This Infused Lavender Honey recipe is so simple to make. Yet the flavor is anything but! Lavender gives a light floral flavor to the sweet honey. It's delicious with tea, scones, fruit salad, yogurt, and so much more.
Check out our post on Simple Infused Honey for other flavored honey recipes. They make great homemade gifts for the holidays! You can gift the lavender honey on its own—or pair it with vanilla honey and orange honey for a delicious trio.
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Why you'll love this recipe
- Simple to make: This recipe is so easy! You only need 2 ingredients and 5 minutes of prep time.
- Gourmet flavor: The sweetness of honey pairs well with the floral notes of lavender. Use this elevated honey in tea, cocktails, pastries or other baked goods.
- Best homemade food gift: Lavender honey is the perfect gift for the home cooks in your life! Put the honey in a cute jar and add a handwritten label. If budget allows, you could gift the honey with a honey stick, tea, or a tea cup.
Recipe video
Watch a step-by-step video and learn how to make this recipe!
Ingredients (and substitutes)
This simple lavender honey only calls for 2 ingredients:
- Lavender: Use culinary lavender for this recipe. Other lavender may be treated with chemicals that aren't safe to eat. And, culinary lavender tastes better because it has less oil than the strong-scented lavender used for perfume and bath products. Less oil means a sweeter, more palatable flavor. Choose dried lavender instead of fresh, because dried ingredients are preferred for honey infusions.
- Honey: Use a mild honey, so that it doesn't compete with the lavender flavor. Light colored honeys—like Clover or Orange Blossom honey—tend to be mild tasting. If in doubt, just give it a taste!
Find the recipe card below for the complete recipe, including all ingredients and instructions.
How to make (step-by-step photos)
You can make this infused lavender honey using a no-cook method or using the stove. Our recipe includes both options, so choose the method you prefer!
Cold method
The cold infusion method for honey is really easy because there's not cooking needed! Fans of raw honey will prefer this method. But, it does take longer for the lavender to steep out its flavor.
Here's how to make lavender infused honey without heating:
Hot method
The hot infusion method warms the honey and lavender on the stove. The heat causes the honey to infuse faster. While this method is less ideal for raw honey, the benefit is that the honey is ready in minutes (rather than days).
Here's how to make it with the hot method:
Find the recipe card below for the complete recipe, including all ingredients and instructions.
You can make other flavored honeys using the same methods. Infused Vanilla Honey and Infused Orange Honey are two must-try recipes.
Tips
- How to choose good lavender: Look for lavender that smells pleasantly fragrant. It shouldn't smell overly perfumy, but it also shouldn't be scentless. Darker purple lavender will lend more color to the honey. But, the bloom color isn't necessarily an indicator of taste. Some pleasant tasting varieties are light pink.
- Easy does it: Lavender can be an intense flavor for some people. So, feel free to use less lavender if you want milder flavor. And definitely start with less if you are using a strongly flavored variety of dried lavender. You can always add more afterwards.
- No waste tip—lavender can be reused: Once you're done infusing the honey, you can reuse the strained lavender! Just add some of the honey-soaked lavender buds to a tea pot of hot water. You'll end up with caffeine-free lavender tea.
- It's normal for honey to crystallize: Over time, all honey will harden. According to the USDA, "Honey can become cloudy, crystallized or solidified but this is not a safety concern." If you want to liquefy the honey again, then gently warm it.
- Makes a lovely homemade edible gift: This lavender honey is a pretty and thoughtful gift for the holidays! Just package it up in a nice jar and add a decorative bow. You could pair it with other infused honeys or Earl Grey Shortbread for snacking.
Looking for other holiday food gift ideas? Make White Chocolate Raspberry Cookies, Chex Mix, Vegan Gingerbread Cookies, or Ginger Molasses Cookies.
How to use
There are so many ways to use this homemade lavender honey. Here are some of our favorites:
- Lavender tea latte: Use a black tea (like Earl Grey or English Breakfast), sweeten it with the lavender honey, then add steamed milk. If you're feeling fancy, you can add a sprinkle of dried lavender on top! (See photo below).
- Cocktails: Lavender is a popular cocktail flavoring. We especially love to pair Gin with lavender. You can use this honey to make a lavender simple syrup (like this Brown Sugar Simple Syrup). Then, use in cocktails like Bees Knees, Gin Fizz, or even a Martini. To make a simple syrup with honey, warm 1 part honey and 1 part water.
- Fruit salad: A drizzle of honey over a fresh fruit salad really elevates it! Just a bit of sweetness helps bring out the juicy flavors in the fruit. And, the light floral flavor from the lavender makes it extra special.
- Scones: There's nothing like a warm scone topped with a pat of butter and a drizzle of honey.
- Cheese board: This lavender honey pairs surprisingly well with cheese. Spoon it over a wheel of creamy brie, use as a garnish on Whipped Ricotta with honey, or drizzle over a sharp salty cheese.
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📖 Recipe
Infused Lavender Honey
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons dried lavender (see note 1)
- 1 cup mild honey (see note 2)
Instructions
Cold Method [Option 1]
- Combine: Add 3 tablespoons dried lavender and 1 cup mild honey to a jar. Stir to mix.
- Steep: Seal jar and let steep at room temperature. Stir or flip the jar every couple days, to re-submerge the lavender under the honey (it'll float to the top). Let steep for at least 5 to 7 days—or ideally longer for more flavor (see note 3). Once desired flavor is achieved, remove the lavender by straining through a fine mesh sieve or scooping it out with a spoon (see note 4).
Hot Method [Option 2]
- Combine: Add 3 tablespoons dried lavender and 1 cup mild honey to a small pot.
- Warm and steep: Warm honey over lowest heat, stirring frequently and making sure the honey doesn't boil. Let warm for 5 to 15 minutes, until desired flavor is achieved. Strain through a fine mesh sieve set to remove lavender (see note 4).
Notes
- Dried lavender: Use dried culinary (food grade) lavender. Varieties differ in flavor. If you're worried about the lavender flavor being too intense, start with less. Then, if needed, you can add more lavender (or steep longer) to adjust.
- Mild honey: Use a mild tasting honey so it doesn't compete with the lavender. Light colored honey is often mild (like Orange Blossom honey). If unsure, just give it a taste!
- Cold method steeping: The rate at which your honey steeps depends on many factors (including ambient temperature, type of lavender, and how strong of a lavender taste you want). In our testing, it took a minimum of 5 to 7 days to achieve the flavor we personally wanted, sometimes upwards of 2 weeks. If you're in a rush, refer to the hot method.
- No waste tip for lavender discard: The drained lavender can be used for tea. Simply spoon some of the honey-soaked lavender into a tea pot of hot water.
- Jar: A 325 ml or 11 fl oz recycled jam jar works well. Or another type of resealable container with a lid. If using the heated method, it'll need to be heatsafe.
- What to do if honey hardens: Over time, all honey will harden (crystallize). To thin the honey again, put the jar in warm water or set it on a sunny windowsill.
- Yield: Makes 1 cup of honey. Nutritional estimate based on 1 teaspoon per serving.
- Recipe originally published Dec 19, 2015.
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