This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our privacy policy.
Homemade Blueberry Sauce comes together in just a few minutes. Try a spoonful with your morning yogurt, dolloped over a stack of pancakes, or spooned on top of cheesecake for a delicious treat!
I seriously can’t get over the fact that our little babe goes back to school in a month.
I don’t know if it was the fact that it rained the entire month of June or what, but summer has flown by and I’m all kinds of sad about it.
We’re trying to pack as much as we can into these remaining weeks while still saving time for just chilling out at home, eating ice cream and creating some pretty epic chalk designs on the driveway.
If I’m being honest, I have some serious anxiety about her going from half-day to full-day school. Trust me, she’s definitely ready, it’s Mom that’s not.
I just get this overwhelming feeling of missing her so much every single time I think about it. But I’m putting on a brave face and pumping her up for this new adventure, even though I get all teary-eyed every time we browse the school supply aisles at Target.
Everyone told us that time flies, but I just didn’t really get it until now.
One of the things we love to do together is bake – when it’s not sweltering outside. Whether it’s sweets for Elle’s lemonade stand or just a little quality time in the kitchen, we’ve been whipping up chocolate chip cookies, pineapple coconut cake and testing several cheesecake recipes to share with all of you!
If you caught my post for graham cracker crust last week, you know I’m going to share my favorite recipe for vanilla cheesecake this week. But first, I wanted to share this homemade blueberry sauce with you because it is the perfect cheesecake topping!
HOW TO MAKE BLUEBERRY TOPPING FOR CHEESECAKE
I love homemade blueberry sauce. Spooned over a slice of vanilla cheesecake? It’s absolute heaven.
The thing I love the most about blueberry sauce? The fact that it comes together on the stovetop in less than ten minutes with just a few staple ingredients.
That’s right. Fresh or frozen blueberries, water, sugar, lemon juice and cornstarch are all you need.
To start, throw the blueberries, a little bit of water, sugar and lemon juice in a saucepan. Bring this mixture to a low boil, stirring frequently.
While the blueberries get bubbly and happy, mix together a slurry with cornstarch and cold water.
Did you know if you add cornstarch to hot liquid, it will clump up? That’s why it’s important to make a slurry, or a mixture of cornstarch and a cold liquid, when using cornstarch to thicken a recipe. Add the slurry to your dish and the cornstarch won’t clump!
Add the slurry to the blueberries and stir, but be careful not to crush the blueberries!
Once the blueberry sauce has thickened, remove it from the heat and stir in vanilla and lemon zest for some extra flavor if you’d like.
Out of lemons? You can use orange juice and zest instead.
HOW ELSE CAN YOU USE BLUEBERRY SAUCE?
So if my recent posts on how to soften cream cheese, making graham cracker crust and how to bake cheesecake in a water bath haven’t made it clear enough, cheesecake is pretty much my fave. Which means serving blueberry sauce as a cheesecake topping is pretty much my fave.
But I also love serving blueberry sauce in a ton of other ways.
I like to stir a spoonful into vanilla Greek-style yogurt and top with a sprinkle of Coconut Pecan Granola for a fun and tasty afternoon snack.
It’s also absolutely delicious spooned over a stack of mascarpone pancakes or vanilla bean waffles for breakfast. Or make blueberry trifles or use it to top cream cheese pound cake for dessert.
Whether you’re serving this sauce up with breakfast, dessert or a midday snack, it’s sure to please the blueberry lover in your life!
Homemade Blueberry Sauce
Ingredients
- 2 cups fresh or frozen blueberries
- ½ cup water
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch mixed with 2 tablespoons cold water
- ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- Zest of 1 lemon about 1 tablespoon, optional
Instructions
- In a medium saucepan over medium heat, combine the blueberries, 1/2 cup of water, sugar and lemon juice. Stir frequently, and bring to a low boil.
- In a small bowl, whisk the cornstarch with 2 tablespoons of cold water.
- Slowly stir the cornstarch into the blueberries, taking care not to crush the blueberries. Simmer until the homemade blueberry sauce is thick enough to coat the back of a metal spoon, about 5 minutes.
- Remove from heat and gently stir in vanilla and lemon zest.
Video
Notes
- The amount of sugar that you use will depend on the sweetness of your berries, simply adjust the amount to suite your taste.
- If this sauce is too thick for you, slowly add in water until you reach the desired consistency.
- No lemons on hand? This homemade blueberry sauce recipe tastes really great with orange juice and zest.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
ย As a European I wondered why US recipes do not use standard international measuresments for ingredients – fl ozs or Millilitres? It makes life so much easier and information more accessible outside of the US.
Hi, James! We Americans do measure things a little differently than other places in the world. Here’s a conversion calculator for future reference if you need it. I hope you enjoy the Blueberry Sauce!
I made this to go on bread pudding and it was outstanding!! Thanks for sharing the recipe!
You’re welcome, Corrie! I’m glad you enjoyed it!
I had a small container of blueberries and a larger container of strawberries, so I made up enough for one cup of each. Super! It came out not too sweet, which is to my liking. This is the second recipe I have tried from this website (the first was Whole Wheat Blueberry Pancakes, and they were amazing) and you have not disappointed. Thanks!
I’m so glad you liked it, Heather! And thank you for your kind words–you made my day!
I used this on top of a lemon cheesecake I made — ohhhh my!
I also mixed it into some plain greek yogurt with walnut pieces and Nilla Wafer crumble. Again – ohhhhh my! Thanks for a great recipe!
You’re very welcome, Tina! I’m really glad you enjoyed it!
The Homemade Blueberry Sauce was so good that I had to show my friends how to make.
So yummy
I’m so glad you enjoyed it, Rachael!
Made this fantastic sauce this morning. I wanted to use up some leftovers so instead of lemon juice I opted for orange juice. I also added a dash of ground cinnamon and a little almond extract. So good! Thanks for sharing.
I’m so glad you enjoyed it, Rachel! All the best to you!
I made this today for our pancakes and it was awesome. Tonight we are going to have vanilla ice cream with some on top. I did have to use a little extra sugar and frozen berries ย because I couldn’t find fresh.
Thank you, Abby! I hope you enjoyed it with your ice cream!
I would like to print the recipe but there is no prompt for that. I sure would be nice to be able to do this on other recipes of yours. Thank you.
Donna-
We have a print button on all of the recipes. If you scroll down to the recipe and look under the small thumbnail image, you’ll see “print recipe” – I hope this helps.
-Jamie
I am going to try this with other berries like raspberries, and strawberries, I might try to preserve it also, so it is always ready
That sounds amazing, Dianne! Let me know how it turns out!
Is this sauce able to be preserved? Thanks
Georgie-
I have never tried to preserve this sauce, so I am uncertain as to if it is possible. Sorry I am not more of a help.
-Jamie