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Immune Boosting Elderberry Rose Hip Syrup

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Immune Boosting Elderberry Rose Hip Syrup is a wonderful natural remedy for supporting the immune system. You’re going to want to have this on hand for back to school and the colder months!
 
Immune Boosting Elderberry Rose Hip Syrup is a wonderful natural remedy for supporting the immune system. You're going to want to have this on hand for back to school and the colder months! | Recipes to Nourish

Immune Boosting Elderberry Rose Hip Syrup is perfect for the fall and winter months!

Back in 2009 I first learned about THE amazing Elderberry Syrup. I was a newer mom at the time and in a search to find other like-minded moms {where I live}. I finally came across the Holistic Moms Network, found a local chapter and joined as a member. This was huge for me because I finally felt like I found my “tribe”.
At that time, the Holistic Moms Network had a national loop online where members from all across the United States could chat. It happened to be the winter and everyone was talking about how to keep their families healthy during the colder months. The one thing that kept coming up in the discussion … Elderberry Syrup!
I decided it was time for me to do my own research about it. I found lots of great info online about elderberry syrup and how it is known to help boost and support the immune system. Elderberries also happen to be high in vitamin A, C, and bioflavonoids … pretty cool, right?
I went to check out what kinds of Elderberry Syrup my local natural foods co-op sold. All of the brands were full of sugar, and that’s not something I choose to feed my family. They carried one brand that did use honey, but it was almost double in price. I bought it to try it, and it was great, but I knew I couldn’t continue buying something that was so pricey.
So what’s a holistic mommy to do? Make my own!
It’s so easy to make your own Immune Boosting Elderberry Rose Hip Syrup and you get to control what ingredients you add.
This beautiful dark purple syrup is a staple in my home. I make it year-round and my family loves it. We take it preventatively and also love using it in food like in Chocolate Elderberry Rose Hip Ice Cream and Chocolate Freezer Fudge.
There are so many versions of this syrup. Everyone has their own variation. I have played around with my recipe many times over the years and have a pretty solid foundation that I always use.
I never use sugar {like almost all of the store-bought syrups do}, instead I only use raw honey {and we all know the amazing benefits of raw honey}. Besides the star of this syrup, I also add rose hips {they add a sweet flavor}, cinnamon, cloves, ginger and astragalus root – all of these help support the immune system.
Sometimes I omit some ingredients if I don’t have them on hand, but this is my main go-to recipe. I make it so much that I don’t measure the amounts anymore, I just eye ball it.
If you’ve never made Immune Boosting Elderberry Rose Hip Syrup before, give it a try! It’s a lovely addition for wellness support. 
Be well.
Immune Boosting Elderberry Rose Hip Syrup is a wonderful natural remedy for supporting the immune system. You're going to want to have this on hand for back to school and the colder months! | Recipes to Nourish

Immune Boosting Elderberry Rose Hip Syrup

This syrup is sweet + scrumptious. Great to have on hand before school is back in session and also through the colder months. 

Immune Boosting Elderberry Rose Hip Syrup

Immune Boosting Elderberry Rose Hip Syrup

Yield: 2 cups
Cook Time: 45 minutes
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 55 minutes
Immune Boosting Elderberry Rose Hip Syrup is a wonderful natural remedy for supporting the immune system. You're going to want to have this on hand for back to school and the colder months!

Ingredients

Ingredients

For Ice Bath

  • Water – cold tap water is fine here, it is not used in the syrup
  • Handful of ice

Instructions

  1. In a medium-size saucepan, add elderberries, cinnamon chips, cloves, ginger, astragalus root and water. Cover with a lid, bring to a boil and reduce the heat to simmer for 45 minutes.
  2. Remove the pan from stove, then add the rose hips and allow to steep for 30 minutes.
  3. Strain and mash the elderberries with the back of a spoon through a fine mesh strainer into a glass 1 quart measuring cup, small bowl or mason jar.
  4. Fill a medium bowl with a handful of ice and cold tap water {fill only halfway}. Place the measuring cup filled with the elderberry syrup in it into the ice bath. Let the syrup jar cool in the ice bath about 15 minutes or until cooled.
  5. Remove the cooled syrup from the ice bath.
  6. Add the raw honey to a quart-size mason jar. Pour the syrup into mason jar.
  7. Stir the honey and syrup together until they combine. If the honey does not dissolve right away, let it sit at room temperature for a bit, then stir again.
  8. Place the lid on the jar and store in the refrigerator.

Notes

YOU WILL NEED: Medium-Size Saucepan with Lid, Fine Mesh Strainer, Medium-Size Bowl, 1 Quart Measuring Cup, Quart Size Mason Jar 

Suggested Dosage: 1-3 tablespoons daily as a preventative. Consume more with illness.

Storage: 2 months in the refrigerator, but if you’re taking it as a preventative daily, it will not last that long.

Notes: This recipe can be divided in half to make a smaller batch. If you prefer a thicker, sweeter consistency, use 1 cup of raw honey. I buy all of my herbs and spices in bulk {1 pound} because it's much cheaper that way and it's nice to have them on hand. I store the extra herbs and spices in glass mason jars.

Tip: To “peel” ginger, scrape ginger “skin” off with a spoon. The skin will come off very easily.

Get Creative: Serve it on gluten free pancakes, drizzle it over vanilla ice cream, mix it into nourishing hot chocolate, or stir into your favorite herbal tea.

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Nutrition Information:
Yield: 2 Serving Size: 1
Amount Per Serving:Calories: 634 Total Fat: 5g Saturated Fat: 2g Trans Fat: 0g Unsaturated Fat: 2g Cholesterol: 0mg Sodium: 83mg Carbohydrates: 149g Fiber: 1g Sugar: 124g Protein: 1g
This nutritional information was auto-generated based on serving size, number of servings, and typical information for the ingredients listed. To obtain the most accurate representation of the nutritional information in a given recipe, please calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients and amounts used, using your preferred nutrition calculator. Under no circumstances shall the this website and the author be responsible for any loss or damage resulting for your reliance on the given nutritional information. You are solely responsible for ensuring that any nutritional information provided is accurate, complete, and useful.
© Emily
Category: Natural Living
 
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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. I love making Elderberry syrup and need to get a batch ready now that we’re headed back into Fall…I’ve never used rosehip in mine or seen it in a recipe…is there an extra health benefit from using it or does it just make it taste good?

    Reply

  2. Hi Krissa 🙂 yes, the rose hips add a great flavor, they also make they syrup a bit thicker, but the main reason I include them is that they are loaded with vitamin C, they have more vitamin C than most herbs. The extra dose of vitamin C is always a plus. I hope you enjoy making some soon. Be well 🙂

    Reply

  3. This sounds great! I’ve been wanting to make elderberry syrup. A couple of questions… Are cinnamon chips just broken up cinnamon sticks? And would you have to use dried elderberries or rosehips? And if not do you know how the quantity would differ? Thanks so much!

    Reply

  4. Hi Carrie, yes cinnamon chips are just broken pieces of cinnamon stick, they tend to be cheaper than cinnamon sticks, so this is why I use them. I have never used fresh elderberries because I don’t have access to any, but you could of course. I would assume you would double the amount if they were fresh, but I’m not positive about that. Same for rose hips, I’ve never used fresh, so I’m not sure.

    Reply

  5. Thanks for replying, Emily. I appreciate it! I’m headed to a friend’s house tomorrow to pick elderberries and I have my own rose hips. I’m guessing/hoping that this syrup isn’t an exact science. I’m excited to make it! Thanks so much for posting!

    Reply

  8. Thanks Julie. I (used to) buy bulk organic herbs from an online company, but now I buy on Amazon or if I am out and need them fast, I buy in bulk from my local natural foods co-op grocery store.

    Reply

  9. What is your source for these ingredients:
    ½ cup dried elderberries
    ½ cup dried rose hips
    2 tablespoons cinnamon chips
    6 dried whole cloves

    I see the post about the elderberries and rose hips, how about the cinnamon chips and whole cloves?

    Reply

  10. Hi Nancy, you can purchase all of those ingredients online. That is where I buy mine, if I run out and can’t order them quick enough, I buy them from my local natural foods co-op grocery store and they sell bulk herbs from Frontier. Regarding the cinnamon chips, you can use a cinnamon stick too, I just buy the chips in bulk because they are more cost effective for me. Hope that helped 🙂

    Reply

  11. THANK YOU! i’ve been buying this it’s kind of expensive and doesn’t have the extras as added benefits. i’ve been looking for a recipe and this one looks great!

    Reply

  12. This is a lovely recipe. It’s interesting that I have presented at the Holistic Mom’s Network in our area on the use of herbs during the cold/flu season and I got a bunch of women making elderberry syrup as a regular thing 🙂 I would say that from the “sugar” end of the debate, however, I would not necessarily advocate using raw honey. Don’t get me wrong..i love raw honey and do use it, but I also see honey as the precious outcome of a lot of work. I always make my syrups with white, refined sugar. Why? Because first of all, it produces a syrup that is very shelf-stable for a much longer period of time. Second, I make vats of different kinds of syrups (cough syrups, immune syrups, etc) to get my family through the winter months and I am not comfortable with using up our bees’ gift to us in such quantities for a Tablespoon-a-day type of supplement. That’s just my two cents! I really like your blog, and thank you for spreading the word about these wonderful herbs. 🙂

    Reply

    • I appreciate your perspective, thank you 🙂 For me, I do not use any refined sugars at all. I am truly grateful to the bees and the beautiful honey that they do produce, I am grateful for their life and all of their hard work. I am grateful for the local bee farmer that I purchase from as well. I do believe bees make a very precious food, and I love it for it’s nutritional properties – raw honey is full of vitamin and minerals, contains bee pollen and propolis which is known for having special healing powers, it’s naturally antibacterial, antiseptic, hydroscopic, antifungal and a natural antibiotic. Honey has been used for thousands of years as a healing substance. It was widely used in traditional medical systems as a food, wound dressing, and preservative for herbal medicines. It’s still widely used in the herbalist community too.

      Reply

    • The idea that honey is “wasted” when you eat it in quantity is a little far fetched. It isn’t as if we were bears plundering hives and leaving them in ruins. When I buy jugs of honey from the beekeeper down the road, my money and that of other buyers enables him to raise more bees, build more hives, and rent more land for them to range on just like they need. It’s a mutually beneficial arrangement, especially since our beekeeper knows what he’s doing and loves his job, thereby motivating him to keep the bees healthy and happy. I’m thankful to God that He designed this whole bee/honey thing. There’s no reason to feel any sort of guilt over using honey instead of refined sugar–now there’s something I don’t want to spoon into my son’s mouth everyday!

      Reply

    • Why would you make a medicinal product with white refined sugar, something that harms your health rather than improves it? I don’t get that, and it’s why I haven’t made elderberry syrup yet. This recipe seems perfect. Raw honey can be expensive, so I don’t like to waste it either, but if you’re not going to use it in a medicinal recipe, why use it at all?

      Reply

  13. Hi Emily, My little one is coming down with something so I’m making your Elderberry recipe to have ready for first thing tomorrow. It smells sooooo wonderful. I think we’ll eat in on waffles in the morning. I’ve been using elderberries in tea lately and I am so amazed at their immune boosting properties.

    Thank you for sharing this wonderful recipe! –Shanon

    Reply

    • Hi Shanon!!! I hope he feels better soon, you be well too. It will taste so good on waffles, enjoy it. Sending love to you.

      Reply

  15. I’ve never heard of using rose hips. That’s neat! I made some and took it daily this past fall and winter (not that we had much of a winter!) and it seemed to work great because I only had a few sniffles and they would be gone when I upped the amount for a couple days.

    I used the recipe on Crunchy Betty’s website: http://www.crunchybetty.com/your-natural-medicine-cabinet-elderberry-echinacea-syrup-recipe

    I’m wondering if the echinacea and rose hips would be fine to use together? Also, I saw on FB that you made some tonight. Does your family take it as a preventative through the spring/summer also? I guess colds are out there year-round. I stopped taking it when warm weather hit but maybe I should start again…?

    Reply

    • Hi Jessi, thanks for sharing 🙂 Rose hips are known to be high in vitamin C. I have them daily in herbal tea infusions as well.

      My family takes it year-round. I find it to be really helpful for my family. During summer months, I add it to homemade popsicles, smoothies, and homemade ice cream too.

      Reply

    • Thanks for the reply! I think I’ll start taking it again and make it with the rose hips when I run out of this current batch. I think I’ll really like the flavor the rose hips add. 🙂

      Reply

  16. I’ve been making this continuously since November, and I’ve found that so far, even with our early spring, I have not had any of my awful allergy problems! Local raw honey is great for that, along with the vit c in rosehips (natural antihistamine), ginger (anti inflammatory), and cinnamon is great for everything.

    Reply

  17. Excellent blog! Thank you for this recipe. My apprentices and I made an elderberry ginger syrup last month. Everything I’ve read and been taught about vitamin C availability with plants is that the vitamin C is destroyed during drying, heat and processing. An alternative would be to clean the hairs and seeds from the rose hips, chop them up, put them in a jar and cover with honey. Leave for about 3 weeks so that the honey can pull the vitamins and minerals from the rose hips. Another alternative can be to make an elixir with rose hips and equal parts brandy and honey. Let sit 3 weeks. I am going to make the elixir with my students this Saturday and when it’s done, I’m going to mix it with the wild rosebud elixir we made in the spring. Cheers!

    Reply

    • Hmm, I’ve never heard that. All of the herbalists I am familiar with heat the rose hips (along with others) for infusions etc – which brings out the vitamins and minerals. This is why herbal tea infusions are so powerful and nutritious.

      Interesting though.

      Take care.

      Reply

  18. I’d love to make a batch of this soon :). But I do have a question. I recently ordered astragalus root (I’ve been using your lemon-tea recipe), and I wasn’t expecting 4 oz to be quite so much! So, would you recommend adding a few strips of astragalus root to this? Will the extended simmer time affect the potency of the root? Just curious, and looking for ways to incorporate it anywhere I can. Thanks so much for sharing your knowledge :).

    Reply

    • Hi Vanessa, you could add a strip if you choose to, it might change the flavor a bit, it may be a little more bitter. The cooking time will be fine. I also use astragalus root strips in soup recipes and in my bone broth (and that cooks for 24 hours). I also add them into things that have broth or liquid, like if I’m making a pot roast, I’ll add one strip to add extra nutrition to the dish. Hope this helps! 🙂 Take care.

      Reply

  19. I just have to say that I have read several of your articles and you are now my best friend!!! (Don’t tell my sister that.) =) I just recently started making tinctures for my family and me and had heard of the advantages to using elderberry but never found a recipe that also called for rose hips. Thank you, thank you!!
    Btw, I also like Mountain Herb store but wanted to let you know about the Bulk Herb Store too. I have found a lot of tincture recipes on their website.
    Can’t wait for your next “article”. =)

    Reply

  20. Thank you for this great recipe, Emily. I’m such a fan of herbs and love incorporating them into our meals when possible. We have all these wonderful herbs in bulk and I look forward to trying this soon.

    Just lovely!

    xo,
    –Amber

    Reply

    • I hope you love it as much as we do. With school back in session, it’s a must in our house. Hope you get to make it.

      Be well xo

      Reply

  21. I love this recipe! I do have one question. I made this with rose hips bought through either mountain rose or frontier (I can’t remember but I think frontier) and they were very small. Maybe even chopped, I didn’t Lik that closely as it was my first time using it so I just assumed it was as it was supposed to be. I ran out before I could reorder through my co op. I found a local store that had them but this time they were large and definitely whole. While researching it looks like you should scoop out the seeds (hairs used as itching powder?) but for teas you could steep whole them eat them. The more I read, the more confused I was. Do you use them whole? Can you eat them? Thanks!

    Reply

    • Thanks! I’ve noticed them being 2 different sizes too, when I have bought them from my local natural foods co-op, they’ve been small, but also large (theirs come from Frontier). Honestly I don’t know, but I don’t think you need to chop them, I bet they are just larger rose hips. I have never eaten the rose hips, just used them in teas and remedies. I’m not sure if that was much help. But if you’re buying from either of those companies, I would say they are fine to use as is in the syrup or teas.

      Reply

  22. Yum. I love these types recipes. I am going to make a double batch. I will probably use the second batch for a wild food potluck and use it as a marinade for chicken wings. I’ll probably add in garlic and jalapeno.

    Reply

  24. Not silly at all. I take it daily by the spoonful as a preventative. I take it year-round, it really seems to help me stay well. Occasionally I will add it to food, in a smoothie, in or on ice cream, muffins, etc. But daily, I just take it in the morning. If I have been around someone who is sick, I take it a few times a day. If I am sick, I take it more often.

    Reply

    • Due to regulations, I cannot comment on health/medical related questions. I can only share my personal experiences and opinions, and anything I share should not be interpreted as an attempt to offer a medical opinion. Make sure to contact your health care practitioner about natural remedies and/or do your own research.

      Sorry I have to say that … that being said, I give this to my whole family daily, including my toddler {who is over 1 year old} and oldest daughter.

      Reply

  26. I have some Rosehip powder from MRH that I would like to use. Assuming it would be ok here instead of whole rose hips but how much?

    Reply

    • I have never used rose hip powder before, so I’m not sure. I would assume you could use it to replace the whole rose hips. Sorry I don’t know the answer.

      Reply

  28. I’m so glad to find a great recipe with rose hips included! If I were to use cinnamon sticks instead of the chips, about how many sticks would you suggest using? Thank you so much!

    Reply

  30. Hi Emily, Thank you for this recipe. I did have to sub cinnamon stick/chips for a few tsp of organic cinnamon because I am in a rush to make this today. I also do not have Astragulus root on hand so threw in some Marshmallow root and through the cooling process I am going to infuse some Cherry bark, because my research found not to boil Cherry bark. Any thoughts to my changes or additions?

    Reply

    • How lovely. I have never used any of those in this recipe, but I bet it will be great. I’m not really familiar with cherry bark, so I’m not sure. Excited for you that you’re getting to make some! 🙂

      Reply

  31. My 10 year old has a case of summer bronchitis. Yuck! I was looking for a good coconut milk ice cream to make for her to soothe her throat from coughing (none of us can eat dairy) and was originally going to make strawberry. Then I stumbled across your elderberry ice cream recipe and that is even better. I make tea from dried elderberry often throughout the winter, as well as make batches of elderberry syrup when we are under the weather. It never occurred to me to make ice cream with it though! I also have not come across recipes using rose hips or astragalus root. I had to look up the information on those. I am going to make the ice cream tomorrow, with what I have on hand (the dried elderberries and spices), but will make another syrup when the rose hips and astragalus root come in a few days. I also like to add turmeric when I make elderberry syrup. Fresh is great, but dried is beneficial too. I just used up the last of my fresh turmeric in the weekly batch of broth.

    Reply

    • Oh wonderful! I’m glad you found it and hope your daughter feels better soon. You can leave both the rose hips and astragalus root out, but I love to add them for and extra boost. 🙂 Turmeric sounds great too! Thanks so much for letting me know. Enjoy the ice cream!

      Reply

  32. Hey there! I was wondering about the rose hips. Should you infuse them instead of boiling them with the elderberries? Doesn’t boiling them kill the nutrients? TIA!

    Reply

    • Hi Niki 🙂 This is an older post and hasn’t been updated in a long time. I know since I wrote the post there’s been a lot of debate amongst different herbalists as to whether or not rose hips can be boiled in infusions or syrups. The best advice I have heard so far is not to boil them and instead add them after whatever you’re making has stopped boiling – so after a boil or shortly after that is fine. I went in and changed the recipe a little bit to reflect this method of cooking it. Hope that helps 🙂

      Reply

  33. I love making elderberry syrup for my family! I am wondering why you do the cold water bath before mixing in with the honey.

    Reply

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