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If you’re hosting a summer barbeque or throwing a party, then serving a dish of vodka gummy bears will definitely get your guests excited. In our house, these boozy bears are a crowd favourite and we get requests to bring some along when we’re invited to our friends’ parties as well.
While these vodka gummy bears aren’t budget friendly, you can adapt the ingredients to fit your budget, as well as making them diabetic-friendly or vegetarian. We’ll go into dietary alternatives below.
You’ll have to prepare these vodka bears about a week in advance, as you’ll need to give them time to absorb all the liquid and turn soft throughout.
Shopping list (with prices)
- Two 175g share bags of Haribo Goldbears – £1.25 each from Tesco (£2.50 total)
- Glens Vodka 70cl – £15 from Tesco
Sugar-free and vegan alternatives
As Haribo Goldbears contain gelatin, they’re not vegetarian or vegan friendly. You can get gelatin-free Jealous Sweets Grizzly Bears on Amazon for £2 for 125g, or you can get a 200g bag of vegan gummy bears from The Gourmet Sweet Company Store for £5.95.
For diabetics, you can get 200g of sugar free gummy bears (these all also gluten-free) for £2.99 on Amazon, or 280g (four packs of 70g) of sugar-, gelatin, and gluten-free gummy bears for £8.99.
Making these vodka gummy bears to suit your dietary requirements will make them more expensive, so be sure to include that in your party food budget.
You can adjust the proportions in this recipe to make as many or as few vodka gummy bears as you like, it’s a ratio of 1:1. One 175g bag of gummy bears will require 175ml of vodka, two bags (as above) will require 350ml of vodka.
How to make vodka gummy bears
Step 1
Empty both bags of gummy bears into a tupperware container (or any dish with a lid), pour in enough vodka to make the bears swim, then put the lid on, and place the container in the fridge.
Step 2
The next day give the gummy bears a shake and put them back in the fridge.
Step 3
On day three, add some more vodka to the bears, put the lid back on and give them a shake, then put them back in the fridge.
Step 4
Day four: shake the bears and put them back in the fridge.
Step 5
Day five: If the gummy bears are sticking together, then add a splash of vodka before giving them a shake and putting them in the fridge.
Step 6
By day six, try a bear. By now, they should’ve grown in size and be soft all of the way through. Give your vodka bears one last shake and put them back in the fridge.
Step 7
Party day! Decant your vodka bears into a nice serving dish and pass them around to your guests. Just remember: these sweets are no longer kid friendly. Keep their mitts out.
