This quick and easy homemade strawberry jam sauce is a perfect way to top all your favorite cheesecakes, pancakes, french toast, strawberry shortcakes, scones, and ice cream sundaes. I've been making this homemade strawberry sauce for as long as I can remember because it's delicious and there's just about no work involved. And all you need is frozen or fresh strawberries, a little orange zest, and sugar and the best part -- you get to control the sweetness. Double the recipe and freeze for an easy dessert topping anytime.
What's the Difference Between a Purée, a Coulis, and a Sauce?
People often ask what's the difference between a sauce, a purée, and a coulis. Although they can be very similar, it's all in the details and mostly boils down to refinement as I've outlined below (but there's really no need to get technical for a simple 15-minute sauce you just want to slather all over your pancakes). See the photos below for examples of strawberry purée vs. strawberry coulis vs. strawberry sauce.
- Purée. To process food by mashing, straining, or chopping it very finely in order to make it a smooth paste or consistency. Can also be a product produced using this technique like Boiron fruit purée as one example.
- Coulis. The difference between a purée and coulis is that the fruit (or vegetable) purée is strained by using a rubber spatula to push the purée through a fine-mesh strainer (aka. sieve or chinoise) to remove the seeds and skin resulting in a perfectly smooth texture.
- Sauce. A liquid accompaniment to food and can contain visible pieces of fruit (or vegetables) or not.
Homemade Strawberry Jam Sauce Ingredients
All you really need to make homemade strawberry jam sauce is frozen or fresh strawberries and sugar, but adding a little homemade blood orange sugar (or just a little orange zest) adds even more flavor without adding any tartness. Of course, you could use lemon zest as well, or just leave out the zest altogether if you want.
A few things to keep in mind -- before adding sugar, first understand how naturally sweet or tart the fruit is. You may need to add just a bit more (or less sugar) to get the right balance. Don't be afraid to play around with the flavors and adjust them to your preferences.
- 13 ounces fresh strawberries, sliced or diced (370g)
- 1 tablespoon Tarocco blood orange sugar (15g) (sub regular sugar and orange zest to taste)
- 1 tablespoon granulated white sugar (15g), or more to taste
How to Make Homemade Strawberry Sauce Just the Way You Like It
With fruit sauces, it's easy to play around with the level of fruit and sugar you use. In fact, I'd say it's necessary because all fruit (whether fresh or frozen) have different levels of natural acidity and sweetness. Which means you can use the precise measurements called for in the recipe, or simply as a guideline and you'll be just fine. Add a little more (or less) sugar to taste as necessary. And if you're looking for a homemade (no pectin) strawberry jam, click over here to check out that post.
How to Make Homemade Strawberry Jam Sauce From Scratch -- Measure, Cook, and Serve.
Making strawberry jam sauce (or any fruit sauce) at home is really quick and easy. Follow these simple steps and enjoy the taste of sweet strawberries on all your favorite desserts or breakfast goodies.
- Measure the ingredients. In a small heavy-bottomed pot, add the strawberries and sugar.
- Cook the sauce. Bring the mixture to a boil, reduce the heat to a simmer, and cook stirring frequently to avoid scorching for 15-20 minutes or until the strawberries are mostly broken down and the mixture coats the back of a spoon. Remove from the heat and set aside until ready to serve. You may refrigerate or freeze the jam sauce once it has cooled to room temperature. Enjoy!
Easy Homemade Strawberry Jam Sauce recipe step-by-step photos
(Below) How a Finished Strawberry Jam Sauce Should Coat the Back of a Spoon
What Should the Consistency of Homemade Strawberry Jam Sauce Be?
When you make your own homemade fruit sauces you get to decide if you want a more jammy sauce with large fruit pieces or if you want to make it perfectly smooth and runnier. We prefer a traditional pourable/squeezable sauce that's not too thick, but can easily be drizzled. It needs to be easily dispensed and spreadable on pancakes, but pourable enough that if you top an ice cream sundae with it, it'll still ooze slowly down the sides. If you're looking for a more professional strawberry coulis sauce that'll please any guest, click this link to get that recipe (it's delicious, easy, and really impressive). But if you're in a hurry, this delicious strawberry jam sauce is the way to go.
- When the sauce is ready, it should coat the back of a spoon and when you swipe a finger through it, the swiped area should remain clean without any sauce dripping down into the "clean" just-swiped area (see the photo example above).
Ways to Customize Homemade Strawberry Jam Sauce
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- citrus zest (Incorporate the zest of a lemon, or lime, or for a different citrus flavor without adding more acidity.)
- fresh citrus juice (add up to 1 tablespoon (15g) of fresh lemon or orange juice)
- substitute flavored sugars for regular white sugar (Or use lemon sugar, vanilla sugar, strawberry sugar, or even blood orange sugar to replace regular sugar.)
- mix up the berries and frozen fruit you use (Make a multi-berry sauce, or add in diced mangoes, pineapples, or even pears to give a slightly different flavor and texture to your sauce).
- spices (Sprinkle a little cinnamon, cardamom, or even cayenne pepper into your berry sauce to give it an extra kick.)
Ways to Use Homemade Strawberry Jam Sauce
Below are a few of our favorite recipes we like to pair with this homemade strawberry sauce.
- key lime pie
- the fluffy ever pancakes
- meringue pavlovas
- classic vanilla bean cheesecake
- vanilla bean custard Colomba french toast
- easy and delicious classic crêpes
- white chocolate creme brùlée cheesecake
- drizzled on top of an old fashioned strawberry milkshake
- strawberry shortcake scones w/clotted cream
Let's get started!
Print📖 Recipe
15-Minute Homemade Strawberry Jam Sauce (You'll Never Buy Store-bought Again)
- Total Time: 20 minutes
- Yield: 12 Servings 1x
- Diet: Vegan
Description
Everyone loves this chunky strawberry-filled jammy sauce! It's just thick enough that it works well on anything from gourmet PB&J's to vanilla bean custard french toast. All you need is frozen or fresh strawberries, a little orange zest (or lemon), and sugar. Double or triple the recipe for larger crowds and refrigerate or freeze leftovers and thaw to enjoy.
If you're looking for a traditional (no-pectin) 30-minute homemade strawberry jam, click over here for that recipe.
Ingredients
- 13 ounces fresh strawberries, sliced or diced (370g)
- 1 tablespoon Tarocco blood orange sugar (15g) (sub regular sugar and orange zest to taste)
- 1 tablespoon granulated white sugar (15g), or more to taste
Get Recipe Ingredients
Instructions
- Measure the ingredients. In a small heavy-bottomed pot, add the strawberries and sugar.
- Cook the sauce. Bring the mixture to a boil, reduce the heat to a simmer, and cook stirring frequently to avoid scorching for 15-20 minutes or until the strawberries are mostly broken down and the mixture coats the back of a spoon. Remove from the heat and set aside until ready to serve. You may refrigerate or freeze the jam sauce once it has cooled to room temperature. Enjoy!
Notes
- If you want a sweeter strawberry sauce, add additional sugar to taste.
- Brighten it up with a squeeze of fresh lemon or orange juice if desired.
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Category: Sauces + Spreads + Dips
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 2 to 3 tablespoons
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