How to Make Herb-Infused Honey with Fresh or Dry Herbs

Herb-infused honey is one of the most delicious herbal remedies you can make! Learn 3 ways to make it and get all the other details you need.

When you think of serious herbal remedies, your mind probably goes to strong teas, bitter tinctures, or dark green salves.

At least mine did at the beginning. So when I first heard about herb-infused honey, I wasn’t sure what to think. Was it a treat, a remedy, or both?

Once I made my first batch, though, I didn’t care how I classified it. I just knew it was delicious and I wanted to keep it around as much as possible!

Now I make multiple batches of herb-infused honey every year. There are a few simple ways to do it, and I have all the details you need here.

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Raw vs. Manuka vs. Organic vs. Local: Which Honey is Best?

If you’re going to make an herb-infused honey, you might wonder which honey is healthiest. After all, this is an herbal remedy, albeit a very tasty one. And if it’s a remedy, you want every part of it to promote good health.

Here’s the good news. You have a lot of great options when it comes to choosing honey, so there’s no need to worry about finding the perfect honey.

• Raw honey is extracted without heat, so it retains all of its valuable enzymes and antimicrobial activity. This is the most important thing to look for when choosing your honey. You can find raw honey in practically every grocery store now.
• Local honey is produced by bees that live in your general geographical area. It can be raw or heat-processed, depending on the beekeeper. Raw is ideal.
• Organic honey is trickier to source. Bees can travel a long distance as they search for nectar to bring back to the hive. In order for honey to be certified organic, the beekeeper has to ensure that the bees can only access plants that meet organic standards. Usually, only beekeepers in remote parts of the world can produce organic honey. It can be raw or heat-processed.
• Single-origin honey, like clover honey, buckwheat honey, or orange blossom honey is produced by bees who gather nectar from one type of plant. These honeys will vary in flavor and even medicinal benefits. You can find this honey raw or heat-processed.
• Manuka honey is one of the most well-known medicinal honeys. While all raw honey has antimicrobial and healing properties, research indicates that manuka honey is the most active against many pathogens. If you opt for this pricier medicinal honey, make sure it’s raw.

I prefer using local raw honey from small beekeepers. Organic honey seems impractical since I can’t get it locally. I don’t worry about using a certain plant source and have never bothered with manuka honey, but if you want a specific taste profile or have a pressing health need, you could consider those options.

The Best Herbs to Infuse in Honey

You can infuse practically any herb into honey, but some work better than others.

My favorite herbs to use in herbal honey are strongly aromatic herbs. These herbs contain a lot of volatile oils (the essential oils in a plant), so they give the finished honey a great flavor. I’ve made delicious herb-infused honeys with herbs like

• Peppermint (Mentha piperita)
• Sage (Salvia officinalis)
• Rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis)
• Thyme (Thymus vulgaris)
• Oregano (Origanum vulgaris)
• Bee balm (Monarda fistulosa, M. didyma)
• Holy basil (Ocimum tenuiflorum, O. gratissimum, O. africanum)
• Cinnamon basil (Ocimum basilicum ‘Cinnamon’)
• Lavender (Lavandula vera)

I’ve also made herbal honey with catnip (Nepeta cataria) and lemon balm (Melissa officinalis), but these didn’t come out with a strong flavor. This is probably because their volatile oil content isn’t as high as the above herbs.

You can infuse bitter or otherwise unpleasant herbs into honey for a more medicinal product, too. Herbs like motherwort (Leonurus cardiaca), horehound (Marrubium vulgare), and wild lettuce (Lactuca virosa) pack a bitter punch, but they offer important medical benefits. By infusing them in honey, you can end up with a sweeter way to take their medicine.

Herb-Infused Honey Basics

The basic process for making an herb-infused honey is pretty simple.

1. Add some herbs to a jar.
2. Pour honey over the herbs, filling the jar and stirring so everything is covered.
3. Cover the jar with a lid.
4. Wait 2-4 weeks.
5. Strain through a metal mesh sieve.
6. Enjoy!

So while the basic process is simple, there are a few different methods you can use. These methods all depend on the kind of herbs you’re starting with. Each method has its own pros and cons, so choose the one you like best after you learn a little about each.

Method #1: Use Fresh Herbs for a Fermented Herbal Honey

My favorite way to make herb-infused honey is with fresh herbs. The beneficial microbes and enzymes in raw honey mix with the moisture from the fresh herbs to create a delicious fermented honey that’s infused with fantastic herbal flavor.

One of the most well-known fermented herbal honeys is garlic-infused honey, a staple remedy for cold and flu season. You’ve possibly even made a batch!

Here’s how I make a fresh herb-infused honey.

1. Place a layer of fresh herbs in a glass jar, filling it about 2 inches high. Don’t firmly pack the herbs in since that will make it hard for the honey to reach everything.
2. Pour in a layer of honey to completely cover the herbs by an inch or so.
3. Repeat layers of herbs and honey, making sure the honey saturates the fresh herbs and covers them completely.
4. Leave 1-2 inches of headspace in your jar so there’s room for the honey to ferment. Stir the herb and honey mixture to remove any air bubbles. Add more honey if needed.
5. Cap and label your jar, then set it on the counter to infuse and ferment.
6. Stir the mixture every week to help keep the honey and herbs incorporated. You’ll see small bubbles as the fermentation process continues.
7. After 2-4 weeks, you can strain the honey. Store it in a labeled, clean jar in the refrigerator.

Why You Might Love This Method

This is my favorite herb-infused honey method for a number of reasons.

• Fermented foods provide additional probiotics for a healthy gut.
• The fermentation process may also lend other health-promoting properties to the honey.
• This is a great way to use up a bumper crop of any aromatic herbs you have growing in your garden.
• Because of the moisture in fresh herbs, the final honey is usually thin and easier to strain.

I usually make up 4-6 quarts of fresh herbal honey each summer with herbs from my garden. I love having fun honey flavors to enjoy in drinks, remedies, and recipes!

Reasons You Might Skip It

Even though I love making herbal honey this way, it does have some setbacks that are worth considering.

• You have to store a fresh herb-infused honey in the refrigerator. The extra moisture from the herbs makes the honey less shelf-stable. So once it’s done infusing and fermenting, it needs cold storage.
• Some people worry about botulism with this method. Honey’s natural acidity and the fermentation process make this highly unlikely, but it’s worth mentioning.

If you like the idea of making an herb-infused honey with fresh herbs, but aren’t comfortable with even the slightest, unlikely risk of botulism, Colleen Kodekas from Grow, Forage, Cook, Ferment offers a great solution:

If you are concerned about it, use a pH test strip. Botulism spores can’t reproduce with a pH of less than 4.6. Honey is usually around 3.9, but that can vary between brands.

If the pH is too high, add a splash of raw apple cider vinegar to add more acidity and retest. This is generally not needed, but I did want to mention it.

Method #2: Try Dry Herbs for a Shelf-Stable Herbal Honey

You can also use dry herbs to make an herbal honey. In some ways this process is easier, so it might be a great choice if you’re just getting started with natural remedies.

You need whole or cut and sifted herbs for your herb-infused honey. Powdered herbs are nearly impossible to strain out, though you can simply stir them into the honey to create something called an electuary.

But since we’re making herb-infused honey here, stick with larger herb pieces that won’t pass through your sieve.

Here’s all you have to do.

1. Fill a jar about 1/3 of the way with your dry herb of choice. If you’re using a potent herb like ginger, cinnamon, or cayenne pieces, you can fill it up around 1/4 of the way.
2. Pour honey over the herbs, filling the jar to about 1 inch below the top.
3. Stir the herbs and honey to help combine them, and add more honey if needed.
4. Cap and label your jar, then allow it to infuse on the counter. You can even set it in a sunny place to encourage the herbal goodness to soak into the honey.
5. Stir the herbs back into the honey every week. Sneak a little taste, and when you like it, strain it through a sieve. Store it in a labeled, clean jar at room temperature.

Why You Might Love This Method

Using dry herbs to make your herbal honey has a number of things going for it.

• This herbal honey is shelf-stable. Since you’re not adding any moisture to the honey, it doesn’t need to take up any room in your refrigerator.
• You can make this any time of the year, not just in gardening season.
• Similarly, you don’t need access to fresh herbs for this method. You don’t have to have a garden or source fresh herbs from someone else.

Reasons You Might Skip It

Even though this method might be more accessible and simpler than using fresh herbs, it also has some setbacks.

• Brittle herbs can crumble into the honey as you strain it. This doesn’t affect the quality of your honey, but it might not be the look you’re going for.
• If you garden, you’ll need to take extra time to dry your herbs before infusing them.
• It can be a pain to strain. Honey is thick, so it takes a while to pass through a sieve. It’s also hard to press out of the leftover herbs.

If you want an easier way to strain dry herbs out of honey, try adding some gentle heat, like you do when making herbal oils. This helps thin the honey so it passes through the sieve more easily.

Now, the emphasis is on the word gentle here. You want your honey to stay raw, so don’t add it right to a saucepan and certainly don’t microwave it. Yikes!

Instead, place a cloth at the bottom of a small saucepan. Fill it 3/4 of the way with water and place your herb and honey jar in the pan. The water should come up the sides but not touch the cap.

Gently warm the water over the lowest heat possible. As soon as the water starts to steam, turn off the heat. Allow the jar to warm for 15 minutes or so, then strain out the honey.

Alternatively, you can also heat water until it simmers. Put your jar of honey and herbs into a heat-proof mixing bowl. Add the hot water to the bowl so it comes up the sides of the jar, but doesn’t touch the lid. Allow the honey to warm for 15-30 minutes, then strain.

Method #3: Get the Best of Both Worlds

If you like aspects of the fresh herb method, but want the shelf-stability of using dry herbs, there’s a way to get the best of both worlds.

I learned about this method in the book Sweet Remedies: Healing Herbal Honeys (here on Amazon or here on Bookshop) written by my friend, herbalist Dawn Combs. This unique book gives you all sorts of honey-based herbal remedy formulas and instructions.

You’ll take one extra step and need a tool called a refractometer. This inexpensive kitchen gadget tells you how much water and/or sugar is in a food. You’ll use it to decide if your finished honey is shelf-stable or not.

Here’s what to do.

1. Wilt your fresh herbs by leaving them out at room temperature for 8-12 hours. Keep them out of direct sunlight, too.
2. Fill a glass jar around 1/3 of the way with your wilted herbs.
3. Add honey to the jar, leaving 1 inch of headspace.
4. Stir the honey and herbs to help combine them and remove air bubbles. Add more honey if needed.
5. Cap and label your jar, then allow it to infuse on the counter or in a sunny place.
6. Stir the herbs and honey weekly. When you like the flavor, strain out the herbs through sieve.
7. Use the refractometer to check the water content of your honey. As long as it’s under 18%, your honey is shelf-stable. Otherwise, you’ll need to store it in the fridge. As always, put the honey in a clean, labeled jar before storing.

For more information on this method, as well as other honey-based remedies, check out Dawn’s book. It’ll make a great addition to your herbal book collection!

Why You Might Love This Method

Since this method combines the best of the previous two methods, there’s a lot to like.

• When it’s done correctly, you get a shelf-stable honey made with fresh herbs.
• It’s easier to strain honey from wilted herbs than dry, brittle herbs.
• You can still use herbs fresh from your garden, without the hassle of fully dehydrating them.

Reasons You Might Skip It

Still, there are a couple of reasons you might decide to skip this way of making herb-infused honey.

• Wilting your herbs is an extra step, and sometimes you just want to finish a project right away.
• You have to keep the fresh herbs in a safe place where they can wilt, but not be in the way or get dirty.
• You need a special tool. While a refractometer isn’t expensive, it is another gadget that you may not need very often.

How to Use Herb-Infused Honey

You can use herb-infused honey as you would regular honey. It’s perfect in the kitchen and in your natural medicine cabinet. The infused herbs give your food and drinks another flavor layer, and they also lend additional medicinal qualities to your remedy preparations.

• Stir herbal honey into your favorite drinks, like herbal chai, homemade hot cocoa, or your morning cup of coffee or tea.
• Drizzle it on your favorite sourdough baked goods, like sliced sandwich bread, biscuits, muffins, or even cinnamon rolls!
• Use herb-infused honey to sweeten and help preserve your homemade elderberry syrup.
• Add it to a homemade face mask, like this rose petal facial mask.
• Take a small spoonful when you have a sore throat or cough.
• Try it in an herbal smoothie, like this tasty green chickweed smoothie.
• Make a thick dough with herb-infused honey and powdered marshmallow root or slippery elm bark. Roll it into small balls called pastilles and allow them to dry overnight. Use them as natural cough drops.

What to Do With Your Leftover Herbs

Once you’ve made your yummy herb-infused honey, you’ll be left with a pile of honey-soaked herbs. And if you’re anything like me, it might hurt to put all of that sweet herbal goodness into the compost pile right away.

Which is why I always find ways to get the last bits of herbal goodness out of those herbs!

• You can gently simmer the herbs to make a sweet herbal tea. Or simply pour freshly boiled water over them.
• I’ve warmed the herbs in a pot of milk, added cocoa powder, and enjoyed an easy herb-infused hot cocoa.
• Believe it or not, you can simply snack on the herbs. If they were dry when you infused them, they’re perfectly shelf-stable.
• Try adding them to cooking recipes. One year I used honeyed thyme, sage, and rosemary in our Thanksgiving turkey and it was one of the most scrumptious turkeys I’ve ever had!
• You could pulse them in a food processor, then add sea salt and olive oil for a simple skin scrub.

After you get all you can out of the leftover herbs, you can send them to the compost pile with a happy heart.

Printable Recipe Cards for Each Method

To make it more convenient for you to make a batch of herb-infused honey any time, I have a printable recipe card for each infusion method here. Print all of them or just the one you like best!

After you make your first batch of herb-infused honey, you might find it hard to think of it as an herbal remedy. Can herbal medicine actually taste this good?

Yes, yes it can.

But if it helps you, just think of it as an herbal dessert. It’s the kind you can enjoy every day!

Your Turn to Share:

Have you ever tried infusing herbs into honey?