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!
This will be my second time making your recipe. Easy and effective! I freeze in ice cube trays. Thank you for sharing.
i cannot find elderberry in my place but i buy it in a small bottle 100% pure. can i just warm it up and add the ingridients, let it simmer for a while and when cool i drain it and add honey and put in icecube tray and freeze it. is that ok?
I just made this for the first time with elderberries we picked at Mt. Hood when we went huckleberry picking in August. Bonus, the house smells great while making it.
It’s a great recipe. I followed it and I added some orange peels for a boost of vitamin C. This will be my go to recipe!
I have been buying elderberry syrup for my family since COVID began. It’s definitely effective and no one has been sick since using it daily, however the $70 I spend monthly is hurting my budget. Nonetheless I tried this recipe yesterday. I doubled it and it made two 16 oz mason jars full. It is just as potent if not better than what I used to order. I did add a splash of 100% percent lemon juice after it cooled. I am extremely grateful and pleased with your recipe. I literally made the 2 jars for less than $20. My pockets are happy too 🙂
That is why I started making it, too. It’s very expensive to buy it premade! Thank you for your feedback.
I have used this recipe in the past. I notice a couple of comments mentioning reducing the honey. You have to remember, there are reasons for the ingredients. Honey is a preservative, much like alcohol. It preserves the syrup from spoiling. Keep that in mind before cutting back on any preservative in a recipe. It’s not worth making a recipe and having it spoil or worse, you drinking/eating it and making yourself sick because you cut or reduced something that you didn’t understand it’s importance in the recipe.
I just made this recipe this morning and it was very tasted but yielded much less than I expected. I the doubled version and only got 1 and 3/4 jars. Is that about right? Do I just have to make this in like a quad or more batch to get like 4 jars. I’m canning it so I want to make a larger amount. Thanks!
I can my elderberry concentrate and add the honey as I open it to keep the medicinal properties of the raw and local honey. Hope this helps! Sure is nice to have a shelf stable version!
Do you have to use the large canning bath process to can it and make it shelf-stable? Would adding the honey before canning kill the medicinal properties? Thanks for the idea.
I’m really sorry, but I don’t have enough canning knowledge to answer your question.
Thank you!
Waaaaaaay too sweet! Next time I’m reducing the honey by half! I’m glad I only made one batch, I’m contemplating making a second and just adding it to the first to cut down the sweetness. The time didn’t make any sense, simmering with a lid on took forever to reduce even a little, after 1.5 hours I took the lid off and let it simmer another 20 minutes or so. I made this to help boost my immune system against an ear infection, I’ll be making more as we go into cold season.
Making it for the first time because it IS expensive and the lady I was supporting is nasty and rude. I was thinking of adding lemon with the honey. Have you tried that?
I haven’t tried that, but think it’s a great idea. I think I’ll try it with my next batch. I’ll try to remember to report back!
Just made this, everything turned out however it took over 2 hours to reduce by half because the instructions said to simmer covered. The finished syrup made about 1 cup worth. I decided I wanted to make a jar for my sister and 1 for my mom, so I made it a second time uncovered and that took the 45min to reduce. PS my house smells so delicious now. Thank you for sharing your recipe, I’m glad I can share the health with my family this winter.
Looking forward to trying this recipe! How much does 1x batch make? Trying to decide if I should double it or not. Thanks!
This is the second year I have used your recipe. I really really like it. I enjoy that you have the amounts for doubling and tripling the recipe because I always make a triple batch. Thank you so much!
Thank you for the recipe. I made it last year and I am making it again this year!
Happy to hear that!
Can’t wait to try this recipe! Thanks so much for providing it for us, and sorry for all these jerks in the comments 🙄
It’s okay. I’ve grown a thick skin in this business! 🙂
Health claims are questionable..
for instance, diuretics cause frequent urination, which dehydrates you, which can cause constipation, which is the opposite of “promotes bowel movements”.
Do you even check these “facts” before you copy paste?
Hi Jed. Yes, I do actually research and don’t publish anything that I haven’t read from a credible source. Believe it or not, something can actually be a natural diuretic and not dehydrate you. I urinate frequently, but am not dehydrated and have very regular bowel movements. Here’s a study if you’d like to read more about how one of the compounds in elderberry promotes bowel movements: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2874511/
Way to be an ass hat. Why would you be such a jerk. Use a different recipe you bum
My favorite comment ever. 😂
Is the carb and sugar counts on there correct? Just wondering so I don’t have my diabetic husband take any of this.
Make it for him without honey. That’s how I make it for my family.
Yes, but it’s for the entire recipe, not a serving. This is made with honey, however, so it does have added sugar in each serving.
Hello, how much ounces am I going to get from this? What is the dosage?
I just made the recipe and it was reduced to 2 cups after 45 minutes of simmering covered with vent open. That is 32 servings of 1 tablespoon. That turns in 34.7 calories, 9.34 carbs, 8.675 sugars.
Thank you!
How many packets of elderberries will I need to purchase to make this recipe please?
Hi Amanda I am just making my first batch of Eldeberry syrupy at this time, and I just bought 1 packet of a pound of Eldeberry to make mine…I am currently making the amount for 3x and I still have Eldeberry left over
Kim Lesko asked about using fresh berries. Recipe I have used in the past uses 1 cup fresh berries and 2 cups water. Very good results.
you need to break down your calories by servings not by the whole container that does not help anyone.
The serving size varies, so it’s difficult to break down by servings. I don’t feel calories per serving is really important for this recipe as it’s not a meal or even a snack.
Thank you for posting such an amazing recipe! You are helping many people, my family included. Thank you!!
Can I use fresh berries? Ifso, what changes do l need to make?
I’m so sorry but I’ve not tried this with fresh berries.
What’s the need to be so rude. I’m so thankful that this has been posted for me to use.
Doses may vary for each individual. You can measure total amount in cups, use on-line converter to determine tablespoons for your cups measurement. Divide total calories for recipe by TBS.
Approx many ounces can I expect the single batch to yield? Just trying to prepare for canning purposes. Thanks!
Will this be just as effective to double the batch?
I always use the calculator on this site and make a triple batch. Works great! This is my favorite recipe and I have made it lots of times over the past year and a half.
Yes, I often double it.
Can this be frozen to last longer?
I’ve not tried freezing this so I’m not sure.
Hi! Do you ever include echinacea? If so, how much of it?