This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy.
There is no rival for homemade strawberry sauce. It has just 3 ingredients and this is the easiest strawberry sauce recipe. Adding a few spoons of this glossy fresh strawberry topping will make any dessert feel fancier. This is a great recipe to have in your arsenal for entertaining or to make your family’s eyes light up as you spoon it over a bowl of vanilla ice cream.
This strawberry topping is completely wonderful over pancakes, waffles, pie, cheesecake, this trifle, you name it! This is our favorite and easiest way to make strawberry sauce. The lemon juice balances the sweetness and makes the strawberry flavor more pronounced. Truth be told, it’s dangerously irresistible stuff – consider yourself warned ;).
We’re using this sauce in our next recipe post so I hope you are all kinds of excited!!
Make-Ahead Tip: You can make this strawberry topping 1 to 3 days in advance, cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.
Easy Strawberry Sauce Ingredients:
1 lb Strawberries, rinsed, hulled and thickly sliced
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1 Tbsp lemon juice (from 1/2 Lemon)
How to Make Easy Strawberry Sauce:
1. In a medium saucepan, combine sliced strawberries, 1/3 cup sugar and 1 Tbsp fresh lemon juice. Place over medium heat and bring the mixture to a boil, stirring occasionally. The strawberries will release juice without any mashing required.
2. Reduce heat and simmer 20-23 minutes or until sauce is thickened, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat and cool to room temperature. Keep in mind sauce will thicken up slightly as it cools and even more after refrigeration.
Pro Tip: Do not blend strawberries before cooking. I have tested coarsely blending strawberries in a food processor and even though they taste great, the color of the sauce was foggy and not glossy as shown in the photos above. We had best results with slicing strawberries by hand.
It really is as good as it looks – bursting with fresh strawberry flavor!
⬇Print-Friendly Strawberry Sauce Recipe:
Strawberry Sauce Recipe
Ingredients
Strawberry Sauce Ingredients:
- 1 lb Strawberries, rinsed, hulled and thickly sliced
- 1/3 cup granulated sugar
- 1 Tbsp lemon juice, from 1/2 Lemon
Instructions
How to Make Strawberry Sauce:
- In a medium saucepan, combine sliced strawberries, 1/3 cup sugar and 1 Tbsp lemon juice. Place over medium heat and bring to a boil, stirring occasionally. Strawberries will release juice without any mashing required.
- Reduce heat and simmer 20-23 min or until sauce is thickened, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat and cool to room temperature. Keep in mind sauce will thicken up slightly as it cools and even more with refrigeration.
Nutrition Per Serving
If you make this recipe, I’d love to see pics of your creations on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter! Hashtag them #natashaskitchen
I hope this becomes your new favorite strawberry topping. Let me know how you serve your strawberry sauce. Or maybe it’s just you with a spoon in your hand? Remember I called this dangerous for a reason!
This is delicious! It is definitely a sauce just like it says. If you are looking for something with an almost gel like consistency this is not the recipe. As the recipe says it thickens slightly. It is delicious, but does not stay in place on the plate – but the recipe doesn’t say it will.
Thanks for sharing your feedback with us, Winnie. Glad you liked the recipe!
It’s been strawberry season for a while here in Australia so I had a go at making this. YUM! I did take it a little too far and it went a bit too thick – more like a jam – but reheating it made it possible to still dollop onto icecream. Most definitely making this again.
Glad you enjoyed this recipe, Roni. Thanks for sharing!
Hi can the strawberry sauce be made with frozen strawberries?
Hi Doreen, yes, that should work with frozen strawberries; cook the sauce to the desired consistency. Sometimes frozen can give off more juice, so it may take slightly longer to cook.
Looks so yummy! could you add gelatin to the sauce to help it set on top of a cheesecake or would it hold enough when chilled?
I haven’t tested that but I think it could work. If you experiment, let me know how you liked the recipe
How to store it for couple of months?
I have stored it max 4 days and it was still great but I haven’t tested it beyond that. Freezing it should work just fine.
I have used many of your recipes. Latest one was the Broccoli chicken stir fry. Made one with chicken breasts and one with chicken thighs. Both turned out great. Over a bed of chicken fried rice. Delicious.
That’s just awesome! Thank you for sharing your wonderful review!
Love the crepes and sauce. I was wondering do you have an Almond chicken recipe to go with your wonderful egg rolls?
Hi Lori, great! Thanks for your good feedback. I don’t have an Almond Chicken recipe but thanks for the idea and suggestion!
I would enjoy a recipe like that!
Just getting done making the strawberry sauce. Good advice on cutting, not crushing the berries. Much more red and pretty!
Thank you so much for sharing that with me.
Hey Natasha. I really enjoy the recipes and videos you share. I have used your tips to enhance my own cooking. I have a question. Can the strawberry sauce be made with frozen strawberries?
Hi Susan, that should work with frozen strawberries; cook the sauce to the desired consistency. Sometimes frozen can give off more juice, so it may take slightly longer to cook.
Hi Natasha. Can I use honey instead of sugar? If yes, how much honey? Thanks.
I have not tried it with that. If you experiment, please let me know how you like that!
Can this sauce be frozen
Hi Irene, I haven’t tried freezing this yet but one of our readers wrote in saying it freezes well, “I freeze mine, and it turns out great. I use it for our nightly ice cream” I hope that helps.
Thank you for this easy strawberry sauce recipe! I’ve made it a couple of times. I love how glossy it was!
I’m so glad you enjoyed that, Lei!
OMG!
Love
Will make again and share!
I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
Can this strawberry sauce be canned? Would love to send a jar to my brother.
Hi Shenetta, I haven’t tested by canning this, but one of our readers wrote in saying it freezes well, “I freeze mine, and it turns out great. I use it for our nightly ice cream” I hope that helps.
This tastes great. I was looking for a strawberry topping to use on the strawberry pretzel salad instead of the rubbery jello. Do you think this would work?
It’s hard to say without tested that, but I imagine you can leave out the jello and serve the topping on the side to avoid it becoming soggy and soaking through.
I want to put this on top of my baked cheesecake. It’ll be cold in fridge. Should I add and then put in fridge until someone picks up or add right before ?
Hi Dallas, I always add the sauce before putting it in the fridge.
Can I use frozen strawberries for the strawberry sauce. Fresh aren’t in season
Hi Ingrid, that should work with frozen strawberries; just cook the sauce to the desired consistency. Sometimes frozen can give off more juice, so it may take slightly longer to cook.
Good afternoon Natasha. I am loving the sauce, I make it allllll the time. But, over a day or two in the refrigerator, my strawberry sauce got a bit to thick, how can I thin it out, but still keep the taste and vibrant color.
Thanx.
Hi Sharon, you could warm it up slightly until it reaches the desired consistency. Strawberry sauce will get a little darker as it stands. A little lemon juice can help to brighten it up.
Can the strawberry sauce be made with raspberries?
Hi Louise, I think that would still work with raspberries. You may need a little less cooking time. This is our go-to raspberry sauce, but if you wanted a little more texture, I think raspberries are worth experimenting with!
Thank you, I will try raspberries. Merry Christmas!
Merry Christmas!
Can i use frozen strawberries instead of fresh strawberries?
Hi Lucy, that should work with frozen strawberries, just cook the sauce to the desired consistency. Sometimes frozen can give off more juice so it may take slightly longer to cook.
My go to recipe when ever I want to make strawberry sauce…simple and delicious.
That’s just awesome! Thank you for sharing your wonderful review!
hi! i’m making strawberry lemonade and want a good sauce to put in it, do you think this recipe will work ? thanks!
Hi Sidney, I imagine that may work, but I haven’t tested that to advise.