Vegan Marshmallow Recipe (2024)

Growing up marshmallows were one of the joys of childhood, but going vegan meant that marshmallows had gelatin and therefore weren’t something we’d want to eat. Now you can make your own vegan marshmallow recipe right at home.

Now, we know there are vegan marshmallow companies. Most notably Dandies.

There are even store brands like Trader Joe’s that do not contain gelatin.

But at the end of the day, you can still only get regular and mini sized vegan marshmallows. There’s no jumbo marshmallows on the market. Rarely any colorful ones even. And you can’t control the ingredients inside!

So today, we’re going to tell you how you can do it all at home with just 10 ingredients.

Oh and you can totally toast these!

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What’s the difference between regular marshmallows and vegan marshmallows?

If you’ve never really analyzed marshmallow ingredients or thought about what’s in your food, you may not even know that regular marshmallows contain gelatin which is a form of boiled down pork bones, fats, and more. This substance is used to make the texture of marshmallows.

Vegans don’t consume any animal products, so that means they have to use something besides gelatin to make marshmallows. Today, we’ll be using agar agar which is a seaweed substance to make our vegan marshmallow. Don’t worry, your marshmallows won’t taste like they are from the ocean, it doesn’t have a taste.

VEGAN MARSHMALLOWS INGREDIENTS:

Below are notes about the main ingredients before we get into the full recipe located lower in this post on how to make this easy vegan marshmallow recipe:

• powdered sugar and cornstarch – These two things are mixed together and not only add sweetness, but it’s going to act together to make sure that our marshmallows don’t stick and can easily come out of our pan.
• aquafaba – This is the juice from a can of chickpeas. You can get this from boiling your own dried chickpeas, but the results aren’t as consistent as using it from a can. This is acting as our egg whites for this recipe.
• cream of tartar – Used to help stabilize the aquafaba in order to get those stiff peaks that you get when whipping
• agar agar – since we are vegan and don’t use gelatin, agar agar is being used to replace that to get the thickened bounce feeling to our vegan marshmallows
• vegan cane sugar and corn syrup – marshmallows are sweet and therefore we need sugar. We are using two different forms of sugar to create a balance and a better texture
• salt – salt is used to bring out flavor, but just a pinch is needed
• vanilla – vanilla is the neutral tasting extract of choice in most marshmallows.

SUBSTITUTIONS AND VARIATIONS:

• cornstarch – sub with arrowroot powder, tapioca starch or potato starch if needed
• sugar – the corn syrup can be replaced with all vegan cane sugar and vice versa. The corn syrup could also be replaced with date syrup, maple syrup, or agave.
• vanilla – see below for flavor ideas

Beyond these substitutions, we do not recommend replacing or swapping any other ingredients.

What vegan marshmallow flavors can I make?

The possibilities are endless and really left up to your creativity and what extracts you can get your hands on. In order to make different flavors you are going to add or substitute the vanilla extract for another extract that you buy.

Some fun flavors would be:

• mint (peppermint extract)
• maple
• cake batter
• pumpkin
• root beet float
• orange
• strawberry
• raspberry
• banana
• and more!

Can I color/dye vegan marshmallows?

Yes! You would just need 1-3 drops and add it into the aquafaba when blending.

Can I make different sized vegan marshmallows?

You can. If you want marshmallows that aren’t as thick, we recommend that you place them into two separate 8×8 pans and divide the batter evenly. You have to work quickly with this recipe so keep that in mind.

You could theoretically also divide this into different silicone molds to make different shapes also but just be mindful of the time.

Frequently Asked Questions for making Vegan Marshmallows:

What other vegan summer dessert ideas could I make?

We love summer desserts, but don’t like how hot our kitchen gets. Try these fun recipes that are no bake or can be made on the grill.

• Skillet recipes: Vegan Strawberry Cornbread Cake or Vegan Chocolate Chip Skillet Cookie
• No Bake Vegan Chocolate Cheesecake
• No Bake Vegan Brownies
• Easy No Bake Chocolate Fudge
• No Bake Vegan Smores Bars with Dark Chocolate Mousse

Speaking of smores, if you want to make smores with this vegan marshmallow recipe, you may also want our vegan graham crackers recipe.

Pin these vegan marshmallows for later!