Healthy Sweet Tea Recipe {Honey Iced Tea}
Delicious and low carb, this Healthy Sweet Tea Recipe uses honey instead of buckets of sugar. Sweet tea with honey is refreshing and better for you than other sweet tea recipes. Learn how simple it is to make sweet tea without sugar. This healthy iced tea recipe will be your new favorite sip!
A Healthy Sweet Tea recipe is here my friends! It’s healthified. And bonafied. and gasp made by a Yankee?
I have learned that one thing that all southern boys love is sweet tea. And southern boys demand it SWEET. My wonderful brother-in-law Scott, is from Huntington, West Virginia. Scott has been vocal that sweet tea in the Seattle area is neither sweet enough, or “tea-y” enough.
I set out to prove that not only can a crunchy granola Yankee chick make sweet tea, she can make it healthier and still taste great!
I started by consulting the internet. Two cups of sugar per pitcher were pretty standard. Uh, no thanks.
And if you love healthy and refreshing drinks, check out this Cucumber and Mint Water Recipe. Cucumber infused water is the best!
Need a faster way to make a bunch of tea? Check out this post on Easy Instant Pot Iced Tea.
How Can I Sweeten Tea Without Sugar?
It rhymes with sunny, money, funny, and runny.
It’s a bunny. Obviously. Bunnies are the secret ingredient.
Ok, you got me, it’s honey. Traditional sweet tea recipes call for sugar. Lots and lots of sugar.
We prefer to use honey and add it while the water is still hot enough to allow the honey to incorporate but not so hot that it kills the awesome beneficial properties.
You can also use Honey Simple Syrup to flavor each serving so that people can flavor theirs to taste.
Why Do You Add Baking Soda to Iced Tea, Ya Big Freak?
I let the tea bags (:snicker:) steep for a long time to get a strong tea flavor, but that can cause the tea to become bitter. The baking soda neutralizes that and just gives you the perfect tea flavor without a funky aftertaste.
Baking soda is my secret ingredient for cutting the acidity or bitterness out of lots of foods and drinks. Many people add sugar to balance out bitterness, but baking soda gets the job done like a baller (shot caller).
Don’t believe me? See it in action in Whole30 Tomato Soup, Homemade Pizza Sauce, and Instant Pot Orange Chicken.
How Long Will Sweet Tea With Honey Last in the Fridge?
This honey sweetened tea is best consumed within 7-10 days if stored in the fridge.
How to Make Healthy Sweet Tea – Step by Step
- Bring 4 cups of water to a near boil.
- Add tea bag(s) and baking soda, and cover the pan. Remove from heat, and let steep for 15 minutes.
- Remove tea bags, pour into a pitcher, add the honey and stir. Add 4 cups of cold water and place in the fridge. Pro tip: if you would like to serve immediately, add 2 cups of cold water and 2 cups of ice.
Pro Tips/Recipe Notes:
- Need to make more or less of the recipe? Click and slide the “servings” number on the recipe card and the ingredients will adjust as needed. Easy peasy lemon squeezy.
- Don’t have family style bags? Use 7 small tea bags instead.
- Adding honey to cold iced tea just does not work. Make sure you add it after the 15-minute steeping process.
Variations on this Healthy Sweet Tea Recipe:
- Our preferred way of enjoying this healthy sweet tea is 3/4 tea, and 1/4 lemonade – ‘Palmer style!
- Pro tip: use lemon flavored sparkling water to make it a sparkling Arnold Palmer with less sugar.
- Try experimenting with flavored teas like fruity or tropical teas.
- Add lemon or lime wedges or add fresh fruit.
Do you love healthier drinks that taste amazing? Check out my Mojito Mocktails and Mocktails For Kids and Grown Ups!
I won’t even compare this Healthy Sweet Tea Recipe to “real” sweet tea in terms of sugar consumption. But, let’s just say this version won’t give you the crazy energy rush that would allow you to tie a rope around your waist and tow your car home.
More Healthy Drink Recipes Like This
- Peach Moscow Mule {Moscow Mule Mocktail}
- Cucumber Mint Water
- Homemade Sugar-Free Coffee Creamer
- Blended Iced Coffee
- Creamy Berry Party Drinks
- Chocolate Coconut Coffee Creamer
Healthy Sweet Tea WEIGHT WATCHERS POINTS
One serving of Healthy Sweet Tea has 2 WW Freestyle SmartPoints.
Making this recipe or others?
Post a photo on my Facebook page, share it on Instagram, or save it to Pinterest with the tag #sustainablecooks. I can't wait to see your take on it!
Delicious and low carb, this Healthy Sweet Tea Recipe uses honey instead of buckets of sugar. Learn how simple it is to make sweet tea without sugar.
- 1 family style black or green tea bag
- 1/3 cup raw honey
- 4 cups water, boiling
- 4 cups water, cold or ice cubes
- 1/8 tsp baking soda
Bring 4 cups of water to a near boil.
Add tea bag(s) and baking soda, and cover the pan. Remove from heat, and let steep for 15 minutes.
Remove tea bags, pour into a pitcher, add the honey and stir. Add 4 cups of cold water and place in the fridge. Pro tip: if you would like to serve immediately, add 2 cups of cold water and 2 cups of ice.
- Place tea, honey, 8 cups of room temperature water, and baking soda in a sun tea jar or large glass pitcher and place in the sun. Stir occasionally if possible to distribute the honey. Length of time to “cook” will depend on how hot the temperature is in the sun.
- Serve over ice if you’d like to serve immediately. Transfer to the refrigerator and cool.
Don’t have family style bags? Use 7 small tea bags instead.
Makes 1/2 gallon or 2 quarts.
Recipes Mentioned in This Post:
Is your recipe for 2 qrts or a gallon?
4 cups boiling water add 4 cups cold water
Sounds like 2 arts is this correct?
It’s for a half-gallon/two quarts Ruth.
When you say ” family style” tea bags, do you mean like gallon size tea bags?
Because when I use my family size tea bags I use 6 for a gallon.
With the “normal” tea there will be boxes marked “family size”. Each tea bag is a lot bigger. From the notes section: Don’t have family-style bags? Use 7 small tea bags instead.
If you normally use 6, then go ahead and do that! Super adaptable to everyone’s preference.
I dont understand the measuerments for this sweet ice tea.
Hi Norma, what part is confusing you? How can I help?
From the recipe:
INGREDIENTS
1 family style black or green tea bag
1/3 cup raw honey
4 cups water, boiling
4 cups water, cold or ice cubes
1/8 tsp baking soda
From the recipe notes:
Don’t have family style bags? Use 7 small tea bags instead.
Have you tried making it in the Instant Pot?
I haven’t because it seems like the stovetop is just as easy. Have you had any success with it?
I was very picky with sweet. I was drinking Gold Peak Sweet tea and wanted something more healther. This was amazing! I do have a question, how long would it last in the fridge?
Hi Chris! So glad you liked our healthy sweet tea recipe. It’s a family favorite!
Honey has an infinite shelf-life, but I found that 7-10 days in the fridge was about the max for optimal taste.
Thank you so much for sharing your recipe of sweet tea I’ve been drinking sweet tea since I was 16 and I’m 50 now just found out I have a bad liver due to all the sugar that I’ve been drinking all these years trying to find out different ways to enjoy sweet tea without all the sugar I would definitely try this
You’re so welcome Eva, and I do hope you enjoy this tea.
I’m not a dietician or anything but I know there are a lot of food plans out there that are supposed to help a body recover from liver damage. I would speak with a professional if you haven’t already consulted one. I’m sure there are many yummy and healthy ways you may be able to bring yourself back to better health. Good luck to you!
Ya big freak
I’ve read that making tea in the Instant Pot also makes it smoother tasting. I haven’t tried it yet though.
That would be great for larger batches too! I think my 8 quart has a max fill line of about 6.5/7 quarts. If you have one of those huge drink dispensers it would be nice to brew a huge batch. I must investigate.