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Cinnamon Syrup substitute

Best substitute

Simple syrup steeped with cinnamon sticks

1 cup water, 1 cup sugar, 2 to 3 cinnamon sticks; use 1:1

Best for tiki drinks such as a Three Dots and a Dash

Close match

The real recipe rather than a substitute, and the reason this is worth making at home: it costs almost nothing and tastes far better than the bottled version.

Other cinnamon syrup substitutes

Ranked, with the exact amount to use

Substitutes for Cinnamon Syrup with ratios

  1. 2Simple syrup plus ground cinnamon

    Taste and texture differ

    Use ½ tsp ground cinnamon for every 1 cup hot simple syrup; use 1:1

    The fast version for when you need syrup in five minutes.

    What changes

    Whisk the cinnamon into hot syrup, let it stand, then decant the clear liquid off the sediment.

    Best for
    single drinks right now, coffee and hot chocolate, shaken cocktails, where a little cloudiness does not matter, pancake and porridge drizzle

    Noticeably cloudier and slightly gritty compared with a stick infusion, and the flavour is duller and more powdery, less aromatic. Straining through a coffee filter cleans it up considerably but takes patience since the syrup is thick. In a milky drink nobody will notice; in a clear stirred cocktail the haze and the fine sediment on the bottom of the glass are visible.

  2. 3Cinnamon sugar dissolved in hot water

    Taste and texture differ

    Equal volumes cinnamon sugar and hot water; use 1:1

    If you already keep a jar of cinnamon sugar for toast, this is a two-ingredient syrup with no measuring of spice at all.

    What changes
    Best for
    hot drinks, quick single servings, children's drinks and mocktails, brushing over cakes and buns

    Behaves exactly like the ground cinnamon version, since that is effectively what it is, so expect the same cloudiness and sediment. The cinnamon-to-sugar ratio in shop-bought cinnamon sugar is usually light, so the syrup comes out mild; add a pinch more ground cinnamon if it tastes thin. Stir until you cannot feel grains on the bottom of the pan.

  3. 4Maple syrup plus ground cinnamon

    Different taste

    Use the same amount by volume, plus ¼ tsp ground cinnamon per ¼ cup

    Already a liquid sweetener of about the right thickness, and maple and cinnamon are a natural pairing, so it needs no preparation beyond a stir.

    What changes
    Best for
    coffee, especially with oat milk, whiskey and bourbon cocktails, pancakes, waffles and porridge, glazing roast carrots or squash

    The maple does not hide, so the result tastes of maple with cinnamon behind it rather than the other way round, and in an autumn whiskey drink that is genuinely lovely. In a tiki drink it clashes with the rum and reads as out of place. Maple is a shade less sweet than an equal volume of simple syrup, and it turns a clear drink amber and slightly cloudy.

  4. 5Honey plus cinnamon, thinned

    Different taste

    Use 2 parts honey to 1 part hot water, plus ¼ tsp cinnamon for every ¼ cup; use 1:1

    Honey on its own is too thick to disperse in a cold drink, so thinning it makes a honey syrup that pours and mixes like the real thing.

    What changes
    Best for
    hot toddies, tea and chai, whiskey and rum drinks, yoghurt and baked apples

    Distinctly floral, and the honey sits in front of the cinnamon, so the drink tastes of honey first. It is sweeter per spoonful than simple syrup, so start with about three quarters of the volume. A mild honey such as clover interferes least; a strong dark honey will dominate the spice completely. Cinnamon and honey work together particularly well in anything warm.

  5. 6Chai concentrate

    Different taste

    Use the same amount but taste first for sweetness

    Already a sweetened spiced liquid with cinnamon as one of its main notes, so it slots straight into coffee drinks and some cocktails.

    What changes
    Best for
    lattes and iced coffee, rum and bourbon cocktails, mocktails, milkshakes

    Comes with a whole spice cabinet attached: cardamom, ginger, clove and black pepper alongside the cinnamon, plus tea tannin, so the drink tastes considerably more complex and slightly astringent rather than cleanly cinnamon. In an autumn cocktail that complexity can be an improvement. Sweetness varies enormously between brands, so taste before you assume it matches syrup.

  6. 7Cinnamon whisky or cinnamon schnapps plus simple syrup

    Different taste

    1 part cinnamon whisky to 1 part simple syrup, used 1:1

    Included because plenty of people have a bottle of it and no cinnamon sticks.

    What changes

    It delivers a very loud cinnamon flavour along with alcohol and heat.

    Best for
    cocktails only, hot chocolate for adults, when there is genuinely no cinnamon in the house

    Tastes of cinnamon confectionery rather than cinnamon bark, sweet and hot with an artificial red-hot-candy edge, and it adds alcohol, which changes the strength of the drink. Not usable in a coffee for the morning or in anything for children. Cut the drink's base spirit slightly to compensate. Sweetness is high, so you can use less added syrup than the ratio suggests.

What is Cinnamon Syrup?

Cinnamon Syrup is Cinnamon syrup is simple syrup infused with cinnamon, sometimes called cinnamon simple syrup or canela syrup, used in tiki drinks, autumn cocktails and coffee where it adds sweetness and warm spice in a form that dissolves cold.

Cooking tips

  • Cassia and Ceylon cinnamon are not the same spice and the difference is obvious in a syrup. Ordinary supermarket cinnamon sticks are usually cassia, which is bold, sweet and slightly harsh. Ceylon, sold as canela in Latin shops, is thinner, layered and much more delicate, giving a floral, tea-like syrup. Use roughly half again as many Ceylon sticks for the same intensity.
  • Break or crack the cinnamon sticks before steeping. Whole sticks are tightly rolled bark with very little exposed surface, and an unbroken stick will infuse noticeably less than a snapped one in the same time. A quick smack with the flat of a knife is enough.
  • Steep off the heat, not at a simmer. Extended boiling extracts tannins and makes the syrup taste bitter and slightly woody rather than warm and sweet. Two minutes on the heat to dissolve the sugar, then all the flavour development happens as it cools.
  • For tiki drinks, make the syrup with demerara or turbinado sugar instead of white. The molasses in the sugar and the cinnamon are a classic combination in rum drinks, and the syrup comes out darker, richer and much closer to what those recipes expect.
  • Homemade syrup has no preservatives, so keep it refrigerated in a clean sealed bottle and expect three to four weeks. If it goes cloudy in a stringy way, smells sour or fermented, or grows anything at all, discard it rather than tasting it.

Frequently asked questions

Can I just add ground cinnamon straight to my drink instead?

In a hot drink, yes, and it works reasonably well because heat and stirring help disperse it, though you will still get a little floating dust. In anything cold it fails: ground cinnamon does not dissolve, so it clumps on the surface, sticks to the ice and leaves grit on the bottom. That is exactly the problem cinnamon syrup exists to solve, so dissolving the cinnamon into hot syrup first is worth the extra two minutes.

Can I leave the cinnamon syrup out?

It depends what else is sweetening the drink. If cinnamon syrup is the only sweetener, do not simply omit it, because the drink will taste sharp and unbalanced; use plain simple syrup in the same amount and accept a drink without the spice. In coffee you can leave it out entirely and just have unsweetened coffee. In baking, replace the volume with another liquid sweetener or the batter will be short of both sugar and liquid.

How long does homemade cinnamon syrup last?

Three to four weeks in a sealed bottle in the fridge for a standard 1:1 syrup. A rich syrup made with 2 parts sugar to 1 part water lasts considerably longer, often a couple of months, because the higher sugar concentration is inhospitable to spoilage. Always use a clean bottle and never pour syrup back from a jigger into the bottle.

How strong should the cinnamon flavour be?

Stronger than you think, because in a cocktail the syrup is being diluted by spirit, citrus and melting ice. A syrup that tastes pleasantly spiced when you sip it neat will be almost undetectable in a finished drink. Taste it as you steep, and stop when it tastes slightly too intense on its own. Two to three broken sticks per cup steeped for an hour is a good starting point.

Is cinnamon syrup the same as the syrup in a cinnamon roll glaze or coffee-shop pump?

Broadly yes for the coffee-shop version, which is sugar, water and cinnamon flavouring, sometimes with vanilla or brown sugar notes added. Cinnamon dolce style syrups also carry caramel, so add a teaspoon of brown sugar per cup to imitate them. A cinnamon roll glaze is a different thing entirely, being icing sugar and dairy, and is far too thick to use in a drink.

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