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Strawberry Sauce is ridiculously simple to make and is exactly what you need to top your waffles, french toast, ice cream, yogurt, and more!
I think you all know by now that as easy as it is to run to the store to buy certain things, it’s sometimes just as easy to make them at home.
Like pumpkin pie spice or taco seasoning – I can pick them up at the store, but they’re so easy to make at home and the homemade versions actually taste better.
This strawberry sauce is one of those recipes. Yeah, you can buy that red squeeze bottle of strawberry sauce at the grocery store, but it’s always overly sweet and doesn’t really taste like strawberries.
This stuff, though? It takes less than 10 minutes to make and is bursting with flavor.
HOW TO MAKE STRAWBERRY SAUCE
Just like when we learned how to make caramel sauce, you’ll find that this homemade strawberry sauce is surprisingly easy to make. You’ll wonder why you ever bothered buying strawberry sauce at the grocery store!
Ingredients you’ll need
The ingredients list for this recipe is super simple. You’ll need:
- 16 ounces fresh strawberries, tops removed, or frozen strawberries
- ½ cup water
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch mixed with 2 tablespoons cold water
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
One of the best things about this recipe is that you can use fresh or frozen strawberries. If it’s the height of summer and you have a ton of fresh, perfectly sweet strawberries – use those!
But in the middle of winter, you can still make this sauce and have it taste amazing by using frozen berries.
You can also use whole or sliced strawberries. If you use whole strawberries, you can choose to leave them in big pieces in the final sauce or use a fork or potato masher to break them down as they cook.
Making this recipe
If you’ve made my blueberry sauce or raspberry sauce, you’ll be familiar with the method for making this recipe, too.
Grab a medium saucepan and add all of the strawberries, ½ cup of water, the sugar and the lemon juice. Bring this to a low boil, stirring frequently.
While that mixture comes to a boil, whisk together the cornstarch with 2 tablespoons of cold water to make a slurry. This is what will thicken our sauce.
Once the strawberries come to a boil, slowly add the cornstarch slurry. Simmer the sauce until it is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon; this will take about 5 minutes.
Go ahead and remove the pan from the heat and add the vanilla extract. Be sure to stir it in gently if you don’t want to break up the berries too much.
At this point, you can serve the strawberry sauce warm or chill it in the fridge before serving it.
WHAT TO PUT THIS STRAWBERRY SAUCE ON
So exactly what can you put this homemade sauce on? The better question is what can’t you put it on!
It’s incredible on top of a stack of Bisquick pancakes, sweet cream pancakes, or Bisquick waffles or swirled into the batter for sheet pan pancakes.
Spoon it on top of a slice of overnight french toast casserole instead of or in addition to maple syrup.
Pair it with homemade hot fudge sauce and turn a scoop of vanilla ice cream into an incredible ice cream sundae.
Use it to top slices of vanilla cheesecake or cheesecake bars.
Or grab your favorite vanilla yogurt and some maple pecan granola and top it with this sauce for a breakfast that will fuel your day.
See? The options are really endless!
STORAGE
Since you can serve this sauce warm or cold, it’s a great recipe to make ahead of time and store in the refrigerator until you need it.
Pour the finished sauce into an airtight container and keep it in the fridge for up to 5 days.
Freezing your homemade strawberry sauce
If you want to make the sauce even further in advance or you find yourself with tons of fresh strawberries and want to make several batches of strawberry sauce to enjoy later, you can always freeze it!
Once the sauce has cooled, place it in an airtight, freezer-safe container or in zip-top freezer bags and freeze for up to 3 months. Let the sauce thaw in the refrigerator overnight before using.
If you choose to freeze the sauce, you may want to portion it into smaller containers so you can pull out only what you need at a time. I like to freeze it in 1-cup portions – the perfect amount for a weekend pancake breakfast!
No matter what you choose to spoon this strawberry sauce on, I know it will become a new favorite in your house!
Strawberry Sauce
Ingredients
- 16 ounces fresh strawberries tops removed, or frozen strawberries
- ½ cup water
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch mixed with 2 tablespoons cold water
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- In a medium saucepan over medium heat, combine the strawberries, 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 strawberry mixture. Simmer until the homemade strawberry sauce is thick enough to coat the back of a metal spoon, about 5 minutes.
- Remove from heat and gently stir in vanilla.
- Serve warm or pour into an airtight container and chill in the refrigerator before serving.
Video
Notes
- Makes about 3 cups.
- If using frozen berries, you do not need to thaw them before making the sauce.
- You may use sliced or whole berries in this sauce. If using whole berries, you may want to use a potato masher to break the berries up as the sauce cooks.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Could this sauce be canned in pints?
Hi Lois-
I am not a canner, but maybe someone will chime in that is.
-Jamie
Love this sauce. Best I have tried and my picky husband, daughter and 3 grandsons agree.
Lovely sauce! We put it on homemade waffles with whipped cream and it was so delightful. Not too sweet. Had the perfect balance between sweet and tangy. Will definitely make it again!
So glad to hear you enjoyed the recipe! Thanks so much for stopping by and leaving your feedback.
-Jamie
Do you think this sauce would do well if I chopped the strawberries to fill a cupcake?
Hi Debra – I haven’t tried this myself, but the sauce is a bit on the runny side, so it would probably soak into the cupcakes pretty quickly. So if that sounds great to you then you should definitely try it! Otherwise, I might recommend a strawberry jam as a cupcake filling instead. Hope this helps!
Jamie
I did make this and you are right it is a keeper, however I am not a ‘cornstarch’ fan, so I used Bob’s Red Mill Tapioca Starch because it is GF instead and used Lime Juice and no Vanilla with 1/2 the sugar..
I love the texture of the sauce – Tapioca allows it to stay a bit sticky, Yum!!
BTW: Coconut Sugar is better for Diabetics, it is less than 1/2 of white refined because it takes so long to digest, and honestly, no sugar is needed.
I had mine over Croissant Bread Pudding
Thank you so much for stopping by and sharing your feedback, Patti! Happy baking!
-Jamie
Is sugar absolutely required or can it be eliminated, reduced or substituted with honey? I’m diabetic and try to avoid refined sugar.
Hello! I haven’t attempted this recipe with this adjustment, so I am not sure of the result. If you happen to give it a try, I’d love to know how it turned out. Thanks so much for stopping by.
-Jamie
Do you think I am able to can this and be shelf stable ?
Hello! I haven’t attempted canning this recipe, so I can’t speak to how it would work. If you happen to give it a try, I’d love to know how it turned out. Thanks so much for stopping by.
-Jamie
Due to an allergy, I would like to know what would be a good substitute for the cornstarch?
Hello! I haven’t attempted this recipe with this substitution, so I’m not sure what would work here. If you happen to give it a try, I’d love to know how it turned out. Thanks so much for stopping by.
-Jamie
@Joan, 2 tbsp flour & 1/4 cup water for every 1 tbsp of cornstarch is a good substitute. I used flour last time I made this recipe & it worked very well.
Can’t wait to try this recipe this summer with fresh strawberries
Thank you so much for reading and taking the time to comment! Happy baking!
-Jamie
Hello,
How long will the strawberry sauce stay in the fridge?
Thank you,
Sheryl
Hi Sheryl! This will keep in the fridge for up to 5 days. There are instructions in the post for freezing if you’d like to keep it for longer. Happy baking!
-Jamie