A quick and easy 5 Minute Strawberry Sauce recipe bursting with flavor! This sauce is made with fresh strawberries and a few simple ingredients. It is the perfect topping for ice cream, pancakes, cheesecake, and more!
Are you lucky enough to grow fresh strawberries in your garden, or have a local farmer's market that sells in-season produce? When you have an abundance of strawberries, don't let them go to waste. Use up your fresh summer strawberries making this delicious sauce. It freezes great! My homemade strawberry sauce recipe makes a fantastic strawberry topping for Fluffy Pancakes, Tall and Creamy New York Cheesecake, and Homemade Angel Food Cake!
Ingredients
- Fresh strawberries - opt for ripe, fragrant berries that are firm to the touch and deep red in color. Avoid berries that are underripe, soft, or mushy. I leave smaller strawberries whole and half or quarter larger ones.
- Granulated sugar - I usually use about â…“ of a cup for fresh, ripe strawberries. The sweetness of strawberries can vary quite a bit, adjust with more or less sugar to suit your taste.
- Fresh Lemon Juice - freshly squeezed lemon juice enhances the strawberry flavor and balances the sweetness.
- Cornstarch - works great to thicken fruit sauces without altering the flavor. You make a simple slurry of cornstarch with a bit of cold water.
*see recipe card for quantities
Can I use other berries to make this sauce?
Absolutely! Fresh blueberries, raspberries, and blackberries are great substitutions.
How to make 5 Minute Strawberry Sauce.
- Rinse and hull the strawberries. Cut in half or chunks. I prefer my strawberry sauce quite chunky and leave the small strawberries whole.
- Place in a saucepan, add the sugar and freshly squeezed lemon juice. Bring to a boil and simmer for 3-4 minutes. Cooking at a high temperature quickly releases the juices.
- Turn the heat down to medium and blend in the cornstarch slurry while stirring continually until the sauce thickens.
- Serve as a dessert topping, or spoon on yogurt, pancakes, or waffles.
I prefer using fresh strawberries but frozen will also work. Simply thaw and drain any excess liquid off. Extra cornstarch may need to be added to thicken and achieve the perfect consistency.
I always use a cornstarch slurry to thicken berry sauces rather than cook longer to evaporate the moisture. Why reduce those flavorful juices?
Cornstarch speeds up the thickening process and produces a glossy strawberry glaze in a matter of minutes.
Storage
I store my strawberry sauce in a sealed jar in the refrigerator for up to 7 days. You can also store in the freezer for up to 3 months. Place in an airtight container or leakproof freezer bag.
This post was originally published March 22, 2018. Occasionally I update with fresh tips, content, and photos. Current update March 1, 2024.
5 Minute Strawberry Sauce
Ingredients
- 2 cups fresh strawberries
- â…“ cups granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- ½ tablespoon cornstarch
- 1 tablespoon cold water
Instructions
- On the stove, place the strawberries, sugar and lemon juice in a medium size sauce pan.
- Bring to a boil and simmer for 3-4 minutes. Cooking at a high temperature quickly releases the juices.
- In small bowl combine the cornstarch and cold water.
- Turn the heat down to medium and blend in the cornstarch slurry while stirring continually until the sauce thickens.
- Serve as a dessert topping, or spoon over yogurt, pancakes, or waffles.
Susan Claire says
I was going to serve angel food cake with plain sliced strawberries for our Easter dessert, and then I saw this recipe. So glad I tried it, really made our dessert something special!
Laureen King says
Thanks Susan, it tastes so good with vanilla ice cream as well.
Chrystal says
Hey just wondering how long is this good for in the fridge? Thank you so much
Laureen King says
Hi Chrystal I would say sauce should keep Ok in the fridge for a week, although mine has never lasted that long. It also freezes very well.
Paige Bailey says
Loved this cheesecake. I don’t care for graham cracker crust. This turned out perfect. Thank you for the recipe.
Gail Dickinson says
Love this sauce. Made a batch this morning and added 1/4 cup Grand Marnier to it for a little adult treat. Absolutely amazing!
Lorraine Gulley says
I used the same cheesecake recipe for years and swore by it. Decided to try this one because it just sounded so good and looked beautiful. Goodness it is to die for!!!! Serve mine with strawberries and it's pure heaven. And really easy!!! Thanks for the recipe. Just shows sometimes we gotta try a new way of doing things!!!!!
Laureen King says
Thank you so much Lorraine, glad you enjoyed the recipe. Its always fun to try a new one!
Sue Stagnitti says
Is your tall and creamy cheesecake recipe for high altitude baking? It looks awesome. Let me know. Thanks!!
Laureen King says
Hi Sue, I'm not sure. I live in Alberta, Canada, but people from all over the world have tried the recipe with great success.
Rin says
Can u use flour in place of the cornstarch?
Laureen King says
Hi Rin, No flour will not work.
Frank says
I am looking at the Cheesecake recipe and have a question, in step 11 it says remove from water bath and remove foil, but never says when or where to put foil, first time baking Cheesecake so don’t want to mess up. Is the foil covering while baking?
Laureen King says
The foil is wrapped around the outside of the springform pan. Do this prior to pouring batter in the pan.
Bryan White says
Tried 3 other recipes....yours is hands down #1 thanks so much.....always had cheesecake from diners...didnt know it could be so easy to make at home Thank You
Laureen King says
Thank you Bryan, so glad you made and enjoyed this recipe.
Susan says
Wow , delicious 😋! I make cheesecake all the time . THis one is my new favorite . Thanks .
Laureen King says
So glad to hear you like the recipe Susan. Thanks for taking the time to comment.
Rebecca R Fillenwarth says
Can you freeze?
Laureen King says
Yes Rebecca, it should freeze well.
Donna says
Great sauce I use this for the topping of my strawberry cupcake.
Laureen King says
Thanks sounds delightful on a strawberry cupcake Donna!
Dolores Mapili says
I want to have graham crackers crust on the bottom. How much graham and butter to use please
Laureen King says
Dolores, are you wanting to make a crust for the strawberry sauce? That won't work as the strawberry sauce is too liquid for a crust.
Linda wilson says
Can I replace the strawberries with blueberries in this recipe ?
Laureen King says
Absolutely, adjust the sugar to your liking.
Eileen says
Regarding the Tall cheese cake Can I use a 9 inch pan but not use all the batter? Also would the baking time change?
Laureen King says
Eileen, that would work or you could try building up the sides of the pan with parchment paper. The baking time should not change too much. This video gives you a great idea of how to check doneness https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XkwbSGEczHQ
Patricia Ann Fisher says
Delicious! First batch, half went on French Toast for breakfast, rest waiting for ice cream dessert tonight. Tip - I used a full supermarket 1lb package and added 50% to the rest of the ingredients - worked like a charm. Love that lemon tang!
Jack says
Simple and elegant. I used it on the tall and creamy new york style cheesecake.
Jen says
Do you add the sauce hot on top of cheesecake or let it cool to room temperature first?
LINDA THAIN says
Wonderfully easy. I am fortunate to be able to walk out the door and pick fresh strawberries, blackberries & blueberries. I add all 3 to make an impressive sauce for cheesecake, ice cream, shortcake and pancakes.
Laureen King says
Lucky you to be able to pick fresh berries from your garden.
Cookie says
I love this recipe and would like to try it but I am highly allergic to any type of citrus whether is the fruit or juice. Is there something else that the lemon juice can be substituted for?
Please advise.
Laureen King says
Hi Cookie, simply leave out the lemon juice, it will still taste great.