13+ Ways to Use Echinacea as a Natural Remedy

Looking for ways to use echinacea in your home? Echinacea is not only a beautiful flowering herb for your garden, it is also a wonderful natural remedy for your household. I’ve gathered together over 13 ways to use echinacea as a natural remedy. I hope this list inspires you as much as it does for me!

Why Echinacea is a Common Natural Remedy…

Are you growing echinacea? Whether you currently are growing echinacea or not, you should check out my post on how to grow echinacea in order to learn how to take care of this beautiful plant as well as why echinacea is so awesome for your garden.

Most people know that echinacea is a common natural remedy for colds and the flu. According to my favorite herbalist, Rosemary Gladstar, “Echinacea works by increasing macro-phage T-cell activity, thereby boosting the body’s first line of defense against colds, flus, and many other illnesses.” (Rosemary Gladstar, Herbal Recipes for Vibrant Health, pg. 328).

Echincea is used as both a preventative and a curative for natural remedies. It is considered safe for the elderly, children, and anyone else (Herbal Recipes for Vibrant Health, pg. 328). (Note: please do your own research on echinacea before using it as a natural remedy: I am not a doctor….etc. and all that other preventative safety junk you have to say these days….basically, read and research on your own, talk to your doctors, etc., because I am not an expert).

Ways to Use Echinacea: More Echinacea Tips:

The root, leaves, and flowers of the echinacea plant can be used in natural remedies. Check out my post on how to grow echinacea to learn how to harvest those parts of your plants.

Echinacea is a medicinal herb that loses it’s effectiveness if used all the time. It is better to use it in cycles, something like 5 days on, 2 days off until the ailment has corrected itself. I personally prefer to only use echinacea during cold/flu season 3-4 times a week. Again, talk to your doctor, do your own research, I’m not a medical expert, etc….

Since my echinacea plants can now be used (currently only the leaves and flowers, I need to wait 3 years before harvesting my own echinacea roots, which I talk about in my how to grow echinacea post), I put together this post with a list of natural remedy recipes that I can make using my very own echinacea plants. 

If you don’t grow your own echinacea, you can always buy your own echinacea root and/or echinacea leaf. Of course, fresh is always better!

13+ Ways to Use Echinacea as a Natural Remedy

1. Elderberry Syrup Recipe from Me @The Homestead Garden

Elderberry Syrup is one of the most popular natural remedies that people make for cold/flu season. One of the common ingredients in this awesome elderberry syrup is echinacea. Check out my recipe to learn how to make my yummy recipe! 

2. All-Natural Cough Syrup with Echinacea, Licorice, and Honey from My Merry Messy Life

When we get coughs and throat issues in our home, I automatically turn to Licorice root. I love how this cough syrup combines the immune boosting properties of echinacea with licorice! 

3. Soothing Homemade Echinacea Throat Spray from Reformation Acres

This recipe needs you to first make an echinacea tincture (some recipes below) and then add some sage and other ingredients to make a throat spray. Sage is great for throats, read more about sage here. I’m looking forward to trying this recipe!

4. Echinacea Tincture Recipe from Practical Self Reliance

Tinctures are one of the most common ways to use echinacea. This tincture recipe is great if you have dried echinacea ingredients on hand. I love making tinctures for natural remedies. It’s always nice that they stay good for many years, and they are very versatile. I also love how this tincture recipe has suggested herbal blends, so if you want to make a combo tincture, check out the list in this post!

5. Echinacea Tincture Recipe from Reformation Acres

This tincture recipe is great if you have fresh echinacea plants in your garden. She uses all the parts of the echinacea plant, adding the different parts at different times of the year. It’s a great way to make a very fresh and personal echinacea tincture!

6. DIY Cold Care Capsules from Studio Botanica

This natural remedy uses the powdered form of various medicinal herbs, including echinacea, for quick results. I’ve never made my own herbal capsules before, and I might be trying this recipe soon.

7. Echinacea Flower Infused Honey from Homespun Seasonal Living

Unlike the elderberry syrup which is cooked down, this is simply cutting off the fresh echinacea flowers and infusing them in honey. This seems like a very simple and easy recipe for anyone who only owns a few herbal ingredients/plants.

8. Echinacea Oil & Salve from The Nerdy Farm Wife

This salve is supposed to be good for chapped skin and bug bites. First, you make an infused oil with the echinacea flowers and leaves, and then you make the salve. I’ll be making some infused echinacea oil this year for sure!

9. Herbal Infused Lip Balm Recipe from Living the Nourished Life

This article has multiple options for herbs to infuse in oil and then use to create lip balms. According to this list, echinacea infused lip balm can help with swelling and clean infections. Cool!

10. Natural Bug Bite Stick Recipe from Traditional Cooking School

These bug bite sticks were made with echinacea to relieve itching and promote healing. She infused the echinacea in oil with plaintain and lavender. Both of these grow in my garden, so I’m looking forward to trying this recipe for some future bug bite relief!

11. Jello “Flu Shots” from Common Sense Home

Sick of tinctures, teas, and infused oils and honey? No worries, you can EAT some echinacea for a natural remedy with this jello recipe. You basically make tea with echinacea and mix it with some fruit juice and gelatin. There are lots of creative recipes in this post. Check it out!

12. Echinacea Root Decoction Recipe from Mountain Rose Herbs

When you want tea that is made with the roots of a plant, it is called a decoction. It simmers longer than infused herbal teas made with leaves and flowers. This particular recipe is a great way to explore the wonders of medicinal herbal roots, including echinacea root.

13. Homemade Echinacea Tea from The Paleo Mama

This is a wonderful way to first learn about echinacea. It is a very basic and ONLY echinacea herbal tea. You can use either fresh or dried echinacea parts. I can’t think of a better way to figure out the tastes and qualities of echinacea than with this simple tea recipe.

14. Immune-Boosting Herbal Tea Blend from Grow Forage Cook Ferment

This is a very pretty looking herbal tea blend. I love the colors and different textures in this tea! It contains echinacea as well as elderberry, rose hips, astragalus, and ginger. 

So there you have it….many ways to use Echinacea as a Natural Remedy!

What is the first recipe you are going to try from this list? Tell me about your echinacea recipes in the comments below!

More Natural Remedy Recipes:

• Herbal Teas for Insomnia
• Herbal Tea for the Flu
• Hawthorn Recipes for the Heart
• Medicinal Uses of Dandelion
• How to Make a Headache Salve
• 15 Herbs for Headaches