Making homemade simple syrup is a delicious way to add flavor and sweetness to homemade cocktails, mocktails, and more! Not only that, but it’s so simple to make and is ready in just about 10 minutes.
You’ll love how easy it is to make and having it on hand means you can whip up a blackberry gin cocktail on a hot summer afternoon, and turn unsweetened iced tea into a deliciously sweet blackberry iced tea, the same with blackberry lemonade, or cozy up with blackberry and bourbon around the fire in the fall.
Yep, you’re gonna want a jar of this in the fridge year-round to add a bright, beautiful color to all sorts of recipes!
What is Simple Syrup?
Simple syrup is a liquid sweetener, generally made for use in beverages. It’s typically a 1:1 ratio of water to sugar that is simmered until dissolved into a syrup. The ratio can be changed to make a thicker syrup that would be more like maple syrup or corn syrup consistency for things like pancakes and drizzling.
The 1:1 ratio for simple syrup is perfect for adding to iced or hot beverages because it disperses the sweetness throughout the drink without any gritty texture that you might get if you were to just stir in sugar.
Simple Syrup can be flavored with a variety of fresh herbs, fruit, and spices – so many delicious options!
Blackberry Syrup Ingredients
Just two simple ingredients: blackberries and sugar (ok three if you count water)!
- Blackberries: you can use fresh blackberries or frozen for this recipe, but I love the brightness that comes from fresh berries, especially when it’s blackberry season! Fresh berries are also naturally sweeter than frozen, so keep that in mind if you do make the syrup with frozen berries.
- Sugar: granulated sugar is what we’re using for this syrup.
- Water: plain ol’ water is all you’ll need; use filtered water if you have it.
Use those berries that are on their last leg – those ones that aren’t moldy, but might be a little too mushy to eat. Turning them into syrup is an excellent way to reduce food waste!
Let’s Make It!
The process of making homemade blackberry syrup is seriously so easy. There are just going to be a few key tips to follow. As always, please see the full recipe card below.
- First, clean the blackberries. I like to give berries a good soak in either a salt or vinegar bath, then a good rinse, before enjoying. Because we are simmering the berries in the syrup, it’s essential that they’re nice and clean!
- Combine sugar, water, and berries in a medium saucepan.
- Bring to a simmer for 6-8 minutes until the color has transferred to the syrup and the berries are pale and disintegrated; stir occasionally.
- Gently smash the berries as they soften using the back of a spoon or masher; this helps speed the process along and infuse the syrup with more berry goodness.
- Strain the syrup through a fine-mesh strainer. Don’t get any fruit bits in the syrup or it will begin to ferment when stored. Use a spoon to move the berries around and release the extra liquid (like we do in Chambord sorbet) but don’t press them.
- Let cool slightly and enjoy immediately or store it. Place leftover syrup in an airtight container in the fridge.
To brighten up the syrup and bring out the berry flavor, consider adding a squeeze of fresh lemon juice. This helps if the syrup tastes a little flat, depending on how the berries were.
How to Use Blackberry Simple Syrup
While you’ll want to just enjoy it by the spoonful, there are so many ways to enjoy this blackberry syrup – and it’s not just for drinks either (although that’s honestly my favorite!).
- Make a Blackberry Bramble the easy way (no muddling!)
- Add it to a margarita, Moscow mule, or a glass of champagne.
- Blackberry Sangria – festive and fun!
- Pour it into a glass of lemonade
- Iced or hot tea – or a latte for that matter!
- Make it a 2:1 ratio of sugar and water for a thicker syrup to top pancakes or waffles.
- Use it as a glaze over a slice of cheesecake.
- Drizzle it over vanilla ice cream.
- Add to club soda for a blackberry soda or make an Italian soda!
Common Recipe Questions
If you use 3/4 cup sugar and water, you will have just over 1 cup of syrup in total. To make more syrup and extend the value of those berries, use 1 cup of sugar and water for about 1 1/2 cups of syrup.
Absolutely! The same recipe steps apply when doubling. You can even play around with changing the amount of sugar and water to change the syrup consistency (more sugar results in a thicker syrup).
Yes, it will last much longer and fresh fruit syrups should not be left at room temperature, they will spoil very very quickly.
This syrup will generally last about 2 weeks when stored properly in an airtight container in the fridge, without any contamination. If it starts to look cloudy or you see any spots forming, it’s time to throw it out!
Yes! This is perfect for when you know you won’t use it all before it goes bad. I recommend freezing it in Souper Cubes for perfectly portioned amounts; otherwise, a silicone ice cube tray is great for easy removal. It will be slightly sticky still after freezing.
Did you make this recipe? Please leave a star rating and review in the form below. I appreciate your feedback, and it helps others, too!
Get the Recipe 10-Minute Blackberry Simple Syrup
Ingredients
- 6 ounces fresh blackberries, or frozen*
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- ¾ cup water
- Fresh lemon juice, optional
Instructions
- Clean the blackberries well (if using fresh) in a bath of salt water or vinegar. Rinse well.6 ounces fresh blackberries
- In a small saucepan, combine sugar, water, and blackberries. Heat over medium-high heat until simmering, stirring occasionally. Once softened, gently smash the softened berries with the back of a spoon or masher. Simmer for 6-8 minutes until the berries have disintegrated into seeds and the syrup is bright purple.¾ cup granulated sugar, ¾ cup water
- Remove from heat and strain out the berries and seeds through a fine-mesh sieve. Use a spoon to stir the mixture to release the syrup as needed, being careful to not let any seeds or fruit bits into the syrup. Discard the seeds.
- Optional: stir in a squeeze of fresh lemon juice to bring out the berry flavor if it's tasting flat; it's not about adding lemon flavor but rather enhancing the blackberry notes.Fresh lemon juice
- Let cool as needed and use immediately or store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 2 weeks.
Notes
- Serving Size: this recipe makes just over 1 cup of syrup.
- Frozen Berries: No need to thaw before using, you just may need to simmer a few extra minutes. They tend to be less sweet so be sure to taste test and add more sugar if you need to.
- Sugar: using a 3/4 sugar:water ratio yields an intense blackberry flavored syrup; to make more and extend the blackberry’s value, use 1 cup of each instead.
Good afternoon,
I was wondering how much syrup i can make with one kilo of blackberries?
Thanks in advance and have a lovely day.
Chris
Hi Chris – if my calculations are right, one kilo of blackberries would be around 35 ounces, which means that would make almost 6 batches of this recipe. That would result in just over 48 ounces, or 1.3 kilogram, of syrup. I hope this helps!