Homemade Elderberry Syrup Recipe and Elderberry Gummies
This immune system-boosting, antiviral, anti-inflammatory Elderberry Syrup is easy-peasy to make. Kids don't want to take their elderberry syrup? Turn the syrup into Elderberry Gummies that kids and adults will love instead!
Servings: 33 servings (About 2 cups syrup or 100 gummies (1 teaspoon/5ml each))
Calories: 24kcal
Ingredients
For Elderberry Syrup:
- 1 cup dried elderberries
- 2 cups filtered water
- 1 cup unsweetened apple juice or apple cider can sub with more water
- 2 cinnamon sticks
- 6 slices astragalus root optional
- ½ cup fresh sliced ginger
- 1 heaping tablespoon dried thyme or 2 teaspoons fresh thyme leaves
- ½ cup raw local honey
For Elderberry Gummies:
- 2 cups homemade elderberry syrup
- 8 tablespoons unflavored gelatin
Instructions
For the Elderberry Syrup:
- In a saucepan over low heat, combine the elderberries, water, apple juice or cider, cinnamon, astragalus (if using), and ginger.⠀
- Bring to a low simmer, cover (with the lid slightly ajar), and continue simmering until the liquid is reduced by half—about 30 minutes.⠀
- Remove from heat, add in the thyme, and let steep until the syrup is just barely warm—about an hour.⠀
- Strain the syrup through cheesecloth or a nut milk bag, making sure to squeeze the berries to get every drop.⠀
- Whisk in the honey. Pour into a bottle and store in the fridge for up to a month.
- For general immune support, adults take 1 tablespoon per day, kids take 1 teaspoon. When you have a cold or the flu, up your intake to one dose every 2-3 hours until you’re recovered.⠀
For the Elderberry Gummies:
- Combine the syrup and gelatin in a saucepan over low heat. Whisking frequently, heat until just warm enough for the gelatin to dissolve—you don’t want to overheat and kill the healthy enzymes in the raw honey.
- Using an eye dropper, transfer mixture into silicone molds with 1 teaspoon/5ml cavities. Pop in the fridge, and let solidify for at least 30 minutes (closer to 2 hours is even better).
- Pop out the gummies and store in an airtight container in the fridge.
Video
Notes
Download the labels here.
Children under the age of 12 months should not take elderberry syrup or elderberry gummies, due to the honey.
For Elderberry Syrup:
- Lots of people put more honey in their syrup than this because it helps preserve the syrup longer. I find it too sweet to take everyday this way, so I lower the honey. We go through one batch of this every 3-4 weeks in the winter, so it works out fine. If you’d like a shelf-stable syrup that can last upwards of a year or more, a 1:1 ratio of finished elderberry juice to honey will do the trick
For Elderberry Gummies:
I like using 1 teaspoon/5ml molds because it’s easy to give one to my kid and then just take three ourselves. These are the molds I have that work well: the shell and star from this set (the heart is from this set, too, but it’s very small—about ⅓ teaspoon per heart) and the Lego man from this set (Juni loves this one).Nutrition
Serving: 1tablespoon | Calories: 24kcal | Carbohydrates: 6g | Protein: 0.1g | Fat: 0.05g | Saturated Fat: 0.01g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.02g | Monounsaturated Fat: 0.01g | Sodium: 2mg | Potassium: 29mg | Fiber: 0.5g | Sugar: 5g | Vitamin A: 28IU | Vitamin C: 2mg | Calcium: 6mg | Iron: 0.2mg
