Okay, do you ever find yourself in Costco [I can only dream] or Sam’s Club around this time of year and see those GIANT flats of strawberries for, like, $3? And you think to yourself, “Self, that is an awesome deal on strawberries, but after the novelty wears off with my kids and my husband and myself and I make strawberry shortcake and strawberry jam and some strawberry smoothies, what will I do with the remaining 14 pounds of berries?” Well, I have your answer. This strawberry sauce has about a million uses, is freezer-friendly, and is so much better than that jar of Smuckers strawberry sauce that you’ve had sitting in your fridge since that time you made banana splits 1 1/2 years ago.
Wash strawberries and remove stems. If you’re feeling ambitious, you can roughly chop the berries,
but I say you’re already feeling ambitious enough by making your own strawberry sauce. So don’t sweat it either way.
Combine berries, sugar,
and extract
in medium saucepan and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Cook for five minutes, stirring/breaking strawberries up with a wooden spoon constantly.
After five minutes, remove from heat and allow to cool slightly (if you have a glass blender jar) and a lot (if you have a plastic blender jar). Or use an immersion blender, which is a delightful tool to have in your arsenal. When cool enough, transfer mixture to blender and pulse until desired consistency is reached. (I adore my Blendtec.)
Personally, I’m not a huge fan of large chunks of mystery fruit, so I like it smooth, but you can do it however you want.
Wanna know what to do with it?
–Make banana splits with this and Sara’s hot fudge sauce
–Drizzle over plain cheesecake
–Spoon over these Light and Crispy Waffles (which are the best waffles you will EVER eat!)
–My proudest use of strawberry sauce: mix a couple of tablespoons (depending on the size of the glass and your own personal taste) with this fresh-squeezed lemonade for strawberry lemonade. So so so so good…
—Chocolate waffles, anyone? If that’s not your thing, you could put them on your favorite French toast, waffles, or pancakes. Speaking of French Toast- try this one!
–Drizzle over angel food cake and add a dollop of sweetened whipped cream.
Strawberry Sauce
Ingredients
- 1/3 cup white sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla or almond extract
- 1 pint strawberries
Instructions
- Wash strawberries and remove stems. If you're feeling ambitious, you can roughly chop the berries, but I say you're already feeling ambitious enough by making your own strawberry sauce. So don't sweat it.
- Combine berries, sugar, and extract in medium saucepan and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Cook for five minutes, stirring/breaking strawberries up with a wooden spoon constantly.
- After five minutes, remove from heat and allow to cool slightly (if you have a glass blender jar) and a lot (if you have a plastic blender jar). When cool enough, transfer mixture to blender and pulse until desired consistency is reached. You can also use an immersion blender, which makes things super easy!
Notes
Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links.
Questions & Reviews
Can you freeze this for later use? I just bought waaaaay too many berries, and this is a family favorite at our home. :0) I was just wondering if I could freeze it now, and pull some out to use later?
Oh, absolutely! It freezes beautifully. 🙂
What a great recipe, and it’s so simple. I love the almond extract. Most of the recipes similar to this one call for lemon juice. I added a little lime juice and it was a great addition. I can’t wait to try it over cheesecake.
Don’t mean to sound like an idiot…..but how much is two pints of strawberries? 4 cups, I know. But do you measure them when they’re whole, or sliced?
It doesn’t really need to be exact Emily. If the strawberries are small, I measure them whole, if they’re huge, I just slice them in half. (And not a idiotic question at all, girl!)
Thanks, Sara!!! 🙂
Just made this for my mom’s strawberry shortcake bday cake…so excited to use it. WAS sooo sooo simple to make and yummy on my taste test. 😉
Have you ever tried canning or freezing this? I’m not sure I would actually use it all up before it goes bad—between living alone and eating refined-sugar-free (so the banana split suggestion is not likely to happen any time soon). Thoughts?
I’ve never canned it (though I’m sure you could!) It freezes great, though. 🙂
This is super yummy but just a warning, if you don’t eat it right away, it will explode in your fridge without a twist-able lid on it. It happened to mine only after about two weeks. So sad. 🙁 You’ll just have to eat it faster than I was able to!
Oh and mine lasted more than a month in the fridge with no problems- I kept meaning to freeze, but never did. I had it in a airtight container with a twist-able lid.
I just finished eating my first triple batch of this and need to get more strawberries:) This is a pregnant girl’s dream sauce. At least one who hasn’t been able to have chocolate due to heartburn. I eat it with ice cream, make milkshakes, lemonade, and pancakes, french toast…
tried this with fresh peaches and it was awesome!!! ( can’t spell if you notice previous post..lol )
tired this with fresh peaches too and it was awesome!