Lavender simple syrup is easy to make and full of fun flavor! It is just what your next glass of lemonade or latte is waiting for! Try making it with honey, cane sugar, or coconut sugar.
Simple syrups are great to have on hand to add to mineral water to create your own soda, or to flavor lemonade or coffee.
They are so much fun and easy to customize. You can use practically any sweetener as the base and add herbs or extracts to create fun flavors.
In celebration of the season, one of my favourite versions to make is lavender simple syrup with vanilla. It is delicate and full of flavor!
Some people think lavender tastes like soap, (it’s like that whole cilantro thing) and others think that it tastes amazing. I’m obviously in the later. 😉 I’ve been cooking with lavender for years.
Moderation is the key. Use just enough to add a bit of flavor but not so much that it takes like a bar of soap.
In my cookbook Steeped, I use lavender it in a coconut lavender ice cream, in shortbread, and in chocolate lavender ice cream. <— Be still my heart, that is still one of my favourite ice creams hands down.
Sometimes I add to it to my Earl Grey tea blend as well.
All around, lavender is a pretty amazing herb. It is soothing and relaxing making it the perfect addition to a warm drink after a long day to help you relax or in a cool drink at the end of a day in the sun.
Making your own simple syrup is well just that, simple. It takes two main ingredients- sweetener and water.
Chose your sweetener, add water, and bring to a boil. Then you can add whatever flavors you want, in this case, the lavender blooms and vanilla pods. Strain and then you are set!
Most simple syrups are made with refined white sugar, not my – favourite option personally. Instead, I prefer to use an unrefined sweetener. I have three different options go with depending on my mood or what I want to use it for.
The Sweeteners:
- Unrefined Cane Sugar– AKA unrefined white sugar that has some of the minerals left in tack. Unrefined cane sugar has a neutral flavor and is the least expensive. If I am making the syrup for a crowd, this would be the sweetener that I would use. It is also a great option if you have a tight budget.
- Coconut Sugar– An unrefined sugar made from the sap of the coconut palm tree. It is light in flavor, with a hint of caramel and is a low-glycemic sugar. Coconut sugar is on the pricier side.
- Honey– It has a rich flavor that pairs well with lavender. Raw honey while normally preferred is not essential since the syrup is going to be boiled. Instead, just pick honey that you know that is unadulterated. Honey’s price really depends on where you find it. It is the least refined of the three options.
You can make lavender simple syrup with fresh or dried culinary lavender (L. Angustifolia). Both work equally as well for this recipe.
Don’t be disappointed if your syrup does not look purple. Often it doesn’t. A little trick to that pop of color that you are looking for is to add a few fresh or frozen blueberries to the syrup while it simmers. The results will be a beautiful purple/pink hue!
This syrup is delicious in hot cocoa! Simply swap the maple syrup/honey for lavender simple syrup instead!
Other Lavender Recipes:
Tools and Ingredients:
How to Make Lavender Vanilla Simple Syrup Three Ways
How to Make Lavender Vanilla Simple Syrup Three Ways
Prep
Cook
Inactive
Total
Yield 1 1/2 cups
Lavender simple syrup is easy to make and full of fun flavor! It is just what your next glass of lemonade or latte is waiting for! Try it with honey or coconut sugar!
Ingredients
- 1 cup unrefined cane sugar or coconut sugar
- 1 cup water
- 2 tablespoons lavender blossoms (fresh or dried)
- Vanilla*
- 8 blueberries (optional)
Or
- 1 cup honey
- 1 cup water
- 2 tablespoons lavender blossoms (fresh or dried)
- Vanilla*
- 8 blueberries (optional)
* I like to use a vanilla bean pod that is spent from making vanilla extract. It is a great way to use up something on hand without spending more money on fresh vanilla beans. You could also use 1/2 of a fresh vanilla bean. Or once the syrup is done simmering, you can add 1 tablespoon of vanilla extract.
Instructions
Add all the ingredients to a small sauce pot. Bring to a boil, stirring until the sugar has dissolved. Remove from the heat and allow to steep for 30 minutes.
Pour the syrup through a sieve into a jar to strain the lavender and blueberries. Allow to cool and store in the fridge.
The syrup will stay fresh for at least 2 weeks.
I bet this would be an awesome flavor to add to Kombucha! Going to try:)
Oh my goodness! I bet you are right. Why did I never think of that?!
Hi Katie,
If I use lavender from my garden do I use that isn’t fully bloomed or can I use lavender fully bloomed and on it’s way out?
Thanks.
Terry
Hi Terry,
A few fully bloomed flowers are fine but it’s best to stick with the buds for better flavor.
Made this with Honey and the bees were swarming my kitchen door! Tastes delish and I love the addition of vanilla.
I am so glad! Vanilla makes so many things taste better. 🙂