Strawberry Sauce (aka Strawberry Topping)
This post may contain affiliate links.
Strawberry Sauce is a quick and easy sauce made with just 4 ingredients and in about 15 minutes. All you need is fresh strawberries, sugar, lemon juice, and vanilla extract. It's perfect to use on pancakes, ice cream and so much more.
I have been making this sauce for so long and it all started with having strawberries in the refrigerator that were just a little over-ripe. Never wanting to waste any food, I chopped them up and threw them in the sauce pot with some sugar and a little lemon juice and the rest was history.
While you can definitely get some fresh strawberries for the sauce, wilting strawberries are the perfect candidates for it. You know, the ones that are starting to get some wrinkles and are not pretty and plump anymore.
Table of Contents
Strawberry Sauce Ingredient Notes
All it takes is four simple ingredients. You’ll find the exact amounts in the recipe card below.
- Strawberries: Looks don’t matter once the berries cook down, so this is the perfect recipe for strawberries that are a little wrinkly and past their prime, and the riper they are, the sweeter and deeper the flavor. Just toss any berries with mold or mushy, leaking spots. Frozen strawberries work too but expect a slightly milder flavor and more liquid than you get with fresh.
- Sugar: I use plain white granulated sugar. Since strawberries vary a lot in sweetness, you can use a tablespoon or two less with very sweet, in-season berries and a little more with tart ones. You can also start with less and adjust once strawberries are cooked.
- Fresh lemon juice: You only need a teaspoon to balance the sugar and make the strawberry flavor taste brighter. There’s a little food science here too: strawberries contain a small amount of natural pectin, and pectin sets better with some acid, so you get a sauce with more body. For the cleanest flavor, squeeze fresh lemon juice.
- Vanilla extract: I add it to soften the tart edge of the berries and give the flavor some warmth and aroma. If you prefer a purely fruity sauce, feel free to leave it out.
How to Make Strawberry Sauce
- Chop the berries. Chop strawberries and add them to a medium sauce pot over medium heat.
- Add other ingredients. Add sugar, vanilla and lemon juice. Stir well.
- Cook. Cover and cook for about 15 minutes, stirring often.
- Blend. Use your immersion blender or transfer the sauce into a heat-safe blender to puree strawberry mixture. If you don’t have an immersion blender, use a regular blender or a food processor.
- Enjoy! You can enjoy the strawberry sauce right away or store it for later.
Expert Tips
- Blend it or keep it chunky! you can also leave the sauce chunky, so you won’t need to blend it. IF you do plan to leave the sauce chunky, make sure to dice strawberries into small pieces.
- You can strain it. If you will be using sauce in frosting or some kind of cream filling, strain the puree to get rid of leftover chunks.
- Want it thicker? To thicken the sauce, use cornstarch and water slurry. When the strawberries are mostly done, mix 1/2-1 tbsp (depending on how thick you want it) of cornstarch with a couple of teaspoons of COLD water. Then, whisk the slurry into the sauce and keep stirring until the sauce thickens. It it will only take a couple of minutes. Take off heat.
How to Serve Strawberry Sauce
- Breakfast: Spoon it warm over buttermilk pancakes, classic buttermilk waffles, or a stack of the best French toast. It’s also lovely rolled up inside thin crepes or served on the side as a dipping sauce for ricotta doughnuts.
- Yogurt and oatmeal: Swirl a spoonful into Greek yogurt, layer it with granola for a quick parfait, or stir it into a warm bowl of oatmeal.
- Ice cream sundaes: Drizzle it over a scoop of vanilla ice cream, or warm it up a little first for a hot-and-cold sundae.
- Chocolate desserts: Strawberries and chocolate always belong together, so try it with a slice of flourless chocolate cake or layered with chocolate mousse in a glass.
- Drinks: Blend a spoonful into a milkshake, stir it into pink lemonade, or use it to boost the berry flavor in a strawberry daiquiri or strawberry mojito.
- Cheesecakes: pairs fabulously with a slice of homemade New York cheesecake or vanilla bean cheesecake.
Storing Strawberry Sauce
- Make sure to let the strawberry sauce cool to room temperature first! Then, store it in an airtight (preferably glass) container in the refrigerator for up to 7 days. Always use a clean spoon to remove any as desired so you don’t introduce any new bacteria to the sauce.
- I recommend using a glass jar with a lid that’s not made of metal. Metal tends to react when stored with foods that have acidic elements. These are the jars that I use at home: jars with coated lids and jars with hinged lids.
Freezing Instructions
- If you need to store it for longer, freeze your strawberry sauce in a freezer zip-top bag or a freezer-friendly container. Slow-thaw it in the refrigerator overnight when you’re ready to enjoy it.
- Or, freeze it in small portions! Simply use ice cube trays and divide the strawberry sauce among the little cups. Freeze for 2-3 hours until it’s completely frozen (set a timer), then transfer the cubes into a freezer zip-lock bag or just leave it in the trays.
- Make sure to keep the ice cube stays covered air-tight with a lid or saran wrap. Freeze for up to 2–3 months.
More Strawberry Recipes To Try
DID YOU MAKE THIS RECIPE? PLEASE leave a 🌟 star rating! Let me know how you liked it by leaving the 📝 comment below or share and tag me on social media @willcookforsmiles. DON’T FORGET to subscribe to my newsletter!
Strawberry Sauce Recipe
Strawberry Sauce is a quick and easy sauce made with just 4 ingredients and in about 15 minutes. All you need is fresh strawberries, sugar, lemon juice, and vanilla extract. It's perfect to use on pancakes, ice cream and so much more.
Print
Pin
Video
Rate
Servings: 12 one 12 oz jar
Calories: 45kcal
Ingredients
- 1 lb strawberries
- 1/2 cup white granulated sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tsp fresh lemon juice
Instructions
- Chop strawberries and add them to a medium sauce pot, heating over medium heat.
- Add sugar, vanilla and lemon juice. Stir well.
- Cover and cook for about 15 minutes, stirring often.
- Use your immersion blender to puree strawberry mixture. (If you don’t have an immersion blender, use a regular blender or a food processor.)
- **If you will be using sauce in frosting or some kind of cream filling, strain puree to get rid of leftover chunks.
Video
Notes
- Thickening the sauce: For a thicker sauce, whisk 1/2 to 1 tablespoon cornstarch with 2 teaspoons of COLD water. Stir the slurry into the sauce when the strawberries are mostly done and cook for about 2 minutes, stirring, until the sauce thickens.
- Need to use frozen strawberries? note that the flavor will not be the same. Frozen strawberries don’t taste as good as fresh, but the difference will not be too big. It’s better to thaw the frozen strawberries first because frozen strawberries tend to release a lot more liquid. If your frozen strawberries produce a lot of liquid, you can reduce the sauce (gently simmer it) for a few more minutes to thicken the sauce.
- Adding other berries: Feel free to mix other berries, peaches, cherries, or pears with the strawberries. Just make sure to peel and/or cut those fruits and berries that need it.
- Storing: Cool the sauce completely, then refrigerate it in an airtight glass jar with a non-metal lid for up to 7 days, or freeze it for up to 2 to 3 months.
Nutrition
Calories: 45kcal | Carbohydrates: 11g | Potassium: 57mg | Sugar: 10g | Vitamin A: 5IU | Vitamin C: 22.4mg | Calcium: 6mg | Iron: 0.2mg
Tried this recipe?Mention @willcookforsmiles or tag #willcookforsmiles!
Originally published on Will Cook For Smiles in February 2015.
Would you like to save this recipe?
We'll email this post recipe to you, so you can come back to it later!
Categories:
Breakfast Recipes, Dessert Recipes, Gluten Free Recipes, Mother's Day Recipe Ideas, Sauce Recipes, Strawberry Recipes, Valentine's Day,All images and text ©Lyubov Brooke for ©Will Cook For Smiles. Please do not use my images without prior permission. If using my posts in collections and features, please link back to this post for the recipe.
Disclaimer: Nutrition information shown is not guaranteed to be 100% accurate as most ingredients and brands have variations.
Its prime time fir fresh berries in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. I need some great sauce for a neighborhood “waffle weekend” in September. This sounds great, will be storing in quart Ball canning jars in the freezer! Im sure it will be great!!! 🙂
I hope you like it, Karen!
Easy to make, strawberries in a pot feels wrong but it’s very good, pairs well over vanilla ice cream.
So glad you liked it, Andy!
Me again! Sorry, I found the link for the jars further up in the recipe!
I hope you enjoy the recipe 🙂
Good morning! Can you send a link? Thanks!
” These are the jars that I use at home: with coated lids and with hinged lids.”
Will try & thicken for jam also as well as topping
That sounds good!
Sounds delicious! Could you tell me how much of each ingredient you use?
Thanks
Some how the recipe card was deleted, sorry about that! I have replaced it so you can scroll up and see all the ingredients. Thanks for letting me know!
Can this sauce be frozen?
Hi Sophie,
Yes, you can freeze this sauce by putting it in an airtight freezer-safe container or in a freezer bag but only fill it 3/4 full because it will expand.
Just read your recipe for the strawberry sauce and will cook up a pot or two this week .. I have a ice cream van and had added home made Mango Sauce for the Mango Sundaes and they have been selling extremely well out seeling choclate sundaes 4 to 1 so looking forward to added the strawberry this week
Yum! That sounds amazing, Greg!
The recipe is good, but I used more sugar and vanilla, also used cornstarch to thicken it up. Keep up the good work.
Glad you liked it!
does it work with frozen strawberries?
Hi Muchelle!
Yeap, frozen will work. The only thing that comes to mind is extra liquid because frozen strawberries have a lot of juices once defrosted. You can always mix 1 tsp of cornstarch with a little bit of cold water and then stir it into the sauce to make it thicker.
I hope you enjoy it 🙂
Oops, sorry for misspelling your name, Michelle!
I like how simple this recipe is. I was wondering how you can preserve this.
Thank you, Melissa!
Honestly, I don’t do canning so I’m not sure how to can this. But it will keep for a couple of weeks in the refrigerator, in an air-tight jar.
You can “Can” strawberry syrup. I’ve have another recipe but with a increase of ingredients in it. I believe the lemon juice is what preserves things. Id u want tje recipe let me know.
Can you pass along your recipe for canning strawberry sauuce?
Sorry, I haven’t canned before so I don’t have a recipe for it. I hope you still like the recipe though!
Used your strawberry sauce on our pancakes this morning for my daughter’s special birthday breakfast. YUMMY!!!
OH, I”m so happy to hear that! Thank you, Pamela!!
I’ve never had strawberry sauce, but would love to give it a try. What a brilliant color!
I hope you will try it soon, Megan! Thank you 🙂 🙂
Thank you for linking to our Vanilla Custard Sauce! I’m tempted to mix it with YOUR strawberry sauce…. 🙂
Of course! I think it would be awesome, Martha!
Thank you!
How long does the sauce keep in the fridge?
Hi Esther,
It will last up to 10 days in the refrigerator in an air tight container.