It’s never fun getting sick, especially this year! Today, I’m sharing my tried and true, all-natural home remedies for cough. I recommend making these remedies in advance, so that they’re ready for cold and flu season. This ginger lemon honey tea actually works, and not just as a home remedy for a sore throat.
Designed to soothe + heal, these ingredients will actually shorten the life of your cold.
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Ginger Lemon Honey Tea Recipe
I made this concoction of fresh lemon, ginger, and raw local honey (best purchased seasonally) to prepare for when the germs start spreading. Now, I keep it in the fridge. At the first sign of a cold or flu, I just scoop out a few tablespoons, add hot water, and enjoy this delicious home remedy for cough.
This is hands down the best way I’ve ever found to treat a cold, cough or flu naturally. No joke. It tastes amazing, makes me feel great instantly and I quickly recover. Why is that?
Home Remedy Ingredients
Lemons are high in vitamin C (especially the pith, aka the white part we all usually avoid!). Vitamin C helps boost the immune system and neutralize the free radicals in the body. This reduces the inflammation and swelling in the body when fighting off a common cold. Lemon also has natural acidity that helps break down mucous as well as alleviate congestion
Ginger contains a bioactive compound called gingerol, which is known to be the strong medicinal part of ginger. Helps you sweat out the toxins in your body, which is helpful when you have a cold or flu. Ginger is also a helpful home remedy for cough, settling upset stomachs, dizziness, nausea, vomiting and cold sweats. First found in Southeast Asia, this powerful root not only helps fight the common cold, but also free radicals and inflammation, according to research by the US National Library of Medicine.
Interested in adding more ginger power to your diet? Check out all of our recipes featuring this amazing and powerful root in our member’s only meal planner. We have 50+ recipes in Rawk the Year that contain ginger – everything from smoothies to soups to cookies and more!
Honey is a natural cough suppressant (Which explains why the most effective cough drops use honey). It also improves the body’s ability to fight infection and decreases the risk of fevers. The natural sweetness of honey also balances the tartness of the lemon + ginger, giving this ginger lemon honey tea its soothing flavor. Raw honey is used to treat a whole host of ailments, including cancer.
Why I Believe in Natural Remedies
As the weather gets windier and colder, flu and cold season kicks into gear. I get a little obsessive; wiping down the shopping cart like crazy, washing my hands numerous times a day, as well as gulping down my immune boosting green smoothies.
Yet no matter what I do, I get one cold every year. That’s why I’ve come to rely on my home remedies for cough. I’ve used them for years, so I know that they work for me. Many store-bought treatments contain harmful food dyes, processed sugar, along with other chemicals.
If I’m not willing to eat those on the regular, then why would I turn to them when my immune system is down?! The whole food, plant-based ingredients used in these home remedies for sore throat and cough are often cheaper, and are definitely healthier than over the counter meds. They also have natural healing properties.
Home Remedies for Cold and Flu
In winters past, I hit the drugstore to load up on medicine and cough drops when my annual cold hit… yet I never felt better using them. They tasted gross and I woke up feeling even worse. That’s when I decided there had to be a better way—something that was natural and made to heal the body.
Seven years ago, I went on my own wellness warrior journey to discover the best home remedies for cough. Since I learned about so many incredible remedies, I created a whole medicine cabinet of plant based cures. Read on for a few of my tried and true favs:
- Elderberry syrup: can be taken daily, and taken multiple times a day when experiencing cold or flue symptoms. And when you can make a medicinal syrup into popsicles for sore throats, I’m 100% here for it.
- Rawkstar fire cider: while this tonic is not for the faint of heart, it does wonders in limiting the life of a cold or the flu, and helps to strengthen the immune system along the way. This is one home remedy that’ll scare the cough right out of ya!
- Homemade vapor rub: this is a perfect natural remedy for cough + decongestant. Use it on the chest, as well as the feet to soothe.
- Ginger lemon honey tea: The recipe below has a whole host of benefits, just like the others on this list. I love this recipe for allergies, when I feel any kind of sickness coming on, or if I’m in the middle of a full blown cold.
Practical Uses for Home Remedies
Typically, when I start to feel a tickle in my throat, a stuffy nose, or the body aches, I grab a shot of fire cider. My kids and I take homemade elderberry syrup on the daily throughout the winter.
I use the vapor rub if congestion is keeping me from sleeping, and my son Jackson also uses it to help with seasonal allergies. This ginger lemon honey tea recipe can be sipped throughout the day as a home remedy for cough, sore throat, or the flu.
Tried and True Storage Tips
Have you noticed I use an awful lot of mason jars? There’s a reason why Mr. John Mason’s jars have been a popular storage favorite for over a century! I love them not just for serving green smoothies, but for storing this healthful home remedy for cough recipe. These days you can find them anywhere from antique shops to grocery stores. I often buy mine at a local feed supply store.
Please let me know in the comments below if you’ve tried this natural remedies for cough recipe for ginger lemon honey tea, or any of the other home remedies for sore throats (and a whole host of other ailments!) I’ve created. I’d love to know how they work for your family.
Ginger Lemon Honey Tea
Ingredients
- 2 lemons organic
- 2 inch ginger root
- 1 cup honey
- 12-oz mason jar
Instructions
- Slice lemons and ginger.
- Place the lemon and ginger slices in the mason jar, alternating layers of each.
- Slowly, pour honey over the lemon and ginger. Allow the honey to sink down and around the lemon and ginger slices. Fill jar to the top with honey and seal tightly.
- Store in the refrigerator. Over time, the mixture will start to turn into a loose jelly.
- When you are in need of some soothing tea, scoop 2-3 tablespoons into a mug full of hot water—be sure to scoop whole pieces of ginger and lemon. Allow to steep for 3-4 minutes and sip away.
Video
Notes
- Since lemons are going into this concentrate, make sure to wash them well before slicing.
- Use a jar with a tight-fitting lid to ensure this mixture stays protected.
- For best personal results, use raw, local honey that was made within the season you are using it.
How long do you need to let it sit before it turns into the jelly substance to be able to use it
Hi Dana, that’s a great question. You can use it right away, just make sure you include the slices of lemon and bits of ginger in your mug!
I’m confused… in an older post, a question was asked how long it stores in the refrigerator, answer was 5-7 days. Days? This is only good in the refrigerator for 5-7 days? I figured it would last longer then last. How fast does it turn into a loose jelly?
I’m so sorry Heather on the contradicting information. Yes, the Ginger Lemon Honey Tea “concentrate” in this recipe will stay good in the refrigerator for a couple of months or even a little longer as long as it’s well sealed.
I boil my ginger and lemon for a few and then add in honey. Sometimes a little chopped onion. Drinking some now, woke up coughing from a cold.
I also rub a little eucalyptus on my chest and temples and put some in diffuser, its going now. Love the tea!
Good recipe thanks for sharing
How long will this last in frig?
Great question, Emily! I keep mine refrigerated for about 2-3 months. It’s usually gone in 2, but it’s safe for up to 3. 🙂
How long does this store for in the fridge?
If sealed well, this can last up to 5-7 days in the fridge.
Hi! How soon after preparing this can it be used? Does it need to sit for a certain amount of time first? Thanks for a great looking recipe!
Great question, Melissa! After the mixture concentrate is prepared, you can start using right away to make your tea. Be sure to let the amount you mix into your hot water steep for 2-3 minutes before you start to sip. Stay well!
Any info on how soon you can use after preparing?
How long can you store this? Does it need to be in fridge? Thank you
Do you have to put this in tea?
Can it be taken by a spoonful like cough syrup?
Hi Kathy! We’ve not tried it, yet you could totally take it like cough syrup. We’d start small for sure as it will be strong. Let us know what you think and how it works for you!
Hi! I plan to try this recipe out and I wanted to know if you could use this within a day of making it? Or is it something that has to be made in advance?
Thank you so much for sharing, may God bless you.
It’s our joy, Dinah. Please stay healthy. 🙂
Rich in antioxidants, nutrients, and anti-inflammatory properties, green tea is always a healthy choice. What you can’t assume is that all green tea is created equal, therefore all tastes the same.
What type of honey do you normally use?
We normally opt for locally sourced raw honey. It provides the best phytonutrients, which can be destroyed in processed versions of honey. So hit up those roadside honey stands you see on your drive through town for the best stuff!
Looks really good! It is necessary to peel the ginger or can I just leave the skin on.
Thanks!
Love this question! The answer is no, it’s def not necessary to peel your ginger. Lots of rawkstars prefer to freeze their ginger in 1″ chunks to make it easier for smoothies, and then peel skin off with a spoon. Yet, it’s totally fine to leave it on. The only exception would be if the ginger is super old and wrinkly. Then go ahead and peel it off.
So… you put slices of both lemon and ginger from the mason jar in the cup where you ‘ll pour the water. OK. Simple. But, do you EAT the lemon and ginger pieces? Or is it just for steeping?
And, also… could leftover lemon and ginger slices inside the mason jar be BLENDED with a bit of honey and distilled water in order to still use them for their medicinal properties (refrigerating in the mason that mason jar??). Just curious. I’d hate to waste any of it. Thank you!
Awesome questions Zarina! The lemon and ginger are for steeping only. You could totally try blending them with honey afterward, yet there wouldn’t be as much nutritional benefit as when fresh. Most of it will have already been taken in when drinking the remedy originally.
I tried making this and mine became very liquidy but not jelly like 🙁
Hi Rene – make sure to store in the fridge and over time you will find it turn into that jelly-like consistency. 🙂
I did store it in the fridge and no matter how long I left it the honey turned thin and runny.
Hmm…We def want to get this one heading in the right direction for you! The consistency can definitely change if you use non-raw honey, or pre-bottled lemon juice instead of fresh lemon juice. So those would be good places to start troubleshooting. Also make sure to store it in an airtight container, and consider trying again with less lemon juice to start. Keep us posted!
Mine came out runny too because my lemons were HUGE! . Planning on adding more honey as one of my 2 mason jars starts running 1/2 empty. I’ll compare both jars at that point— the thickness/ jelly-likeness of each .
You’re so right Zarina! The additional liquid from the larger lemons would def make for a dif consistency. Keep us posted on how it goes for you next time with your adjustments. 🙂
Super easy! Happy to use local honey!
Hi Dawn!! 🙂 So glad it worked well for you and that you’re able to support your local honey provider!
I don’t know where the blog is for leaving a message. I didn’t make this recipe but I grew up with lemon, honey, and ginger heated in a pot for sipping slowly in a cup. This was used for sore throats, coughs and it tasted really good. Measurements I do not know but I would make it so it would be a little sweet with the lemon and the bite of the ginger.
Love that Carla! It’s so good that we are all still using and sharing homemade, tried and true ways of healing sickness!
Hi! I made a jar of this about two months ago and it was amazing! I’m wondering how long it will keep in the fridge?
Great question Emily! We keep this in the fridge for up to two months or until gone, whichever comes first. 🙂