Use this homemade Elderberry Syrup recipe to keep your family healthy all year round!
I started using elderberry syrup when my daughter Meghan was a toddler. Elderberries are rich with health benefits, including:
Health Benefits of Elderberries
- Boost the immune system
- Fight and protect against bacterial infections
- Fight and protect against viral infections
- Reduce the symptoms and duration of a cold or the flu
- helps clear sinus infections
- has natural diuretic effects and promotes bowel movements
- anti-inflammatory properties
- anti-carcinogenic properties
- eases symptoms of allergies
- high in antioxidants
- high in vitamin A, which makes it great for healthy skin
Clearly elderberry is a powerful plant! Through the years I’ve tried to be consistent in having our whole family take elderberry syrup, especially during the cold and flu season. The problem? Elderberry syrup is expensive!
I would much rather buy a product than have to make it. I’m a busy mama and adding one more thing to my plate can cause me to drop and break the whole plate. Nobody wants to see that.
However. When I discover I can make something for significantly cheaper at home and it’s really not that difficult, I make room on my plate. I might have to take something else off the plate, but I make room.
This homemade elderberry syrup recipe is really easy and worth the effort for the money saved. One of my lovely readers actually first shared the recipe she uses for homemade elderberry syrup with me last year when I was lamenting about the cost of buying the syrup.
Can I take a minute to tell you how much I love this community of readers? You guys are awesome and I love that we can help each other!
I use the basics of that recipe, but changed it slightly. I use dried cinnamon rather than a cinnamon stick and instead of using dried ginger and whole cloves, I use ginger and clove essential oils. I note in the recipe below that you can use either.
How to Make a Homemade Elderberry Syrup Recipe
The first step will be to get yourself some dried elderberries, which I get on Amazon. (affiliate link) Oh, how I love my Amazon Prime membership. 2 days later and you’ll be ready to make some immune-boosting syrup!
The whole process is easy and can be done while doing other household chores. You start by simmering some dried elderberries with water and spices for about 45 minutes. That’s when you can be doing other things. No need to hover over the pot here.
Once the liquid is reduced by half, you drain the liquid. I use a fine mesh strainer which makes it super easy. (Mine are very similar to these and I use them for everything!)
Make sure you squeeze all the liquid out of the berries so you aren’t wasting any. The back of a wooden spoon should do the trick.
Make sure the liquid is cooled, and then you can add your raw honey. Raw honey sweetens the syrup so kids will take it easily, but also has its own medicinal benefits. Win-win!
Then you store it in an airtight container in the refrigerator and it will last for about two months. For adults, take 1 tablespoon daily and for children, 1 teaspoon daily. If you or your children are experiencing sickness or feel something coming on, that dose should be repeated four times daily.
Here’s a video to show you how easy it is to make homemade elderberry syrup at home!
Here’s to a healthy cold and flu season!
Homemade Elderberry Syrup Recipe
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Homemade Elderberry Syrup Recipe
- Total Time: 50 mins
Description
This homemade elderberry syrup can be made in less than an hour and will keep your family healthy all year long. It’s the best natural immune booster you can use.
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup dried elderberries
- 3 cups water
- 1 teaspoon dried cinnamon or 1 cinnamon stick
- 1 teaspoon dried cloves or 4 whole cloves or 1 drop clove essential oil
- 1 tablespoon fresh ginger or 1 teaspoon dried ginger or 1 drop ginger essential oil
- 1 cup raw honey
Instructions
- In a large pot, bring the elderberries, water, cinnamon, cloves, and ginger to a boil.
- Reduce the heat, cover, and simmer until the liquid has reduced by half, about 40-45 minutes.
- Allow the liquid to cool, and then drain the liquid using a fine mesh strainer or cheese cloth.
- Press all liquid out of the berries using the back of a wooden spoon.
- Add the raw honey and mix well.
- Store in an airtight glass container in the refrigerator for up to two months.
- Prep Time: 5 mins
- Cook Time: 45 mins
- Category: natural medicine
Nutrition
- Calories: 1113
- Sugar: 278g
- Sodium: 21mg
- Fat: 1g
- Carbohydrates: 299g
- Protein: 2g
Take along with this Vitamin C Smoothie for extra immune-boosting power!
This post contains affiliate links. Thank you for supporting my mission to help as many people as possible live a happy, healthy life!
When making this with essential oils instead, doesn’t the heat kill the health benefits in the essential oils?
I am allergic to bees, bee pollen and honey. Is there anything I can substitute for the honey in this recipe?
You can use maple syrup.
I added the honey in initial would you discard?
No you don’t need to discard it. I like to keep the raw honey from being heated but it’s okay.
Thank you for the recipe! It turned out well, but I want to make sure I am preparing it properly. How many cups should I end up with if I follow your recipe? Also, I was reading a couple of other recipes that said you never want to cover the berries, because it doesn’t allow them to release the toxins. I figured covering them would help keep some of the natural properties. What do you think?
Just made this and followed the recipe almost exactly, and it turned out perfectly. I used 3/4 cup honey instead of a cup – that was plenty sweet for my tastes, and I might even try a little less next time. I ended up with 1-1/2 cups of elderberry “tea”, which became just over 2 cups after I added the honey. It’s more liquid-y than the stuff I’ve been buying at the farmer’s market, which I think tells me that what’s I’ve been buying has a ton of honey in it. (Keep in mind that it’s the honey that thickens the syrup, not the elderberry tea.)
Glad to hear it turned out well with less honey; I’ve wanted to try it with less. Thanks for your feedback!
Hello have you tried canning elder berry syrup?
No, I haven’t.
I’ve been canning it for years! Here is what I do: http://oursimplefarm.com/2013/08/how-to-can-elderberry-syrup.html
Thanks for sharing!
How much does it yield?
Just made this!! I’m afraid I added a little too much water because I dont have a syrup at the end…I have more of a juice?? Is it gonna be ok? Didnt seem like it cooked down very much? Hope it’s still ok.
It’ll be fine. Mine is never a thick syrup and it still works very well. 🙂
Can you take this while pregnant? Everyone at work is getting sick and I want to avoid it!
I’m on amazon right now, what brand of Elderberries do you purchase please and do you use distilled water or just plain tap water?
Hi Melissa,
I usually use the Frontier Organic brand.
I was reading on a midwife site it’s safe as long as you only use cinnamon, elderberries, water, and honey. Don’t add any other spices.
Where is the best place to buy dried elderberries?
Amazon!
I cooked mine for almost an hour and it did not cook down that much. Is it still good? I just now have ALOT
It should still work fine. You must have had it on too low of a simmer.
honey is the preservative.
I think I reduced it too much. Ended up with less than 2 cups after straining. Should I add water back in to dilute? If so, how much? You said to reduce to about half so should I end up with 3 cups or will there be some additional loss since there will still be some liquid that won’t fully come out of the berries?
Basically, how much should I end up with when it’s all done?
Oh, and what is the purpose of waiting until its completely cool to add honey? I figured it would dissolve better if slightly warm?
My honey dissolves fine after the liquid is cool. I cool the liquid to avoid destroying the properties of raw honey with heat.
I should mention that I doubled it, so 6 cups water and ended up with less than 2 cups. Is it too concentrated?
I am making another batch tomorrow. I will measure to give you an exact answer!
I doubled the recipe and ended up with 3 cups liquid before adding the honey, so yes, that is too concentrated. After adding honey I had 5 1/2 cups liquid.
mine did not cook away. I still had like 5 cups of liquid…..I hope it still works.
Is the calories for one tablespoon? Wow that’s a lot
Im planning on making this and storing it in mason jars, about how many ounces does this recipe make?
Is this safe to take all year around
Can this really last 2 months in the fridge? Most recipes I see say only 2 weeks in the fridge.
Help!
Need elderberry advice.
This is the first time I have tried making any elderberry juice – anything.
I started with one elderberry plant (ordered from a nursery) and four-years later, they are all over the growing area. I thought I would try making some elderberry juice in 2019.
Here is what I did – please tell me if I can use it!
I picked the big bunches of fruits, froze them to get them off the stems, then tried to remove as many small sticks as possible.
There were plenty of tiny stick left with the berries when I began.
I juiced about 3 cups of berry-small twig mixture and three quarts of added water in a blender.
Strained out the juice leaving anything solid behind.
I put ONLY the liquid in a pot to cook.
Total berry juice and water when I started cooking was about 3-quarts.
Cooked it for ONE HOUR (rolling boil first — followed by 45 min of simmering).
Put sugar in it (it is too bitter to drink alone) and stirred.
Put remaining liquid (about 2-quarts) in small mason jars and tossed them in a pressure cooker (5 lb pressure for 10 minutes).
Is this safe to use?
How much do I use daily?
Thank you.
Per Norm’s Farms, “The seeds, stems, leaves and roots are all poisonous to humans. They contain a cyanide-inducing glycoside. Eating a sufficient quantity of these cyanide-inducing glycosides can cause a toxic buildup of cyanide in the body and make you quite ill. Symptoms include nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and even coma. Most people recover quickly, although hospitalization may be required.
Cooking the berries destroys the glycosides present in the seeds, making the berries with their seeds safe to eat.”
https://normsfarms.com/blogs/growing-and-harvesting-elderberry/are-elderberry-bushes-poisonous
I’ve been making elderberry syrup for about 2 years now. I take 1 tablespoon per day, 5 days a week, for maintenance and haven’t been sick since even being around people with the flu…I swear by it. Something to note, small children and people with berry allergies should not take this. Another note… using Ceylon cinnamon is the best cinnamon for you you rather than the typical cinnamon. Elderberry seeds and stems should not be consumed because they are poisonous, just the juice should be consumed. I recommend this recipe,it has a great flavor! Thank you
Thank you, Melissa! Great info.
Curious… What do you mean by “small” children exactly and why? Aren’t elderberries a safe berry if you don’t have allergies?
What can I do with the elderberries once pressed ?
I’m not aware of another use for them.
Maryea,
With them being loaded with acidity, I place mine in a flower bed, around blue berries or give the scraps to my chickens.
Just my thoughts 😉
I put the remains in my compost