If you want to know how to make apricot syrup, here is the short answer: apricot syrup is a glowing amber, honeyed, sweet-with-a-gentle-tang fruit syrup made by gently simmering fresh, frozen or dried apricots with sugar and water, then mashing and straining the fruit into a smooth, pourable syrup. One bottle stirs into an apricot latte, cold brew, iced tea, a glass of prosecco or soda, and drizzles beautifully over yogurt and cake. The whole thing takes about 20 minutes and a single small pot.
Below is a reliable apricot syrup recipe with amounts, ordered steps, a fresh-versus-dried table, and the one food-safety rule that matters most. If you just want the plain sugar-and-water base on its own, that lives in our guide to how to make simple syrup; for the whole flavour family, from vanilla and caramel to nut and fruit, see coffee syrups explained.
What apricot syrup is
Apricot syrup is a fruit syrup: a simple syrup that has been simmered with real apricots so it takes on their colour, juice and flavour. The taste is soft, sunny and jammy, sweet with a gentle tang, and the colour glows a warm amber-gold. A single spoonful turns a plain glass of milk, soda or coffee golden and fills it with that unmistakable ripe-apricot fragrance.
The apricots you choose set the tone. Ripe fresh apricots (or good frozen ones) give a fresher, lighter, more floral syrup that tastes of summer stone fruit. Dried apricots give a deeper, more concentrated, caramel-honey syrup, rounder and less tart, and because dried fruit keeps in the cupboard it lets you make this year-round. Many people land on fresh in season and dried the rest of the year, or a mix of the two for the best of both.
Like other fruit syrups, apricot syrup is a close cousin of cherry syrup, its fellow stone fruit, made by the very same simmer-mash-strain method with a different fruit in the pot. Its honeyed, jammy side also sits right next to fig syrup, another deep, mellow, dessert-friendly fruit syrup. Once you can make one, you can make all three.
The one rule: pit the apricots, never the kernel
Here is the single food-safety point to get right: pit the apricots and discard the stones. Apricots are stone fruit, and the hard stone in the centre holds an inner seed, or kernel, that is not a food ingredient. Pit every apricot before it goes in the pot, throw the stones away, and do not crack the stones open or use the apricot kernel inside, and never simmer the stones to try to "get more flavour" out of them. You do not need to. All the flavour you are after comes from the fruit itself, plus, if you like, a splash of vanilla and a squeeze of lemon.
Fresh apricots pit easily: run a knife around the natural seam, twist the halves apart, and lift the stone out. Dried apricots are already pitted, which is part of what makes them such a convenient shortcut. Either way, give your fruit a quick check before it goes in.
What you'll need
This is a small-batch apricot simple syrup built on roughly equal parts sugar and water, with apricots steeped into it. Scale the amounts up freely for a bigger bottle.
- 1 cup (about 200 g) sugar — plain white granulated is the neutral default that keeps the fruit flavour clean.
- 1 cup (about 240 ml) water
- 2 generous handfuls (roughly 1.5 to 2 cups) pitted fresh or frozen apricots, chopped — or a handful (about 3/4 cup, roughly 100 g) of chopped dried apricots
- A squeeze of lemon (optional) — lifts the flavour and keeps the colour bright
- A splash of vanilla (optional) — rounds the syrup out with a soft, honeyed note
Want a deeper, more caramelly base? Swap in brown sugar or stir in a spoonful of honey, but taste as you go, since those flavours can start to compete with the apricot. For the mechanics of dissolving sugar cleanly and adjusting the ratio, the same simple-syrup principles apply, and a richer 2:1 sugar-to-water base gives a thicker pour that keeps a little longer.
How to Make Apricot Syrup, Step by Step
- Pit and chop the apricots. For fresh fruit, halve each apricot, remove and discard the stone, and roughly chop. For dried apricots, simply chop them; they are already pitted. There is no need to thaw frozen apricots first.
- Dissolve the sugar. Combine the sugar and water in a small saucepan over medium heat and stir until the sugar has fully dissolved and the liquid runs clear.
- Add the apricots. Tip in the chopped fruit and bring the pot to a gentle simmer, small bubbles around the edge rather than a hard boil.
- Simmer 10 to 15 minutes. Let it bubble softly, stirring now and then, until the apricots are soft and slumped and the liquid has turned a rich golden amber. Dried apricots may want the longer end of the range to soften fully.
- Mash. Press the softened fruit against the side of the pot with a spoon or a potato masher to draw out more juice and colour. A light mash is plenty; you do not need to puree it.
- Steep off the heat. Turn off the heat and let everything sit for 5 to 10 minutes so the syrup can pull in the last of the flavour.
- Strain. Pour through a fine-mesh sieve set over a bowl, pressing the fruit gently with the back of a spoon to squeeze out the syrup. For a clearer pour, strain a second time or line the sieve with cheesecloth.
- Season and cool. Stir in the optional squeeze of lemon and splash of vanilla, then let the syrup cool completely; it thickens as it cools.
- Bottle. Funnel the cooled syrup into a clean, sealable bottle or jar and refrigerate.
Don't toss the strained apricot pulp: spoon it over yogurt, oatmeal, toast or ice cream so nothing goes to waste.
Fresh vs dried apricots and ratios
Use this as a quick guide to pick your fruit and dial in the base. Fresh apricots bring brightness and tang, dried ones bring depth and body, and the sugar-to-water ratio is where you decide how thick the pour should be.
| Choice | Amount per 1:1 base | Syrup character | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fresh or frozen apricots | 2 handfuls (1.5 to 2 cups), pitted and chopped | Bright, floral, lightly tart | Iced tea, prosecco, spritzes, summer drinks |
| Dried apricots | 1 handful (about 3/4 cup), chopped | Deep, honeyed, caramel-round | Lattes, cold brew, drizzling over desserts |
| Thin syrup (1:1 sugar to water) | Equal parts | Lighter, very pourable | Iced and sparkling drinks |
| Thick syrup (2:1 sugar to water) | Twice the sugar | Richer, glossier, longer-keeping | Coffee and dessert drizzle |
These are starting points, not rules. The ripeness of your fruit and your own taste will move things around, so taste as you go and adjust in small steps, and a squeeze of lemon is the easiest way to sharpen a batch that lands too sweet.
How to use apricot coffee syrup and more
Start small, because apricot syrup is concentrated and a little goes a long way. Add a teaspoon or two, taste, and build from there.
- Apricot latte: stir a spoonful into the bottom of the cup, then add espresso and steamed or cold milk. As an apricot coffee syrup it plays especially well with milk and a mellow espresso, and it is lovely drizzled over a cold foam so the golden streaks slide down the glass.
- Cold brew and iced coffee: a spoonful stirs straight into cold, concentrated coffee, where the honeyed fruit reads clearly against the roast.
- Iced tea and lemonade: sweeten a jug of black or green iced tea, or a glass of lemonade, for a fruity summer refresher.
- Prosecco and soda: pour a measure into a flute and top with prosecco for a stone-fruit spritz, or over ice with soda water for a homemade apricot soda.
- Over yogurt and desserts: drizzle it across yogurt, ice cream, pancakes, cheesecake or a plain butter cake.
Storage and shelf life
Apricot syrup is fresh fruit and sugar, so treat it like a perishable. Keep it refrigerated in a clean, sealed bottle, and use it within about a week while the flavour is at its brightest. The sugar helps preserve it, and a richer 2:1 batch keeps a touch longer, but real fruit syrups simply do not last as long as a plain simple syrup does. Pour it directly or use a clean spoon each time rather than double-dipping.
To hold it longer, freeze the extra: pour the syrup into an ice-cube tray, freeze it, then bag the cubes and thaw a portion whenever you need it. As with any homemade syrup, trust your senses. If it smells sour or off, looks cloudy or turns fizzy, or grows anything fuzzy, then when in doubt, throw it out. A clean bottle and a clean spoon each time go a long way, and none of this is medical advice, just everyday food-safety habits, so how quickly a batch turns can vary with your fridge and how clean the bottle was.
That really is all there is to it. Once you have made apricot syrup once, the same simmer, mash and strain rhythm opens up nearly every stone fruit and berry at the market, which is exactly why this golden fruit-syrup method is such a handy one to keep in your back pocket.