Homemade Marshmallows (2024)

Published: October 1, 2019 | Updated: February 2, 2020 | By Ashlee

Light, fluffy, and fresh, nothing is easier or more delicious than making your own marshmallows. Perfect for Homemade S’mores or my worlds best Hot Chocolate.

How I created this Marshmallow Recipe

I’m just a little in love with marshmallows – They are good with pretty much everything…. S’mores, Hot chocolate, Cake, Donuts, ice cream and of course by themselves.

I honestly can’t think of much I WOULDN’T enjoy with marshmallows. And HOMEMADE marshmallows are EASY and OH so good!

Like SERIOUSLY so good! I barely had enough left for pictures after my family got to them… I probably make a batch ever week in the fall and winter to go with my Homemade Hot Chocolate. And in the summer for S’mores.

I use this same recipe to make my homemade peeps in the spring – but I let it cool slightly until it’s pipe-able and then pipe the peep shape. You can just pour it into a 9×13 pan like this recipe and simply use cookie cutters.

SOOOO in addition to using marshmallows as frosting sometimes, I also love to flavor my marshmallows. OR add stuff to them, likemy caramel marshmallows (aka homemade Scotchmallows). WHAT would be your go-to marshmallow flavor?

Just take me to the Marshmallow Recipe already!

If you’d rather skip my tips and tricks for homemade marshmallow, along with links to other marshmallow recipes and get straight to this delicious homemade marshmallow recipe – simply scroll to the bottom of the page where you can find the printable recipe card.

Tips to Make the Perfect Marshmallows

I recommend using a non stick pot, or caramel pot. I’ve had lots of burnt sugar when I’ve used stainless steel – it can work you just have to really watch it.

Don’t cook at too high of a heat – I stick to medium for melting the sugar and cooking the marshmallows – as long as it has a nice slow boil your good.

A high boil will actually heat the sugar syrup too much and it will start to caramelize and get dark instead of staying nice and light.

A lot of recipes out there call for you to heat the syrup to 240 degrees (soft ball stage) but I found it was overcooked for me and the marshmallows struggled to whip up nice and light – so I go for 230 degrees, which is thread stage. It can go up to 234 but that’s the sweet spot for me.

Don’t wait too long to beat the marshmallows. I pour the sugar syrup into my mixer right away – I’ve experimented with beating the sugar hot, waiting 5 mins and waiting until it cools almost entirely.

I found that right away or waiting 5 mins has lead to the best results. Letting the syrup cool too much ended up with dense blocks of “marshmallows” instead of light fluffy ones.

You want the heat to escape but you don’t want hot sugar flung all over your kitchen so only partially covering your mixer is an option – or covering it with a paper towel so the steam can still escape works great too..

If you add the extracts/vanilla right away the heat from the syrup will actually evaporate so I wait until it’s been beating for a few mins and has cooled down a little before adding the vanilla.

Once the sound in your beater changes it’s usually time – the marshmallows will be fluffy white and ribbony but still quite fluid. You don’t want them to be totally liquid but you don’t want them to be too stiff – over beating causes dense marshmallows.

You can simply wet the pan before adding the marshmallow or use a non stick spray. To keep the top from drying and getting crusty I use my dusting wand to sprinkle some of the cornstarch/powdered sugar across the top.

When cutting the marshmallows I recommend spraying the knife with non stick spray – This will keep the marshmallows from sticking to the knife and making a mess.

Then you can either toss the marshmallows in the cornstarch/powered sugar mixer by shaking them in a bag of the stuff – or continue sprinkling the mixture on the raw cut sides.

To make these Marshmallows you’ll need

• Gelatin powder
• candy thermometer
• Mixer, hand or stand – I use my bosch
• 9×13 pan
• non stick spray
• cornstarch/powdered sugar mixture
• Dusting wand

From Scratch Marshmallows

If you love these easy marshmallows as much as I do, I’d love a 5 star review. Be sure to share on social media and tag me if you make it @ashleemariecakes! If you want to stay updated on new recipes sign up for my newsletter and join my Facebook Group!

If you love Marshmallows you’ll love these other from scratch recipes!

English Toffee | Perfect Cheesecake | Brown Butter Madeleines

Homemade Eggnog | Liege Waffles | Hot Chocolate

Connect with Ashlee Marie Online!

To watch me make these from scratch Marshmallows play the full live cooking video in the recipe card. There should also be a short teaser video auto playing for you.

You can find all my cooking show style recipe videos on YouTube, or my short recipe videos on Facebook Watch, or my Facebook Page, or right here on our website with their corresponding recipes.