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.

lemon honey ginger tea concentrate in a glass jar.
Table of Contents
  1. Ginger Lemon Honey Tea Recipe
  2. Why I Believe in Natural Remedies
  3. Home Remedies for Cold and Flu
  4. Tried and True Storage Tips
  5. Ginger Lemon Honey Tea Recipe

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?

Ginger lemon honey tea for cough home remedy in a glass jar surrounded by sliced ingredients.

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.

homemade tea concentrate to help with sore throats in a glass jar on a wooden counter top.

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.

large mason jar of one of the home remedies for cough.

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.

ingredients for lemon honey ginger tea, including honey, ginger root, and whole lemon.
pouring raw honey into this home remedy for cough.

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.

Home remedy for sore throat in a glass jar with honey, lemon and ginger.
All natural ginger honey lemon tea cough remedy in a glass jar.
4.95 from 54 votes

Ginger Lemon Honey Tea

This home remedy for cough and cold is my go-to! You can make this immunity boosting, body soothing concoction ahead of time and store in the fridge. I usually keep my mixture for about two months or until we use it all up.
Prep: 10 minutes
Total: 10 minutes
Author: Jen Hansard
Course: Beverage, Natural Remedy
Cuisine: Healing, Plant-Based
Serves: 10 servings

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.

Nutrition

Calories: 110kcal, Carbohydrates: 30g, Protein: 1g, Fat: 1g, Saturated Fat: 1g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g, Monounsaturated Fat: 1g, Sodium: 2mg, Potassium: 53mg, Fiber: 1g, Sugar: 28g, Vitamin A: 5IU, Vitamin C: 12mg, Calcium: 8mg, Iron: 1mg
Tried this recipe? Show me!Mention @SimpleGreenSmoothies or tag #SimpleGreenSmoothies!

You might Also Like…

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Rating




Comments

  1. My sister gave me this idea but she says to take 1tab spoon a day and it will work I’ve been taking it is this correct?? Confused

    1. Hi Maddie — Sure, you can do 1 tablespoon up to 2-3 tablespoons. See what works for you and be sure to listen to your body. 🙂

  2. This is a good tip especially to those new to the blogosphere.
    Brief but very precise info… Many thanks for sharing this one.
    A must read article!

  3. I read about this remedy awhile ago. I tried it last week and it really helped. I
    made it for a friend today I am hoping it helps her too. Question is how often should you drink it before feeling better?

    1. It all depends on what is wrong 🙂 Minor colds will take a shorter time than those nasty, winter sicknesses!

  4. I read on a website/post somewhere a few days ago when I first heard of this that you can just keep adding to the jar. Do you do this or just make a new jar? I can’t find where I saw it and have already gone through about half my jar! The first couple of drinks I took a couple of slices of lemon out but not sure if I should or not??? It makes it so much easier than squeezing a lemon every time when you’re not feeling well. 🙁

    1. Hi Di! We personally do not refill the jar, or squeeze a lemon every time we use this mixture. Once we run out of liquid in the jar, we just make a new one 🙂

  5. I made this in January and it has been in the fridge ever since. Will it still be okay? I never felt like I was coming down with a cold … but I want to use it before it goes bad.

    Thanks!

    1. You can store it for a few months— yet I have a feeling you will use it up before that. It’s some good stuff!

  6. Hi there, can’t wait to try this, have a cold at the moment and the kids are all clogged up so may try this on them too. If I don’t have a glass jar to make this in, is it possible to make this in a plastic container and will it still hold for the same time? thanks

    1. Hi Norah— sorry to hear you are all sick. You can definitely use a plastic jar to store this. By prepping and combining all ingredients at once it saves you time each day from making the tea from scratch. All you do is heat up some water and drop a big scoop of this into it and you have some soothing tea. Get well soon.

  7. Hey i just made it, but how long should i let it be in the fridge before i can use it?

  8. Hi, my mom is currently sick with the flu. I wanted to make this for her but was wondering how long I have to let it sit before she can use it?
    Thanks

    1. Your poor mom! You actually don’t need to let it sit— just scoop out a few tablespoons and add boiling water to it. Give it a few minutes to cool down and then have her sip. Hope she feels better soon Chelsea.

  9. Hope you all feel better! There seems to be a lot going around lately.

  10. I get sick every time winter rears its ugly head. I am sick now so I couldn’t wait to try this. So far, I am loving it. Hoping it can help me with this terrible cough.

  11. thank you! My son is sick and we’ve been drinking this all week. Even my healthy kids are asking for it. I’ve been adding more honey and/or lemon/ginger as they deplete the bottle. This has such a refreshing taste with a perfect amount of sweetness.

  12. This is such a great idea! I discovered your amazing website after following you on instagram for some time. You ladies and your incredible recipes and creative ideas continue to inspire my family and I. Thank you!!
    P.S- love the simple format of this website, you guys are great.

    1. Awww, thanks Monica! I appreciate the kind words and glad you like the website. I spent a lot of time on that baby. 🙂

  13. Thanks for the great recipe! I made a batch and added Cinnamon sticks, a teaspoon of ground Tumeric, tsp crushed garlic and a tsp of ground cayenne pepper (all for health benifits), I also added about a tsp of ground cinnamon. It came out great! I layer mine which it came out perfect! Thanks for sharing!

    1. Cinnamon sticks would be soooo yummy! Glad you enjoyed and hope it helps you when you need something soothing!

  14. Hi Nicole. I’ve had it in the fridge for 2 months and it was fine. Honey is a natural preservative, which is awesome. I’ve heard of people storing it in the fridge for 4 months, but mine is gone before then.