Healthy Homemade Honey Marshmallows (High Protein, Paleo)

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A cup of hot cocoa wouldn’t be complete without the best marshmallows: Healthy Homemade Honey Marshmallows. This is not only a marshmallow recipe with no corn syrup, it also is high-protein and Paleo-friendly, allowing you to kick back and indulge without any guilt.

The BEST Homemade Marshmallows with Honey

Store-bought marshmallows…hmmm…what can I say? They taste great, but the ingredient label is no joke.

As the cold bite of winter days nips their noses, my children love to sip on cups of hot chocolate topped with marshmallows. But I don’t love the unhealthy ingredients.

So awhile ago, I decided to try my hand at healthy homemade marshmallows. I quickly realized that not all homemade marshmallows were exactly “healthy”–or even much healthier than the puffy ones in a bag.

To decrease the negative ingredients and increase the healthy ones, I had to closely examine the homemade marshmallow recipes. I tweaked a bit here…added something there…and out came these delicious little treats.

What exactly is better about these healthy homemade honey marshmallows?

Let me take you through my mental “healthy marshmallows” checklist. We will venture through a few “how-tos” to explain…

How to Make Marshmallows without Corn Syrup

Let’s get to the bottom of the marshmallow predicament with one of the most troublesome ingredients: corn syrup.

We probably know that corn syrup is not ideal, even before we read Healthline‘s article listing 6 reasons why it isn’t.

But corn syrup is the basic building block of store-bought marshmallows–and, to be frank, many homemade marshmallow recipes. It not only sweetens the recipe but also creates the texture. Without it, marshmallows fall apart.

Or do they?

Thankfully for those of us who wish to avoid corn syrup, there is an alternative that creates (in my opinion) the perfect healthy marshmallow.

How to Make Marshmallows with Gelatin Powder

If we take corn syrup out of marshmallows, we need to find a substitute texture-izer. (I am not sure if that is even a word, but let’s use it for now.)

Gelatin powder is the perfect solution! Just listen to these benefits (listed by the reputable WebMD):

“Gelatin is a protein that may promote skin, joint, hair, nail, and gut health. It also provides essential amino acids, the building blocks of proteins, which can provide potent health benefits. The protein and amino acids in gelatin can help the body build more collagen, a vital element in healthy skin.”

In a marshmallow recipe, gelatin provides the “rise” (a.k.a puffiness) and semi-solid texture.

How to Make Marshmallows with Honey

But gelatin powder does not give us the sweetness that corn syrup does. So we need to add another healthier ingredient: a natural sweetener.

We have several options here. We could turn to maple syrup, stevia, allulose, or–one of my favorites–raw honey.

Compared to normal honey, raw honey retains a few more benefits by bypassing heating, refining, etc. As Medical News Today notes, “Raw honey…contains bee pollen and bee propolis, which is a sticky, glue-like substance bees use to hold their hive together. Regular honey may not contain the same levels of bee propolis and bee pollen as raw honey.”

But even just on the surface-level, using a natural sweetener as opposed to a highly-processed corn syrup just sounds like a good idea.

How to Make High-Protein Marshmallows

The final–and perhaps most satisfying–adjustment is to add even more protein.

Gelatin powder itself is a natural source of protein (source). But I wanted to add even more protein to help my little kiddos’ growing bodies.

So I turned to our old-faithful Mt. Capra Grass-Fed, Unsweetened Goat Whey Protein Powder. (If you have been around the Healthy Homemade Snacks community for awhile, then you know just how often we sneak this into our recipes!)

It is such a simple addition and adds no unpleasant flavor to the marshmallows.

How to Make Paleo Marshmallows

By going through this entire process of substitution and adjustment, hopefully it is clear that these marshmallows are quite a bit closer to natural than anything you may have tried before.

They are so natural, in fact, that they are Paleo. The goal of a Paleo diet is defined as “to eat foods likely eaten by early humans” (Mayo Clinic). And while you may not have seen marshmallows on a human’s countertop thousands of years ago, you would definitely have found raw honey and abundant sources of protein, including gelatin-like bone broth.

Sound good? Let’s get cooking!

Equipment You Will Need for This Recipe

Before we being making the best homemade marshmallow recipe, gather these tools:

• Medium-sized saucepan
• Stand mixer or a hand-held mixer
• Parchment paper or a silicone baking mat (we prefer to use a reusable silicone baking mat so that we don’t end up with any torn paper on the bottom of our marshmallows)
• A 9″x13″ glass baking dish
• An airtight glass container to store the marshmallows
• A spatula

Ingredients for Healthy Homemade Honey Marshmallows

• 1/2 cup hot water
• 1/4 cup grass-fed gelatin powder
• 2 Tbsp. unsweetened, unflavored protein powder
• 1/8 tsp. pure almond extract
• 1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/2 cup raw honey
• 1/4 tsp. Himalayan pink salt

How to Make Healthy Honey Marshmallows From Scratch

1. Line a 9″x13″ baking dish (for thin marshmallows) or an 8″x8″ baking dish (for thick marshmallows) with parchment paper or (our recommendation) a reusable silicone baking mat. Set aside.
2. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, combine 1/2 cup hot water, gelatin powder, and protein powder. Stir by hand until gelatin is dissolved and mixture is not grainy.
3. Add almond extract and vanilla extract.
4. In a medium-sized saucepan, warm 1/2 cup water, honey, and Himalayan pink salt over medium-low heat. Bring to a boil. Lower heat to a simmer and continue to boil for 5 minutes, until mixture thickens slightly and is bubbly. Stir often.
5. Remove the honey mixture from the heat. Add to the gelatin in the stand mixer.
6. Whisk the mixture on high speed for about 6 minutes, until slight ripples form and the mixture thickens and is sticky. (No peaks should form–not even soft peaks. If they do, you have stirred too much and should immediately turn off the stand mixer and transfer the marshmallows to the prepared pan.)
7. Using a spatula, scrape the marshmallow mixture into the prepared bakind dish. Spread evenly with the spatula.
8. Let the marshmallows sit out at room temperature for at least 4 hours before slicing and storing.
9. Cut the marshmallows to your liking. (We love using shaped cookie cutters to make them extra-fun!) Store in an airtight glass container in the refrigerator.

Do Homemade Marshmallows Melt in Hot Chocolate?

These marshmallows melt fantastically in your favorite cup of hot cocoa! In fact, the bubbly foam that they create is one of my all-time favorite features.

If you don’t have a go-to hot chocolate recipe, then I recommend trying our family’s favorite from-scratch hot chocolate: The Creamiest Coconut Milk Hot Chocolate Recipe. (To make it a bit healthier, just substitute honey or maple syrup for the white sugar.)

Do Homemade Marshmallows Melt at Room Temperature?

No. At least, this recipe for homemade honey marshmallows does not. However, while we have stored these marshmallows on the countertop before, I do not recommend storing them outside of the refrigerator unless you will consume them within a few days after making them, as they will grow mold.

Can You Put Homemade Marshmallows in the Fridge?

It depends largely on the recipe and ingredients of the homemade marshmallows. For this recipe, yes! You should, in fact. These marshmallows do not have the high sugar content of so many other homemade marshmallow recipes, and so they will grow mold if left out at room temperature for longer than three or four days. Unless you eat up all your marshmallows in record-breaking time, keep them in an airtight glass container in the refrigerator.

Other High-Protein Recipes To Enjoy

Add more protein to your day with these yummy homemade protein snacks:

• Protein Peanut Butter Dip for Apples (No Cream Cheese)
• Healthy Double Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies (High Protein)
• Healthy High-Protein Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Yogurt
• Healthy Chocolate Brownie Muffins (Almond Flour, High Protein)

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