Easy, Healthy Homemade ‘Starburst’ (Paleo, Vegan, No Refined Sugar)
You guys!! These homemade starburst are SO GOOD, and SO EASY. Mix together a few simple ingredients & pour into silicone molds to set! That’s IT!! No cooking involved.
And ZERO junky stuff! No food coloring, corn syrup, chemical fillers, refined oils or refined SUGAR! Just the chewy sweet fruit flavored deliciousness you love! But now so much healthier!
THE PINKS
Pink Starbursts have always been my absolute FAVORITE! The amazing strawberry flavor (and pretty color!) PINKS ARE THE BEST.
So how do you replicate these amazing little treats?!!?
The flavor and color come from FREEZE DRIED Strawberries!! It’s simply fruit that has the moisture removed and what’s left is CRISPY light slices of strawberries (not chewy and shrunken like dehydrated fruit).
Simply blend the freeze dried fruit in a small blender (I used my single cup Ninja blender) for about 5-10 seconds until a fine powder forms. Add the powder to your base and it turns this gorgeous shade of pink and adds incredible strawberry flavor. SO DELISH! Like OMG good.
I get my freeze dried strawberries at ALDI. One bag is only $2.99. Woohoo! Just try not to eat the whole bag before you get them in the blender. They are amazing on their own!
{ps – if you’re looking for more recipes using freeze dried fruit, check out my Mini Strawberry Cheesecakes, Raspberry Lemonade Pie, and Bluberry Whipped Cream.}
What are these made with?!
The magic ingredient is… COCONUT BUTTER! Have you tried it?! It’s so yummy!
If you’re not familiar with it, you might be wondering… What is coconut butter?! What is it for? How do you make it?
- Just pureed coconut shreds! Surprisingly, it does NOT taste like coconut. It has a neutral/semi sweet flavor– sorta like shortbread.
- PERFECT for frosting (like on these cookies, and this fruit pizza), or to slather on toast. And to make this CANDY!
- Super easy to make yourself in a food processor. Just throw in 2 cups of shreds and blend for 10-15 minutes.
- Homemade is much less expensive than store bought, but you can definitely use store bought to skip a step!
4 FLAVORS OF CANDY
You can add different fruits to make different flavors! I have included instructions to make LEMON, ORANGE, STRAWBERRY and RASPBERRY.
One batch of coconut butter (2/3 cup) makes 2 flavors, and about 14 delicious Starburst candies.
Oh and these are GIANT Starburst, haha! The silicone mold I have is at least 1 Tbs for each, so you get BIG candy. And bigger is definitely better! 😉
If you don’t have a silicone mold, you can pour the mixture into a small dish lined with parchment and freeze it into one slab, then cut it up into little pieces. That might make it look more like “real” starburst” too!
ENJOY! And if you make these, I’d love to hear what you think! Drop a comment or tag me on Instagram @emily.likes.food #prettypies
Click below to save this recipe on Pinterest:
Easy, Healthy, Homemade Starburst
Ingredients
Strawberry "Starburst" Candy
- 1/3 cup coconut butter
- 2 Tbs freeze dried strawberry powder
- 2 Tbs coconut oil
- 1 Tbs water
- 1 Tbs maple syrup
- Dash of salt
Orange "Starburst" Candy
- 1/3 cup coconut butter
- 2 Tbs mandarin orange slices - (I used 5 mini slices)
- 1 1/2 Tbs coconut oil
- 1 Tbs maple syrup
- 1 tsp orange zest (from 1 mandarin)
- a few drops orange essential oil - (optional, for more flavor)
- Pinch of turmeric - (optional, for color)
- Dash of salt
Instructions
To make Pink (Strawberry) Starburst:
- {Make coconut butter in a food processor and reserve half for another flavor (see notes), or use store-bought} Blend freeze dried strawberries in a small blender for 10 seconds to make strawberry powder.
- Melt together all ingredients and mix well (I just threw everything a food processor)
- Pour into silicone molds (makes about 7 large candies). Stir each well to release bubbles.
- Freeze for 20 minutes to set.
- Enjoy!
To make Orange Starburst:
- Blend all ingredients in a food processor until smooth.
- Taste and adjust for orange flavor and sweetness.
- Pour into silicone molds. (makes about 7 large candies) Stir each well to release bubbles.
- Freeze for 20 minutes to set.
- Enjoy! (See notes for lemon and raspberry recipes!)
Notes
13 Comments
Lani
these look amazing. A question about the orange. When you say mandarin slices do you mean freeze dried or fresh?
I tried the strawberry flavor a few min ago. It wasn’t pourable. Was thick like a spread and seemed to split a bit. I’m hoping it doesn’t affect the final product. Any ideas y it would separate?
Emily
Yes, fresh mandarins 🙂
If it’s thick, it might just be cold (since coconut butter and coconut oil harden below 76 degrees) You can melt it down to make it easier to mix. But it should be fine. Let me know how they turn out 🙂
CMoore
Just wanted to alert you that Pinterest is blocking your recipe because it “may lead to inappropriate content”.
Guess I’ll save it to Paprika for now instead.
Emily
Oh no!! 🙁 thank you for letting me know! I will try to get it fixed
Nathalie Roy
Using the strawberry recipe for a healthy eating gym project! thank yoU!!
Emily
Awesome!! You are welcome
Brent
Would dehydrated fruit powder work for this recipe? I am wanting to try to make a huckleberry flavored starburst.
Jennifer
For orange, do you think canned mandarin oranges would work? I get the kind without added sugar.
Emily
Yes that should work great
April
Does this melt above 76 degrees?
Emily
Yes it does melt. Maybe not exactly 76, but when it gets warm. Coconut butter has a slightly higher melting point.
Scott Diamond
Emily thanks for the recipe. I’m excited to make, but I have a question…how long will these keep and still be good?
Emily
Mine have stayed perfectly fresh for the past 5 days in a glass container on my counter 🙂 I would say they keep at least a week.
You can refrigerate them for longer, maybe 2 weeks (but they will need to thaw a few minutes since the coconut oil hardens them a little).
Or you can always freeze them in an airtight container for a few months. (But I don’t think you’ll have any leftovers, haha!)
Hope you enjoy! 🙂