Sooth a sore throat and eliminate cold and flu symptoms with this simple DIY cold remedy! This Easy Homemade Elderberry Cold Fighting Gummies recipe is great for cold prevention, boosting the immune system, soothing sore throats and helping your body kick a cold fast!

I have a son in kindergarten, a daughter in 4th grade, I teach cooking classes to 5-12 year olds and my husband works in retail. Do you know what that means? It means we have a TON of cold and flu germs floating through our household. As much as I keep us loaded up with oil of oregano, Vitamin D and copious amounts of fruit and veggies, we still fall prey to the occasional cold. 

Last year I shared with you how to make Easy Homemade Sore Throat Gummies Recipe with Lemon, Ginger and Honey. These gummies are a LIFESAVER if you have a sore throat. 

Today I thought I’d add to your DIY Home Remedy Medicine Cabinet by sharing my recipe for Easy Homemade Elderberry Cold Fighting Gummies!

Before we get to the recipe, I thought I’d share with you why each of the ingredients in this recipe is so amazing. 

Elderberries: This antioxidant rich fruit has a variety of health benefits (you can read more about this amazing berry here)  including boosting the immune system and reducing the severity of coughs, colds, flu, bacterial and viral infections and tonsillitis. The bioflavonoids and other proteins in the juice of the elderberry destroy the ability of cold and flu viruses to infect a cell. It has been used for centuries as a home remedy around the world and was even used to fight the flu pandemic in Panama in 1995. 

It is important to note that elderberries should not be consumed raw. I like buying organic dried elderberries to make this recipe, however if you are lucky enough to have fresh local elderberries available to you then you should definitely use that!  

Ginger: This spicy root has anti-inflammatory properties that help ease swelling in the throat and kill bad bacteria. It also helps to flush out toxins from your body and boosts blood circulation. 

Honey: This sweet elixir has been used in traditional medicine for centuries. It’s antibacterial properties kills bad bacteria and draws water out of inflamed tissue. It reduces swelling, helps to coat the throat and ease discomfort. 

Cinnamon: Chinese medicine has long used cinnamon as a natural remedy for cough and colds. Cinnamon has extremely high anti-oxidant activity, and the oil of cinnamon has strong anti-bacterial and anti-fungal properties.

Clove: Used often in Ayurvedic medicine, cloves are anti-fungal, antibacterial, antiseptic and analgesic. They’re packed with antioxidants and are good sources of minerals.

Gelatin: This superfood really should be incorporated into everyone’s diets. It’s so good for you. It’s high in protein, helps heal your joints and ligaments and is very good for your gut health. (Read more about the health benefits of gelatin in our 3 Berry Gelatin Snack Bites post here).  As far as helping a sore throat, gelatin coats the throat which helps soothe the pain. It also contains glycine and arginine, a combo of amino acids which studies show is linked to accelerated healing. 

Elderberry Syrup Vs. Elderberry Gummies

This recipe has you make an elderberry syrup that you then turn into a gummy. So why make a gummy instead of just drinking the syrup? Well I say, do both! Double this recipe if you want and keep half without any gelatin in it. I usually find that after I add my honey I have approximately 2.5-3 cups of elderberry syrup. Since you only need 2 cups of elderberry syrup for this recipe, you’ll have an extra 1/2 cup to 1 cup to drink as a syrup. 

A few reasons why I like maying my syrup into gummies:

• I think they are fun
• My kids like eating them more than they like drinking the syrup
• I find the gelatin to be very soothing to my throat
• It gives me something semi solid to eat when I’m not feeling great
• It’s easier for me to get my kids to eat a gummie every day to prevent colds than it is to get them to drink syrup

Ready to learn how to make my Easy Homemade Elderberry Cold Fighting Gummies? Read on!

Easy Homemade Elderberry Cold Fighting Gummies

Ingredients: 

-2/3 cups of elderberries (I use organic dried elderberries like these)

-2 sticks of cinnamon (like these) 

-10 whole cloves (like this)

-2 tablespoons of sliced organic ginger

-4 cups of water

-1 cup of raw unpasteurized honey

-4 tablespoons of gelatin (I love using Great Lakes Unflavored Gelatin) 

Other materials:

-Strainer (like this)

-Wire whisk (like this)

Silicone molds (You can find so many fun ones here, we recently purchased gummy bear molds which my kids love. We got the small gummy bear molds, I want to buy bigger ones next.)

Note: If you don’t have silicone molds, don’t let it stop you.  Alternatively you can pour this into a baking dish and cut into squares after it has firmed. 

Directions: 

Step 1: Put elderberries, cinnamon sticks, cloves, ginger and water into a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium to high heat. 

Step 2: Reduce heat to low and simmer for 1 hour or until water has reduced by half.

Step 3: Strain your syrup removing the berries, cinnamon, cloves and ginger. Add honey and stir until dissolved. Measure out 2 cups of liquid (if you have extra you can use it for elderberry syrup), put it in your saucepan and return to a low simmer. 

Step 4: Using your whisk, slowly pour your gelatin into your simmering elderberry syrup. Whisk until all of the gelatin is incorporated into the liquid. Remove from heat and pour into your silicone molds. 

Step 5: Leave on your counter or transfer to the fridge for 1-2 hours or until gummies become firm. Remove from molds and eat! Store extra gummies in the fridge. Gummies should last for approximately 5 days. 

These gummies are sweet with just a little bit of kick from the cinnamon and ginger! I made this current batch of gummies earlier this week when I felt a cold coming on. I found that it reduced my cold’s intensity as well as the duration of the cold significantly! Plus they taste really good! 

[hr gap=”30″]Tell me… Have you ever tried elderberry syrup? What are some of your favorite home cold and flu remedies?[hr gap=”30″]

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Looking for more home cold and flu remedies? Check out these! 

Easy Homemade Sore Throat Gummies Recipe with Lemon, Ginger and Honey

How To Make DIY Vapour Rub  

Crockpot Bone Broth Recipe 

No Peel Crockpot Applesauce