Thyme cough syrup made with honey and lemon is a useful homemade cough remedy to have on hand for cold and flu season. This herbal cough syrup works wonders for a dry cough and works well as an expectorant for chesty coughs.
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How to Use Thyme for Coughs
I love the fragrant scent and earthy, savory flavor of fresh thyme and use it in the kitchen regularly. I’ve even been known to use it in desserts like these lemon thyme bars and this wild berry galette!
I always say there’s never a wrong time for thyme! This recipe for thyme cough syrup highlights one of thyme’s best medicinal assets, showing its powers outside of culinary uses.
Thyme is a wonderful herb that has many medicinal benefits. It’s full of vitamins A and C and promotes healthy digestion. It’s also antibacterial and antimicrobial and historically was used to medicate bandages before antibiotics were invented.
This particular recipe will use thyme’s antispasmodic and bronchodilator properties. To sum it up, this means that it is very soothing for persistent coughs.
Known for helping dry coughs, this herbal cough syrup with thyme will also help clear up a wet or chesty cough.
Get more winter wellness recipes for teas, infusions, syrups, honey ferments, oxymels, and gummies in my ebook Herbal Immune Support: Homemade Recipes for Wellness!
Thyme Cough Syrup Recipe
This is an easy-to-make cough syrup recipe that also tastes delicious. Honey and lemon are already a popular pair for a cough remedy, but thyme is also really useful to add for its medicinal benefits.
This recipe combines thyme, honey, and lemon together for an excellent homemade herbal cough syrup. Thyme cough syrup will relieve coughing right when you most need it, so keep it on hand all season!
Ingredients
Fresh thyme sprigs: Use either thyme from your herb garden or from your natural grocery store in the refrigerator section.
Ingredient note: If you don’t have access to fresh thyme, it’s okay to substitute it with other kitchen herbs with medicinal properties, like fresh sage, rosemary, or oregano. However, thyme is especially good as a cough remedy.
Raw honey: It’s important that the honey you use is raw and not traditional pasteurized honey, so it has all of the antioxidant and antibacterial properties. Honey is a great throat soother!
Lemon juice: I recommend freshly squeezed lemon juice for this recipe to get the most vitamins and benefits.
How to Make Thyme Herbal Cough Syrup
First, put the fresh thyme into a pint-sized mason jar. Using another container is okay as long as it’s heat-proof.
Next, bring the water to a boil and pour it over the fresh thyme. Let the thyme infusion steep until the hot water cools all the way to room temperature.
Then, strain out the thyme with a fine mesh sieve to reserve the infusion.
Now, stir in the raw honey until it dissolves while the thyme infusion is still warm.
Now stir in the lemon juice. I personally find that the juice of ½ lemon works perfectly for me. However, you can adjust this to your own taste preference if you want more or less.
How to Use and Store
To benefit from thyme cough syrup, take one tablespoon as needed to ease a cough. This syrup works exceedingly well for a dry cough and is also an expectorant for other types of cough.
You can also use thyme herbal cough syrup to soothe a dry and scratchy throat, whether it’s from a virus or seasonal allergies. It’s super tasty, making it a nice way to ease symptoms.
Important note: This cough syrup is safe for children ages one and older. It should not be given to children under the age of one due to the raw honey.
Store thyme cough syrup in a covered jar in the refrigerator and use it within 2-4 weeks.
To keep the syrup for longer, freeze it in baggies or ice cube trays. That way, you can just thaw as much as you need to use it whenever a cough or other symptoms arise!
More Herbal Syrup Recipes
- Dandelion Syrup
- Rhubarb Syrup
- Wild Violet Syrup
- Rose Hip Syrup
- Pine Needle Cough Syrup
- Forsythia Syrup
- Elderberry Syrup
- Lilac Syrup
More Herbal Recipes
- Pine Needle Cough Syrup
- How to Make Elderberry Syrup
- Rose Hip Syrup
- Self-Heal Oxymel
- Aronia Berry Oxymel
- Lemon Balm Tincture
- Sage and Ginger Oxymel
- Dandelion Root Bitters
Thyme Cough Syrup
Ingredients
- 1 1/4 cup water
- 1 handful fresh thyme sprigs
- 1 cup raw honey
- fresh squeezed lemon juice to taste
Instructions
- Put the fresh thyme into a pint mason jar (or another heat-proof container).
- Bring the water to a boil, then pour it over the fresh thyme.
- Let the infusion steep until the water has cooled to room temperature, then strain out the thyme and stir in the honey.
- Stir in the lemon juice. I find the juice of ½ lemon works well, but you can adjust this to your taste preference.
- Store the syrup in a covered jar in the refrigerator, and it will keep for 2-4 weeks. To increase the shelf life of this syrup, freeze it in baggies or ice cube trays and then thaw it as needed before use.
Notes
- Many kitchen herbs have medicinal uses and could be substituted for thyme, such as sage, rosemary, or oregano. Thyme is especially good as a cough remedy, however.
- Take one tablespoon as needed to ease a cough or to soothe a dry and scratchy throat.
- This syrup is safe for children ages one and older.
- This cough syrup should not be given to children under the age of one due to the raw honey.
I wonder if, if left out for long enough, it might become a lovely vinegar? Or does the lemon prevent the right microbes from settling in and converting the honey through the proper fermentation process?
Do i throwing the thyme away once it is used
Yes. You are extracting much of the flavor and beneficial properties of the thyme, so there’s not much use for it after making the syrup.
Wow! This works! Thank you so much for sharing this recipe. It’s my go to for a cough
How much dried thyme can I use for this recipe for a child?
I would do at least a tablespoon, since dried thyme is stronger than fresh. And just be aware, raw honey should only be given to kids over a year old.
Love this! Is there a recipe that uses dried thyme? I don’t always have fresh thyme on hand. Thanks!
Hi there. You can use dried thyme for this recipe. I would use a little bit less since dried herbs are more potent than fresh!