Looking for more homemade candy recipes? Try Turkish delight, peanut brittle, and almond roca. Candied grapes (also known as Jolly Rancher grapes and Jello grapes) are similar to my tanghulu recipe (candied fruit). Green grapes are coated in lemon juice and then tossed in granulated sugar. After a quick trip in the freezer, the tart, sugary fruit is ready to enjoy! Every bite is sweet, sour, and tart and will remind you of Jolly Ranchers or a sour hard candy.
Why I love this recipe
Quick and easy kid-friendly snack. This is the kind of snack you can feel good about snacking on. Only 3 ingredients. All you need are green grapes, granulated sugar, and lemon juice to make this easy recipe. Fun to play with! Have fun with this recipe by swapping the grapes for another fruit you love or add extra flavor with Jello packets. Head to the Flavor Variations section for even more ideas.
Ingredients needed
Green grapes. These are my favorite grapes, but you can use red grapes or cotton candy grapes if that’s what you already have on hand. Remember: choose seedless grapes. Sugar. Extra fine granulated sugar is best here. You can also use a granulated sugar substitute, like allulose. Lemon juice. To help the sugar stick to the grapes. The acidity and tartness in lemon juice also help balance the sweetness of the sugared grapes.
How to make candy grapes
I’ve included step-by-step photos below to make this recipe easy to follow at home. For the full printable recipe instructions and ingredient quantities, scroll to the recipe card at the bottom of this post. Step 1 – Coat the grapes. Once the grapes are cleaned and stems removed, add them to a bowl along with the lemon juice. Toss to coat. Step 2 – Add the sugar. Pour the sugar onto a plate. Roll each grape in the sugar until coated on all sides. Transfer to a parchment-lined plate. Step 3 – Freeze. Put the plate in the freezer for at least 1 hour or until the sugar-coated grapes are frozen solid.
Recipe tips and variations
The best way to clean grapes and remove the natural waxy coating is to wash them with a 3:1 mix of water and white vinegar. Rinse with water, then pat dry with paper towels to remove all moisture. For less mess, use toothpicks to coat the grapes in the sugar mixture. Feel free to swap the lemon juice for lime juice. For sugar free grapes, coat the grapes in allulose or a brown sugar substitute instead of white sugar. Try other flavors by rolling the grapes in fun jello flavors, kool-aid, or any flavored sugar mixture.
Storage instructions
To store. Keep candy grapes in an airtight container in the fridge for 2-3 days. To freeze. Store the sugared grapes in the freezer in freezer-safe bags for up to 3. months. Any longer, and the candy coating hardens.
More simple snacks to try
Fruit leather Candied cashews Candied almonds
Originally published April 2023, updated and republished March 2024
