How to make a sweet and simple Strawberry Sauce! This easy recipe is perfect for topping off vanilla ice cream, pancakes, biscuits, or just enjoying by the spoonful!
Sweet Strawberry Sauce
The past few weeks I’ve been putting this strawberry sauce on everything.
Topping off the fluffiest buttermilk pancakes, serving warm over vanilla ice cream, spooning over angel food cake, or even mixing with some macerated strawberries for an extra juicy strawberry shortcake! Mostly, though, I keep finding myself stealing spoonfuls from the jar in the back of my fridge (I keep shoving it as far back as I can, hoping to deter myself from destroying a while jar in less than 24 hours, but it’s not working really well).
Strawberry sauce is simple to make. It’s bursting with real berry flavor and comes together in a matter of minutes on the stove. This is a glossy, flavorful sauce (with the option to add a splash of vanilla extract or not) that pairs well with just about anything.
While freshly picked summer berries are generally your best bet for strawberry sauce, store-bought will also work great here!
How to Make Strawberry Sauce!
- Prepare your strawberries. Rinse, remove the tops, and quarter berries.
- Combine ingredients in saucepan. Strawberries, sugar, cornstarch, salt, and lemon juice all go into the pot.
- Cook! Set your stovetop heat to medium/low and cook, stirring frequently, until the berries release their juices. You’ll have a nice juicy strawberry mixture. Bring to a boil and boil (stirring constantly) for one minute.
- Reduce heat, but continue to cook. Simmer strawberry sauce until thickened. This will take a few more minutes. Keep in mind that the sauce will continue to thicken as it cools. Cook the sauce for too long and it might be thick and more like a jam than a sauce once cooled.
If you do happen to overcook your strawberry sauce a bit and it seems thicker than you were hoping, you can add a splash (about a Tablespoon) of water to the pot and stir well. Add additional water until desired consistency is reached!
Check the Sweetness of Your Berries
I touched on this in my post on how to make strawberry lemonade, but the sweetness of your strawberries really matters! If you have ripe, juicy, freshly picked berries, you might want to use a Tablespoon less sugar in your strawberry sauce. Do not omit the sugar completely, though! It’s important for the consistency of your strawberry sauce.
So, what will you be pairing with your strawberry sauce?
Enjoy!
More Recipes You Might Like:
Simple Strawberry Sauce
Ingredients
- 1 lb strawberries tops removed and quartered (455g)
- ⅓ cup granulated sugar (65g)
- 1 ½ Tablespoons cornstarch¹
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- 1 Tablespoon lemon juice
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract² optional
Instructions
- Combine strawberries, sugar, cornstarch, salt, and lemon juice in a medium-sized saucepan.
- Cook over medium/low heat until berries release their juices (about 5 minutes or so, mixture should be very liquidy).
- Bring mixture to a boil and boil for one minute, stirring constantly.
- Reduce heat to low and simmer until thickened, about 5 minutes (keep in mind sauce will continue to thicken after cooling).
- Remove from heat and stir in vanilla extract, if using.
- Allow to cool before serving (over ice cream, pancakes, biscuits, etc.!)
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional information is based on third-party calculations and should be considered an estimate only. Actual nutritional content will vary based upon brands used, measuring methods, cooking method, portion sizes, and more.
I originally shared this recipe for Homemade Strawberry Sauce over on The Recipe Critic!
Karen B
Question Sam! How plausible would it be to sub Stevia for sugar? (Your knowledge and congeniality have upped my “treaties game,” and waistline! Lol)
Sam
Hi Karen! I haven’t tried using stevia, but I think it could work. 🙂