Fresh Strawberry Sauce Recipe

This delicious 10-minute fresh strawberry sauce is just what you need to elevate your pancakes, desserts, and beverages. It’s fresh, sweet, and refreshing, and it can be enjoyed with your favorite drinks like strawberry milk, bubble tea, or matcha latte! You can even have it over desserts like ice cream or my Strawberry Cream Donut!

June is peak strawberry season so what better way to make use of sweet ripe strawberries than to turn it into a sauce?! You can make your own homemade strawberry sauce using only three simple ingredients!

Why you’ll love this recipe

Once you try this delicious homemade strawberry sauce, you’ll never have to buy the pre-made stuff from the store again. Bottled strawberry sauces usually contain preservatives and other additives, so you have no control over what’s going into the sauce. However, making it at home ensures it’ll taste better and fresher, and you’ll know exactly what it’s made with! 

For this recipe, you do want to use the freshest and ripest strawberries you can find because the flavor of the strawberry will greatly affect the taste of the sauce. While you can usually find strawberries all year round, they’re usually in season starting from May through the end of July. Take the opportunity during this time to use fresh ripe strawberries! 

The great thing about this recipe is how quick and easy it is to prepare. I only used 3 ingredients — strawberries, sugar, and lemon, which I juiced and zested. And the whole thing is done in just 10 minutes. You can make it up to a week ahead of time and store it in the fridge for easy access. Plus, making condiments like this fresh strawberry sauce in small batches is great as homemade gifts!

There are many ways to use this strawberry sauce. Mix it up with milk to make quick strawberry milk, top it on vanilla ice cream, pancakes, and Hong Kong waffles, or use it as a filling for crepes and cupcakes. 

Strawberry Sauce Ingredients & Substitutions

Strawberries: As the main ingredient and star of this recipe, you want the strawberries to be ripe, fresh, and sweet. The strawberries should be a deep-red color and free of soft spots and discoloration. A hack I like to use when picking out ripe strawberries is to smell the strawberries. If they smell sweet with a deep strawberry flavor, it’s a good sign that they’re ripe! If you have frozen strawberries, they work too! 

Sugar: Sweetens the sauce and also helps it thicken. As the sugar melts and cooks, it turns into a syrupy consistency that develops the sauce. Sugar also serves as the natural preservative that helps extend the shelf life of the strawberry sauce.

Lemon: Zested and juiced to get the maximum vibrant citrusy flavor. It balances out the sweetness of the sugar while also enhancing the strawberry flavor. Lemon and strawberries are a pairing that always goes well together.

How to Prepare Strawberry Sauce

Step 1: Chop the strawberries

Roughly chop the strawberries into small chunks. 

Step 2: Simmer the mixture

In a medium-sized pot, combine strawberries, sugar, lemon zest and lemon juice. Heat over medium-low and simmer for 5 minutes. 

Heat over medium-low and simmer for 5 minutes. 

Step 3: Blend

Using an immersion blender or regular blender, blend the strawberry mixture until smooth. At this point, you can transfer the sauce into a mason jar to cool. Or if you want to remove the seeds from the sauce, run the sauce through a sieve.

Step 4: Cool the sauce

Allow the sauce to cool completely before storing it in an airtight container in the fridge. It’ll stay good for up to 1 week!

Step 5: Serve and enjoy

Enjoy with your favorite ice cream, milk, or desserts!

Preparation Tips for Strawberry Sauce

Here are some helpful tips for making the best homemade strawberry sauce at home:

• When buying fresh strawberries, look for ones that have plump, deep red skin. The size doesn’t really matter so you can buy bigger or smaller ones, but avoid those with tender, watery, or moldy spots as that’s an early sign of spoilage. 
• A hack I like to use when picking out ripe strawberries is to smell the strawberries. If they smell sweet with a deep strawberry flavor, it’s a good sign that they’re ripe!
• If you have frozen strawberries, they work too! Since frozen strawberries are hard, it would be quite difficult to cut them into small chunks. Instead, toss them straight into the pot with the rest of the ingredients and gently mash them when they’ve softened. 
• Adjust the amount of sugar depending on the sweetness of the strawberries or your preferences. If you want, you can start with half the amount I used for this recipe and then simply add more as needed.
• You can explore different flavor combinations for your fresh strawberry sauce! For instance, you can add a few drops of either almond extract, vanilla extract, or herbs such as mint or basil for a different flair.
• Use a non-reactive pan like stainless steel, glass, or ceramic wares. This will prevent your sauce from having a metallic taste, which is what happens when you cook acidic ingredients in reactive pans like aluminum or cast iron. A non-stick pan is a great option too, to prevent the sauce from sticking. In addition, use a pan in the size that suits the amount of strawberry sauce you’re cooking.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is another name for strawberry sauce?

Another term that is commonly used to refer to strawberry sauce is strawberry coulis. But to make it clear, all coulis fall under the category of sauces, but not all sauces are coulis.

Strawberry coulis is made by combining strawberries, sugar, and lemon, and blending and straining them using a fine mesh sieve until smooth. Depending on the recipe and preparation method, it may or may not be cooked. On the other hand, there are strawberry sauces that are chunky or pureed but not strained, such as this recipe. A good way to distinguish is if the steps include straining, and the final result is super smooth, it is strawberry coulis.

Why is my strawberry sauce not thickening?

You’ve probably not given enough cooking time for the sauce to thicken. To fix this, simply let it simmer for a few more minutes. This additional cooking time should evaporate the liquid, reduce the sauce, and thicken it. If you want to speed up the process, you can use cornstarch. Start by combining one tablespoon of cornstarch with one-fourth cup of water. Add this slurry little by little while constantly stirring the sauce as it simmers, until you reach the desired consistency.

Can I use frozen strawberries?

Yes, absolutely! Obviously, fresh strawberries will yield a better-tasting sauce but it difference is marginal. If you only have frozen strawberries, it can definitely work! If using frozen strawberries, toss them right into the pot with the ingredients and let it simmer. 

How long will the strawberry sauce last?

When stored in the fridge, the strawberry sauce will stay good for at least a week. It has natural preservatives from the sugar and lemon, and these combined with the cool temperature in the fridge will help lengthen its shelf life. 

How to store strawberry sauce?

To store the strawberry sauce, first, let it cool to room temperature. Then transfer it to a glass or plastic jar with an airtight cover to retain the freshness. Store it in the fridge and consume it within a week.

Looking for easy and delicious recipes you can enjoy with strawberry sauce?

Hong Kong French Toast — This Hong Kong French toast recipe is a rich and delectable treat that you’ll find in the streets and cafes of Hong Kong! It’s traditionally filled with peanut butter then deep-fried and topped with condensed milk. This recipe is my take, and I think that strawberry sauce would take it to the next level, reminiscent of the peanut butter and jelly combo.

Hong Kong Egg Waffle with Ice Cream — Another classic and popular Hong Kong street food, these egg waffles, or ‘gai daan jai’ in Cantonese are a delicious treat with a crisp exterior and fluffy texture coupled with a creamy and indulgent scoop of ice cream. Of course, strawberry sauce always works with ice cream and waffles!

Brown Sugar Butter Toast Recipe — A simple 4-ingredient recipe that pairs well with a cup of coffee in the morning. The brown sugar and butter turn into a sweet, crisp layer that envelops the fluffy bread. Strawberry sauce would add a fresh, fruity layer of flavor.

Bruleed Sweet Potatoes — This 2-ingredient brûlée sweet potatoes is delicious, sweet, and a bit smokey from the blow-torched sugar. I like to have it with ice cream, and it would be even more delicious with some sweet tangy strawberry sauce.

Mini Lemon Basque Cheesecakes — The perfect little treat to welcome Spring! They’re sweet, and tart, and taste as creamy and bright as they look. The cheesecake is rich yet lighter than a regular cheesecake and is balanced by the delicious tangy lemon curd on top. Strawberry sauce would not only go well with lemon curd but will also add a beautiful pop of red to make it look more festive!