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:
📖 Recipe
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. You can also use a jam or candy thermometer to cook it until it reaches the thread stage at around 223 °F - 235 °F or 106 °C - 112 °C. 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.
Lauren says
This is such a nice recipe, I've been looking for a good sweetener to use in drinks and such and this is lovely. My little brother even said it tastes like the real thing! Thank you for this recipe, it helped a lot.
Sophie and Paul says
Thanks so much Lauren, we delighted you enjoyed this recipe. Lovely feedback like this makes our day! Sophie
rachel says
Hello, Thanks for this, Love it and have been making it by the batch load.I have had not issues with the making of it and I sterilised my jars, add the honey hot and made the seal tight as I would with berries. However now after a week or so I notice some jars have black specks sitting at the bottoms of the jars. Have you ever seen this? Thank you
Bob Zglinski says
Absolutely superb, I used earl grey tea in the infusion. Brilliant taste explosion.
Sophie and Paul says
Thanks so much Bob! Love your idea with the earl grey 🙂
Todd Emanuel says
First batch was a success now knowing that syrup consistency is the goal not honey thick! Those who have tried it love it. Off to collect more dandelions today for another batch. Thank you!
What is the shelf life?
Sophie and Paul says
Hi Todd! Glad you love it.
I'd say shelf life unopened is at least a year, but that's strictly if you have followed all sterilising precautions and jarred it while it was still hot. All in all it's quite similar to jam in the way it keeps, if you are familiar with that. It can happen that a jar goes a bit moldy, especially when opened. So always check vor visual clues.
I'd also recommend making enough for the year and make a new batch of vegan honey next year, that way you can avoid storing times longer than a year.
Hope this helps, Todd! Enjoy your vegan dandelion honey!
Paul
Alan says
I made this!
Truly delicious, but mine turned out very dark. I don't mind, because it is so nice.
Next batch will not simmer for so long. (I have an AGA, so it does not matter how long things cook for.)
Sophie and Paul says
Hi Alan, glad it turned out delicious!
A dark colour could come from caramelisation, or if you used brown sugar. As long as it's delicious, it doesn't do any harm though 🙂
Enjoy, Paul
Aimee says
It tastes just like honey! But does it have to be thick on while boiling or when cooled? Over all it’s a great recipe and I’ll for sure make it again<3
Sophie and Paul says
Hi Aimee,
thanks for your comment! It is more liquid when hot, and thickens up when cooled. You can test this on a cold plate that was put in the freezer, to see if it's ready to come off the heat. Glad you'll be coming back to this!
Best wishes, Paul
Rissa says
Hi I would prefer to buy dried Dandelion flowers opposed to picking wild ones. Would dried flowers work as well? If so, are the measurements the same?
Sophie and Paul says
Hi Rissa, Without testing it ourselves, I'm not sure how well dried flowers will work. When using dried herbs instead of fresh you typically use a third to a half the amount of fresh, so if I was to experiment I'd start off by trying the recipe using half the amount of dried flowers. Do let us know if you try it! 🙂
Suzy says
They are simmering right now, and it smells good! But question....."leave to cool and infuse overnight." In the fridge or on the counter? Thanks! I can't wait to try this!!
Sophie and Paul says
Hi Suzy, just on the counter is fine 🙂
Love, Sophie & Paul
Suzy says
This was so much fun to make! I put the heads into a larger-holed colander and gently shook the ants out over the sink. Then I inspected to make sure there were no stragglers. The honey cooked up nicely and the jar sealed with a very decisive POP! I'm glad to know it'll be shelf stable for a while. I do see some foam on top (like you can get with jelly). Should I have skimmed before sealing? Or is this something other than foam? I can't wait to make more. In our cold Wisconsin winters, I often drink hot water, lemon juice, honey, and cayenne pepper to ease a cold or sore throat. This is going to be perfect!
Sophie and Paul says
So glad you enjoyed it Suzy! We haven't had foam forming on ours. Foam comes from air bubbles trapped in the top layer. Keep the boiling gentle, and give a good stir before jarring can help to reduce it. If you make more and it happens again, I'd skim it like you do with jelly. It may reduce the shelf life a bit, but it's still good to eat! Enjoy
Kate says
We have an allotment with more than our fair share of dandelions and we were looking for ways to use them. Came upon this recipe and WOW....absolutely brilliant, I made a jar of plain which is spot on and a jar of lavender infused but it's very thick which is because I boiled it again to infused with the lavender, lesson learnt....don't over boil!! Perfect measurements as in sugar to liquid ratio which worked fine for me. Have a go it's easy and very tasty, just picked another crop to make another couple of jars. Thanks for this great recipe 😋😀 x
Sophie and Paul says
Thanks so much Kate. My old allotment used to love growing lots of dandelions too! If only I knew how to make this back then. We also use the smaller, more young leaves in salads. Another cool thing that you do with dandelions (but we've not tried yet) is to dry and roast the roots and use it as a coffee substitute!
Isobel says
I made this but it hasnt thicked up. I weighed sugar and used same amount as the liquid.
Sophie and Paul says
Hi Isobel,
sorry that it didn't work out for you. Here are a few thoughts:
Did you by any chance do a bigger batch? Did you try boiling for a bit longer? Eventually, as more water evaporates, the vegan honey would thicken up as the sugar concentration increases. You could still return it to a saucepan and continue to gently boil off more liquid and see if it gets thicker. Try with a small amount first, as a quick test.
Hope you find this helpful and will try to still turn this around 🙂
Best wishes, Paul
Sallyann Winslow says
Hello. Thank you so much for sharing your recipe. My honey tastes fantastic but hasn't thickened much. It will be great as a drizzle and in tea or hot water but i expected it to be thicker. Did i do domething wrong? Wishing you all the very best! X
Sophie and Paul says
Hi Sallyann,
thank you for your kind words! We are so glad you like the taste of your homemade vegan honey 🙂
The consistency should eventually be at least as thick as maple syrup. It much depends on how long you boil it for, to evaporate enough liquid. You could try returning it to a saucepan and boiling it again for a little longer, and see if it thickens up any more. Especially when doing larger batches, simmering time increases by a lot! Also, don't put a lid on the pan. You can do this test with a small amount first to see if it works. Give it a try! 🙂
One thing to keep in mind is that the honey will never be like set honey, but of syrup consistency.
Wishing you all the best as well!
Take care, Paul
Keira says
Made this yesterday and it is absolutely delicious!
Picked all the dandelions on a daily walk with my daughter and she loved helping out.
It tastes just like normal honey and was approved by my 2 year old 🙂
Sophie and Paul says
Thank you for the *****, Keira!
It's a fun thing for children, our niece and nephew loved it too! Especially the collecting of the dandelions...
Glad you and your family are enjoying your homemade vegan dandelion honey! 🙂
And keep up the great work, fellow blogger! We absolutely love Lake Garda 😍
Love, Paul & Sophie
Valerie says
I made this today totally amazing how can something that isn’t honey taste just like honey thank you so much for the recipe
Diane says
Hi ,have made 2 batches of honey now,and I boiled it gently for 1.5 hrs in the end and it still was not very thick ,quite runny in fact.Is this correct? It does taste like honey and my husband takes it in his cider vinegar in the morning instead of bee honey as he says it is more palatable. Dandelion cake next.
Sophie and Paul says
Hi Diane, glad you enjoy the taste! The consistency should be like runny honey, not like set honey. If you increase the batch size then thickening process will take much longer. Testing a spoonful regularly on cold saucer from the freezer can help you to know when the consistency is to your liking. Another important thing to note, make sure not to cover the pan with a lid whilst it's boiling - the liquid needs to be able to evaporate. Hope that helps! Sophie
sharon says
hi I just made my 1st batch..Delicious & very simple..Thank you!!
Sophie and Paul says
Wonderful! So happy you liked it Sharon.
Steph says
Hi, I’m going to try this with my daughter tomorrow. What kind of sugar should I use, caster or granulated? Thank you 🙂
Sophie and Paul says
Hi Steph, Either caster or granulated works fine! Enjoy 🙂
Steph says
Thank you 😊
Moya says
Hello! Finished making this today and I have to say it was fantastic! Made a few jars more than I meant to though, but that means gifts for people! Thanks you guys for the recipe
Sophie and Paul says
So happy to hear that Moya 🙂 You are very welcome, thank you for using our recipe!
Monika says
Hello, can I use organic coconut sugar?
Sophie and Paul says
Hi Monika, We haven't tried it, but another reader tried using coconut sugar and it didn't thicken up so well. It should still be delicious, just more on the syrupy side. Adding some very finely diced apple for the pectin it contains may help to thicken it up. Hope that helps, Sophie
Veronica Bamfield says
I plan to try this.
I put a link to this page on my Facebook wall and I added the comment about being aware of the need to leave some for pollinators right next to the link and added a bit about dandelions being very important to bumblebees just coming out of hibernation. I'm studying conservation so this is important for me and actually important for all of us.
Suzanne says
I would like to know if anyone with hay fever has tried it., please?
Kim says
Tried this today, lovely, thank you for the recipe, I dropped one of the jars i was filling onto my polenta bake that was cooling on the side, not to be disheartened I invented Yeast flake polenta with dandilion honey glazed 😀
Sophie and Paul says
Whoops, love your accidental culinary alchemy! Glad you enjoyed the recipe Kim.