In this study, hydrogels with fast swelling and high absorbent properties were prepared using biopolymers approved as a food additive and their swelling properties were characterized. To improve the swelling properties of conventional hydrogels, we formed gas bubbles using a foaming agent in the process of preparing hydrogels and characterized in terms of equilibrium swelling ratio, swelling kinetics and cytotoxicity. In particular, alginate hydrogels observed by a digital microscope have an open-pore channels structure with the sizes of hundreds micrometers. Also, the cell viability of all hydrogels were found to be much higher than that of poly(acrylic acid).