Homemade Elderberry and Honey Gummies, made with elderberry flowers and berries simmered into a honey tea, made into healthy gummies.
Elderberries – a trusted remedy for immune support, comfort, and recovery
Elderberries have been trusted for generations as a natural remedy to relieve colds, fight the flu and boost the immune system. Long before brightly packaged supplements lined store shelves, elderberry syrup was simmered at home to soothe coughs, shorten the duration of illness, and bring comfort during those long, heavy days of feeling unwell.
Elderberries are especially valued for their antioxidant and antiviral properties—qualities that make them a quiet powerhouse during cold and flu season. They don’t just support the immune system; they help it respond more efficiently when we need it most.
Elderberry cough syrup, in particular, has been used for centuries to calm irritated throats and reduce persistent coughing from colds or even seasonal allergies. It’s one of those remedies that feels as nurturing as it is effective.
Elderberries For More Than Health
Even when you’re feeling well, elderberries still offer benefits worth celebrating. You might be interested in the elderberry properties for your skin, their naturally high vitamin A content supports skin health, making elderberry as much a beauty ally as a wellness one. That alone is reason enough to keep elderberry part of your routine year-round.
And that’s exactly why I prefer to make my own elderberry remedies rather than buying them ready-made.
When you make elderberry gummies at home, you control the quality and concentration of the extraction. There are no artificial dyes, no corn syrup sweeteners, and no fillers, just pure, intentional ingredients.
Instead of processed sugars, I sweeten mine with honey (or occasionally agave), adding another layer of natural health support.
Homemade Gummies For Health Remedies
Herbalist have been way ahead of the game of preventative health remedies, and it’s time we join in.
Having an understanding of the beneficial properties found in nature sure sounds like a smart way to manage our health.
I have always had a curiosity for natural remedies, whether for health or for beauty aids, which inspired my recent cookbook Dirt To Dish, as a way of using more plants in my cooking.
Healthy Lifestyle
I used to make many of my own concoctions as a teenage for my crazy curly hair and to ward off acne during teenage years.
Fast forward to 2007, when I moved to Brazil for a period of time, I knew I just had to explore plant medicine knowledge from the interior areas of Brazil.
I learned much from the vast knowledge of plant medicine while in Brazil, and knew I could use what I learned once back in the states.
Elderberry and Honey – A Time-tested Pair
I wanted to use only raw honey, it must be raw honey and not that wet stuff that pours like syrup.
Honey deserves its own moment of appreciation. Raw honey is nature’s gift to our body, because it’s loaded with antibacterial and antifungal properties, and on its own it soothes sore throats and helps ease coughing. These are exactly the comforts we reach for when illness settles in, at least that has been my experience.
I grew up with a Middle Eastern mother who used honey in nearly everything where sugar might otherwise appear. That tradition stayed with me. Honey wasn’t just a sweetener, it was medicine, nourishment, and care all in one.
These elderberry and honey gummies carry that same intention: a small, daily act of wellness rooted in tradition, simplicity, and love.
Honey For Sweet Treats
A simple, yet almost healthy Honey and Lemon cake is often in my home during the winter months, as a healthy sweet treat.
Of course, I can’t leave out the way I learned to make Baklava (baklawa), using only honey to drizzle across the nut pastry, and not simple syrup, which is just sugar water.
Healthful Honey
Raw honey inhibits the growth of harmful bacteria and fungi. Its low moisture content, acidic nature, and the presence of hydrogen peroxide (produced naturally by enzymes in raw honey), make it hostile to pathogens. This is why honey has long been used to soothe sore throats, calm coughs, and even support wound healing.
Most of honey’s benefits come from raw, minimally processed honey. When honey is heated or overly filtered, many enzymes and beneficial compounds are lost. Raw honey is thicker, often opaque, and may crystallize, signs that it’s still alive with nutrients.
In short, honey is good for us because it is simple, whole, and intelligent in how it supports the body. It comforts, protects, and nourishes, all without needing to be altered or improved.
Since most OTC (over the counter), gummies are ladened with sugar and dyes, I wanted my homemade health elderberry gummies to remain healthy. Adding honey, for sweetness, and letting the natural color shine through, assured me that these gummies are 100% natural and healthy!
Gummies For Grownups Too!
It was said to me, by my daughter in law, that the boys (I thought she meant just my grandsons), wouldn’t take vitamins or medicine in their house, unless it was in the form of a gummy.
How was I to know that she included ‘her hubby’, my son, in that rat pack of boys she was referring to! LOL.
So, I set out to do what any good mommy/grandma does; find a solution.
With the help of a pinch of gelatin or agar agar (a plant gelatin powder), I was able to make a huge batch of gummies at the onset of school season, ie cold and flu season.
Then, I realized I could also make medicinal gummies for them to suck on by using the recipe here for a homemade elderberry gummies.
Wouldn’t you know it, while I simply used a sheet pan to set the gummies and then cut them into cubes; my grandsons (or maybe it was my son, wink), for Christmas, gave me cute little molds to shape more gummies in the future.
Dang kids never really grow up! LOL.
Why Make Elderberry Gummies Yourself?
The most logical reason to make homemade elderberry gummies yourself, is because you know exactly what is going into them.
Homemade gummies control the level of sweetness, using honey instead of sugar and while the color isn’t pretty, at least it has no dye.
If you really need to sell your family on the gummies by their appearance, you can use fun mold shapes and toss a beetroot in the tea for a pretty color.
Another reason, of course, is that you will get 6-times more homemade elderberry gummies for the cost of one-month supply from the store.
I used roughly 4-ounces of berries and flowers to make one batch, and take a look at the price at your local store for the gummies (this price was in 2019)!
Other Homemade Health Hacks
With just a few natural ingredients, often plant ingredients, we can make many of the things we buy, at home and make them actually healthy!
- Citrus Health Hacks for Immune Support – are for all seasons and for all immune support reasons using both the juice and oil rich skins of all citrus.
- Red Clover Tea for Hormone Health – to help balance female hormones for sleeping better and to feel better, is a health tip I want to share with you.
- Immune Boost Onion Soup – is slow simmered in natural medicinal properties from onion, turmeric, ginger, fresh herbs and mushrooms.
- IBS Herbal Tea Recipe – No one thinks about irritable bowel syndrome relief until IBS hits and our gut health suddenly becomes a priority. An herbal tea recipe to the rescue.
- Immune Boost Vegetable Onion Soup – Immune Boost Vegetable Onion Soup is slow simmered in natural medicinal properties from onion, turmeric, ginger, fresh herbs and mushrooms.
- Turmeric Ginger Shots – Turmeric root, fresh ginger with lemon juice, honey and pinch of black pepper is the best turmeric shot recipe with abundant wellness benefits.
Ingredients Needed
- Dried Elderberries – loose dried elderberries from this 1 pound bag will make 6 times the amount of gummies for the same price as a jar of ready-made elderberry gummies.
- Dried Elderberry flowers – these keep for a long time in the fridge, since they are dried flowers.
- Water to simmer the flowers and berries into a tea.
- Raw honey is preferred as the sweetener because of its abundance in health properties.
- Agar agar – I prefer agar agar over animal gelatin powder because it sets firmer.
Equipment Needed
- Saucepan for a slow simmer to extract the properties from the flowers and berries.
- Slotted spoon for removing the large pieces to be discarded.
- Strainer to assure only the fine liquid is being used for the gummies.
- Gummy molds – these are easy to use and mold quickly.
- Knife (if shaping on a cookie sheet), rather than using molds.
- Measuring cup and measuring spoons for confidence and balance in the mixture.
- Airtight container – my preference is glass mason jars but use what you have.
- Stovetop or burner to simmer the mixture.
Homemade Elderberry and Honey Gummies
Equipment
- gummy molds
- Saucepan
- Strainer
Ingredients
- 1/3 cup Dried Elderberries
- 1/4 cup Dried Elderberry flowers
- 4 cups Water
- 1/4 cup Raw Honey
- 2.5 tbsp Agar agar
Instructions
- Place the elderberries and flowers in a medium size pot with water. Bring to a boil. Turn down to a simmer and let simmer for 20 minutes.
- Remove the pot from the stove and add the honey. Allow the tea to cool.
- Strain the berries and flowers out, and add the agar agar. Pour immediately into a sheet pan or individual gummy molds. Place in the fridge to set, about 30 minutes.
- Cut into bite size cube if a sheet pan is used, and transfer to an airtight jar in the fridge. If molds are used, pop the gummies out and store in an airtight jar in the fridge.
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