In the late summer and early fall when elderberries are in season, it’s the perfect time to make some homemade elderberry syrup! This syrup is not only delicious, but has powerful medicinal benefits as well.

Elderberry Syrup Benefits

Elderberries are highly medicinal, and elderberry syrup is probably one of the best homemade herbal remedies that anyone can make.

Elderberries are an amazing immune system booster and have potent antiviral properties. This makes them particularly good at helping with colds and flus.

Using elderberries to make syrup is one of the best ways to utilize their benefits. Elderberry syrup is easy to make, and tastes delicious. Even children love it!

Elderberry Syrup Ingredients

This is a very simple recipe for elderberry syrup, so you only need a few ingredients to get started!

You can use either fresh or dried elderberries in this recipe.

Where to Get Elderberries

The main thing you will need to make elderberry syrup is elderberries of course! Both black or blue elderberry varieties will work.

But where to get them? There are a few options:

Foraging for wild elderberries is a great way to get them, especially if they are in season (generally August – September, depending on where you live).

You can also try growing your own elderberries in your backyard!

If you don’t have access to fresh elderberries, you can definitely use dried elderberries. (They do tend to go out of stock during the cold and flu season, so here is another source for dried elderberries).

What Kind of Honey to Use

When making elderberry syrup, using raw honey is best, even better if it’s local to your region. Raw local honey is full of powerful antioxidants, nutrients, and enzymes that are still intact because it has never been heated.

You can usually find local raw honey at natural food stores, farmer’s markets, or from a local beekeeper.

If you don’t have access to local raw honey, you can find high quality organic raw honey here.

Elderberry Syrup Options

The recipe that I am sharing with you is the most basic version of elderberry syrup, but there are ways that you can customize it to your liking.

Here are a few optional ingredients you can add as you’re boiling the elderberries to make the final syrup more beneficial (and more delicious in some cases):

Ginger – either fresh or dried. This gives it a nice flavor, and also had benefits for the immune system.

Cinnamon Stick – just like with ginger, adding a cinnamon stick makes it taste delicious and has some immune system benefits.

Whole Cloves – mostly for flavor, whole cloves also have some health benefits.

Echinacea Root – gives an extra boost to the immune system, but echinacea doesn’t taste great.

Rose Hips – high in vitamin C, rose hips can be foraged in the fall, or purchased dried.

Lemon – some lemon juice and/or lemon zest can be added for flavor and to boost vitamin C.

Elderberry Syrup Recipe

While this syrup is easy to make, the most difficult part is preparing the fresh elderberries, as it takes a bit of work. You may choose to use dried elderberries to make things easier!

Preparing Fresh Elderberries for Syrup

If you are using fresh elderberries, it’s important that they are completely ripe. Any unripe or green berries can have some toxins present and should be discarded.

Elderberry stems and leaves also contain some toxic compounds, so removing as many of those as possible is also advised.

The best way to remove the stems from fresh elderberries is to first freeze them in whole clusters. Then you can either pop off the elderberries with your fingers, or use a fork to comb them off.

Don’t worry too much about any tiny stems that may remain, just do the best you can! Any toxins that are still present will be removed during the boiling process.

Making the Elderberry Syrup

To make the syrup, put six cups of fresh black or blue elderberries (or three cups dried) into a large pot with six cups of water.

This is also when you would add in any of the additional optional ingredients I listed above.

Bring it to a boil over medium heat, then lower the heat and simmer the elderberries uncovered for about one hour, or until reduced by nearly half.

It’s important to leave the pot uncovered while the elderberries are simmering, as allowing the steam to escape will help to remove any potential toxins that are present. It also helps the mixture to reduce.

If you feel like it is reducing a bit too fast, you can partially cover the pot while it is simmering.

Remove the pot from the heat and set aside to cool to a warm room temperature. You want it to be warm enough to dissolve the honey, but not too hot to preserve the benefits of the raw honey.

Strain out the elderberries using a fine mesh sieve, pressing the berries to get any extra liquid out.

You can line the sieve or a colander with cheesecloth if you prefer, this also helps to squeeze out all of the liquid from the berries.

You should end up with at least one quart of elderberry and water mixture.

Discard the berries (put them in the compost if you have one). There really isn’t much you can do with them at this point, as all of the beneficial compounds are now in the elderberry and water mixture.

Add the raw honey and stir until it dissolves. I don’t recommend heating this again, as that would destroy the beneficial compounds in the raw honey.

Ladle or carefully pour the elderberry syrup into quart jars (or these gorgeous sharing jars), placing the lid and ring to finger tip tight. Let it cool completely and refrigerate for up to 6 months.

Can Elderberry Syrup be Frozen?

Yes! Elderberry syrup can be frozen for later use. I always like to make a big batch in the fall, put some in the refrigerator, and freeze the rest.

This ensures that I will have enough to last through the whole season, even into early spring, without any spoilage.

Can Elderberry Syrup be Canned?

While technically you could probably can elderberry syrup, to do it safely you would need to be absolutely sure that it had the right acidity level first. It may require more acid, like bottled lemon juice, to be added first.

I generally don’t recommend canning elderberry syrup, because then all of the beneficial compounds in the raw honey would be heated, which would render them inactive.

Most of the elderberry benefits would still be there, but you would lose the benefits of the raw honey, which are also very important!

How to Use Elderberry Syrup

Elderberry syrup is powerful herbal medicine!

I recommend adults take 1-2 tablespoons of elderberry syrup 2-3 times per day at the onset of a cold or flu, and throughout the duration of the illness.

You may also take it if you feel like you were exposed to illness, even if you aren’t experiencing any symptoms yet.

I don’t recommend taking elderberry syrup daily as a preventative. It is an effective immune system booster, and while that is great during times of illness, or potential exposure to illness, you don’t want to be constantly stimulating your immune system. This is especially true for those with autoimmune issues.

Beyond being highly medicinal, elderberry syrup is also delicious and full of vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, and flavonoids! It can be used in moderation as a treat on pancakes, ice cream, or stirred into cocktails, mocktails, or tea.

Is Elderberry Syrup Safe for Children?

Yes! Elderberry syrup is safe and an excellent herbal choice for children over the age of one.

Just be sure to give children a smaller dose based on their size. For small children (ages 1-5), 1-2 teaspoons twice per day is good. That amount can be increased as the child grows.

Elderberry syrup can also be made into elderberry gummies or elderberry popsicles, which kids (and adults) love!

Elderberry syrup should not be given to children under the age of one due to the raw honey.

If you haven’t started making your own homemade medicine yet, this is the perfect time to do so! And a great place to start is with elderberry syrup. It tastes delicious and has so many benefits for us!

More Elderberry Recipes

Here are some more things you can make with elderberries!

• Elderberry Gummies
• Elderberry Popsicles
• Fermented Elderberry Honey
• Fermented Elderberry Soda
• Elderberry Mead
• Elderberry Cocktail
• Elderberry Kombucha

For even more recipes, see my post with 70+ Elderberry Recipes & Remedies for Food & Health!