How to Make Strawberry Sauce from Frozen Strawberries
This nostalgic strawberry sauce will add a burst of flavor to ice cream, cakes, pancakes, yogurt, and more! And because it's made with frozen strawberries, you can enjoy it all year 'round!
Did you know you can take 5 simple ingredients and transform them into a classic, versatile, flavorful dessert topping?
That's the beauty of this strawberry sauce: it can take your dessert from boring to fabulous with very little effort. And it's super convenient to make since it relies on frozen fruit (pssst: no washing/prepping strawberries needed!). And that means you can make it any time of year without fear of having to pick through half-spoiled strawberry cartons.
So when you're missing strawberry season, whip up a big batch of this amazing sauce!
Okay, let me show you how to make it in your own kitchen!
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Video Tutorial
Here's a quick video overview of the recipe in case you learn better by watching. The full written tutorial and printable recipe are below!
Ingredients
You'll only need a few simple ingredients! Seriously, you probably have most of these on hand already...
- Frozen Strawberries: There's no need to bring the frozen berries to room temperature before making this! You can use either frozen sliced strawberries or whole strawberries.
- Cornstarch: It's not completely necessary to use cornstarch in your strawberry sauce, but it does help to thicken it and keep it emulsified. You can always leave it out if you don't mind your sauce being a tad thinner/more watery, or you need this to be grain-free.
- Water: You'll need to mix the cornstarch with a little cold water to prevent clumping. The extra liquid also helps to get the cooking process going.
- Lemon: You'll be using the fresh lemon juice as well as the lemon zest. This is another optional ingredient. If you prefer a more "clean" strawberry flavor (or one that's more like the kind your mom made growing up) you can leave this out. My sister really loved the addition of the lemon though! It helps lend a fresh flavor to this recipe.
- Sugar: Strawberries do contain some natural sugars, but they can also be quite tart. The additional sugar also helps to draw out the flavors of the other ingredients.
As always, see recipe card below for quantities!
Step-by-Step Instructions
- Step 1: First, measure the strawberries into a medium saucepan. Add the sugar.
- Step 2: Next, make a cornstarch slurry by whisking together the water and cornstarch in a small bowl or measuring cup. Add that to the strawberries.
- Step 3: Zest the lemon and add it to the pan.
- Step 4: Finally, juice the lemon (you'll want 1 tablespoon of juice) and add that as well.
Quick tip: Hold the lemon zester with the grating side DOWN, on top of the lemon (as shown in the photo above) for easier zesting!
Cooking the Sauce
- Step 1: Place the pan on the stove over medium heat.
- Step 2: Give everything a good stir. Continue to stir occasionally to prevent burning.
- Step 3: As the strawberries come to a gentle boil and begin to soften and release their natural juices, you can start to mash them with a potato masher if you like smaller pieces of strawberry in your final sauce.
- Step 4: Simmer for a total of 5 minutes. The sauce should thicken a little in that time, and all the strawberries should soften.
Quick tip: if you prefer a thicker sauce, you can simmer it for a few extra minutes to cook off more of the water. Make sure to stir frequently to prevent burning the sauce!
Serving:
Just look at that gorgeous, bright red strawberry goodness!
Now, there are SO many ways you can use this delicious sauce. Here are just a few ideas!
Spoon over pancakes for that authentic diner experience! I recommend making classic pancakes instead of heavily flavored ones if you want to really taste the strawberry flavor.
This would also be lovely on top of French toast!
You could also use my strawberry syrup here if you don't prefer chunky fruit on your pancakes.
Excuse the hideous iPhone photo, but I had to tell you about how yummy this is served over Angel Food Cake!
My brother-in-law always requests Angel Food Cake for his birthday, and this year I made this strawberry sauce to accompany it. And let me tell you, it tasted SO nostalgic!
I think my mom must have made a really similar sauce when I was a kid to serve with a yellow cake for a super easy strawberry shortcake vibe. Pound cake would be another great option. Seriously, this strawberry topping + cake = one of my favorite ways to serve this!
And of course drizzled over a scoop of vanilla ice cream (as shown in the first photo of this post) is a classic way to serve this strawberry sauce. You can also get creative with ice cream sundaes or banana splits!
You can also stir it into Greek yogurt to sweeten and flavor it at the same time!
Oatmeal would be another super easy breakfast pairing.
Storage
Let the strawberry sauce cool completely, then store in an airtight container (a glass jar or storage container works well!) in the refrigerator for 5-7 days. You could also store in a freezer-safe container in the freezer for about 6 weeks. Thaw in the refrigerator overnight.
FAQ
It's totally possible to make strawberry sauce without cornstarch. However, the final sauce will of course be thinner. It will still be delicious, but it will have more of a compote texture.
If you can't handle seeds in your fruit sauces, you'll need to strain them out. First allow the sauce to cool, then puree in a blender (or use an immersion blender) or food processor to get a completely smooth consistency. Then run the puree through a fine mesh sieve as demonstrated in my Starbucks Strawberry Puree recipe post.
I highly recommend using either granulated sugar or organic cane sugar for the sweetener because these have a neutral flavor that allows the strawberry flavor to shine. However, it should work to substitute another sweetener. If you use a liquid sweetener such as maple syrup, you may want to reduce the amount of water.
Top Tip
Use a potato masher or pastry cutter to mash the strawberries after they soften if you prefer smaller strawberry pieces in your final sauce!
So that's how to make my easy homemade strawberry sauce! Make sure to check out my other related recipes below!
Related
Looking for other recipes like this? Try these:
Pairing
Here are some delicious recipes to serve with strawberry sauce:
Strawberry Sauce
This classic strawberry sauce is made with frozen fruit to keep things SUPER easy and convenient!
Ingredients
- ¼ cup water
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 1 pound (4 cups) frozen strawberries
- ⅓ cup sugar
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice (see note)
- Zest of the lemon
Instructions
- Whisk together water and cornstarch. Place, along with the remaining ingredients, in a medium saucepan. Bring to a gentle boil over medium heat. Simmer for 5 minutes.
- You can mash with a potato masher or pastry blender after the strawberries begin to soften. If you prefer a completely smooth sauce, you could also blend once completely cooled, then strain if you don't like seeds in your sauce.
Notes
- Lemon: if you don't have any lemon on hand, you can safely leave it out. The sauce won't taste quite as bright and fresh, but it will still be delicious.
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
8Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 67Total Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 0gSodium: 2mgCarbohydrates: 17gFiber: 1gSugar: 13gProtein: 0g
