Ginger & Lemon Balm Honey Syrup for Colds & Flu
Learn how to make a yummy ginger and lemon balm honey syrup to help fight cold and flu bugs.
Herbal syrups are one of the easiest (and tastiest) things you can make for your natural medicine cabinet.
Basically, they’re composed of a strong herbal tea, mixed with at least an equal measure of raw honey. (The high amount of honey helps preserve it longer than a normal herbal tea would last.)
Because they’re so delicious, patient compliance with taking herbal syrups is high, especially when it comes to trying to treat kids and loved ones!
Ingredients and Benefits
Some of the benefits of ginger include:
- fights nausea and queasiness
- helps with indigestion
- is warming, so especially useful in winter or when you have chills
Studies & traditional herbalism have shown that lemon balm:
- is especially effective against viruses, especially ones in the herpes family – those are the ones that cause cold sores, shingles and chicken pox.
- calms nerves & improves mood
- soothes an upset stomach
- may help promote sleep
Lemon balm is one of my favorite go-to herbs that I continually use year ’round – good thing it’s so prolific in my garden!
Fresh lemon juice was added to the recipe for its vitamins and bioflavonoids, but also because it makes the syrup extra yummy.
Raw honey is a germ fighting powerhouse and also soothes and coats inflamed throats and tummies.
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If you’re pregnant or nursing, or if you have thyroid problems, check with a qualified health care professional before using lemon balm.
Ginger & Lemon Balm Honey Syrup for Colds & Flu
- around 1/4 cup chopped, fresh lemon balm leaves (or 1/8 cup dried lemon balm)
- a 2 inch (5 cm) section of fresh ginger root, peeled & chopped
- 1/3 cup (80 ml) simmering hot water
- 1 tbsp (15 ml) freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 1/4 cup (60 ml) raw honey, or more to taste
If you don’t have a source of fresh lemon balm leaves, you can buy some high quality dried at Mountain Rose Herbs.
Directions to Make
Step 1:
Place the chopped lemon balm leaves and ginger root into a heatproof 8 oz (half-pint) canning jar. Pour the simmering hot water over the herbs, cover with a saucer and let steep for around an hour. Strain the resulting tea.
Step 2:
Pour the 1 tablespoon of fresh lemon juice into a 1/4 measuring cup and then fill it the rest of the way with strained lemon balm/ginger tea. (If you’re allergic or can’t use lemon juice, just omit it and use more tea in its place.)
Step 3:
Combine the tea & lemon juice combination with 1/4 cup of raw honey and stir well. Don’t heat the honey or it will lose some of its beneficial properties, so just keep stirring until it all combines.
Step 4:
Cap, label and store the finished honey in your refrigerator for around 2 weeks. Stir before each use.
Dosing & Use
Take by the spoonful, as needed, for relief of minor symptoms of cold or flu. If you have chronic medical problems, are pregnant or nursing, have worsening symptoms or you feel concerned about your illness, check with your doctor or health care provider for their professional and personalized advice.
This article was first published November, 2015 and updated in January, 2020.
This recipe looks like one i could make, except I don’t have the ginger root….I have some powder ginger though..would that work, and how much would i have to use?
Hi Sherry! Yes, you could definitely use some powdered ginger – I’ve done that before too. I would try around 1/4 tsp powdered ginger for a recipe this size. You might need to adjust a little bit for taste, but that should be a good starting point.
Thank you for that quick response. I have one other cough syrup recipe I use too. I have a lemon balm plant and haven’t done much with it but to make some tea from it’s leaves….
Thanks Jan I am going to try some soon. It looks good.
Can you use dried lemon balm?
Hi Karen! Yes, you sure can. Just use half as much dried herb as you would fresh. So instead of 1/4 cup of fresh lemon balm, you would use 1/8 cup dried lemon balm.
For the 2″ piece of ginger do you mean long or wide?
Hi Karen! That’s just a rough estimate, but I chop off a small piece that’s kind of square-ish. If it’s a little more or less than 2″x2″ then that’s fine too! :)
Just made my go to cough syrup. Fresh squeezed lemon juice, grated fresh ginger, garlic, apple cider vinegar w/mother, fresh ground black pepper, cayenne pepper & honey. It is amazing and works soooo fast!
Sounds wonderful & powerful! :)
Hey there, can you freeze this to have for next flu season ?
Hi Beth! I like the idea & you could give it a try, though it might be more effective if you wait and make some later in the season. Lemon balm will be around at least until fall frost & I’m not sure how long it would be effective for when frozen, so the fresher the better might apply in that case.
I’ve already made this recipe once and imaking it again today. I was really happy with the results. Everyone liked it and so far…no colds! Today I’m putting into little spray bottles to use as a sore throat spray. Thanks so much for all the great ideas. I find your blog so useful and fun!
Hi Jen, That’s great to hear that you like the recipe! I love the idea of making a throat spray from it too! :)
Do you think instead of making a tea, that if I just added the ginger, lemon balm, and a cut up lemon to the honey and let it infuse, I would get the same results? Iāve done it with garlic to make a fermented garlic honey (which tastes terrible lol, but was useful in cooking). I thought this would definitely be a tastier option. And then it could also be added to a fresh cup of hot tea.
Hi Brittany! Maybe something like this, only add in lemon balm leaves?
https://thenerdyfarmwife.com/ginger-lemon-honey-tonic-for-colds-and-flu/
That might work! I would remove the leaves fairly soon though, since I suspect they’ll start to break down sooner than the other ingredients. :)
Hi! I am steeping the lemon balm leaves as I type this. Does this have to cure for 2 weeks in the fridge or is that the shelf life? Thanks!
Hi Diana! 2 weeks is the shelf life, it doesn’t steep that long. The tea itself steeps just one hour. :)
I have made the ginger lemon balm syrup. Do I take it stray from bottle or do I mix it in with a tea ? Thank you. My first time doing this..
Hi Lynn! You can take a spoonful of it straight from the bottle or mix it into tea.
Whichever way tastes best to you! :)