How to Make Strawberry Sauce

If you have fresh strawberries, you can turn them into a delicious strawberry sauce in just a few minutes. This easy homemade sauce is sweet, fruity, and perfect for spooning over pancakes, waffles, cheesecake, ice cream, or your favorite dessert.

This recipe uses simple ingredients and tastes so much better than store-bought sauce. Best of all, you can make it ahead of time and keep it in the refrigerator for an easy topping whenever you need it.

Strawberry sauce is also a great way to use fresh strawberries when you have more than you know what to do with. The berries cook down into a thick, glossy sauce with plenty of little pieces of strawberry throughout. Plus, you can make it ahead of time and keep it in the refrigerator, so it’s ready whenever you need a quick dessert topping.

Once you make this easy homemade strawberry sauce, you’ll find plenty of ways to use it. And honestly, grabbing a spoon and eating a little straight from the jar is perfectly acceptable too!

Why You’ll Love This Strawberry Sauce

• Easy to make with simple ingredients
• Works with fresh or frozen strawberries
• Ready in about 10 minutes
• Great for breakfast or dessert
• Can be made ahead of time
• Easy to adjust to your preferred sweetness and thickness

Tips for Making Strawberry Sauce

• Use fresh or frozen strawberries. Fresh strawberries are wonderful when they are in season, but frozen strawberries work just as well. There is no need to thaw frozen berries first.
• Cut the strawberries into similar-sized pieces. This helps them cook evenly. If you prefer a smoother sauce, you can mash the strawberries as they cook.
• Don’t skip the lemon juice. A little lemon juice brightens the strawberry flavor and keeps the sauce from tasting overly sweet.
• Adjust the thickness. The cornstarch thickens the sauce as it cooks. If you want a thinner sauce, use a little less cornstarch. For a thicker sauce, add a little more.
• Remember that it thickens as it cools. The sauce may look slightly thinner while it is hot. Once refrigerated, it will become thicker. Make it as thick or thin as you like.
• Taste before serving. Strawberries can vary quite a bit in sweetness. If your berries are very tart, you may want to add a little more sugar.
• For a smoother sauce, blend it. Once the sauce has cooled slightly, use an immersion blender or regular blender to make it smooth.
• Looking for a chunkier sauce, leave the berries alone. Simply stir occasionally while they cook and gently mash a few of the strawberries with the back of a spoon.

How to Use Strawberry Sauce

There are so many ways to use this homemade sauce. Spoon it over pancakes, waffles, French toast, cheesecake, ice cream, pound cake, or strawberry shortcake. You can also swirl it into yogurt or oatmeal for an easy breakfast.

It is especially good served warm over vanilla ice cream. The warm strawberry sauce melts into the ice cream and creates a simple dessert that tastes much more special than the amount of effort it takes to make it.

How to Store Strawberry Sauce

Allow the strawberry sauce to cool, then transfer it to an airtight container and refrigerate. It is great to make ahead, so you can have it ready for breakfast or dessert.

You can also freeze the sauce for longer storage. Thaw it in the refrigerator and stir well before serving.

A Simple Homemade Topping

Once you see how easy it is to make strawberry sauce, you may find yourself making it often. It is a simple way to turn everyday foods into something special, and you can easily adjust the texture and sweetness to suit whatever you are serving.

Fresh strawberries, a little sugar, lemon juice, and a few minutes on the stove are all you need for a homemade topping that is hard to resist.

The fruit does rise to the top, so there is more sauce underneath, be sure to grab more sauce. Use a ladle style spoon

Ingredients

• strawberries (fresh or frozen, tops cut off)
• granulated sugar
• lemon juice
• cornstarch
• vanilla extract
• water

Instructions

• Strawberry Buttercream Frosting
• Cannoli Dip– Charcuterie with strawberries
• Strawberry Lemonade Mimosa
• 1 hour Strawberry Shortcake
• Frozen Strawberry Margarita Pie

I just love how cute strawberry items are, this strawberry tote is just too cute!

And I could see these strawberry towels tucked into a basket with jars of overnight oats to bring to a morning appointment or meeting.