Make homemade raspberry sauce (aka raspberry coulis) for your desserts or breakfast using fresh raspberries with this simple 4-ingredient recipe. When raspberries arenโt in season, you can use frozen raspberries. If you’re looking to fill a layer cake, use my thick raspberry cake filling instead.
One reader, Slynne, commented: “Excellent! I used frozen raspberries and followed the instructions exactly. It paired wonderfully with Sally’s classic cheesecake recipe. โ โ โ โ โ “
This raspberry dessert sauce is wonderful to have on hand, because you can use it to finish so many recipes, like cheesecake, brownies, pound cake, lemon cupcakes, or chocolate mousse pie. A homemade raspberry sauce can even turn a simple bowl of vanilla ice cream into a guest-worthy dessert. And don’t forget breakfast like pancakes, waffles, oatmeal, or yogurt!
You could even try mixing it with some sparkling water, or include it in a cocktailโthe possibilities for this homemade berry sauce are endless!
Here’s Why You’ll Love This Raspberry Sauce
- Fresh-tasting, a bit tangy, & not overly sweet
- Just 4 easy ingredients plus water
- You can use fresh or frozen raspberries… so convenient
- Less than 10 minutes on the stove
- Strain it or keep it thick & chunky
- Like salted caramel & lemon curd, it’s extremely versatile and can be used on many dishes
- So good on easy cheesecake pie or even ice cream cake!
Grab These Ingredients:
- Water & Cornstarch: Cornstarch lightly thickens the sauce. You don’t need much, but you must combine it with a little water before using, otherwise you’ll have lumps of powdery cornstarch in your finished sauce. Cornstarch is typically mixed with water to make a “slurry” before using in sauces; see strawberry sauce and blueberry sauce as an example.
- Fresh or Frozen Raspberries: You’ll love that you can whip this sauce up in the summertime when berries are fresh in season, or in the middle of winter as the snow falls outside. I actually love this sauce with frozen raspberries because they’re typically frozen at their peak freshness and sweetness. Same story with my ultra thick raspberry cake filling. And I only use frozen berries in these raspberry sweet rolls.
- Sugar: Too much sugar can mask the natural berry flavors, so stick with only 1/4 cup (50g) in this recipe. If your raspberries are extremely tart, increase to 1/3 cup (67g). This isn’t jam, so we don’t need an onslaught of sugar.
- Lemon Juice: The sauce needs *something* to balance the berry and sugar, and lemon juice provides that hint of freshness. Do not leave it out or the sauce will taste pretty flat. You can also add a splash of vanilla extract once the sauce comes off heat. (Vanilla is optional, but tasty!)
Raspberries are so convenientโno chopping or peeling required.
Just 4 Steps to Make This Raspberry Sauce
This raspberry sauce cooks on the stove in just under 10 minutes. It’s similar to the swirl recipe we use in these white chocolate raspberry cheesecake bars.
- Combine ingredients together on the stove.
- Boil mixture while stirring occasionally.
- Optional: Press the mixture through a fine mesh strainer, to remove the seeds.
- Let cool.
Strained vs. Keeping the Seeds
When strained, this sauce is on the thin side, as sauces go, and great for drizzling. This strained version is also known as a raspberry coulis. If you’d prefer a thicker sauce and don’t mind the seeds, you can skip Step 3 altogether!
Here is a photo comparing the 2 consistencies:
Mixture is very hot right off the stove:
Strain the warm mixture with a fine mesh strainer:
Or keep it chunky:
This recipe yields about 1 cup of raspberry sauce if straining, or about 1 and 1/2 cups if not straining.
Uses for Raspberry Sauce
There are so many ways to enjoy this raspberry dessert sauce, and here are many suggestions:
- Enjoy drizzled on scones, crepes, muffins, buttermilk waffles, whole wheat blueberry pancakes, or a Dutch baby pancake
- Stir into yogurt, cottage cheese, or oatmeal
- Use as a filling for lemon cupcakes or lemon blueberry cupcakes (see my How to Fill Cupcakes post for details on how to do thisโso easy!)
- Use as a topping for cream cheese pound cake, ice cream, angel food cake, or pavlova
- Serve with chocolate treats like brownies, chocolate cake, and flourless chocolate cake
- Drizzle on choux pastry or cream puffs
- Top cheesecake, lemon cheesecake, no bake cheesecake, and cheesecake pie (pictured below)
- Spread on homemade biscuits, croissants, and toasted English muffins
- Stir a few spoonfuls into whipped cream or whipped frosting and use as garnish on desserts
Can I Use This to Fill a Cake?
No, because it is too thin. Instead, try my raspberry cake filling.
Print
Raspberry Dessert Sauce
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 8 minutes
- Total Time: 10 minutes
- Yield: 1 cup strained or 1.5 cups chunky
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Cooking
- Cuisine: American
Description
This raspberry dessert sauce topping is fresh, quick, & easy and gives desserts and breakfast dishes that little something extra! You can use fresh or frozen raspberries.
Ingredients
- 1 Tablespoon water
- 2 teaspoons cornstarch
- 3 cups (about 12 ounces/375g) fresh or frozen raspberries
- 1/4 cup (50g) granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice (do not leave out)
- optional: 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Whisk the cornstarch and water together until all the cornstarch has dissolved. (I just use a fork to mixโvery easy.) Combine cornstarch mixture, raspberries, granulated sugar, and lemon juice in a small saucepan over medium heat. Using a silicone spatula, stir the mixture, lightly mashing the raspberries as they begin to heat.
- Bring to a boil and let it boil for 3 full minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove the pan from heat andโif desired for a richer flavorโstir in vanilla extract.
- Press the warm sauce through a fine mesh strainer to remove the seeds, if desired. I use the back of a spoon to press the liquid through the strainer, held over a bowl. It takes a couple minutes to really squeeze it all out.
- Feel free to serve warm over warm desserts, but it should be cooled to really thicken up. Cool the sauce completely at room temperature or in the refrigerator. The sauce will thicken slightly as it cools, but the strained version is still liquid and perfect for drizzling.
- Cover and store for up to 1 week in the refrigerator.
Notes
- Freezing Instructions: After the raspberry sauce cools completely, freeze in a freezer-friendly container for up to 3โ6 months. Thaw on the counter or in the refrigerator. Warm up in the microwave or on the stove, if desired.
- Special Tools (affiliate links): Small Saucepan | Silicone Spatula | Fine Mesh Strainer
- Berries Are Tart: If your raspberries aren’t very sweet, you may want to increase the sugar to 1/3 cup (67g).
- Thicker Sauce: If you’d like a thicker sauce and don’t mind the raspberry seed texture, you can skip Step 3 completely, or even try pureeing the mixture in a blender instead of straining.
- Other Berries:ย You can substitute blackberries with no changes to the recipe. Or try these strawberry sauce and blueberry sauce recipes.
Reader Comments and Reviews
Just did not care for this. Very blah.
Just curious if this would work as a drip for a frosted cake? Love all of your recipes Sally! You never lead me wrong!
Hi Annika, we fear it may be too thin to be used as a drip like you would with chocolate ganache. It’s best used as a drizzle or a spread. You could stir a few spoonfuls into whipped cream or whipped frosting and use it to garnish your cake!
a recipe that doesnโt give you quantities!?! I used 1/4 cup sugar (that was the only measure provided) with a cup of water, a pound of raspberries and a bottle of lemon juice.. it was terrible.
Hi Kirk, were you looking at the gray recipe card? That has all the ingredients, quantities, and instructions. You can click the “Jump to Recipe” button at the top of the page to get there.
Hi!
Would this work between the layers of your Dark Chocolate mousse cake?
Hi Sarah, our raspberry cake filling would work best!
Hi Sarah, our raspberry cake filling would work best!
Super easy and delicious. The only thing I’d change is using half the sugar called for. It’s entirely way too sweet now but still tasty.
also can i substitute the rasberries for other fruits to make other sauces?
super super good sauce used on pancakes and used the rest on ice cream heated up with cool whip on pancakes makes a great warm touch to the taste! after straining we kept the seed part for jam on toast!
Our neighbor shared raspberries, I had exactly 3 cups. I found and made this sauce recipe today. So quick and easy. Will definitely make again.
Can this recipe be canned in a water bath to store on a shelf?
Hi Heidi, We havenโt actually canned it, but we think it should work fine!
Can I substitute lemon for white vinegar and if so what quantity please
Hi Maggie, We don’t recommend it but you can try it if you want to alter the flavor. Lemon juice provides a bright, citrusy flavor, while white vinegar would be a much sharper taste. If you wish to try it start with just a very small amount.
I used this delicious and simple raspberry sauce as a filling in your Best Ever Vanilla Layer Cake. Thanks for the great recipe!
Hi Sally! Your recipe was absolutely wonderful and I follow it exactly as you directed. I served it over lemon mousse, and my guests went wild! They all wanted the recipe for both the moose and your raspberry sauce. Thank you for making me look like the star of the night. I love this recipe!!!
This is really delicious and simple; I made it originally to use with cheesecake, but since then I’ve making it regularly to eat with my yogurt.
Delicious!! I plan to use this on cheesecake for a potluck. I could happily drink it on its own with a spoon, though! Great sweet/tart balance of flavors. Thank you!
I made this yesterday to add something to a store bought raspberry lemon cake – every single person made a comment about how delicious this sauce was! Thanks for making me look good! ๐
Perfect in every way!
This is the number one most useless recipe I’ve seen on the internet. It’s really not even a recipe-mostly babble. How much lemon?….how much corn startch??…how much raspberry.
Hi Aaron, to skip the details about the recipe and development you can use the “jump to recipe” button at the top of the page.
How has this website/ Sally save me so much thos week? I love all these simplified recipes! I’m making a wedding cake and more than once the internet has led me here for the best instructions! Thank you so much!
Has anyone made this with lemon juice from a bottle.
Yes, Iโve use bottled lemon juice. Twice. It was delicious
The is the best raspberry sauce recipe and itโs so easy.
I just did it seemed to work fine I had to wing it with the ingredient measurements because I only had 2oz of raspberries that I accidentally washed with some blueberries and blackberries but didnโt want them to go to waste because I had just bought them lol. Long winded way of saying bottle lemon juice will work ๐
Can this be rippled through a no bake cheesecake??
Hi Belle, we havenโt tried adding this sauce directly to a cheesecake, but you can certainly give it a go. You may need to tinker with the other wet ingredients in your cheesecake. It can definitely be topped with this sauce!
Can this be used in your strawberry cupcakes instead of the strawberries to make raspberry cupcakes?
Hi Rita, to make raspberry cupcakes, you will want to simply swap the strawberries in that recipe with raspberries so that you can make a puree. This sauce has added ingredients, where the puree is simply pureed raspberries. Hope this helps!
Loved this recipe! Made it, did not strain since we like the seeds, but did increase the sugar. Excellent!
Very quick and tasteful! I also used 1/2 teaspoon of Raspberry baking emulsion for extra flavour.