Flavored Simple Syrup Recipe (6 Easy Variations)

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TL;DR for Flavored Simple Syrups

Recipe Summary

Whether you want to make a plain or flavored simple syrup, this is one of the best ways to add a hint of sweetness to your desserts or drinks. Learn how to customize your own flavored simple syrups.

Prep5m

Cook10m

Total15m

0gCarb 0gFat 0gProtein

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One cup of sugar, one cup of water, and six ways to make the bottle earn its spot in the refrigerator. Blueberry lemon, raspberry lime, ginger lemon, mint, vanilla, and lime all start with the same 1:1 base.

Bring the sugar and water to a gentle boil, stirring until the sugar dissolves. Add the fruit, herb, or spice, reduce the heat, and let the flavor mellow for 5 to 8 minutes. Strain when needed, cool, and bottle. That’s it.

Six flavored simple syrup variations

What can you use simple syrup for?

• Cocktails and mocktails: swap the sugar cube in a Champagne cocktail, balance the heat in a chile pineapple margarita, or start with this collection of cocktails built around flavored syrups.
• Coffee and tea: stir it into cold coffee or pass a bottle with a pitcher of Southern sweet iced tea.
• Desserts: brush it over cake, drizzle it onto pancakes or waffles, or spoon a little over ice cream.
• Sparkling drinks: add syrup to ice, top with sparkling water, and finish with citrus or mint.

Honey syrup also does the work in a Bee’s Knees cocktail, where gin and lemon need a sweetener that blends without a gritty finish.

Quick troubleshooting

• Sugar still looks grainy: keep the heat gentle and stir until it fully dissolves.
• Flavor is faint: let the add-in mellow toward the recipe’s 8-minute limit.
• Fruit, herbs, or ginger remain: strain the syrup before it cools and goes into the bottle.

If you need more inspiration, you can check out these great recipes from Saveur, I’m thinking of the chili-spiked one myself.

Think of what you are wanting to use it for and flavor the syrups accordingly.

Can you buy simple syrup at the store?

Yes! Here’s where you can buy simple syrup:

• At your local grocery store, usually found in the cocktail mixer aisle.
• You can also find it online at Amazon
• At Sur la Table
• Or try this fun collection of pre-prohibition collection of flavors from Uncommon Goods.

How to store simple syrup

Cool the syrup, seal it in a clean bottle or jar, and refrigerate it. The recipe card uses a conservative 4 to 7 day refrigerator window for both plain and flavored batches.

Make the amount you’ll use that week. Fresh fruit and herbs bring plenty of flavor, but this is not a shelf-stable syrup and the recipe does not call for home canning.

Is there a sugar-free simple syrup recipe?

Here are a few sans the sugar options for substituting with erythritol, Truvia or sucralose to make a sugar-free simple syrup:

Simple Syrup with Truvia natural sweetener by AllRecipes

Sugar-Free Simple Syrup by Big Oven

Keto Simple Syrup (erythritol simple syrup) by The Urban Cowgirl

Flavored Simple Syrup Recipe Ideas to use from fruit flavored to herb to spiced:

• Mint Simple Syrup! There’s many to try such as: spearmint, winter mint, chocolate mint, pineapple mint, lemon balm, lemon verbena, apple mint, lavender mint, and more. Think mint juleps and mojitos!
• Strawberry, fresh (preferred) or frozen work well.
• Vanilla simple syrup, so nice! Use a whole vanilla bean, or extract.
• Demerara sugar for a golden amber color and slight molasses flavor.
• Jalapenos, habanero, hatch, scotch bonnets, Tabasco, they are all great for adding a nice bit of heat to create a sweet and spicy chili simple syrup. Perfect to serve with a tasty chicken and waffles recipe.
• Lemon, lime, orange, all make wonderful simple syrups for glazing cakes, fruit cakes, donuts, sweetbreads (I used a simple syrup glaze with this babka!) and more.

Just about any fruit can be turned into a syrup. Just get creative and mix up some flavors such as:

• coconut and lime
• lemon and blueberry
• strawberry lemon
• raspberry lime
• ginger and lemon (perfect for a ginger beer recipe)
• standard vanilla (great over desserts, ice creams, and in coffees)

I love using simple syrups any time of the year, but in the summer, I love to make a pitcher of ginger beer!

What is ginger beer?

It is a balance lovely blend of just the right amount of kick from ginger mingles with a bit of sweet and then you get that hint of lemon. They all come together perfectly in this version of flavored simple syrup, pour some in a glass and top off with some sparkling water, add a sprig of mint or twist of lemon and life is good.

Easy peasy ginger beer! It’s so refreshing and tastes amazing.

Other refreshing drinks to try:

• Brazilian Lemonade, a creamy blend of limes and sweetened condensed milk, you have to give it a go!
• Cherry Limeade! My kids’ favorite drink! It’s all lemony lime, with a nice punch of cherry, perfect any time of day.
• Sweetened Iced Tea, as a southerner this is how we stay hydrated. You can make it unsweetened and then give everyone the bottle of basic simple syrup on the side to sweeten to taste.
• For the adults try this stunning cocktail recipe y’all. A Scarlet O’Hara cocktail punch recipe put on some of your favorite music, I like a bit of country music, and enjoy over ice! Great for cookouts, picnics, dinner parties, or any warm-weather occasion. (Please always drink responsibly).

Simple syrup ratios

The base recipe uses a 1:1 sugar-to-water ratio: 1 cup sugar and 1 cup water. For a thicker syrup, use a 2:1 sugar-to-water ratio: 2 cups sugar and 1 cup water. It is twice as sweet. Use less and taste as you go.

Here’s how to make simple syrup!

Little Figgy Food Team

Flavored Simple Syrups

4.87 from 30 votes

Whether you want to make a plain or flavored simple syrup, this is one of the best ways to add a hint of sweetness to your desserts or drinks. Learn how to customize your own flavored simple syrups.

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 5 minutes mins

Cook Time 10 minutes mins

Total Time 15 minutes mins

Servings: 1 1/2 cups

Course: Drinks

Ingredients Method Nutrition Notes

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x?

Basic Simple Syrup

• 1 cup Sugar
• 1 cup Water

Blueberry Lemon

• 1 cup fresh or frozen Blueberries
• Juice of 1 Lemon

Raspberry Lime

• 1 cup fresh or frozen Raspberries
• Juice of 1 Lime

Ginger Beer

• ¼ cup sliced or grated fresh Ginger
• Juice of 2 - 3 Lemons 1/4 cup
• Sprigs of fresh Mint optional or to garnish

Mint

• Handful of fresh Mint

Vanilla

• 1 Vanilla pod or 1 tsp. Vanilla extract or paste
• Lime
• Juice of 3 Limes

Method

 

1. In a saucepan over medium heat, add the water and sugar and bring to a gentle boil, stirring occasionally or until the sugar has fully dissolved.
2. Remove from heat and allow to cool.
3. Store in airtight jar, can be kept in the refrigerator for up to a week.

To Make Flavored Simple Syrup:

1. Add your favorite fruit, herb or spice to the basic simple syrup mixture and continue as above, reduce heat and allow to simmer or mellow for about 5 - 8 minutes (depending on the flavor your using), sieve if necessary, allow to cool and store as directed above.

Nutrition

Serving: 2tsps

Notes

Will keep in an airtight container for 4 - 7 days in the refrigerator. To make a thicker simple syrup, increase the amount of sugar to 2 cups so that your ratio is 1:2 (1 cup of water and 2 cups of sugar).

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[Updated: 6/13/19]

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