This Ginger Simple Syrup is made with just 3 ingredients in under 30 minutes! It's spicy, warm, sweet, and delicious in any fall and winter cocktail, mocktail, tea, and more! It's super easy to make and totally foolproof. Try it in your holiday cocktails this year! It stores really well so it can be made ahead and it's freezer-friendly!
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Why You'll Love This Ginger Syrup
Perfect for fall and winter - This syrup has the perfect balance of sweet and spicy and it's a great sweetener for any cocktails and drinks with warm winter spices, apple or pear flavors, and aged spirits. The warming ginger flavor is great for the cold fall and winter months and is perfect for the holidays! Try it in your Thanksgiving or Christmas cocktails, it's sure to impress!
Easy and simple - You only need 3 ingredients and about 20 minutes to make this syrup and it's totally foolproof! It lasts 2 weeks in the fridge and it's freeze-friendly so it's great for making ahead!
Lots of uses - You can add this syrup to hot water and freshly squeezed lemon juice to make a quick ginger tea or you can use it cocktails and mocktails. You can even add it to sodas and lemonades or drizzle it over ice cream or pancakes!
Ingredients
- Cane sugar - I like using cane sugar in most of my syrup recipes because it's less processed than white sugar but it still has a very neutral flavor. It does have slightly darker color than white sugar so it will always yield syrups that are a little darker.
- Fresh ginger - I highly recommend using peeled and chopped fresh ginger here. Ginger syrup won't give you the same amount of flavor and it settles on the bottom of the syrup.
- Water - Use filtered water whenever possible. You'll need water and sugar in a 1:1 ratio.
Variations and Substitutions
- Sugar-free - I haven't tested this so I can't guarantee results but you can try using a sugar-free substitute that can be used in a 1:1 ratio instead of regular sugar. Keep in mind that sugar-free syrup won't last as long because sugar acts as a preservative.
- Add spices - You can give this syrup more flavor by adding whole spices like a cinnamon stick, cardamom, star anise, or cloves. This would be similar to this Chai Simple Syrup. Adding vanilla extract at the end of cooking would also be delicious!
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Step-by-Step Instructions
- Add the cane sugar, water, and chopped ginger to a medium saucepan.
- Bring the mixture to a simmer over medium-high heat stirring constantly until the sugar melts.
- Simmer on medium heat for 5 minutes.
- Take the syrup off the heat and allow the ginger to steep for 10-15 minutes. You can let it steep for less or more time depending on how strong you want the syrup to be. Taste it and adjust.
- Remove the ginger or strain the syrup into a large measuring jar.
- Pour it into an airtight jar and wait for the syrup to cool down before closing with a lid.
- Store the syrup in the fridge for up to 2 weeks.
Serving Suggestions
- Cocktails - This syrup would be amazing in any fall and winter cocktails, especially anything with dark and spiced rum, whiskey, bourbon, or aged tequila. It would also be amazing with vodka though, especially in a Moscow Mule! Try it in this Apple Cider Bourbon Cocktail or even this Apple Cider Mimosa!
- Mocktails - Make a non-alcoholic Moscow Mule with this syrup or any other mocktail! It's delicious with apple, pear, peach, or grape drinks! Try it in this Apple Cider Mocktail or this Blueberry Mocktail instead of the mint syrup for a fall version of the drink!
- Apple cider - This syrup goes really well with apple cider, both hot and cold! If you like enjoying warm apple cider in the fall, add a little bit of this syrup for some warming ginger flavor.
- Tea - This syrup makes making ginger tea so easy! You can add it to hot water with a squeeze of lemon juice, or add some chopped ginger as well for even more healing properties! Fresh ginger is great for digestion, I love having ginger tea after any heavy meal. You can also use this syrup to sweeten any other tea and add ginger flavor. Try it in both hot and iced tea! It's delicious in green tea, black tea, chai, or even fruit teas!
- Sodas, lemonades - You can add this syrup to make ginger-flavored lemonade or various non-alcoholic drinks, or just add it to plain sparkling water to make your own soda!
- Food - You can drizzle this syrup over ice cream or desserts for a little ginger flavor! You can even mix it with maple syrup and drizzle it over your pancakes like these Apple Ring Pancakes!
Storing and Make Ahead Options
This syrup is great made ahead so that it's ready for you and cool when you need to use it for cocktails or any other drinks.
Fridge: It keeps really well, just store it in an airtight jar in the fridge for up to 2 weeks.
Freezer: If you know you won't use it all up in time, I highly recommend freezing some or all of it for later. You can store the syrup in a freezer-safe container in the freezer for 2-4 months. I like to freeze it in small 2-4 serving (4-8 tbsp) containers and label them so that I know how much I need to defrost each time.
I'm not a big fan of freezing syrup in an ice cube tray because it has a high sugar content that prevents it from freezing fully and it defrosts really quickly so it tends to be very hard to take out of the ice cube tray.
FAQs
While fresh ginger will provide the best flavor, if you don't have it, I highly recommend using 100% ginger juice! I use ginger juice by the Ginger People for sauces, dips, and dressings, and I think it would work well in this syrup as well. I don't recommend using ground ginger.
Monin is probably the most popular brand for simple syrups but there is also this syrup by The Ginger People or this Liber u0026 Co. ginger syrup.
Other Similar Syrup Recipes
If you like this syrup and want to try others similar in flavor, the five recipes linked below are perfect for fall and winter just like this ginger syrup! You can use them in coffee, tea, cocktails, mocktails, and more! To see all the latest ones, head over to Flavored Syrups.
- Brown Sugar Simple Syrup (amazing in a shaken espresso)
- Apple Brown Sugar Syrup (so good with coffee!)
- Pear Simple Syrup (perfect for fall cocktails)
- Chai Simple Syrup (delicious with matcha latte)
- Vanilla Simple Syrup (a classic!)
📖 Recipe
Ginger Simple Syrup
- Prep Time: 15 mins
- Cook Time: 5 mins
- Total Time: 20 minutes
- Yield: 1 ⅓ cup 1x
- Category: Flavored Syrup
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Vegan
Description
This Ginger Simple Syrup is made with fresh ginger which gives it a delicious spicy warm flavor that shines in fall and winter cocktails, mocktails, tea, and more!
Ingredients
- 1 cup cane sugar
- 1 cup water
- ½ cup chopped fresh peeled ginger (the smaller the pieces, the more ginger flavor they will infuse into the syrup)
Instructions
- Add the cane sugar, water, and chopped ginger to a medium saucepan.
- Bring the mixture to a simmer over medium-high heat stirring constantly until the sugar melts.
- Simmer on medium heat for 5 minutes.
- Take the syrup off the heat and allow the ginger to steep for 10-15 minutes. You can let it steep for less or more time depending on how strong you want the syrup to be. Taste it and adjust.
- Remove the ginger or strain the syrup into a large measuring jar.
- Pour into an airtight jar and wait for the syrup to cool down before closing with a lid.
- Store the syrup in the fridge for up to 2 weeks.
Notes
Freezer: Freeze any leftover syrup you won’t be able to use in a freezer-safe container for 2-4 months. I like to freeze it in small 2-4 serving containers and label them so I always know how much I’m defrosting.
The syrup yields about 10 servings at 2 tablespoon per serving.
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Erika says
Can you make the spent ginger into candy? It’s a shame to waste it. I think I might try.
Veronika Sykorova says
I've never made ginger candy so I can't say for sure but you can definitely give it a try! Since it's already sweet and softened I think it could work. I always save any fruit or nuts I make syrups with to use as toppings for oats or pancakes but ginger is too tough and fibrous for that.
You could also keep in in the fridge for a few days or the freezer for longer and use it for ginger tea. How did I never think of this before!
Veronika Sykorova says
I've made this syrup a few times now and it's so good as a sweetener for tea! Peeling ginger is always a hastle and this is such a quick solution! Please let me know how you liked it in the comments below! :)