This homemade Strawberry Sauce is the perfect sweet accompaniment to pancakes, waffles, ice cream, cheesecake and so much more. Made with either fresh or frozen strawberries, this recipe takes less than 15 minutes to prepare and just a few simple ingredients.
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Homemade Strawberry Sauce
You won’t believe what sugar, lemon juice and a little bit of cooking can do to bring out the best strawberry flavor in this easy peasy Strawberry Sauce. It’s a super versatile topping that works with so many different breakfast items, snacks and desserts.
Try using fresh or frozen strawberries, reducing the amount of sugar or even using blackberries, raspberries or blueberries. It’s also a great recipe for freezing, so be sure to make plenty and don’t forget to let us know what you think in the comments.
If you're looking for more strawberry recipes, be sure to check out our Strawberry Pretzel Salad, Strawberries French Toast Bake, Cheesecake Filled Strawberries and Strawberry Scones.
Ingredients in Strawberry Sauce
- Strawberries - you can use fresh or frozen strawberries for this recipe. If you use fresh strawberries just be sure to remove the stems and cut them into quarters. Frozen strawberries are great to use during the winter when strawberries aren’t in season. You could also swap out other berries such as blackberries, blueberries and raspberries.
- Sugar - you’ll need regular white granulated sugar for this recipe. You could substitute a small portion of sugar for honey or maple syrup if you’d like.
- Water - you’ll need water to add to both the frozen strawberries while they cook and you’ll need cold water to make the cornstarch slurry.
- Cornstarch - along with sugar, this is what helps to thicken the sauce.
- Lemon Juice - lemon juice not only seasons the sauce, it also helps to activate the natural pectins found in berries which will tighten up the sauce even further.
How to Make Homemade Strawberry Sauce
- Cook the strawberries. In a medium-sized saucepan, combine the strawberries, sugar and water. Bring the mixture to a boil. Continue to boil for 2 minutes, stirring and mashing constantly with a potato masher, then remove from heat. (Note: The berries should be soft and plump)
- Thicken the sauce. In a small bowl, combine the cornstarch and cold water and stir until the cornstarch is completely dissolved and smooth. Slowly add the cornstarch slurry to the strawberries while stirring until it is all incorporated. Return to a boil and stir until the sauce is thick, or about 1 minute.
- Add the lemon juice. Remove the strawberry sauce from the heat and stir in the lemon juice. Let it cool for a few minutes, adding a touch of water or lemon juice until you reach the desired consistency.
- Store or serve. Store for later, or serve immediately on pancakes, waffles, French toast, pound cakes or vanilla ice cream. Enjoy!
How to Thicken Strawberry Sauce
This recipe uses a couple of different methods or thickening Strawberry Sauce. First, cooking the sugar with the strawberries reduces some of the juices and allows the sauce to naturally thicken.
We also make a cornstarch slurry using cornstarch and cold water which thickens the sauce even further. If you would prefer to eliminate the cornstarch, you could hand blend the sauce using an immersion blender which will thicken the sauce but also remove any of the full berry chunks.
Our Favorite Uses for Strawberry Topping
Whether it’s time for breakfast or dessert, there are so many delicious uses for this strawberry topping. Some of our favorites include:
- Spoon it over a big bowl of vanilla ice cream, then top with fresh whipped cream and a cherry.
- Eat it for breakfast over waffles, pancakes, French toast, cinnamon rolls or crepes.
- Use as a sauce for bundt cake, angel food cake, no bake cheesecake or your favorite quick breads.
- Swirl into a bowl of plain yogurt or oatmeal.
- Add as a layer in this Lemon Parfait dessert, substituting fresh strawberry instead of raspberries.
Storing Strawberry Sauce
- Refrigerator: store in an airtight container or jar in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks. When you are ready to use, you may want to gently reheat in a saucepan to loosen. Or, thin down a touch with a splash of water or lemon juice and mix well.
- Freezer: store in freezer bags in the freezer for up to 3 months. When you are ready to use, thaw overnight in the fridge.
Strawberry Sauce Recipe
Ingredients
- 3 cups Frozen Strawberries or fresh
- 1 cup Sugar
- 1 cup Water
- 2 Tablespoons Cornstarch
- 2 Tablespoons Water cold
- 2 Tablespoons Lemon Juice
Instructions
- In a medium-sized saucepan, combine the strawberries, sugar and water. Bring the mixture to a boil. Continue to boil for 2 minutes, mashing and stirring constantly with a potato masher, then remove from heat. (Note: The berries should be soft and plump)
- In a small bowl, combine the cornstarch and cold water and stir until the cornstarch is completely dissolved and smooth. Slowly add the cornstarch slurry to the strawberries while stirring until it is all incorporated. Return to a boil and stir until the sauce is thick, or about 1 minute.
- Remove the strawberry sauce from the heat and stir in the lemon juice. Let it cool for a few minutes, adding a touch of water or lemon juice until you reach the desired consistency.
- Store for later, or serve immediately on pancakes, waffles, French toast, pounds cakes or vanilla ice cream. Enjoy!
Nutrition
More of the Best Homemade Dessert Toppings
- Hot Fudge Sauce
- Homemade Caramel Sauce
- Apple Cider Syrup
- Lemon Curd
- Homemade Whipped Cream
- Chocolate Syrup
- Blackberry Syrup
- More Strawberry Recipes
- More Dessert Recipes
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This homemade Strawberry Sauce is a super versatile topping that works with all sorts of different breakfast items, snacks and desserts. Made with fresh or frozen berries, this recipe takes less than 15 minutes to prepare and uses just a few ingredients.
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