Low Sugar Elderberry Syrup, Refined sugar free elderberry syrup recipe, homemade elderberry recipes — Elderberry Syrup cooking away in my dutch oven.

March 20, 2026

As a follow-up to my last post, Magnificent Elderberry: Growing Elder from Cuttings, I want to share my amazingly delicious elderberry syrup recipe with you. If you’ve been inspired to plant Elder, you’re gonna need some inspiration for what to do with all your future elderberries!

My recipe for elderberry syrup has a lower amount of sugar than most elderberry syrup recipes you will come across. Why? Because I watch my sugar intake and avoid consuming excess sugar whenever possible, especially in drinks.

I developed this recipe by looking at a bunch of other recipes in books and online, and adapting them to suit my taste and health goals. You’ll find this elderberry syrup recipe to be lightly spiced with earthy notes coming from cinnamon, clove, and rosemary. It is not sickeningly sweet, but rather more on the tart side, accurately celebrating the elderberry for what it really is: a deeply nourishing, bitter treat.

Low-Sugar Elderberry Syrup Recipe

This recipe is refined sugar-free, gluten free and entirely plant-based.

Yield: 3.25 pints of syrup

Ingredients

8 cups fresh elderberries -OR- 4 cups dried elderberries

8 cups water

3 cinnamon sticks

5 whole cloves

1 thumb of fresh ginger, peeled

Few sprigs of fresh rosemary (or for different flavor profiles: orange zest, lemon zest, vanilla)

1 cup raw local honey (you may add more if you want it sweeter)

Low-Sugar Elderberry syrup cooking method

If using fresh elderberries, the berries should be fully ripe and as dark as possible when harvesting. Remove as many stems as possible (the stems contain toxins; a few here and there is fine). Frozen elderberries can be used just like fresh.

Add all ingredients (except the honey) to a large, thick-bottomed pot. Heat on the stovetop and simmer like soup until the liquid has reduced by half. Keep the lid off the entire time to allow toxins in the elderberries to evaporate. This will take about an hour if you’re cooking the full amount of the recipe.

When the liquid is no longer boiling and has cooled down a bit, add the raw honey (adding the honey during the heating process will kill the good bacteria and reduce other beneficial properties present in the honey). Stir well to combine.

Fully cool, then strain the mixture through cheesecloth or a fine sieve to separate the berry pulp. Squeeze the cheesecloth to get as much juice out of the berries as possible. This low-sugar syrup will be a bit more watery than other elderberry syrups you may have made in the past, and that is because there is less sugar content.

Add your syrup to mason jars or glass bottles. Syrup can be frozen or canned, or will last in the fridge for 6 months with no special preparation.

What to do with Elderberry Syrup

So you’ve made all this elderberry syrup… now what do you do with it? There are so many ways to enjoy it! Here are a few ways I love using it…

Favorite Use — Elderberry Tonic / Non-Alcoholic Mocktail - Add 1-2 tbsp elderberry syrup to plain seltzer water on ice. Add a sprig of rosemary, lemon balm or mint to brighten it up. Add fresh berries for a fun sangria.
Elderberry Kombucha - Add elderberry syrup to the second fermentation/bottling stage while making kombucha.
Flavor & color baked goods like quick breads, muffins, cakes, etc by subbing a small portion of the liquid in the recipe with elderberry syrup. Add color & flavor to frosting, too!
Take a spoonful when you’re feeling under the weather.
Add 1-2 tbsp to herbal tea or hot lemon water for enhanced health benefits.
Make popsicles by combining elderberry syrup with yogurt or other fruit juice and freezing in molds.
Add to salad dressings!