Sweet, runny and blossomy, this dandelion honey is the perfect bee friendly vegan substitute for honey. If I hadn't made it myself I wouldn't believe it's not honey, it tastes and feels like the real thing!
The perfect vegan substitute for honey
Before I became vegan I didn't know much about honey production. So like many others I thought that buying honey was actually friendly to bees. I knew that vegans didn't eat honey, but I didn't really know the details why.
Made with foraged dandelion flowers, our vegan honey is so simple to make and tastes just like the real thing. All you need is fresh dandelion flowers, organic sugar, a lemon and water. That's it!
The dandelion flowers give this vegan honey substitute a rich floral taste. So, unlike other vegan honey alternatives such as golden syrup, agave syrup, date syrup, our vegan dandelion honey could make anyone believe it's actually honey!
Dandelions - Weeds or Wildflowers?
“A weed is but an unloved flower.”
Ella Wheeler Wilcox
Dandelions are considered weeds in the UK, often seen as the nemesis to those that want a perfectly green grass lawn. But dandelions have been used by humans for food for centuries and appreciated by many cultures for their medicinal benefits.
A dandelion is not just one plant, but several different species of the genus Taraxacum. The most common are T. officinale and T. erythrospermum and they spread across the world from Europe.
A dandelion is easily to recognise with it's bright yellow many petaled flowers. Its leaves form around the base, and often have a toothed leaves.
There are several similar plants with similar flowerheads in the daisy family Asteraceae, sometimes known as false dandelions, so learn how to distinguish these.
The leaf shape is what gives the dandelion it's name - from the French dent de lion, literally meaning lion's tooth. In German the plant is known as Löwenzahn (Löwe = lion, Zahn = tooth).
After they have flowered the plants turn into beautiful seed heads, often called clocks. Who remembers 'telling the time' as a child by blowing the seeds?
Eating Dandelions
Every part of the dandelion plant is edible. As always, with foraging be 100 percent sure that what you are gathering is correctly identified and safe to eat.
You can use the young leaves in salads and dry them to make tea. The long tap root can be dried, roasted and ground - it tastes surprising like coffee! Some people can have an allergic reaction to the pollen of dandelion, so take care.
The flowers can be used to make dandelion wine. But what we love to do most with the dandelion flowers, is to make this amazing vegan dandelion honey!
So let's get picking our flowers to make our vegan honey. Just leave some dandelions for the bees too 🙂
Picking Dandelion Flowers
The best place to pick your dandelion flowers is a lawn or field away from roads and dog walkers. Also take care not to pick anywhere that may have recently been sprayed with pesticides.
The flowers open during the day and close during the night. You want to pick the fully open flowers, that still look nice and fresh. For our vegan honey recipe, pick just the flower heads without any stalk.
Forage responsibly
Dandelion flowers are an important source of nectar for bees, wild bees and other pollinating insects. Especially early in the season, there are only few other plants these animals can feed on.
So please don't pick dandelions when you don't see many other flowers around. Instead, choose a time and place where dandelions are plentiful, and always make sure to leave an abundance of flowers for the bees. Your environment will thank you! <3
How to make it
Making our dandelion honey only takes a few ingredients and a bit of time.
At first you make an infusion of the dandelion flowers with a bit of lemon, which needs to soak for several hours or overnight. Then you strain the liquid, add sugar in a 1:1 ratio and simmer it to thicken into a syrup. And just like that, your dandelion honey is ready!
In order to get the 1:1 weight ratio of liquid to sugar, weigh the liquid after straining, then add the same weight sugar. Alternatively, measure the liquid. One milliliter of the liquid weights one gram, or one fluid ounce weights one ounce.
At the end of the simmering, the hot dandelion honey should still be a bit thinner than the final vegan honey should be. It thickens up as it cools down, and might continue to do so after that.
We have detailed instructions, useful tips and some help for troubleshooting in the recipe card below!
Storing
Fill your dandelion honey into small sterilised jars while it's still hot. Use clean tools. This way, the dandelion honey should keep at least a few months in a cool dark place. Hopefully it will last you until dandelions are in full bloom next year!
Like with jam, watch out for signs of spoilage or mold. Keep open jars in the fridge and always use a clean spoon when taking vegan honey out of the jar.
Using
You can use your dandelion ‘honey’ in many ways. Here’s a few ideas:
- Use it as a sweetener in hot drinks.
- Enjoy as a snack on some homemade sourdough bread and vegan butter.
- Mix with mustard to make a vegan honey mustard dressing.
- Drizzle over vegan pancakes as an alternative to maple syrup.
- Use in baking recipes such as cakes or flapjacks.
- You can also use it in place of sugar or syrup in sweet and sour and sticky sauces, like our Sticky Lemon Tofu.
We hope you like this dandelion honey as much as we do!
We really love foraging! You can find lots more wild food recipes and tips here:
Vegan Dandelion Honey
Ingredients
- 2 cups (100 g) fresh dandelion flowerheads, densely packed
- 2 slices lemon
- 1.5 cups (350 ml) water
- about 1.5 cups (300 g) organic sugar
Instructions
- Shake or blow the flowers to remove any bugs
- Place the water, lemon slices and dandelion flowers in a saucepan
- Simmer with a lid on for 15 minutes
- Leave this to cool and infuse overnight
- The next day, strain out the flowers and lemon by pouring the liquid through a strainer or muslin cloth. Press down to make sure you get all of that dandelion juice out!
- Weigh the liquid, and then weigh out the same amount sugar.
- Put the liquid back in the pan and add the sugar. Stir and heat gently at first until the sugar is dissolved. Then bring it up to a gentle boil for approximately 15 minutes. See the notes for tips on knowing when it's ready.
- Pour into clean sterilised jars and put the lids on while it's still hot
Notes
1:1 Liquid to Sugar Ratio
Ideally you want to weigh the amount of liquid that you have and use the same amount of sugar. We don't always have a scales to hand, so we use the cup measurements as above, and just use our judgement. As the amount of liquid you have left over after infusing the dandelions can vary, the sugar amount can vary, and so can the amount of time you need to boil the liquid. If you have ever made jam, it is a similar process.How to know when it has reached the right consistency
You will see that the liquid will darken and start to thicken. Test it regularly on a cold plate, or see how it clings onto a metal spoon. It will thicken more as it cools, so aim to turn it off before it reaches your desired texture. I prefer to stick to the more runny consistency. If you cook it for too long you risk that it gets overly thick and caramelises. If you change the batch size, the time needed to boil and thicken will vary. Just like real honey, this can also crystallise. But it's still good to eat.Picking dandelions
Always pick your dandelion flowers from a plentiful, clean and pesticide free place. Dandelions are an early nectar source for pollinators, so make sure to leave plenty behind for the bees and their friends!Troubleshooting
I haven't weighed the liquid
You can just use the measurements given in the recipe instead! In this case, however, cooking time until you reach the right consistency can vary. It might take a bit longer, or less long until you are done. Make sure to test the consistency as described above!I've added the sugar from the beginning
No worries! Nothing's lost. Here's what you can do: Instead of boiling for 15 minutes with the flowers at the beginning, just gently heat up until the sugar is dissolved, then leave to infuse overnight. To continue, strain the liquid as normal through a sieve, and the dissolved sugar stays in the liquid. Then heat up in a saucepan and simmer until the right consistency is reached (see tips above).My honey has crystallised
You have probably boiled off too much of the liquid or added more sugar than required, and the honey crystallised as it cooled down. Crystallisation can also happen when the vegan honey is stored for a longer amount of time.Nutrition
This information is calculated per serving and is an estimate only.
Marissa says
Hello, I am planning on making this but I was wondering if I have to pick the dandelions the day I make it or if I can pick them the day before?
Sophie and Paul says
Hi Marissa, We have always used fresh flowers picked that day. Ideally, I would recommend using them from the same day, but I think you would be alright using flowers from the day before - perhaps store them in the fridge to keep them fresher. Have fun making it!
Chanda Walker says
Does anyone know of a sugar alternative that can be used for this? Maybe monkfruit? Thanks!!
Sophie and Paul says
Hi Chanda! We've not tested monkfruit. Maybe another reader has done some experimenting and will chime in! I know that coconut sugar doesn't thicken up, so we don't recommend trying that. All the best, Sophie
Ashley says
Thank you so much it's tastes so good.
Sophie and Paul says
You're so welcome Ashley. Thanks for using our recipe!
Lisa says
I actually FORGOT the lemon and it still turned out amazing. I added dried culinary lavender from my own plants to make lavender honey...thank you for sharing! Excellent recipe!
Sophie and Paul says
Adding your own homegrown lavender sounds wonderful Lisa! So glad you enjoyed our recipe. 🙂
Dorothy says
I've just tried this recipe, can't wait for it to set.
Sophie and Paul says
Enjoy!