Recipe Overview
Why you’ll love it: Homemade cooked strawberry sauce showcases flavorful juicy strawberries, with a minimal amount of sugar. Use fresh or frozen berries to make this easy sauce.
How long it takes: less than 15 minutes
Equipment you’ll need: saucepan
Servings: makes 2 cups
Pin this now to find it later
Pin ItIs there anything better than sweet and juicy strawberries in summer? This homemade strawberry sauce recipe captures that fresh taste of summer and it’s the perfect topping! This sauce is a favorite at our house and is sure to become a favorite in your home as well.
(If strawberries aren’t in season, be sure to give blueberry sauce or peach sauce a try!)
Homemade Strawberry Sauce (Topping)
Fast & easy to make. This topping can be made in less than 15 minutes. It only has a few ingredients and the recipe is so easy. My daughter was able to quickly master this recipe as soon as she was trusted to handle cooking on the stove (and she loves making strawberry sauce because it’s her favorite pancake topping!).
Can be made with fresh or frozen strawberries. Sometimes frozen strawberries are the best option. This strawberry sauce tastes just as good whether you use fresh or frozen berries. You can also freeze the sauce to be enjoyed later which is nice if you happen to have an abundance of fresh strawberries.
Versatile. There are so many ways to enjoy strawberry topping, beginning with breakfast. Think strawberry sauce instead of plain old maple syrup on your pancakes or waffles. Stir it into yogurt or your bowl of morning oatmeal. It’s sweet enough to jazz up desserts. Vibrant red strawberry sauce makes a plain bowl of vanilla ice cream something pretty special. Keep reading for lots more ideas.
Ingredient Notes
- Strawberries: Both fresh or frozen work well. Fresh berries will need to be rinsed and hulled. If you buy frozen berries, look for sliced berries rather than whole berries. I’ve used whole berries to make this sauce, and it does work fine, but plan on cooking it quite a bit longer to allow the whole berries to break down a little bit and turn into a nice sauce.
- Water + Cornstarch: This combination forms a slurry that will thicken the sauce as it cooks.
- Sugar: Sugar enhances the flavor of the strawberries. I recommend starting with ¼ cup of sugar as written on the recipe card. I’ve made the sauce with less sugar for a healthier version, and if you’re used to things not being as sweet, you can definitely do that. On the other hand, if you want things sweeter, feel free to increase the sugar slightly.
- Fresh lemon juice: A squeeze of lemon juice heightens the tangy profile of the berries. In a pinch, you can skip this (and I’ve done that many times), but it does brighten up the flavor.
How to Make Strawberry Sauce (Topping)
Prep the berries. If you’re using fresh strawberries, rinse them well under cool running water to remove any sand or grit. Remove the hulls (the little crown of leaves on the top of the berries) using a sharp paring knife. If you want the sauce to contain large, nearly whole berries, halve them or leave them intact. If you’d rather have sauce that’s more like jam, chop the berries into small pieces. It’s really up to you!
Cook the sauce. Next, combine the prepped berries, water, cornstarch, sugar, and lemon juice in a medium-sized saucepan. Give it a good stir. Heat the ingredients over medium heat, stirring frequently, until the mixture comes to a boil. Simmer the sauce for 3 to 4 minutes, or until the sauce has thickened. Cool slightly before serving.
Serve. Let the sauce cool slightly before serving it. Strawberry sauce can be served warm, at room temperature, or chilled. You can make it ahead, too.
You may be wondering if there is a difference between strawberry sauce and strawberry syrup. Strawberry sauce, like this recipe, is mostly strawberries, with a small amount of sugar and water. You’ll notice large pieces or whole strawberries in a sauce, whereas strawberry syrup is completely smooth. Strawberry syrup is essentially high fructose corn syrup, either artificially flavored or with a very small amount of strawberry juice.
Easy Recipe Variations
- Tweak the sugar. You can adjust the amount of sugar to suit your preferences, making it easy to enjoy this sauce more lightly sweetened or more heavily sweetened.
- Substitute a unrefined sweetener. This sauce can also be sweetened with honey or coconut sugar if you prefer to skip the granulated sugar.
- Add fresh strawberries after the sauce is cooked. Once your cooked sauce has cooled completely, you can add a handful of chopped fresh strawberries when you’re ready to serve the sauce.
- Pair it with nuts or herbs. After topping your dish with this strawberry sauce, garnish with toasted chopped walnuts or pecans. If you’re more into herbs, try stirring in or garnishing with fresh basil, mint, lavender, or thyme.
How To Serve Strawberry Sauce
- Breakfast: Strawberry sauce adds a bright, fresh flavor to a stack of buttermilk pancakes or whole grain buckwheat pancakes. If you like the combination of strawberries and chocolate (think strawberries dipped in chocolate), serve strawberry sauce with chocolate pancakes, and add a drizzle of chocolate syrup. Try it on waffles or French toast. Add strawberry sauce to plain Greek yogurt, along with a handful of homemade granola for an easy smoothie bowl. Jazz up plain oatmeal with a spoonful of strawberry sauce.
- Dessert: The vibrant flavor of this strawberry sauce also adds a perfect finish to dessert staples like vanilla ice cream or pound cake. (It’s even better paired with hot fudge sauce!) Stir homemade strawberry sauce into vanilla pudding or yogurt for an easy healthy dessert.
Refrigerate: Homemade strawberry sauce can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
Freeze: This sauce freezes well for up to 3 months, so don’t be afraid to make a lot of it when strawberries are in season. If you freeze small portions of this sauce, they’ll thaw out quickly.
Reheat: To reheat your sauce, you can warm it on low heat in a saucepan. It should be warm, not boiling hot. You can heat your sauce in the microwave at a low setting, in 10 to 15 second increments, stirring as you go until your sauce reaches the desired temperature. The sauce is also good served cold or at room temperature.
More Sauce Recipes
Strawberry Sauce
Ingredients
- 16 oz. strawberries, fresh or frozen (see note)
- ¼ cup water
- ¼ cup granulated sugar, more or less as preferred (see note)
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
Instructions
- If using fresh strawberries, rinse well and remove the hulls. If the strawberries are large, halve or quarter them. They can be chopped if you prefer a more jam-like consistency. If using frozen strawberries, there's no need to thaw them first. (It will take longer to bring them to a boil.)16 oz. strawberries, fresh or frozen
- Add prepped strawberries, water, sugar, cornstarch, and lemon juice to a medium saucepan. Stir to distribute the sugar and cornstarch. Bring to a boil, stirring frequently, and continue to boil for 3 to 4 minutes or until berries have broken down and sauce has thickened.¼ cup water, ¼ cup granulated sugar, more or less as preferred, 1 tablespoon cornstarch, 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- Cool slightly before serving, about 10 minutes. The sauce can be served warm, at room temperature, or chilled.
- Serve the sauce as a topping for pancakes, waffles, French toast, etc. It can be served as a dessert topping for ice cream, cake, or pudding. Stir it into plain yogurt or oatmeal, if you like. There are many ways to enjoy this delicious strawberry sauce!
Notes
- Strawberry measurements: At grocery stores, strawberries are usually sold in 16 oz. containers. If you buy them at a farm market or pick your own, they may come in quart baskets. A quart is roughly 1¼ to 1½ lbs. (20 to 24 oz.). Don’t worry if you don’t know exactly how many ounces you have. The recipe will still turn out if you’re fairly close.
- Using frozen strawberries: Look for sliced frozen berries, rather than whole berries which can be rather large. You don’t need to thaw the berries before cooking them. It will take a little longer for the mixture to come to a boil. Stir frequently at first, until the berries thaw out a little and release some of their juice.
- Sugar: The amount of sugar added can be either decreased or increased, depending on your preferences. I wouldn’t eliminate it entirely because sugar does enhance the flavor of the strawberries. You could use an alternative sweetener if you like, such as honey, agave, brown sugar, maple syrup, etc.
- Enhancements: Let the sauce cool completely, and then stir in a couple of cups of fresh berries. This is especially nice if you’re using the sauce as a dessert topping. If you like, consider dressing up the sauce with fresh chopped herbs, such as basil, mint, thyme, or lavender.
- Storage: Refrigerate the sauce in a covered container for up to 5 days. Strawberry sauce can be frozen for up to 3 months in a freezer-safe container. Thaw in the refrigerator before using.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Did You Make This?Share a comment and rating below! I love hearing what you think!
