Elderberry Syrup

This Homemade Elderberry Syrup recipe is a great immunity booster and a natural home remedy to treat common cold and flu symptoms. It’s quick and easy to make at home using dried elderberries and honey. 

You’ll want to add this homemade elderberry syrup recipe to your collection of natural cold remedies.  It’s easy to make, requires few ingredients.

What is Elderberry

Elderberries are very small dark purple berries. They’re used for making jams, jellies, tea, syrup. At your local health food store, you might find elderberry gummies, lozenges, pills and syrups as a natural remedy for cold and flu season. Black elder is one of the most used medicinal plants worldwide as a treatment for viral infections, particularly in the treatment of influenza.

There are several varieties of the Sambucus tree. In particular, the Sambucus nigra plant is the plant most commonly used for health and healing. Sambucus nigra dates back to 400 BC, and Hippocrates called the elder tree his “medicine chest”. Today, the elder tree is considered one of the most healing plants.

What Is Elderberry Syrup

Elderberry Syrup Recipe

This is a simple homemade Elderberry syrup recipe made with a concentrated tea from dried elderberries and honey. Commercial brands suggest consuming it by the spoonfuls at the onset of cold and flu symptoms.  Many commercial these same elderberry syrups contain fructose, which is a type of sugar that makes up 50% of cane sugar (also known as sucrose). By making elderberry syrup at home, you have control over the type of sugar used as well as the amount.

• Water. Use a good spring or filtered water.
• Dried Elderberries.  You can find dried elderberries at your local health food store or on Amazon. As soon as they hit the water, they turn the water purple.
• Honey.  Honey adds sweetness to this syrup.

Find printable recipe with the measurements below.

Variations

This homemade elderberry tea recipe is a versatile one. You can also steep the tea with ginger (fresh or dried) and cinnamon (stick or dried) to give the syrup added flavor and health benefits. I personally love adding a cinnamon stick and about 5-6 slices of peeled ginger to the tea as it simmers. It gives it a delicious warm and cozy flavor.

• Ginger.   Add 1-1/2 – 1 teaspoon of fresh ginger to simmer in the water with the dried elderberries or stir in 1/4 -1/2 teaspoon ground ginger to the syrup.
• Cinnamon.  Add 1 stick of cinnamon to simmer in the water with the dried elderberries or stir in 1/4 teaspoon dried cinnamon in the syrup. 

How to Make Elderberry Syrup

1. Boil water. Bring 1 cup of water to a boil in a medium saucepan.
2. Simmer. Stir in the dried elderberries and reduce heat to low and simmer. Simmer tea until the liquid has reduced by about half.
3. Strain. Strain tea through fine mesh strainer into a mason jar. Discard dried elderberries. Set tea aside to cool.
4. Honey. After the tea has cooled, pour in honey and stir until well blended. 

How to Store It

There are so many elderberry syrup benefits, so this stuff is like liquid gold. Be sure to store it in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 8 weeks.

How Much Should I Take

1. Adults can take 1 teaspoon of this homemade elderberry syrup daily and 2 teaspoons up to 3 times a day if you have cold or flu symptoms. 
2. If you are on a sugar restricted diet, then try sipping on this Elderberry Tea instead. It also provides support during cold and flu season. 

Where to Buy Dried Elderberries

Look for them at your local market or health food store in the cold and flu remedy section. You can also purchase them online at Walmart or Amazon. I like to keep a bag of dried elderberries in my pantry so I can easily make a cup of elderberry tea or elderberry syrup when I feel I need an extra boost to my immune system. It’s more convenient and less expensive to have dried elderberries at home to make elderberry syrup and tea at home rather than purchasing them (and other elderberry cold and flu products) at the store.

Looking for More Recipes For Cold And Flu Season Recipes

• Pomegranate Elderberry Ice Cubes
• Immune Boosting Whole Lemon Ice Cubes 
• Cold Fighting Citrus Ice Cubes 
• Honey Lemon Ginger Syrup 
• Immune Boosting Ginger Tea 
• Pineapple Ginger Cleansing Juice 
• Immune Boosting Chicken Soup 
• French Potage 
• Lemon Ginger Tea 
• Apple Pear Steamed with Honey 
• Hibiscus Tea 
• Herbal Oregano Tea 

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Print

Yield: 24 servings

Elderberry Syrup

Prep Time 5 minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes

Total Time 25 minutes

This Homemade Elderberry Syrup recipe is a great immunity booster and a natural home remedy to treat common cold and flu symptoms. It's quick and easy to make at home using dried elderberries and honey.

Ingredients

• 1-1/4 cup water
• 1/4 cup dried Elderberries
• 1/2 cup honey (raw or pure clover)

Instructions

1. Bring 1 cup of water to a boil in a medium saucepan.
2. Stir in the dried elderberries and reduce heat to low and simmer for about 15-20 minutes or until the liquid has reduced by about half.
3. Strain tea through fine mesh strainer into a mason jar. Discard dried elderberries. Set tea aside to cool.
4. After the tea has cooled, pour the honey in the mason jar honey stir until well blended. 
5. Refrigerate for up to 8 weeks.

Notes

Variations

You can also steep the tea with ginger (fresh or dried) and cinnamon (stick or dried) to give the syrup added flavor and health benefits.

• Ginger. Add 1-1/2 - 1 teaspoon of fresh ginger to simmer in the water with the dried elderberries or stir in 1/4 -1/2 teaspoon ground ginger into the syrup.
• Cinnamon. Add 1 stick of cinnamon to simmer in the water with the dried elderberries or stir in 1/4 teaspoon dried cinnamon into the syrup. 

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

24

Serving Size:

1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 23Total Fat: 0gSaturated Fat: 0gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 0gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 2mgCarbohydrates: 6gFiber: 0gSugar: 6gProtein: 0g

theharvestkitchen.com attempts to provide accurate information, however, this nutritional information is provided as a courtesy and is an estimate only. The nutritional information provided comes from online sources and calculations. See full disclaimer on About page.