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    Home » Recipes » Natural Cold And Cough Remedies

    Homemade Honey Lemon Cough Drops [DIY Throat Lozenges]

    Modified: Sep 25, 2025 · by Shelby Stover · This post may contain affiliate links · 107 Comments

    Jump to Recipe
    Pin image with text: top image a close up of a hand holding a homemade cough drop and the bottom of the heart shaped, lemon honey cough drops around a ja full
    Pinterest image with text: homemade honey lemon cough drops in a mason jar with three lozanges in front and ginger root behind it

    Made with only four ingredients, these Homemade Honey Lemon Cough Drops are a natural sore throat remedy. Honey-based and made with immune-boosting ingredients, these DIY throat lozenges are both healing and soothing, the perfect way to relieve a dry, scratchy throat.

    Pin image with text: three honey lemon cough drops around a jar of more cough drops with a honey stick, fresh lemon and a blue linen behind them.

    A Quick Look At The Recipe

    • ⏲️Ready In: 40 Minutes
    • 👪Serves: 8
    • 🍽 Calories: 27kcals
    • 📋 Main Ingredients: Honey, lemon, ginger, and coconut oil.
    • 📖 Dietary Notes: Dairy-free, gluten-free, and paleo.
    • ⭐ Why You'll Love It: The tastiest way to soothe a sore throat, these homemade cough drops are as simple as they are delicious.

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    As a mom of three living through seemingly endless Canadian winters, I’ve learned the hard way that waiting out a cough just doesn’t cut it. This honey lemon cough drops recipe is one of the natural remedies I reach for the moment someone in the house starts clearing their throat on repeat.

    Made with just a handful of simple ingredients, they soothe scratchy throats and help fend off the ick. I like to keep a stash on hand right alongside our go-to elixir of honey and garlic for cough, and this elderberry cough syrup recipe. Bonus: They pair perfectly with a mug of coconut milk matcha latte when you’re bundled on the couch.

    Sources used in this blog post: benefits of honey, benefits of ginger, health benefits of lemon.

    Jump To
    • A Quick Look At The Recipe
    • Why You'll Love This Recipe
    • Ingredients and Substitutions
    • Flavor Variations
    • How To Make Homemade Honey Lemon Cough Drops
    • Expert Tips
    • How To Store Them
    • Homemade Cough Drops & Kids
    • Homemade Honey Lemon Cough Drops FAQs
    • Other Cold & Flu Remedies
    • Homemade Honey Lemon Cough Drops

    Why You'll Love This Recipe

    Easy to make: With just 4 ingredients, these honey lemon cough drops whip up quickly enough.

    Soothing: The cool honey with a light lemony taste is ultra soothing on a scratchy, painful throat.

    Freezer-friendly: The DIY throat lozenges store well in the freezer for a couple of months, so you can keep some on hand for when you need them, just like this elderberry cough drops recipe.

    Ingredients and Substitutions

    Coconut oil, honey, ginger and fresh lemon with a red silicone mold beside them and the ingredients have text labels above them,

    The honey lemon combination has been used for what seems like eons to soothe sore throats! Probably because it just works so damn well.

    • Raw honey: Even though you'll be heating this honey, I think it's always best to use raw, unpasteurized honey. Whenever possible, try to use local honey in the DIY cough drops, as local honey can help adjust your immune system.
    • Fresh lemon juice: Ideally, you want lemon juice squeezed right from the lemon for these cough drops! The fresher it is, the more potent it will be.
    • Ginger: If you don't have fresh ginger on hand, dried will work. But like most things, know that you're losing some of the ginger benefits from it.

    See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.

    Flavor Variations

    Cinnamon: This is my kids' favorite way to enjoy the honey lemon cough drops recipe. Add a teaspoon of ground cinnamon into the mix for a warming taste.

    Darker honey: Did you know that buckwheat honey is actually more likely to soothe a throat than regular honey? We try to use a darker honey whenever we can!

    How To Make Homemade Honey Lemon Cough Drops

    Coconut oil, honey, lemon, and ginger in a small pot with a purple spatula.

    Step 1: Combine all ingredients in a small pot. Heat the pot slightly over medium heat and melt the ingredients together.

    Honey boiling in a small pot on the stove.

    Step 2. The honey mixture will start to bubble, remove from heat, and whisk until bubbles/foam recedes slightly. Replace on heat.

    Melted honey, lemon and coconut oil in a small pot.

    Step 3: Do this for 2.5-3 minutes, whisking every 15 seconds or so. You want the mixture to get HOT but not to outright burn.

    Homemade honey cough drops in a heart shaped mold before freezing.

    Sep 4: After three minutes-ish, pour the mixture into silicone molds but do not fill them all the way. Let them cool on the counter before freezing.

    Expert Tips

    The key to making these is keeping the honey bubbling, yes, it’ll look like it’s burning, but that’s what transforms it into a hard candy texture.

    You’ll need to remove it from the heat briefly, stir, and repeat (follow the directions closely). Most recipes use a candy thermometer, but I prefer the color test: skip the gadgets and watch for the honey to darken, it’s simpler and just as effective.

    When I don't have these homemade cough drops on hand, I usually just steep all of these ingredients into boiling water and sip on it throughout the day- seriously, they work well!

    You can also check out DIY Elderberry cough drops, in which I provide a step-by-step video of how to boil the honey without burning it.

    You'll need a set of silicone molds for these natural homemade cough drops. You can use any molds you like, but my advice is to keep the actual cough drops super thin. Thus, you want medium-sized candy molds, but you don't want to fill them the entire way.

    How To Store Them

    Store the homemade cough drops in the freezer right in the silicone molds. If you want to store them in a container, you'll need to separate them with sheets of parchment so that they don't stick together.

    Do not store the cough drops in the fridge, as they lose their shape and become a sticky mess.

    To use them: Eat them right out of the freezer; the cold is soothing on a sore throat. Know that the homemade cough drops have a hard candy/taffy-like consistency when in your mouth (which means that you shouldn't chew them.. especially with dentures). Seriously, taffy-like.

    Hand holding a homemade honey lemon cough drop in a heart shape up close.

    Homemade Cough Drops & Kids

    Because they are taffy-like once they honey firms up and melts in your mouth, my advice would be to not give them to kids.

    I worry with kids, especially very little ones, that they would chew them, swallow and choke. So these are adult-only DIY cough drops I'd say (though here's a great cough syrup recipe for kiddos if you need one!)

    Homemade Honey Lemon Cough Drops FAQs

    How do you store DIY cough drops?

    DIY cough drops are best stored in the freezer, and they're more soothing this way, too! You can pop them into your mouth straight from the freezer; the cold feels great on a sore throat, and this way, you can make a bunch and always have some on hand!

    Will lemon throat lozenges help a cough?

    Honey is super soothing for a scratchy, dry throat, which is normally the start of a cough. Use these homemade cough drops when you feel a scratchy throat coming on and before it gets too intense and turns into a cough.

    What do I do if my homemade cough drops are not hard after freezing?

    If you find that the cough drops are still pretty sticky and you're having trouble getting them out of the mold, then two things went wrong. The first is that you didn't freeze them long enough to harden. If they're a bit melty and you froze them for 1-2 hours, then you didn't boil them down enough to make the honey tacky. They still work, but if you really want to, you can reboil them. Just scoop them all out from the mold, reheat, and boil down further, getting that deep golden brown before repeating the remaining steps.

    What are the ingredients in honey lemon cough drops?

    Honey lemon cough drops are made with three basic ingredients: honey, lemon, and coconut oil. However, you can add ingredients like ginger or cinnamon to vary the taste.

    Pin image with text: three honey lemon cough drops around a jar of more cough drops with a honey stick, fresh lemon and a blue linen behind them.

    Other Cold & Flu Remedies

    Want to stay ahead of cold and flu season? Stock up on staples like homemade super tonic and easy-to-use bone broth powder. Easy ways to keep your immune system strong without extra stress.

    • Jar with brown honey and onions in it.
      Homemade Honey Onion Syrup For Coughs
    • Chocolate gut-healing chocolate smoothie in a glass with toddler hands holding it.
      Gut Healing Smoothie Recipe (Paleo, Whole30)
    • Fire Cider in a Jar with a lid on a distressed wood table.
      Homemade Fire Cider Recipe For Cough & Cold
    • 4 elderberry gummies leaned against an orange bowl
      How To Make Elderberry Gummies

    If you tried this Homemade Cough Drop Recipe or any other recipe on my blog, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it goes!

    Three honey lemon cough drops around a jar of more cough drops with a honey stick, fresh lemon and a blue linen behind them.

    Homemade Honey Lemon Cough Drops

    Shelby Stover
    These homemade honey lemon cough drops are an easy recipe using real food ingredients. They're quick to make and help to soothe scratchy throats and niggling coughs with all-natural ingredients.
    4.95 from 69 votes
    Print Recipe Pin Recipe
    Prep Time 0 minutes mins
    Cook Time 3 minutes mins
    35 minutes mins
    Total Time 40 minutes mins
    Course Snack
    Cuisine American
    Servings 8 drops
    Calories 27 kcal

    Video

    Equipment

    • Silicone candy molds

    Ingredients
      

    • 2.5 tablespoons Honey
    • 1.5 teaspoon Coconut Oil
    • ½ teaspoon Lemon juice fresh
    • ¼ - ½ inch Ginger peeled and finely grated.

    Instructions
     

    • Combine all ingredients in a small pot.
    • Heat the pot slightly over medium heat and melt the ingredients together.
    • The honey mixture will start to bubble, remove from heat and whisk until bubbles/foam recedes slightly. Replace on heat.
    • Do this for 2.5-3 minutes, whisking every 15 seconds or so. You want the mixture to get HOT but not to outright burn.
    • The mixture will start to change color (dark honey color).
    • After three minutes-ish, pour the mixture into silicone molds but do not fill them all the way. You want the drops to be very small and thin.
    • Let cool on the counter for twenty minutes then place in the freezer to set.
    • Pop the disks out when you need them. They are chilled and soothing but they're also sticky once melted (almond-like a taffy) so try not to chew them too much!
    • Makes 8 drops depending on mold.

    Notes

    The trick to making homemade cough drops is that you have to keep the honey bubbling (seems like burning) on the stove.
    You also have to keep removing briefly, stirring, and redoing this (read the directions).
    It's the bubbling that burns off the goopy aspect and makes the honey into something that resembles hard candy.
    Keep an eye on the color: you want it to turn a darker shade.
    You'll need a set of silicone molds for these natural homemade cough drops. You can use any molds you like, but my advice is to keep the actual cough drops super thin. Thus, you want medium-sized candy molds, but you don't want to fill them the entire way.
    Store the homemade cough drops in the freezer either in the silicone molds or separated between parchment paper so they don't stick.
    Disclaimer:

    Nutrition values are estimates only, using online calculators. Please verify using your own data"

    Nutrition

    Calories: 27kcalCarbohydrates: 6gProtein: 0.03gFat: 1gSaturated Fat: 1gPolyunsaturated Fat: 0.01gMonounsaturated Fat: 0.05gSodium: 0.4mgPotassium: 6mgFiber: 0.03gSugar: 5gVitamin A: 0.02IUVitamin C: 0.2mgCalcium: 1mgIron: 0.03mg
    Have You Tried This Recipe?Please leave a star rating and comment below. Mention @fitasamamabear or tag #fitasamamabear!

    More Natural Cold And Cough Remedies

    • Homemade sore throat lozenges in a tipped over jar and in a silicone mold with dried elderberries around it.
      Elderberry Cough Drops Recipe For Sore Throat Relief
    • Mason jar with cinnamon, honey and garlic cloves with more cinnamon sticks behind it.
      Honey And Garlic Elixir For Cough And Cold
    • Homemade elderberry syrup in a mason jar with cinnamon sticks, honey and elderberries around it.
      Elderberry Cough Syrup Recipe With Cinnamon And Honey

    Comments

    1. Jennifer says

      May 27, 2024 at 12:49 pm

      How long do these keep in the freezer?

      Reply
      • fitasamamabear says

        May 28, 2024 at 8:06 am

        I've had them in the freezer for up to 3 months and they've been fine!

        Reply
    2. Anonymous says

      May 20, 2024 at 2:41 am

      5 stars
      My family loved this!

      Reply
    3. Suzanne says

      October 04, 2023 at 7:56 pm

      This looks so good! What a great natural remedy to have on hand!

      Reply
      • fitasamamabear says

        October 04, 2023 at 8:37 pm

        Omg yes!! I have a stash in the freezer and it's so helpful.

        Reply
    « Older Comments
    4.95 from 69 votes (46 ratings without comment)

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