This homemade candied ginger is incredibly sweet and spicy, it’s SO GOOD! It’s also sugar-free, keto, low-carb, paleo, and vegan.
Are your taste buds ready for a flavor explosion?!
Ginger and I have had our ups and downs. It’s fantastic as an ingredient in desserts, Asian cuisine and for soothing a sore stomach, but I’ve never been the hugest fan of it by itself.
However, when I had candied ginger for the first time, all that changed because there is something so magical about the combination of sweet and spicy. Plus after boiling the ginger, it mellows out quite a bit, making it much more palatable.
So if you’re anything like me, you will totally love the combination of sweet and spicy, and will be snacking on these as a treat, or adding them to other dessert recipes for a delicious burst of flavor!
Speaking of adding them to other desserts, I have a super tasty surprise coming in a few weeks that involves this recipe and another dessert item. Any guesses? 🙂
Gimme, gimme!
To make this super-tasty candied ginger, you will want to start by peeling and thinly slicing (as thin as possible is best!) the ginger. I sliced mine by hand, but a mandoline slicer can be super helpful to get them nice and uniform.
I did notice that some of the thicker slices did not cook as thoroughly, so uniformity is really important here.
Toss the sliced ginger into a pot of water and boil until it softens to your liking. It might take awhile, depending on the thickness of the pieces. Once it is cooked to your liking, drain almost all the water, leaving just a little bit left at the bottom (about 1/4 cup).
To a pan over medium heat, add the leftover water, the ginger, and the sweetener. Cook until the water boils off, forming a syrup on the ginger.
Lay the ginger out onto a cookie drying rack to cool. Lay paper towels or parchment paper underneath and sprinkle with additional sweetener, if desired. Allow to dry fully before putting in an air-tight container. These store up to a week at room temperature.
FAQ
Not sweet enough!
Add more sugar until they are sweetened to your liking. I based the recipe off of what I like, which is usually a bit less sweet than the average person used to the Standard American Diet.
My ginger is not softening enough as I boil it.
Let it keep boiling. You might need to add more water to your pot if it takes awhile. It can take longer to cook, if your ginger is harder and more fibrous.
What sorts of recipes can I use candied ginger in?
Candied ginger can be used in any sort of sweet recipe that calls for regular ginger, or even any savory recipes when you want a touch of extra sweetness. I’ve used it in Asian-inspired dishes such as this spring roll pasta (not keto, but can be made with keto noodles) and it turned out wonderfully.
If you are looking for a delectable dessert recipe, these delicious candied ginger snap cookies are HEAVENLY!
If you give this candied ginger a try, please let me know what you think in the comments below. Also be sure to follow me on Facebook and Pinterest so you don’t miss a recipe!
You will also love these other recipes:
Free meal plan you will love:
Homemade Candied Ginger (Sugar-Free, Keto)
Ingredients
- 2 medium knobs of fresh ginger approximately 1 inch in diameter, 3 inches in length each, or 1.5 ounces of ginger total
- 6 cups water (1.4 liters)
- 1/3 cup granulated sweetener of choice I recommend a stevia/erythritol blend (64 g)
Instructions
- Peel skin off knobs of ginger, then slice into very thin slices, approximately 1/8" thick (0.3 cm).
- Add slices of ginger to a pot with water. Bring to a boil and boil until ginger is soft (approximately 30 minutes).
- Drain all the water except for 1/4 cup. Add ginger, remaining water and sweetener to a pan, and turn to medium heat. Simmer until all water is absorbed.
- Remove from heat and place ginger onto a cookie rack or sheet to dry. Sprinkle with additional sweetener, if desired. Once fully dry, move candied ginger to an air-tight container. Store at room temperature for up to a week.
- NOTE: If your house is humid, the ginger may not dry completely. If this happens, I recommend putting in a dehydrator, or an oven at a low temperature until fully dried.
42 comments
I regularly boil ginger for ginger tea. I normally end up throwing the ginger away after it boils. Great use for the leftover ginger. I also love candied ginger and don’t know why I haven’t thought of this before.
What a great idea, Latisha! I love how you get two uses out of the ginger. I had just thrown out the water after I boiled the ginger in water. That was so silly. I will definitely have to drink the leftover water next time 🙂
Definitely a huge health benefit! Mix that leftover water with water, Braggs ACV and sweetener….great for sooooo many things! Trying this recipe tonight, thank you!
LOVE that tip Sherry, thank you so much for the suggestion!! I hope you love the recipe!
I have just found your recipe for crystalised ginger using stevia. I am so excited and will try it very soon. Also like the idea of drinking the ginger water. Am looking forward to getting your emails Deanna. I love healthy delicious low sugar food. And I have discovered this 🙂
Thank you so much, Jeanette! Your comment brightened my day!
Absolutely loved this! I bought some candied ginger in the store and quickly got addicted to eating a few pieces a day – it was gone in no time. Wanted to make my own, but without the sugar. Your recipe was perfect! (Although I adapted the ratio and made a much larger batch. 🙂 Thank you!
I’m so happy to hear that, Mary! Thank you!
I made this and loved the taste, but am at a loss as to approximately how long I should let them dry. After a day, they still felt sticky, so I ended up putting them in the oven at the lowest baking temp. That didn’t go well; they tasted better sticky! How long do YOU leave them to dry before putting them in a container? These are a great and healthy treat!
Hi Dawn, I let mine sit out on a paper towel for several hours (around 2) before putting them in the fridge. But if you live where it is humid, they might not dry out properly, so the oven is a great idea. Hope that helps!
Hey Dawn, you said the oven didn’t go well, if your oven has a keep warm setting it’s possible that will heat to a lower temperature then the lowest setting (mine does) which is annoying you can’t just set it, but worth checking out at least. Another option is to turn the oven off and on a few times, like let it get to say 110 then turn it off let it cool for 15-20 minutes then turn it back on to keep it closer to dehydrator temperatures, depending on how much work you want to put it
Thanks for the tip, that’s a great suggestion!
It helps a lot; thanks so much!
You’re welcome! Enjoy 🙂
I have a dehydrator- think I’ll give it a try!
That’s a great idea, let me know how it turns out!
When I have purchased candied ginger (made with sugar), it lasts a very long time, months, at room temp. You say these only last a week at room temperature. Can I put them in the refrigerator and expect them to last longer or will the cold change the taste or texture, do you know? I want to make a batch so I don’t have to keep doing it on a weekly basis as I am a ginger lover!
Hi Karen. The reason I recommend keeping them only a week at room temperature is because if they are not fully dehydrated, they could begin to grow mold. If you make sure that you get all the moisture out, they’ll last a lot longer at room temperature. I would recommend cooking at a low temperature in the oven for a few hours, or using a dehydrator. Alternatively, you could put them in the refrigerator, and they stay fresh for a lot longer. The cold shouldn’t change the taste, but the texture can be altered a bit, again because of a little moisture left in the ginger. I don’t think it significantly impacts them though, but it depends how picky you are. Hope that helps!
I dried my ginger overnite on the table but when I add in some sugar it melt and sticky.
Please let me know how to avoid sugar melt\\Thanks
Hi Betty. You may need to also put the ginger in a dehydrator or in the oven to ensure it is really dry. If your house is humid, they may not dry correctly. Hope that helps.
Id like to give this a try, but I Am curious if I can substitute honey for the granulated sugar? Or will that just be a sticky mess?
Hi Denae. Unfortunately I haven’t tried that. My first thought is that it would be really sticky. You might be able to put them in a dehydrator afterwards, but I’m not sure how it would work.
Two knobs of ginger? How much is that? Any possibility you could give us weight either in ounces or grams?
Hi Diana, thanks for asking, my language was a bit vague. For this recipe, I used approximately two, 3-inch long pieces of ginger. This should equal roughly 1.5 ounces of ginger. I will add this info to the recipe card.
Your recipe states 6 cups of water, is this divided between the two cooking times? If so how much for each time?
Hi Peggy. You use all 6 cups for boiling the ginger (step 2 of the instructions). Then you want to pour all of the water out, except for 1/4 cup, which you will use for the next step (step 3 of instructions). In this step, you will add the 1/4 cup water to a pan with the ginger and sweetener. I hope that clarifies the confusion.
This will be a new staple recipe! I consume a lot of ginger to aid digestion, and this is such a great recipe! Plus the water used to boil the ginger can be used as ginger tea! So yummy and easy! Thanks
Hi Julia, I’m so glad you enjoyed the recipe! The water as ginger tea is a fantastic idea!
Can I use sweet drops stevia?
Hi Cathy, I’m not sure how that would turn out. In theory, it should work, but because the drops are much smaller than the granulated sweetener, it might not coat the ginger well. It’s worth a shot if that is the only sweetener you have!
We tried your recipe but the end result came out for hard and SPICY! Is there a way to keep the ginger softer?
Hi Steve, you need to boil the ginger longer. It will eventually get really soft and the flavor will mellow out. It can sometimes take a long time, depending on how fresh the ginger is. Hope that helps!
Are the carbs really 11 grams?
Hi, this would be the total carb count. If you use a low carb sweetener, you can deduct those carbs from the total, since they are sugar alcohols. The net carb count is 2 g. Hope that helps!
Just a tidbit of information. Another reason to love ginger! https://europepmc.org/article/PMC/PMC7828532
Thanks Sher!
I’m so glad I found this! I want to try it. I am pregnant and continuing keto for health reasons, so I was looking for alternatives to sugary ginger candy! And I’ll get some ginger tea in the process! Thanks!
Thanks so much, I hope you enjoy them and have a healthy pregnancy <3
Is there any way of canning? I’m like the other person I want to be able to make alot to have on hand.
Hi Gay, thanks for asking. I am not sure how this could be canned safely, since it is not an approved canning recipe. I would recommend freezing it on a tray and then transferring to a baggie and storing in the freezer, that way you can pull out however much you want at one time, and it won’t all stick together.
Hi! I was wondering if the sweetener amount could be reduced at all? Thank you!
Hi Angela, yes you should be fine doing that!