Name: Homemade Strawberry Sauce (Topping)
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 8 min
Total time: 18 min
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 1 Tablespoon cornstarch; 3 Tablespoons (45ml) warm water; 1 lb strawberries, hulled and sliced in half (you can use frozen; don’t thaw); zest and juice from 1/2 small lemon (see note)*; 1/4 cup (50g) granulated sugar

Make homemade strawberry topping sauce for your desserts or breakfast using fresh strawberries with this simple 10 minute recipe. When strawberries aren’t in season, use frozen strawberries instead.

strawberry sauce dessert topping in glass jar

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After publishing no bake cheesecake jars, I figured a completely separate post for the strawberry topping sauce would be appreciated! I actually made a triple batch of it last week when strawberries were on mega sale and froze the sauce in freezer tupperwares. (Freezes and thaws like a dream!)

But this strawberry dessert topping has actually been an essential for years, pairing with everything like pound cake, cheesecake, ice cream, and berries & cream french toast casserole. I have plenty more suggestions below and yes, this stuff is totally acceptable at breakfast!

Why You’ll Love This Homemade Strawberry Topping

5 simple ingredients
10 minutes
Nothing artificial
No preservatives
Made from real strawberries
Supremely versatile just like lemon curd, raspberry sauce, and salted caramel

Isn’t this jar cute?!

What You Need

Fresh or frozen strawberries: Hulled & halved.
Cornstarch + water: You don’t need much, but you must dissolve the cornstarch in a little water before using. This is called a “slurry”; see raspberry cake filling an example. Without mixing with water, the cornstarch will leave white chunks in your strawberry sauce.
Lemon juice + zest: Keeps the flavor bright. The sauce won’t taste like lemon, I promise!
Sugar: Just enough to sweeten the sauce without taking away from the strawberry’s natural flavor.

I include a strawberry compote recipe with my brown butter pound cake. This strawberry topping sauce is almost identical, but I use a little less cornstarch here. Today’s strawberry sauce is on the thicker side, but it’s not quite as thick as the compote. The compote is closer to a jam consistency.

How to Make Strawberry Sauce

This strawberry sauce cooks on the stove in about 10 minutes.

Mix the cornstarch and water together.
Place everything, including the cornstarch mixture, into a medium saucepan. Mash the strawberries a bit with a wooden spoon or rubber spatula. This helps the release the juices and cooks down the strawberries.
Bring to a simmer and cook for 5 minutes. The sauce will begin to thicken.
Remove from heat and allow strawberry sauce to cool.

This is a chunkier style strawberry sauce, providing wonderful texture to no bake cheesecake, waffles, biscuits, and so much more. But the amount of strawberry chunks is up to you. For less chunks, mash up the strawberries a little more as the sauce cooks.

Prefer a chunk-free sauce? For no strawberry chunks, blend the finished sauce in a blender until you reach your desired consistency.

By the way, if you’re looking for a less jammy and more substantial strawberry topping, try this strawberry cream cheese pie or the filling from these strawberry shortcake cupcakes.

Endless Uses for Strawberry Topping!

Cheesecake, lemon cheesecake, no-bake cheesecake, and cheesecake pie
Mini cheesecakes and no-bake cheesecake jars
Use as a topping for angel food cake and pavlova
Serve with pound cake and whipped cream
Filling for homemade crepes
Topping for yogurt (for a healthier dessert recipe), oatmeal, buttermilk waffles, pancakes, and biscuits
Layer in a trifle or parfait
Use with strawberry shortcake
Serve with strawberry cake
Atop a Dutch baby pancake

What will you use it for?!

Homemade Strawberry Sauce (Topping)

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star 4.9 from 66 reviews

Author: Sally
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 8 minutes
Total Time: 18 minutes
Yield: 1 and 1/2 cups
Category: Dessert
Method: Cooking
Cuisine: American

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Description

You can use fresh or frozen strawberries in this versatile strawberry topping sauce. This topping is fresh, quick, & easy and gives desserts that little something extra!

Ingredients

1 Tablespoon cornstarch
3 Tablespoons (45ml) warm water
1 lb strawberries, hulled and sliced in half (you can use frozen; don’t thaw)
zest and juice from 1/2 small lemon (see note)*
1/4 cup (50g) granulated sugar

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Instructions

Whisk the cornstarch and water together until all the cornstarch has dissolved. (I just use a fork to mix—very easy.)
Place the cornstarch mixture, along with the rest of the ingredients, into a small saucepan over medium heat. Using a wooden spoon or rubber spatula, stir the mixture as it cooks. Break up some of the strawberries as you stir.
Bring it to a simmer and allow to simmer for 5 minutes, stirring constantly. After 5 minutes, remove pan from the heat and allow to cool. The mixture will thicken as it cools.
You can serve the sauce warm before it cools completely if desired, or store in the refrigerator for up to 1 week. Strawberry topping will be thick after refrigeration, so microwave for 15 seconds or warm on the stove to thin out, if desired.

Notes

Freezing Instructions: After the strawberry sauce cools completely, freeze in a freezer-friendly container for up to 3-6 months. Thaw on the counter or in the refrigerator. Warm up in the microwave or on the stove, if desired.
Special Tools (affiliate links): Glass Mixing Bowls | Whisk | Small Saucepan | Rubber Spatula or Wooden Spoon
Strawberries: You need a 1 pound carton of strawberries, which is 16 oz, 3-4 cups, or 450g.
Other berries: You can substitute blackberries for the strawberries with no other changes to the recipe. Cherries work too—pit and halve them first. For other berries, try my raspberry sauce and blueberry sauce recipes.
Lemon: Lemon brightens the flavor of the strawberry topping. You need about 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice and 1 teaspoon lemon zest. Feel free to skip the lemon zest if needed.
Chunks: The amount of strawberry chunks is up to you. For less chunks, mash up the strawberries a little more as the sauce cooks. For no strawberry chunks, blend the finished sauce in a blender until you reach your desired consistency.

Sally McKenney

Sally McKenney is a baker, food photographer, and New York Times best-selling author. Her kitchen-tested recipes and step-by-step tutorials have given millions of readers the knowledge and confidence to bake from scratch. Sally’s work has been featured on TODAY, Good Morning America, Taste of Home, People, and more.