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!
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I love this recipe and I have a question. I have purchased some elderberry concentrate from a reputable health food store and was wondering if I could use the concentrate rather than dried elderberries? Has anyone tried this or know if it is even possible?
I put it all in a mini crockpot on low overnight (I start with hot water). The next morning I take the lid off and let simmer until reduced by half. Also, I add 3 star anise seeds to the mix. Star anise has antiviral properties.
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Is it ok to water bath? Do I need to add lemon juice?
Water bath can? I would add lemon juice if you try to can to increase acidity. I would process for 10 minutes in 1/2 pint jars.
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I have seen where Elderberry Syrup isn’t safe to can in a home kitchen but can’t recall where off the top of my head. You may want to research the topic a little more before trying to make it shelf stable. I’d suggest freezing instead of water bath.
This recipe is so tasty!! My kids love it too. I save the elderberries after cooking, freeze them in individual portions in ice cube trays, and then put one in a loose tea infuser, pour hot water over and you have a delightful elderberry tea on a cold day. (Sometimes I brew with green tea as I am not really a fan of the flavor of green tea and it’s now something I look forward to drinking.)
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Can someone help me out quick? Is the 1 teaspoon dried cinnamon, dried cloves, and dried ginger it calls for, ground? I have some simmering right now and for a single recipe, I did 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon, 1 teaspoon ground ginger, and 4 dried whole cloves. I sure hope those were the correct measurements but now I’m not sure!
Any recommendations for what to do with the berries once you are done with them? hate to waste it!
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I was wondering the same thing. I was going to put it all in my Vitamix and blend them in to the syrup, but them I heard they were toxic. (I used organic freeze-dried berries.). But a friend of a friend grows berries, and I could swear she says she eats them … so I’m confused as to whether I can eat them or not. And I have no idea of how else to use them.
I’ve heard they’re only toxic if UNCOOKED and your cooking them to make the syrup so they’re fine to consume. I’ve heard of people using the pulp to make kombucha and flavored water kefir.
I grow elderberry bushes. After making the syrup, I scatter the berries where I want them to grow.
My favorite pie is elderberry and have been eating it seeds and all for over 60 years. I also eat fresh elderberries over ice cream. Theybare delicious.
Evelyn, glad to hear of your experience eating them. My understanding is that the green berries (also the stems and leaves) are toxic but not to kill you. They just give you a tummy ache. But I have not eaten them green, nor have I eaten the leaves or stems. Several herbalists say you should cook them, but I am glad to know you have eaten them raw so experience is what counts, right? Have any of your seeds sprouted after cooking them? That is an interesting use of them if they will still sprout after cooking them. Thanks for the info.
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It’s important to respect the warnings about toxicity of green leaves, twigs, and I think seeds as well. Decades ago a dear friend ended up in the hospital very sick, had to have her stomach pumped after eating green elderberry parts. Don’t know how much she ate, but I think it was mostly ripe elderberries. So please take the cautions seriously!
Hi, Evelyn. I have elderberry bushes from my grandparents that we pick and make wine with. Question.. when using fresh, do you use the same amount of berries as you would dried? Thanks for the tip below about spreading the leftover berries!
Cindy, after I cooked the berries with the other spices and drained them
I put them on and cooked them again. And they sure made a deep colorful
juice just like they did the first time they were cooked. They still had a lot of
berry in them. They are expensive to buy so I doubled what I got from them. I
actually cooked them a third time too and the juice looked as dark as the first time. I did not have enough honey for so much, so I sweetened the last batch with stevia. (Could be sugar or whatever you use.) It made delicious juice. I
do not know how much medicinal value the juice has in it without the honey, but surely it is quite a bit as it tastes just like the first batch. I keep the juice in the refrigerator and then pour a cup for breakfast and warm it. Hot elderberry juice is delicious and I believe it helps me. I have not had a cold in a long time! Sometimes I add a little milk to it and that tastes good. In the end after cooking as much good stuff out of the berries as possible, I compost them.
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You can take leftover berries and press into ice cube trays. Freeze overnight and then wrap each cube and place into a freezer bag. I make a tea with each cube.
DEPENDING ON HOW MUCH YOU HAVE – I LIKE TO INFUSE THE BERRIES WITH VODKA FOR A WEEK OR SO (I LIKE TO DO THIS WITH TEA AS WELL). STRAIN IT AND IT WILL KEEP INDEFINITELY. IT’S ALWAYS A GOOD GO TO FOR THAT SPECIAL COSMO!
I was wondering the same thing. So many good ideas here! Thanks! I have them in tea bags in the freezer and now I know what I can do with them. Hate to waste good berries also.
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How much does this recipe make ??
It depends on how long you cook it. If you cook it till half the liquid is gone, it will be half what you put in plus some for the honey. The longer you cook it, the
more powerful the medicine as the elderberries concentrate when you evaporate water. But the longer you cook it, the less you have. I cooked mine down till it made 2 cups, but it was not quite as strong as the recipe.
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