Homemade Raspberry Syrup for Drinks
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Skip to RecipeMade with 3 simple ingredients – sugar, water, and fresh or frozen raspberries – this easy recipe for homemade raspberry syrup is delicious in cocktails and mocktails, as well as a great way to sweeten iced tea or make raspberry lemonade.

This raspberry simple syrup recipe is always my first use for Michigan raspberries. Our season for fresh raspberries is tasty but short, so I have to find ways to extend it and bring that amazing raspberry flavor into my kitchen year round.
I love picking fresh berries in August and then freezing them for using later in syrups, smoothies and baking. This syrup recipe works great with fresh or frozen berries, making it a year round go-to.
We’re skipping adding any extra flavors like lemon juice, orange juice, or vanilla extract in this homemade raspberry syrup recipe to make sure the fresh fruit syrup is as versatile as possible.
You can always add lemon alongside the syrup in drinks like iced tea, but leaving it out lets me decide when and if I want additional flavors in my drinks. It also lets me add that sweet raspberry flavor to margaritas, daiquiris, and other cocktails that don’t use lemon.
Ingredients

- White sugar – Cane sugar or beet sugar are both great options. Substituting any other type of sweetener will change the flavor of the syrup.
- Raspberries – Use fresh or frozen raspberries, your choice. If using frozen berries, you can use them directly from the freezer – no need to thaw.
- Water – Always use filtered water in your syrup for the best flavor.
Note: If you are making this syrup for my Bloody Ghost Halloween Vodka Cocktail, double the amount of sugar in the recipe to create a rich raspberry simple syrup.
How to Make Raspberry Simple Syrup (Step by Step)
Combine water and sugar in a small saucepan over medium-high heat and stir until sugar is dissolved.

Add raspberries.

Continue cooking until raspberries break down and begin to foam up.
Remove from heat and set aside to allow the mixture to come to room temperature.

Strain the raspberry mixture through a fine-mesh sieve held over a bowl.

Use a spatula to gently stir the mixture in the strainer until all of the syrup moves through into the bowl below.
Store your syrup in a glass, airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.

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Raspberry Simple Syrup Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 cup water
- 1 cup raspberries, fresh or frozen
Instructions
- Combine water and sugar in a small pot over medium-high heat stir until sugar is dissolved.
- Add raspberries and continue cooking until raspberries break down and begin to foam up.
- Remove from heat and set aside to allow the mixture to come to room temperature.
- Strain mixture through a fine mesh strainer held over a bowl. You may need to stir the mixture gently with a spatula to move it through the strainer.
- Store your syrup in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.
Notes
Recipe Tips
Make your syrup in advance of your cocktail hour. Whether you’re stirring your raspberry syrup into iced tea, lemonade, or a cocktail, you will want it to be nice and cold before you use it. If you use your syrup while it is warm it will melt the ice in the drink too fast, watering it down.
Store your raspberry simple syrup in a glass airtight container, such as a mason jar or a glass jar with a tight fitting lid. Plastic containers can absorb the smell of whatever was in them beforehand. Simple syrup will hang out and its container for a week or two in your refrigerator, you don’t want any other flavors getting in there.
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How to Use Raspberry Simple Syrup
- Combine with club soda or sparkling water to make your own raspberry soda.
- Use it to make my easy homemade raspberry lemonade.
- Combine a drizzle of raspberry syrup with white wine vinegar and olive oil for a homemade raspberry vinaigrette salad dressing.
- Swap it out for traditional simple syrup in my Raspberry Margaritas.
- Use in place of raspberry liqueur in a cocktail recipe.
- Add it to a homemade latte or mocha.
- Stir it into your hot chocolate.
- Use it in my spooky Bloody Ghost Halloween Vodka Cocktail. (Double the sugar in this syrup recipe for a Bloody Ghost cocktail!)
- Make a batch at Halloween for these Vampire’s Kiss Cocktails.

Want to Make a Thick Raspberry Sauce?
Just keep cooking the syrup! Instead of removing the syrup from the heat after it begins to foam, reduce the burner to low and keep simmering the raspberry mixture on low heat for another 10 minutes or until it reduces down to the consistency you’re looking for. Remove it from the heat and pick up the directions in the recipe from there. This is a great option if you’re looking to make a sauce to go on top of vanilla ice cream, pound cake, pancakes, and other treats.
Don’t Miss These Homemade Fruit Syrup Recipes
Homemade fruit simple syrups are easy to make and delicious in so many drinks! Try my strawberry simple syrup in this Watermelon Strawberry Mocktail. Or make this peach simple syrup and shake up a Peach Pie Martini. Want a springtime syrup? Make a batch of rhubarb simple syrup for a Rhubarb Gin Gimlet.
