Orange Simple Syrup (Cointreau Substitute)
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This quick orange simple syrup recipe skips the orange juice and uses orange peels to impart bright orange flavor in an easy sugar syrup. The result is a clear citrus syrup that doesn’t impact the color of your cocktails and mocktails.
Homemade simple syrup is a quick way to up your drink-making game and an essential part of any home bar. It’s an easy way to build flavor and adjust sweetness in your drinks. You can buy cocktail syrup in the store, but it is SO easy to make your own simple syrup.
Orange simple syrup is something I don’t always think of making, but am so glad when it’s in my refrigerator. It takes minimal time to put together and has so many uses. It’s ideal as an orange liqueur substitute when creating mocktails or if you’re wanting to lower the alcohol content in your favorite classic cocktails like a margarita or cosmopolitan.
Looking for Blue Curaçao Syrup? Get the recipe for this bright blue orange syrup over on my Blue Curaçao Syrup page.
Ingredients
- Orange – Choose a fresh, firm navel orange or Cara Cara orange. This is not the time to use up the orange that’s been hanging out in the back of your refrigerator for the past few months.
- Sugar – Cane sugar or beet sugar work best in this recipe and will give you the cleanest flavor. You can use raw sugar or honey in place of it, but it will change the flavor in the orange syrup significantly.
- Water – Use filtered water for the best syrup flavor.
How to Make Orange Simple Syrup (Step by Step)
In a small saucepan, heat water to a gentle boil over medium-high heat. Remove from heat, add sugar and stir until sugar dissolves.
Using a vegetable peeler, carefully peel a large piece of orange peel from the outside of an orange. Add orange peel and let the mixture cool to room temperature.
Taste your syrup. If you like the citrus flavor you have, remove the peel. If you want more, leave the orange peel in the syrup. Pour the syrup into a glass, airtight container.
Cover and store in the refrigerator. If you left the peel in, remove and discard the orange peel after 24 hours. (Leave it in any longer than this and it will start turning bitter.)
Store your orange syrup in a tightly covered, glass container in the refrigerator for up to 3 weeks. Discard it if the syrup turns cloudy or changes in color in any way.
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Orange Syrup Recipe for Drinks (Orange Liqueur Substitute)
Ingredients
- 1 – 3 inch piece orange peel
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 cup water
Instructions
- In a small pot, heat water to boiling over medium heat.
- Remove from heat, add sugar and stir until sugar has completely dissolved.
- Using a vegetable peeler, carefully peel a large piece of orange peel from the outside of an orange.
- Add orange peel and let the mixture cool to room temperature.
- Taste your syrup. If you like the citrus flavor you have, remove the peel. If you want more, leave the orange peel in the syrup.
- Pour the syrup into an airtight glass container.
- Cover and store in the refrigerator.
- If you left the peel in, remove and discard the orange peel after 24 hours.
- Store syrup in a glass jar in the refrigerator for up to 3 weeks. Discard if syrup turns cloudy or changes in color.
What type of orange should I choose for this syrup recipe?
Choose your favorite type of orange. Most of the flavor difference in oranges comes from the flesh inside the orange, so whether you use a navel orange, a Cara Cara orange, or a mandarin orange, the flavor of the syrup will be pretty much the same. If you want a flavor difference, squeeze the juice of the orange into the pot with the water or use it in the cocktail you’re making (my preference).
Shop Storage Options for Orange Syrup
Swing Top Bottles, Flask Style 8.5 Oz
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Glass Bottles with Lids (8 oz)
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Swing-Top Glass Bottles (16 oz)
Buy Now →Ways to use Homemade Orange Syrup
- Mix with sparkling water or club soda for homemade orange soda.
- Use it instead of orange liqueur to lower the alcohol content in your favorite margarita recipe.
- Combine with a little maple syrup and drizzle over pancakes or french toast.
- Blend with vanilla ice cream for a delicious creamsicle milkshake.
- Use it to sweeten iced tea or lemonade.
Recipe Tips
Be careful when peeling the orange to avoid the white pith between the rind and the fruit. The white pitch is very bitter and if you push too hard while peeling your orange, that pith will come off with the orange peel and make your syrup bitter.
Leave your orange peels whole. Don’t grate orange zest into the syrup. It doesn’t add any additional flavor and is more difficult to remove when the flavor is done infusing.
Why isn’t the syrup orange in color?
The color of the peel doesn’t impart color in the syrup. So while you may see a slight yellow tint to your syrup from the citrus oil in the orange peel, it will never turn the artificial bright orange color we’re used to seeing in orange-flavored drinks. You will need to add the orange juice from the orange to your syrup if you want to achieve an orange color.
Try These Other Flavored Simple Syrups
Homemade simple syrups are an easy way to add a variety of flavors to your cocktails and mocktails. Try strawberry syrup in cold milk, grapefruit syrup in a margarita, mixed berry syrup in my mixed berry lemonade, or blackberry syrup in iced tea.
