the xylitol and glycerin. Bring to the boil and simmer for 5 mins, then pour in a thin stream into the gelatin and water mixture, whisking all the time until smooth and combined. Pour in the vanilla extract and whip the mixture until it resembles egg whites at stiff peak stage. It looks like this is never going to happen, but trust me, be patient, it does!
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Pour into a square cake tin or a casserole dish (you may need to use more than one - just remember, the marshmallow mixture will set quickly and will set at whatever depth you have given it so use a longer dish with a thin layer of the mixture for mini marshmallows and a shorter dish with a deep layer for large marshmallows). Chill in the fridge for at least 8 hours, or place in the freezer for at least an hour until set. Cut into large or mini-marshmallows (or a mix of both). These marshmallows keep for weeks in the fridge or freeze them spread out on a baking tray and place in zip-lock bags and keep them pretty much indefinitely! 😉 They can be eaten or cooked straight from the fridge or freezer, or you can allow them to come up to room temperature first if you prefer them that way.
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If you want to, you can create a "ripple" in the marshmallows before they set by defrosting some frozen berries and pushing them through a sieve, then using the juice to drizzle over the marshmallows before they set. Alternatively, you could dust them with icing sugar (or sugar free icing sugar) or cocoa/cacao powder. You can also add flavourings of your choice in the place of the vanilla extract. Play around with ideas to see what looks and tastes best to you!
* You can buy Great Lakes gelatin online here.
Hi thanks for sharing your recipe! I make a lot of regular marshmallows that do not need to go in the fridge. Would your recipe set without being in the fridge? Thanks
Hi Kan,
I’m not 100% sure as I have not tested it out of the fridge. They might set, but would take much longer if they did! I usually just set them in the fridge or freezer, chop them into squares and then flash freeze individually and keep them in zip-lock bags in the freezer to pull out whenever we want them.
Hope you enjoy them! 🙂
Thanks for sharing! Wondering if you have tried these with erythritol instead of xylitol? We keep xylitol out of the house so there’s no way the dog can get it accidentally.
Hi Jen,
I totally get that. We’d like to get a dog one day and suspect we will probably switch to erythritol more if and when that day comes! Erythritol should work fine, but you may need to use a bit more since it is not as sweet as xylitol. You could try using Natvia in equal amounts or even a bit less as it has stevia in it too to make it sweeter, but if using straight erythritol, I would start with a little bit more and taste and adjust as needed. As always though, slowly cutting back on the sweetener each time you make it is something I would recommend. But to start with, try a little more to get the desired sweetness perhaps! 🙂 I’ve not tested the recipe with erythritol so I’m not totally sure how much you would need!