Grape Soda Vanilla Lavender Gummy Bears With Home-Canned Grape Juice

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One of my favorite things about homesteading is finding new ways to use what we've already grown and preserved.

Sometimes that means opening a jar from the pantry and serving it exactly as I intended when I canned it. Other times, it means looking at something I've preserved and wondering, What else can I make with this?

That's exactly how these Grape Soda Vanilla Lavender Infused Gummy Bears came about.

Instead of using water to make the gummies, I used homemade sugar-free grape juice that I canned from grapes we grew. Then I added another layer of flavor by infusing culinary lavender flowers and vanilla beans into MCT oil with my LĒVO II+.

The result was a fun little gummy with grape soda flavor, floral lavender notes and a touch of vanilla - and they were almost a little too easy to eat!

Making Homemade Grape Gummies

Watch my short video about making grape gummies with grape juice and MCT oil. The recipe below provides the full vanilla-lavender version and its measurements.

Why I Used Homemade Grape Juice

Using my own canned grape juice was probably my favorite part of this recipe.

Preserving food isn't just about putting jars on the pantry shelf. For me, it's about creating ingredients I can use later.

I had already done the work of growing the grapes, harvesting them and turning them into juice. Making gummies gave me another way to use that harvest months later.

I used 6 tablespoons of homemade sugar-free grape juice in place of the water when preparing the gummy mixture.

If you don't have home-canned grape juice, you could experiment with another grape juice you enjoy. Keep in mind that changing ingredients can affect the final texture, sweetness and flavor of homemade gummies.

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Making Vanilla Lavender Infused MCT Oil

This short video shows my vanilla lavender MCT oil infusion using the LEVO II. It provides a closer look at an infused ingredient used in the gummy-making process.

How I Made the Gummies

First, I infused the vanilla beans and culinary lavender into the MCT oil in my LĒVO II+ at 170°F for two hours.

Once the infusion was finished, I measured out 4 tablespoons of the infused MCT oil for the gummy recipe.

Next, I combined the infused oil, 6 tablespoons of my homemade grape juice and the packet of LĒVO Grape Soda Gummy Mix in the LĒVO Gummy Mixer.

This is one of the reasons I enjoy using the Gummy Mixer. It takes care of the heating and stirring, so I don't have to stand over the stove trying to keep the mixture smooth while watching the temperature.

Once the gummy mixture was ready, I poured it into gummy bear molds and allowed the gummies to cool and set.

Then came the fun part: popping those little grape gummy bears out of the molds.

And, of course, tasting them.

A Funny Thing Happened When I Ate Them

These gummies made me really sleepy.

I should emphasize the me part of that sentence.

Other people tried them and didn't have the same reaction, so I can't say the gummies will make someone sleepy or that the lavender was necessarily responsible for what I experienced.

It's also entirely possible that my problem was much simpler:

They tasted good, and I may have eaten too many.

Either way, I noticed I became very sleepy after eating them, so now I know how I respond to this particular combination.

That's one of the reasons I like documenting my experiments. Not every person experiences foods and herbs exactly the same way.

These gummies contain no THC, CBD or cannabis ingredients. The infused oil in this recipe is simply MCT oil infused with culinary lavender and vanilla.

A Different Way To Use The Homestead Harvest

This recipe is a good example of why I love experimenting in the kitchen.

A jar of grape juice doesn't have to remain just grape juice.

Something I grew and preserved became the base for homemade gummy bears. Then lavender, vanilla and a little modern kitchen technology turned it into something completely different.

That combination of old-fashioned food preservation and newer tools is very much how I approach homesteading. I don't think we have to choose between traditional skills and modern conveniences.

If a tool makes it easier for me to use what I've grown, preserved or already have on hand, I'm interested.

And these little grape bears were definitely an experiment worth making again.

Before You Make Them

Culinary herbs and foods can affect individuals differently. This recipe is shared as a food recipe and a description of my personal experience, not as medical advice or as a treatment for sleep or any other condition.

If you are pregnant or nursing, take medication, have a medical condition, have allergies or sensitivities, or have questions about consuming culinary herbs, talk with an appropriate healthcare professional before trying herbal preparations.

And perhaps learn from my experience and don't start by eating a whole handful just because they're delicious.

Frequently Asked Questions About Grape Vanilla Lavender Gummy Bears

Can I use grape juice instead of water to make gummy bears?

Yes. For this recipe, I used 6 tablespoons of my homemade sugar-free grape juice in place of the water. The grape juice was made from grapes we grew and then canned for later use. Using grape juice adds another layer of grape flavor and is a fun way to use home-preserved juice in something other than a beverage.

Do I have to use homemade grape juice?

No. I used homemade grape juice because I already had it preserved from our grape harvest, but you can experiment with a commercially prepared grape juice as well. Keep in mind that differences in sugar content and other ingredients may affect the sweetness, flavor or texture of the finished gummies.

What kind of lavender should I use for gummies?

Use culinary-grade lavender intended for consumption. Don't use lavender from a florist, craft store or ornamental plant unless you know it was grown and handled for culinary use. I used 3 tablespoons of culinary lavender to make the infused MCT oil for this recipe.

Why is there vanilla in the lavender infusion?

Vanilla softens and complements the floral flavor of the lavender while working nicely with the grape flavor. I infused 2 vanilla beans and 3 tablespoons of culinary lavender into 8 tablespoons of MCT oil in my LĒVO II+ at 170°F for two hours.

Do I use all 8 tablespoons of infused MCT oil in the gummies?

No. The 8 tablespoons of MCT oil are used to make the infusion. For one batch of these gummies, I used 4 tablespoons of the finished vanilla-lavender infused oil.

Do I need a LĒVO II+ and Gummy Mixer to make this recipe?

Those are the tools I used and the method this particular recipe documents. I made the vanilla-lavender MCT oil in my LĒVO II+ and used the LĒVO Gummy Mixer to heat and stir the gummy mixture. Other methods of making infused oil and homemade gummies exist, but I haven't tested this exact recipe using those methods, so I can't promise identical results.

Do these grape gummies contain THC, CBD or cannabis?

No. These gummies do not contain THC, CBD or cannabis. The infused MCT oil in my recipe contains culinary lavender and vanilla beans. "Infused" simply refers to infusing those ingredients into the MCT oil.

Will lavender gummy bears make you sleepy?

I can't say that these gummies will make someone sleepy. They made me surprisingly sleepy, but other people who ate the same batch did not have that reaction. I also enjoyed them enough that I may have eaten more than I should have! Individual responses to foods and culinary herbs can vary, so my experience shouldn't be interpreted as a claim that these gummies are a sleep aid.

How should I store homemade gummy bears?

Follow the storage recommendations provided with the gummy mix you use. Because homemade gummies can contain different liquids, oils and other ingredients, their storage requirements and shelf life can vary. I would not assume that gummies made with home-canned grape juice are shelf stable simply because the juice was shelf stable before opening.

Can I make these gummies with another flavor of juice?

Possibly, and that's one of the experiments I'd be tempted to try next. Changing the juice could change the flavor, sweetness and texture, though, so I would treat variations as a new test batch rather than assuming they'll behave exactly like the grape version.

Why use home-canned grape juice for gummies?

For me, that's really the point of the recipe. Homesteading isn't just about preserving the harvest - it's about using what we've preserved. Turning a jar of grape juice from our own harvest into vanilla-lavender grape gummy bears gave me one more way to enjoy something we had already grown and put away for later.