Homemade Blue Curaçao Syrup Recipe
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Made with pantry ingredients and full of fresh orange flavor, this Blue Curaçao Syrup Recipe is easy to make at home and is a delicious addition to your home bar drinks.
There are so many fun, colorful drinks out there – many of which are made with blue Curaçao syrup. This orange flavored syrup has a delicious citrus flavor from fresh citrus fruit.
Many types of Blue Curaçao in your local store fall into the category of orange liqueur, an alcoholic liquor that tastes a lot like triple sec. This recipe for homemade blue curaçao syrup is an alcohol free syrup that can be used in a variety of alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks, like my Blue Lagoon Mocktail recipe or this Blue Shark Mocktail.
It’s also delicious in alcoholic recipes. Swap out alcoholic blue curacao for this version to lower the amount of alcohol in your cocktail without sacrificing any flavor. I use it in place of blue curaçao liqueur for my Blue Hawaiian, Blue Mojito, and Blue Lagoon Cocktail.
Perfect for blue drinks at baby showers or backyard BBQs (or just a hot summer day!), this citrus syrup is delicious in a glass with soda water and ice cubes. (Add a little white rum or vodka for a boozy version.)
Ingredients
- Fresh Oranges – You’ll need both orange peel and the juice from the oranges for this recipe. Choose fresh, firm fruit and use it soon after purchasing it. (See my note below for more on oranges.)
- White Sugar – Pure cane sugar or beet sugar is best for this recipe. Other sugars will add in their own flavor and can overwhelm the sweet orange flavor in this syrup.
- Fresh Lemon – There are very few ingredients in this syrup, so squeeze fresh citrus here. You’ll need less than half of a lemon for this recipe. You can swap it out for lime juice if you don’t have any lemons on hand.
- Blue Spirulina Powder or Blue Food Coloring – I used the little blue dropper bottle from McCormick when testing this recipe, but choose your favorite brand. The food coloring amounts in the recipe are based on liquid food coloring, so use your best judgment if you’re using gel coloring. For natural blue food coloring, use Blue Spirulina Powder. (I buy it on Amazon. See my note below on how to use it.)
How to Make Blue Curaçao Syrup at Home (Step by Step)
Bring the water and sugar to a simmer over medium heat, stirring until the sugar has dissolved.
Cut the oranges in half and juice them into the pan. Add the lemon juice.
Peel the oranges, careful to get only the outer peel and not the bitter white pith below.
Add in the orange peels and stir. Remove from heat and allow the mixture to cool for 30 minutes.
Strain syrup through a fine mesh strainer to remove the orange peels and any pulp from the juice. Stir in blue spirulina powder or food coloring.
Pour into a glass, airtight container (like a mason jar or glass bottle) with a lid. Store your blue curaçao syrup in the refrigerator for up to 3 weeks.
Ways to Store Your Syrup
Buy Now → 
Swing-Top Glass Bottles (16 oz)
Buy Now →
Buy Now → Note: Your syrup will likely be a darker blue color and not quite as clear as the Blue Curaçao Torani Syrup or Monin Syrup. Using fresh orange juice is what causes the color and clarity to be different than the store-bought blue syrup. If you want your syrup to look more like store-bought, reduce the juice to one orange.
Blue Curaçao Syrup Recipe (Non Alcoholic)
Ingredients
- 2 large oranges, peels and juice
- 1 cups sugar
- 1 cup water
- 1 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
- 2-3 drops blue food coloring, OR 1/4 tsp of blue spirulina powder
Instructions
- Peel the oranges, careful to get only the outer peel and not the bitter white pith below.2 large oranges
- Cut the oranges in half and juice them into the pan.
- Combine sugar, water, orange juice, and lemon juice in a small pot.1 cups sugar, 1 cup water, 1 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
- Bring to a simmer over medium heat, stirring until the sugar has dissolved.
- Add in the orange peels.
- Remove from heat and allow the mixture to cool for 30 minutes.
- Strain syrup through a fine mesh strainer to remove the orange peels and any pulp from the juice. Stir in food coloring or blue spirulina powder.2-3 drops blue food coloring
- Pour into a glass, airtight container (like a mason jar or glass bottle) with a lid.
- Store your blue curaçao syrup in the refrigerator for up to 3 weeks.
Notes
How to use Blue Curaçao Syrup
- Use instead of traditional simple syrup in my classic lemonade recipe for a glass of Blue Curaçao Lemonade.
- In a Blue Lagoon Cocktail or a non-alcoholic Blue Lagoon Mocktail.
- In a refreshing Blue Mojito with rum and mint.
- Mix it with pineapple juice and club soda for a delicious non-alcoholic tropical drink.
- Make a Blue Hawaiian Cocktail with rum and pineapple.
- Stir up a Blue Shark Mocktail with gummy sharks for the kids.
What Kind Of Oranges Should I Use?
Technically this blue syrup should be made from curaçao oranges (hence the name!), but I’ve never seen those in the stores in Michigan. I use naval oranges for this recipe a lot. If I can find them, Cara Cara oranges are my go-to for this syrup.
Keep in mind, you’re getting all of the orange flavor from the fruit you select. Choose oranges you’ve bought recently – the sweeter and more in season, the better. Oranges that have been hanging out in the fridge for a while have lost a lot of the oil in their peel. They’ll be tougher to peel and not as flavorful. Old oranges from the back of the fridge are also more likely to have a sour taste.
Looking for More Simple Syrup Recipes?
Homemade simple syrups are easy to make and one of the best ways to level up your drinks game. This quick lemon simple syrup is ideal in iced tea and mocktails. Or try a fresh mint simple syrup that adds a delicious twist to hot chocolate, iced tea, and coffee.
Making Blue Curaçao Syrup Using Natural Blue Food Coloring
Yes!! To make this blue syrup with natural blue food coloring, use Blue Spirulina Powder. (You can often find it in health food stores or I buy it on Amazon.) Use blue spirulina in place of the drops of blue food coloring in the recipe, and whisk well when you add it. You need no more than one quarter of a teaspoon to color the entire batch of syrup. I start at one eighth of a teaspoon and adjust as needed from there.
I’ve seen recipes using butterfly pea flowers to color the syrup, but I would not recommend this. Since the flowers turn purple when added to citrus, you need to use alkaline water and keep the pH of the syrup balanced in order to keep the flowers from turning the syrup purple instead of blue. Unless this is something you enjoy doing, that’s a lot of work when you can simply use blue spirulina instead.
Very good. I live in Canada and finding a non alcoholic blue curaçao is next to impossible. The orange juice made the final product before the blue food colouring was orange so adding the blue drops (I had to add 5 to resemble any type blue) it turned out a pretty green definitely not blue. Tasted amazing though! Would make it again!
I’m so glad you liked it! It’s tricky to find here in Michigan too. I’ve added lots of blue food coloring to overwhelm the orange juice color, depending on the oranges I use. Some have a stronger juice color than others. I love this recipe with Cara Cara oranges, but their color is a lot trickier to work with. I do have better luck using blue sprulina powder instead of traditional food coloring for when I need a stronger blue.
Easy and so good!