Homemade Strawberry Sauce
Homemade strawberry sauce is the perfect way to top plain cheesecake, ice cream, french toast, and pancakes. Made with fresh berries in less than 10 minutes!
Aside from cherry pie filling, strawberry sauce is my favorite plain cheesecake topping.
Don’t get me wrong, chocolate is always a great choice. But I prefer something tart, like berries, to cut through the richness of the cheesecake.
This is a great recipe for using up fresh strawberries or making a quick topping from frozen ones, just like this strawberry cake.
Thinking about breakfast? Skip the maple syrup and use this sweet strawberry sauce on your pancakes and french toast. Not to mention your biscuits and scones!
You are going to love this strawberry sauce, not just because it’s yummy but because it’s just 4 ingredients, takes less than 10 minutes to make, made from made from real strawberries, and go with just about everything!
If you love topping your ice cream with a delicious sauce, check out my salted caramel sauce and my chocolate syrup recipe. This blackberry sauce for pancakes is also amazing. My son loves it!
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See recipe card for complete information on ingredients and their quantities.
Ingredient Notes
- Strawberries – Use fresh strawberries. Be sure to clean, remove the tops, and quarter. You can also use frozen strawberries too. Just be sure to thaw them first.
- Sugar – I have only used regular white granulates sugar. I am not sure if sugar substitutes will work.
- Cornstarch – This helps to thicken the sauce so don’t leave it out.
- Food coloring – Using this is totally optional. Depending on the color of your strawberries, you might want to add a drop or two to deepen the red color.
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How To Make Strawberry Sauce
- Clean, stem, and dice 2 cups of strawberries. Divide in half. Mash one half (1 cup) in a bowl and set aside.
- In a medium saucepan, combine the sugar, cornstarch, and water. Stir to combine. Stir in the cup of mashed berries.
- Bring the mixture to a boil over medium heat, stirring constantly. Add in food coloring if desired. For 3-5 minutes, cook over medium heat until sauce is thickened.
- Remove from the heat and stir in the other cup of strawberries. Stir and let cool. Serve immediately or store in the fridge for up to 1 week.
For the full recipe and detailed instructions, please refer to the recipe card at the bottom of the post.
Serving Suggestions
- Ice cream
- Cheesecake (I can’t resist a New York cheesecake!)
- Cake
- Muffins
- Biscuits
- Pancakes
How To Thicken Strawberry Sauce
This recipe uses cornstarch to thicken it. Strawberries have natural pectin in them, which is used as a thickener for jams and jellies, but not quite enough for this quick recipe.
Storage
This sauce will last for up to 3 days in the fridge if stored in an airtight container. If you need to keep it longer, I recommend freezing it.
It’s best to portion it into ice cube trays or smaller portions so you can thaw it as you need it.
Tapas Tips & Tricks
- Fresh are the best but frozen strawberries will work just fine.
- I like the bright red color but feel free to leave out the food coloring. It won’t change the flavor.
- The smaller you dice the berries, the quicker they break down.
- If it’s too sweet, add a dash of lemon juice to balance it out. Alternatively, you can add a splash of vanilla extract or almond extract to add more flavor.
- Don’t use a food processor to break down the berries, it can make the sauce come out cloudy. When you simmer it the berries will naturally break down.
If you love this recipe as much as I do, please leave us a five-star review in the comment section below. Thanks!
This easy strawberry sauce is perfect for pancakes, waffles, no bake cheesecake, french toast, and pound cake!
Homemade Strawberry Sauce
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 cups fresh strawberries stemmed, quartered, divided
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 3 tablespoons cornstarch
- ¾ cup water
- Red food coloring *optional
Instructions
- Clean and dice 2 cups strawberries, add 1 cup to a bowl, mash, and set aside.
- In a medium saucepan, stir together the sugar and cornstarch. Add the water and 1 cup of mashed berries.
- Over medium heat, bring the mixture to a boil, stirring constantly. Stir in food coloring, if desired.
- Cook and stir 3 minutes or until thickened. Remove from the heat and stir in the 1 cup of diced strawberries.
- Transfer to bowl and let cool for 10-15 minutes.
- Serve immediately or store in an air tight jar or container for up to a week.
Nutrition
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I made it but left out the red food coloring.
Just what I remember my mother making when I was younger!
Thanks for this recipe and I saved it on Pinterest!
I am so glad you liked it! I often leave out the coloring too just because I don’t care about the bright red color so much as the taste:)