16 Unique Uses for Honey

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Are you trying to make the most of all of the products in your household and pantry? Honey is one of those wonderful items that is a must-have in every household! Here are some unique uses for honey not only for cooking and baking but for health and beauty as well.

Are you trying to make the most of all of the products in your household and pantry? Honey is one of those wonderful items that is a must-have in every household! Here are some unique uses for honey not only for cooking and baking but for health and beauty as well. #usesforhoney #honeyuses #waystousehoney

Uses for Honey

If the only time you pull out the honey jar is to sweeten tea or to use it on top of cornbread, there are literally dozens of uses for honey that you are missing out on! From healing cuts to moisturizing skin, honey is one pantry staple that every modern homestead should always have on hand.

Today I’m going to share some of my very favorite ways to use this all-important sweet stuff! We always love to buy it locally when possible but if you can’t find it locally, Costco or Sam’s Club can have good prices on bulk honey as well as Azure Standard.

Different Uses for Honey

uses for honey

Honey Uses for Health and Beauty

  • Dab a bit of honey on a cut before bandaging to prevent the scab from sticking. It will also help give the cut an antibacterial/antiseptic boost.
  • Use as a cough syrup for anyone over age 1. Many doctors will even recommend honey as a cough suppressant before a commercial cough syrup.
  • Take 1 tablespoon orally per day to reduce/ relieve acid reflux.
  • Use honey as a moisturizing face mask, or combine with sugar or salt to make a moisturizing body scrub. You could also try this recipe for a Sugar Honey Scrub – it makes a thoughtful and wonderful gift.
  • Gargle with a combination of honey and lemon to soothe a sore throat.

uses for honey

  • Condition your hair with a teaspoon of honey added to your normal conditioner or shampoo or add it into your homemade shampoo.
  • Dot honey onto a blemish to get rid of acne faster. See more details on my Zit Zapper tutorial.
  • Dip a bit of honey on a mosquito bite to help with the swelling and itch.
  • Soothe inflammation from a burn with honey by applying it topically. Find my Burn Relief Remedy here.
  • Add honey into you Homemade Lip Balm to give it extra soothing powers and a beautiful scent.

Alternative Food Uses for Honey

  • Substitute honey for white sugar in baking. For every cup of sugar a recipe calls for, replace it with 3/4 cup of honey.
  • Make Honey Butter!
  • Instead of energy gels or drinks, pop a tablespoon of honey while working out to replenish minerals and give a boost of energy.
  • Add it into Homemade Yogurt Cheese for the most amazing spread!
  • Drizzle a bit onto cut fruit for the world’s easiest fruit salad.
  • Sub the sugar in a canning recipe for honey. Here’s how.

When using honey internally, it is a much better choice than white sugar in many cases because of its high mineral content. (But do keep in mind that sugar is still sugar and consumption should be limited.) Honey is a source of folate, iron, manganese, potassium, and magnesium. And while it is primarily glucose, it doesn’t raise blood sugar as quickly as white sugar does. Honey will always be a pantry staple in my house!

Learn even more uses for common household products!

What are some of your special uses for honey? Have you tried any of the above?

This blog post on Honey Uses was originally published on Little House Living in September 2013. It has been updated as of September 2019.

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25 Comments

  1. Thanks for all the tips! I do a simple mix of honey and fine sugar for a quick lip scrub. Especially in the winter it makes my lips feel so good and moisturized.

  2. I love a sugar honey scrub especially in the fall and wintertime when my skin becomes so parched.

    Some of these others I had no idea about so thanks for the tips!

  3. Great tips! I recently got a bad sunburn that resulted in a cold sore on my bottom lip. On a whim, and desperate for a cure, I mixed some honey and coconut oil and dabbed it on my sore every few hours. It stayed small and never puffed up, and went away in a couple of days. Not sure if it was a fluke or not, but I’ll definitely try it again.

  4. I love using honey in face scrubs and masks! I have to try the 1 tablespoon a day to get rid of acid reflux! That’s a great idea. I hate having to take medications everyday to get rid of it.

  5. My daughter really likes for when she has a cough, and the OTC isn’t working. We have also tried in in homemade facial masks. Made our skin feel and smell good. 🙂

  6. I use local honey as a prevention from on set of pollen related allergies. I know scientist scoff, but it works for me here in West GA.

    1. I did this all summer – a spoonful of honey each morning, and my seasonal allergies were not nearly as bad. Much better than taking a pill each morning like others had recommended I do!

  7. I use honey in a lot of my homemade beauty products, but I didn’t know it had so many uses. I love that it can be used for cough syrup, and will definitely be trying that this winter!

  8. I use honey for a popping grease burn, it takes away the pain and it heals faster. I smeared honey on a bad bruise and it quit hurting. I hope it does the same for anyone that trys it.

    1. 1 tablespoon honey, 1 tablespoon olive oil, juice from 1/2 a lemon & a 1/2 cup of sugar. Stir together the lemon juice & olive oil. Once combined, add the rest & stir. This makes a WONDERFUL facial scrub! My teenage son & I both use this daily. (I’m 42!). Does wonders for those prone to acne. I love how it makes my face look & feel. I stopped buying my regular cleanser six months ago & solely use this honey lemon scrub now. Love how it works & it saves me tons! 🙂

  9. I was taught growing up to take 1 Tbsp of honey every day and you will rarely get sick. I didn’t try it when I was younger but now my middle aged women brain tells me I should have listened to the old wives tales a little better. I am now doing the honey regimen and even though I did catch a cold I was over it in just a few days. Co-workers and friends who had the same cold/flu are still suffering a month later.

  10. Years ago my cat was badly injured – the skin on one of his legs was stripped right off. I had to take him to the vet daily for a dressing change. Each time the vet put a dab of unpasteurized honey on the bandage. When I asked about it she told me that honey kills microbes (they’re not sure how exactly – one theory is that bacteria swarm to the honey and gorge themselves to the point of bursting, but that’s just a theory apparently) AND it stimulates tissue growth. She also told me that it was standard medical practice to treat wounds with honey before things like Polysporin were invented. Injured Civil War soldiers’ wounds would be dressed with honey. She said that traditional first aid is now standard practice for vets, but the skills have been lost in conventional human medicine.

    Over the days and weeks I watched my cat’s wound heal – I could see the skin regrowing, and even the fur grew back normally. There’s no trace of the wound left now. Since then I always treat cuts and scrapes with honey, and I gained a new respect for traditional medicine!

  11. Yep, a friend here in Costa Rica told me to put it on my toddler’s bruises and honey would keep it from getting all purple. Not sure how it works, but it does!