Basil Simple syrup is a wonderful sweet addition to drinks, cocktails, and desserts. This floral basil syrup is delicious and so easy to make.

Why You Will Love This Simple Syrup
Making a basil simple syrup is very easy. It involves adding equal parts water and sugar in a saucepan and heating it until the sugar dissolves.
This makes a beautiful homemade sweetener that you can enjoy anytime. We make so many batches of this basil syrup in the Summer to use in so many recipes.
The only additional step when making basil syrup versus regular simple syrup is adding the basil to the pot and letting it steep until it cools. Minimal effort for a really big flavor.
Let me show you how easy it is to make!
The ingredients you will need

There are only three ingredients to make this simple syrup. Here is what you need:
- Water. Any type of water is fine as long as you drink it plain 🙂
- Sugar. Granulated sugar is what you need. I prefer to use less processed sugar or unbleached granulated sugar. This will give a slight yellow hue to the syrup but it will not show through in your drinks.
- Fresh basil leaves. It is important that you use fresh basil for this recipe. Any variety of fresh basil will work well. Thai basil, Italian basil, purple basil, etc.
How to make basil syrup




- Warm sugar and water until the sugar dissolves.
- Remove from the heat, add your fresh basil leaves then place a lid over top.
- When cooled, remove basil leaves then pour your syrup into a container, and use right away or refrigerate.
Recipe Tips
- When making this, you are going to essentially steep your basil in the warm just off of the stove syrup. The longer you let the basil steep, the more basil flavor you are going to have so do not rush it.
- This recipe requires a little planning ahead but as I mentioned, it will last a long time. This is a great excuse to double the recipe and have lots of extra simple syrup on hand for later use.
Storing
Simple syrups will last for a long time in your refrigerator. The little work that you go through in making it will not go to waste and you will thank yourself later on when you need it.
You can store it in the fridge covered for up to a month.
How To Use Basil Syrup
Here are some of our favorite recipes using this basil syrup:
- Italian Mocktail. We love adding a splash to this easy Italian Mocktail to really elevate the flavors.
- Aperol Soda. This recipe calls for regular simple syrup but you better believe we use basil simple syrup when we have it.
- We love making a basil lemonade with it!
More simple syrup recipes
In addition to this basil simple syrup, I love making cherry simple syrup, strawberry simple syrup, pear simple syrup, honey simple syrup, and lavender simple syrup. and even a blackberry simple syrup.
Basil Simple Syrup
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups of water
- 1 ½ cups of sugar
- large bunch of fresh basil leaves 15-20
Instructions
- Add water and sugar to a medium pot over medium heat1 ½ cups of water, 1 ½ cups of sugar
- Warm the mixture until the sugar dissolves.
- Once the sugar dissolves, remove from the heat and add your fresh basil leaves and place a lid over top.large bunch of fresh basil leaves
- Allow to cool with the basil leaves steeping in the simple syrup.
- When cooled, remove basil leaves and pour your syrup into a container and use right away or refrigerate.
Nutrition
Nutrition Values are estimates only.
See full nutrition disclaimer hereTried the Recipe? We Would Love To Hear From You In The Comments Below!
Matt says
This is so delicious! I’ve used it in cocktails and iced tea and the whole family loves it. It is very easy to make and makes use of leftover basil I buy at the store.
Melissa says
Love hearing that Matt! Thanks for sharing 🙂
Kevin says
This basil syrup was easy to make and really tasty
Melissa says
Hi Kevin. Thanks so much for sharing!
Melissa says
So glad you enjoyed!
Danny says
We made this for a party and it was delicious in cocktails!
Melissa says
So glad you enjoyed it Danny 🙂
Melissa says
I love it in lemonade too! Glad you enjoyed it!