This homemade Strawberry Sauce recipe 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.
During the peak of summer, fresh strawberry sauce is hard to beat. But during the winter months, making strawberry sauce from frozen strawberries is a perfectly good substitute.
Recipe Notes
Growning up on a big farm with a huge, 1 acre garden, we grew a lot of strawberries. We’d pick the strawberries in the morning before it got too hot and sometimes even before breakfast. There is nothing like picking berries as the sun is coming up, peeking through the trees, only to wash them and enjoy them on buttery hot waffles, on top of freshly whipped sweet cream a few minutes later. That’s really livin’!
We can’t grow strawberries year round where I live but we can create and enjoy that same nostagic breakfast experience. This strawberry sauce takes me back every time I make it. The best part is, this can be made with fresh or frozen strawberries. Keep on reading and I’ll tell you how.
And if you love all things strawberries, be sure to try our Strawberry Lemon Blondies, Cheesecake Stuffed Strawberries and our Strawberry Cream Pie.
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 homemade Strawberry Sauce. It’s a versatile topping that works with 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.
Ingredients You Will Need
- Strawberries – you can make strawberry sauce strawberry sauce from frozen strawberries or fresh strawberries. If you use fresh strawberries, 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 the frozen strawberries while they cook and 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 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 constantly mashing 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.
- Serve it warm or let it cool to room tempreture before serving or storing.
Frequently Asked Questions
This recipe uses a couple of different methods of thickening Strawberry Sauce. First, cooking the sugar with the strawberries reduces some juices and allows the sauce to thicken naturally.
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 that will thicken the sauce and remove any of the full berry chunks.
You can make strawberry sauce with frozen strawberries or fresh strawberries. If you go with fresh strawberries, just be sure to remove the stems and cut them into quarters before cooking.
Our Favorite Uses for Strawberry Topping
Whether it’s time for breakfast or dessert, this strawberry topping has so many delicious uses. Some of our favorites include:
- Strawberry sauce for ice cream- Spoon it over a big bowl of vanilla ice cream as a strawberry ice cream sauce, then top with fresh whipped cream and a cherry.
- Strawberry Sauce for Waffles- 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, Chocolate Cheesecake, or your favorite quick bread.
- Swirl into a bowl of plain yogurt or oatmeal.
- Add as a layer in this Lemon Parfait dessert, substituting fresh strawberries instead of raspberries.
- Strawberry Sauce for Cheesecake– Add this to your favorite no-bake cheesecake or cheesecake bars for a fun flavor variation.
If you’re looking for more strawberry recipes, be sure to check out our Strawberry Pretzel Salad, Fresh Strawberry Pie, Strawberries French Toast Bake, and
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.
More Strawberry Recipes You’ll Love
Homemade Strawberry Sauce Recipe
Ingredients
- 3 cups strawberries, frozen or fresh
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 cup water
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
- 2 tablespoons cold water
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
Instructions
- In a medium-sized saucepan, combine the strawberries, sugar and 1 cup of water. Bring the mixture to a boil, then continue to boil for 2 minutes. Mash and stir 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 2 tablespoons of 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 and flavor.
- Store for later, or serve immediately on pancakes, waffles, French toast, pounds cakes or vanilla ice cream. Enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
Did you make this?
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More of the Best Homemade Dessert Toppings
- Hot Fudge Sauce
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- Lemon Curd
- Homemade Whipped Cream
- Chocolate Syrup
- Homemade Berry Syrup
- Blackberry Syrup
- More Dessert Recipes
- More Sauces and Syrups
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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Categories:
Breakfast, Dairy-Free, Desserts, Gluten-Free, Nut-Free, Spring Recipes, Summer Recipes, Vegan, Vegetarian,
Good sauce. Too much water and a bit too much sugar, but good nonetheless.