Strawberry Sauce

This post may contain affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Please see my disclosure policy for more information.

This homemade strawberry sauce couldn’t be easier–or more delicious! This three-ingredient recipe is bursting with fresh strawberry flavor, and is perfect on cheesecake, pound cake, ice cream, and much more!

Glass jar of Strawberry Sauce with a blue spoon sticking out.

🍓 Homemade Strawberry Sauce

Bold claim time: you can improve almost any dessert with three ingredients and 20 minutes. For instance:
Ice cream? Check.
Cheesecake? Got ya covered.
Tarts? You better believe it.
All of these things can be improved at least 37.45%* by adding an easy homemade strawberry sauce on top.
*Figures have not and will not be scientifically checked

This fresh strawberry sauce is the magic weapon you need in your life. It’s delicious, perfectly sweet, has a vibrant berry flavor, requires just three ingredients, and is so versatile! Drizzle it over pancakes or waffles, ladle it on ice cream, use it in lieu of frosting for pound cake, or just eat it by the spoonful on its own. 😉

It’s wonderful with fresh berries, but can also be made with frozen berries during off-peak months, so you can have a little bit of strawberry sunshine all year long. If you love this strawberry sauce recipe, you will also love my other berry desserts!

Overhead shot of Strawberry Sauce in a glass jar.

🧾 What You’ll Need

Any recipe that just has three ingredients is a recipe I can get on board with! Here’s what you’ll need for this homemade strawberry sauce:

Overhead shot of ingredients for homemade Strawberry Sauce.

Ingredients

  • Fresh Strawberries: you’ll need one pound of strawberries to make1 1/2 cups of sauce. However, if you need more than that, you can easily double or even triple this recipe in a larger pot. I feel that the flavor is better when using fresh berries, but frozen are also an option–check the FAQ section below for information on how to use frozen berries in this recipe!
  • Sugar: I use 1/3 cup granulated sugar for this recipe, but you can add more or less depending on how sweet your berries are, and your personal preference.
  • Lemon Juice: just a little lemon juice brightens the sauce and deepens the sweet berry flavor. Use freshly squeezed lemon juice if you have it, but bottled juice will work as well.
Blue spoon scooping out a spoonful of Strawberry Sauce from a glass jar.

Equipment

You don’t need much to put together that delicious strawberry sauce–just a few basic kitchen appliances. (Links are affiliate links and I earn a small commission from qualifying purchases.)

  • Saucepan: I use a 4-quart saucepan which is the perfect size for this amount of sauce. If you’re doubling or tripling the recipe, I recommend using a larger size.
  • Juicer: you can squeeze the lemon juice by hand, but I recommend using a juicer. This makes it easier to get more juice out of the lemon!
  • Spatula: you’ll want to use a spatula to regularly stir the strawberry sauce as it cooks so it doesn’t burn on the bottom of the pan.
  • Jars: you can store any leftover sauce in mason jars in the fridge!

📋 Instructions

This homemade strawberry sauce comes together in a total of 20 minutes. Here’s a quick overview of how to make it, and for full printable instructions, visit the recipe card below.

Juicing half of a lemon using a white hand juicer.

Get your lemon juice:

  • Use a juicer to squeeze fresh lemon juice. You’ll need one tablespoon which will be 1/2-1 lemon, depending on the size.
Two photo collage showing how to slice strawberries for sauce.

Prepare the strawberries:

  • Wash the strawberries well, remove the stems, and slice them into thin slices.
  • Combine the strawberries, sugar, and fresh lemon juice in a 4-quart saucepan, then heat on the stove over medium heat, stirring regularly. Let the mixture bubble for 20 minutes or until thickened to your liking.
  • Remove from the heat and cool to room temperature before serving.
Two photo collage showing how to cook Strawberry Sauce.

Cook the Strawberry Sauce

  • Combine the strawberries, sugar, and fresh lemon juice in a 4-quart saucepan, and stir to distribute the sugar.
  • Cook the sauce over medium heat, stirring regularly with a spatula. Let the mixture bubble for about 20 minutes, or until thickened to your liking. The longer it cooks, the thicker the texture will be, and the more concentrated the flavor
  • Remove from the heat, and let it cool a bit before serving. Strawberry sauce can be enjoyed warm or cold.

💭 Variations

This strawberry sauce is very customizable and forgiving. Here are a couple of things you can do to switch things up!

  • Make another berry sauce. This recipe can be easily adapted to accommodate different berries. Try it with raspberries, blueberries, or blackberries. You can also use cherries, pitted and halved, to make a homemade cherry sauce!
  • Adjust the sugar. You can adjust the amount of sugar you use depending on the ripeness of the berries. Very ripe berries will need less sugar. Under-ripe berries will need more.
  • Add another flavor. Some of my favorite additions are 1 tsp vanilla extract, a shake of ground cinnamon, or adding lemon zest in addition to the lemon juice. Almond extract is another fun flavor you can try if you think it will work with the other components of your dessert.
Blue spoon scooping Strawberry Sauce into an angel food cake cup.

💡 FAQs 

Make-Ahead and Storage Instructions

Homemade strawberry sauce will last in the fridge for 4-5 days or in the freezer for 3-4 months. When you’re ready to enjoy again, it can be served warm or cold. If it’s been frozen, let it thaw in the fridge overnight, then enjoy chilled, or gently warm it in the microwave.

Jar of Strawberry Sauce with fresh strawberries to the side.

🍰 What to Serve with Strawberry Sauce

There are plenty of ways you can serve fresh strawberry sauce! Here are some of my favorites:

Fork taking a bite of angel food cake, strawberry sauce, and whipped cream.

❤️ More Strawberry Desserts

New York Style Cheesecake
This rich and creamy New York-Style Cheesecake recipe is what classic cheesecake should be! With a buttery graham cracker crust and a lightly sweetened cream cheese filling, it’s perfect on its own, or topped with your favorite dessert sauce.
Get the recipe!
Slice of New York Style Cheesecake on a white plate with strawberry sauce on top.
Cranberry Orange Sauce
This homemade cranberry sauce is a million times better than canned cranberry sauce! Made with fresh or frozen berries, it's a simple and easy cranberry sauce recipe with a hint of orange flavor. Try it once, and you'll never go back to canned again! 
Get the recipe!
Homemade cranberry sauce in a white bowl with a gold spoon.

Leave a review!

If you make this recipe, let us know! Leave a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ rating on the recipe below, and leave a comment, take a photo and tag me on Instagram @elabau, or use #sugarhero on IG!

Glass jar of Strawberry Sauce with blue spoon sticking out.

Strawberry Sauce

5 from 6 votes
This homemade strawberry sauce couldn’t be easier–or more delicious! This three-ingredient recipe is bursting with fresh strawberry flavor, and is perfect on cheesecake, pound cake, ice cream, and much more!
This recipe yields about 1.5 cups of sauce (14 oz). Assuming 1/4 cup per serving, it will yield 6 servings.
Cook Time 20 mins
Total Time 20 mins
Yield 6 servings
Calories 67 kcal

Ingredients
 

  • 1 lb fresh strawberries, (to yield 2 cups chopped)
  • 2.3 oz granulated sugar, (1/3 cup)
  • 1 TBSP fresh lemon juice
CUSTOMIZE: 6 servings

Instructions
 

  • Wash the strawberries well. Remove the stems, and slice the strawberries.
  • Combine the strawberries, sugar, and lemon juice in a 4-quart saucepan, and heat over medium heat.
  • Stir regularly while the strawberries cook. Let them bubble and boil for 20 minutes, until the sauce has thickened and the berries are very soft. The longer the sauce cooks, the thicker it will get.
  • Remove the pan from the heat and let the strawberry sauce cool at room temperature. The sauce will continue to thicken as it cools.
  • If you want a smooth strawberry sauce, you can use an immersion blender or transfer the sauce to a regular blender to puree it. Served warm or cold, this sauce is wonderful on cheesecakes, pound cake, and ice cream.

MEASURING TIPS

Our recipes are developed using weight measurements, and we highly recommend using a kitchen scale for baking whenever possible. However, if you prefer to use cups, volume measurements are provided as well. PLEASE NOTE: the adage “8 oz = 1 cup” is NOT true when speaking about weight, so don’t be concerned if the measurements don’t fit this formula.

Click here to learn more about baking measurements and conversion.

Nutrition

Calories: 67 kcal | Carbohydrates: 17 g | Protein: 1 g | Fat: 1 g | Saturated Fat: 1 g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1 g | Monounsaturated Fat: 1 g | Sodium: 1 mg | Potassium: 118 mg | Fiber: 2 g | Sugar: 15 g | Vitamin A: 9 IU | Vitamin C: 45 mg | Calcium: 12 mg | Iron: 1 mg
Share on Facebook Share on Pinterest
Strawberry Sauce picture with text overlay for Pinterest.
Elizabeth LaBau

About Elizabeth LaBau

I’m Elizabeth, but you can call me SugarHero! I’m a former pastry chef turned blogger, cookbook author, and baking instructor, and I consider myself sugar’s #1 fan. Learn more from my About page, or connect with me on social media:

What You'll Need
Editor's Note

This post may contain Amazon affiliate links. We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, which is an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.  For more information, see my Disclaimer and Disclosure Policy.

More Strawberry Recipes

Leave a Review

Your comment will be visible after approval. Your email address will not be published.

Rate This Recipe!




What type of comment do you have?

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Comments

  • Sara wrote:
    • Emily From SugarHero wrote:
  • Tavo wrote:
    • Emily From SugarHero wrote:
  • Irena Macri wrote:
    • Emily From SugarHero wrote:
  • Rachel wrote:
    • Emily From SugarHero wrote:
  • Jacqueline Meldrum wrote:
    • Emily From SugarHero wrote:
  • Sara Welch wrote:
    • Emily From SugarHero wrote: