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! My husband and I have been mixing up homemade drinks for nearly a decade because in addition to being a fun activity to do together, it’s pretty easy and more affordable than going out to a coffeeshop or bar. And once you make your own vanilla syrup, you’ll never bother with those store-bought syrups again.
This vanilla coffee syrup recipe is the perfect way to add robust vanilla flavoring to your drinks. We’ve worked out the ratio of ingredients you need through lots of testing, shared step-by-step photos to help, and provided ideas on how to use your syrup when it’s done!
So go ahead and play home barista with this easy DIY vanilla syrup! Use it to make your favorite coffee shop drinks like a vanilla latte, a vanilla sweet cream cold brew, a London fog tea latte, or an iced matcha latte! Or be your own bartender and use it to add vanilla flavor to sodas, mocktails, and cocktails. Enjoy!
Jump to:
- What is Vanilla Simple Syrup?
- Why You’ll Love This Vanilla Syrup Recipe
- Vanilla Syrup Ingredients
- How to Make Vanilla Simple Syrup
- Vanilla Simple Syrup Recipe Variations
- Uses for Vanilla Simple Syrup
- Homemade Vanilla Syrup Storage
- DIY Vanilla Syrup FAQs
- Love This Recipe? You May Also Enjoy
- DIY Vanilla Simple Syrup
What is Vanilla 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!
Vanilla Syrup Ingredients
- 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.
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.
Vanilla Simple 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.
Uses for Vanilla Simple Syrup
The most common use for vanilla simple syrup is to sweeten and flavor beverages like coffees, lattes, teas, and cocktails. It’s also great for mocktails and sodas! We especially love using it to make vanilla cold foam and to sweeten and add flavor to an iced matcha latte or homemade cold brew coffee, but there is so much more you can do with it!
Many bakers brush simple syrup onto cakes before frosting or glazing them to help keep them moist, and in the case of vanilla syrup, to add a little flavor too! Try this next time you make a Bundt cake, angle food cake, or layer cake.
You can also use it to sweeten and flavor yogurt (this definitely helps make plain yogurt more enjoyable to eat!). We love doing this with vanilla syrup and homemade blueberry syrup too! You can also use it to sweeten and flavor oatmeal or overnight oats.
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!
DIY Vanilla Syrup FAQs
While you can use vanilla extract when making homemade vanilla syrup, vanilla extract and vanilla syrup are not the same things. Vanilla syrup is a simple syrup infused with vanilla flavor that is primarily used to sweeten beverages. Vanilla extract is a flavoring agent that is made by steeping vanilla beans in ethyl alcohol and water.
Homemade vanilla simple syrup can be stored in an airtight container in your fridge for up to two weeks.
Standard granulated sugar (sometimes referred to as white sugar or table sugar) is the standard for simple syrup because it is neutral in taste and dissolves quickly.
Syrup is a general term for a thick, sweet liquid made by dissolving sugar in water. Simple syrup specifically refers to a syrup made with equal parts sugar and water, and is most often used to sweeten beverages.
Love This Recipe? You May Also Enjoy
DIY Vanilla Simple Syrup
Ingredients
- ½ C granulated sugar
- ¼ C brown sugar (light or dark)
- ¾ C water
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Add the brown sugar and granulated sugar to a small saucepan and top with water. Stir to combine.
- Over medium heat, simmer the sugars and water together, stirring frequently, until the sugar dissolves and there are no grains visible (about 7-10 minutes).
- Remove from the heat and stir in the vanilla extract.
- 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.
Notes
- 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 desired, you can replace the vanilla extract one-for-one in this recipe with vanilla bean paste. Like the vanilla extract, whisk into the sugar and water mixture after removing it from the heat.
- Use a real vanilla bean too. If desired, split a whole vanilla bean pod in half and add it in with the sugars and water to infuse more vanilla flavor. 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.
Nikki says
I was happy to see this recipe was only 3 ingredients I already had in my pantry! Making the syrup was so simple I thought I was doing something wrong! The taste was perfect!
Meredith says
So happy you found the recipe easy and delicious too!
David says
Simple recipe, big flavor!
Meredith says
🙌 yes! glad you loved this easy vanilla syrup recipe too.