Homemade Vanilla Simple Syrup

Made with 4 simple ingredients, this easy homemade vanilla syrup recipe adds great flavor to all of your favorite coffee drinks, teas, sodas, and cocktails! Once you make your own vanilla syrup, you’ll never bother with those store-bought syrups again.

You know I love DIY simple syrup recipes. Simple syrup is the best way to sweeten iced drinks (like iced coffee, iced tea, cocktails, etc.) because there is no grainy texture. With just a few basic ingredients and a couple of simple steps, you can have your own simple syrup ready to enjoy in about 10 minutes!

This vanilla coffee syrup recipe is the perfect way to add robust vanilla flavoring to your drinks. Play home barista and make your favorite coffee shop drinks like a vanilla latte, a decadent vanilla sweet cream cold brew, tea drinks like a London fog tea latte or an iced matcha latte, and so much more with this delicious vanilla homemade syrup! You can also use this syrup to add vanilla flavor to sodas, mocktails, and cocktails.

What is Simple Syrup?

Simple syrup is a liquefied form of sugar that is often used to sweeten cocktails, teas, coffees, and other cold beverages. If you’ve ever gone to a coffee shop and ordered a latte with “2 pumps of vanilla”…you just ordered a latte with vanilla simple syrup! Using a simple syrup sweetens your drinks without adding grainy sugar which creates a more enjoyable sip. A basic simple syrup is made with equal parts sugar to water.

Why You’ll Love This Vanilla Syrup Recipe

Rich vanilla flavor. This delicious vanilla syrup recipe adds amazing vanilla flavor to all of your favorite drinks!

Minimal, simple ingredients. This homemade vanilla simple syrup only uses 4 basic ingredients that you likely already have on hand!

Cost effective. If you love flavored syrups, you know how expensive the store-bought versions can be! This homemade version is a great way to save some money and still enjoy a coffeeshop worthy drink.

You can tailor the flavor to your exact specifications. Making your own flavored syrups allows you to adjust the final flavor to your taste. You can increase the vanilla extract for a more intense vanilla flavor if desired, or tone it down a smidge, until you’ve created the perfect syrup for you!

Ingredients for Vanilla Simple Syrup

Granulated Sugar. Granulated sugar is a standard ingredient for simple syrup recipes. 

Brown Sugar. Using brown sugar in addition to the white sugar really takes this this vanilla simple syrup to the next level. It adds a nice depth of flavor, and really makes this rich simple syrup mimic those syrups you find at your local coffee shop. Both light brown sugar and dark brown sugar work in this recipe. Light brown sugar has a more subtle flavor than dark, due to a lower molasses content, so choose per your preference. 

Water. Water is a key ingredient for making simple syrup. 

Vanilla extract. Use a high-quality, pure vanilla extract for the very best homemade vanilla coffee syrup. I personally love and use Watkins Vanilla Extract. If you make your own vanilla extract, you can definitely use that in this recipe too.

See recipe card below for a full list of ingredients and measurements.

Vanilla Coffee Syrup Recipe Variations

Use all granulated sugar. You can make this into a 3 ingredient vanilla syrup recipe by using all granulated sugar (instead of the mixture of white and brown sugars). 

Replace vanilla extract with vanilla bean paste. If vanilla bean paste is something you keep in your pantry, you can replace the vanilla extract one-for-one in this recipe. Like the vanilla extract, whisk into the sugar and water mixture after removing it from the heat.  Once it’s cool enough to touch, taste and add more vanilla paste if desired.

Use a real vanilla bean too. Some people like to split a whole vanilla bean pod in half and add it in with the sugars and water to infuse more vanilla flavor into their syrup. If this sounds like something you’d enjoy, feel free to try it! Remove the vanilla bean after the sugar dissolves, and then stir about half as much vanilla extract. Once cool enough to touch, taste it and decide if you’d like to stir in more vanilla extract.

How to Make Vanilla Simple Syrup

Step 1: Add the brown sugar and granulated sugar to a small saucepan. 

Step 2: Top with water and stir.

Step 3: Over medium heat, simmer the sugars and water together, stirring frequently, until the sugar dissolves and there are no grains visible

Step 4: Remove from the heat and stir in the vanilla extract.

Step 5: Allow the syrup to cool and then transfer it to a sealable glass container. Once your syrup cools to at least room temperature, store in the fridge for up to two weeks.

Homemade Vanilla Syrup Storage

Store your homemade vanilla simple syrup in an airtight container in your fridge for up to two weeks. I like to use a sealed glass bottle when making my own simple syrups. However, you can use an upcycled glass jar or mason jars for storage too!