Jelly bean

A small, bean-shaped candy with a soft, chewy center and a thin, hard sugar shell, sold in many colors and flavors.

Jelly bean: A colorful pile of glossy bean-shaped jelly beans in red, orange, yellow, green, purple, pink and white
  • Chocolate, sugar and confectionery
  • United States

Jelly beans are made in two stages. First a cooked mixture of sugar, corn syrup and starch is deposited into bean-shaped hollows pressed into trays of cornstarch, where the centers set into chewy gels. The centers are then tumbled in rotating pans while sugar syrup and flavoring are added in layers, a process called panning, which builds the outer shell before a final glaze adds shine.

The whole process takes several days. Jelly beans are a long-standing American candy, closely tied to Easter baskets and spring, and today they come in a huge range of fruit, spice and novelty flavors.

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Written by VanillaGoods in our own words from these sources. Last reviewed October 15, 2026.

  1. Trend Watch: Jelly Beans, National Confectioners Association (Candy & Snack Today)