This homemade Elderberry Syrup Recipe is as simple as it gets! Only 3 ingredients are needed to produce a powerhouse natural remedy for fighting off and preventing cold and flu symptoms.
Back to School season every year gets me all in the feels, the germ-y kinds feels. Because it feels like so many kids start getting sick the minute they are back in the classroom petri dish! All the colds, stomach bugs, strep throat, flu viruses come to life! So to prevent my kids from getting the back to school yuckies I make this amazingly easy and delicious Elderberry Syrup as a preventative for our whole family to take the minute I hear all that sickness is starting to roll through the school hallways!
If you have ever bought Elderberry Syrup in the store, you know how expensive it can be to buy. And a bottle will last you about a week, especially if you have multiple children, it’s crazy! This homemade Elderberry syrup is so much more cost effective and it really is super easy to make and this recipe will make about 2 cups worth of syrup which is such a better bang for your buck (about $10 for 16 ounces!) 
I buy these Whole Organic Dried Elderberries in bulk to use for this recipe and I love them! This company is fantastic (we also buy our tea for the Kombucha recipe I shared earlier from them too!) with a plethora of organic items at great bulk prices. You will bot be disappointed in the quality of anything you buy from them!
Elderberry Syrup Recipe
- 2/3 cup dried organic elderberries
- 3 1/2 cups filtered water
- 1/2 cup raw honey (local if you can find it!)
- Place elderberries in medium saucepan with the filtered water over medium heat until water boils.
- Once water boils turn heat down, place lid on pan, and simmer for 45 min-1 hour.
- Let cool for 30 minutes.
- Then mash berries in liquid.
- Using a fine strainer and wooden spoon, or cheesecloth, squeeze as much of the juice as you can out of the berries.
- Compost or throw away used berries.
- Place the extracted juice in a medium sized bowl and add honey.
- Whisk until well combined.
- Place Elderberry Syrup in a sealed jar and keep in refrigerator!
The standard preventative dose for Elderberry Syrup is once per day:
- Kids: ½ tsp – 1 tsp for kids
- Adults: ½ – 1 tablespoon for adults
If you have Flu Symptoms, take the the standard dose every 2-3 hours instead of once a day until symptoms preside.
Dried elderberries are very tiny but they naturally contain a lot of vitamins A, B, and C which stimulate the immune system. I place the dried elderberries in a medium-sized pot over medium heat and add filtered water. Once the water starts to boil, place a lid on the pot, turn the heat down to low and let the water simmer for 45 minutes to one hour. Then let the mixture cool for about 30 minutes. 
Next, mash the berries in the liquid to release all the vitamin and antioxidant goodness. Then place the berries and liquid in a strainer over a medium sized bowl and press out as much of the liquid as you can. You may also want to use a cheesecloth for this if you have one on hand. You can compost the mashed berries or throw them away.
Then add in your honey and whisk together to make the Elderberry juice into an Elderberry Syrup! I like to start off with 1/4 cup and add more as the taste appeals to my kids. They do not like it overly sweet!
If you have little ones that cannot have honey, you can also use Brown Rice Syrup, Maple Syrup, or even Molasses. Just adjust the amount of the sweetener to your taste.
Place your delicious homemade Elderberry Syrup into a mason jar or other air-tight container and refrigerate. Ours can maybe last about two weeks.
For more delicious and easy recipes and craft ideas please LIKE Smashed Peas and Carrots on Facebook or follow me on Instagram or Pinterest for more great ideas! And if you like this, you may enjoy these posts as well!
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- Three Ingredient Natural Deodorant
- Essential Oil Roller Blends for Kids
Thanks for stopping by today!
Love,
Maggie
Nice! I am going to give this a whirl. Thanks for the berry resource!
woohoo!!! Let me know if you have any questions!!
Oooo, we just planted an elderberry bush last year (along with two other varieties we got from Amelia’s school as part of butterfly habitat). It is still too small to produce any berries but I’ll have to try this with whole berries once it does 🙂
That is awesome, Renee! How fun to have your own home supply in a few years!