Easy strawberry sauce with vanilla is one of those secret weapons, meaning it adds another dimension to any dish its added to. Bursting with natural sweetness, easy strawberry sauce replaces syrup, chocolate and icing for all kinds of things. Think pancakes, cheesecake, ice cream or just plain toast.
Strawberry sauce is easy, just a few ingredients, can be made on the stovetop or just “cook” on the counter top. Whatever your preference. Easy strawberry sauce is a great, healthy alternative to fake syrup or other processed toppings. It takes about 5 minutes hands on time and at least 30 minutes to macerate. What’s macerate you ask?
What Is Macerating Strawberries?
You can macerate almost any berry. It’s the process of adding sugar and liquid, usually alcohol, to berries and letting them “cook” making a thin syrup that’s delicious. The sugar breaks down the berries and the alcohol is somewhat of a preservative and flavoring.
I’ve opted to not add the alcohol but good ideas are Grand Mariner, Amaretto, Gin, Vodka, Bourbon, Brandy or Rum. They are great additions if you are making a dessert for adults. I tend to use the strawberry sauce for breakfast so skip the alcohol.
How To Make Easy Strawberry Sauce With Vanilla
Fresh strawberries in the top bowl and frozen, thawed strawberries in the bottom bowl
You have several choices when it comes to this slightly sweet sauce. It really depends if you want to serve the strawberry sauce warm or at room temperature, it’s your call. Also if you want the sauce to be perfectly smooth or chunky.
If you like chunky strawberry sauce then just cut up fresh strawberries, add the sugar, vanilla and lemon juice and let the strawberries sit for at least 30 minutes or up to 2 hours at room temperature. They can be kept in the refrigerator for up to 2 days but the texture will degrade a bit, meaning mushier but still tasty.
At this point you can serve the easy strawberry sauce as is, or you can mash the strawberries with the back of a spoon or fork, with a potato masher or run through a ricer to make it smoother.
You can cook the strawberry sauce for about 15-30 minutes to accelerate the thickening and maceration process.
To make the strawberry sauce really smooth use an immersion blender or whizz through a blender.
This is still an easy strawberry sauce if you opt for the cooking method, but cooking isn’t necessary. Cooking the strawberries will thicken the sauce and accelerate the maceration process. Warm sauce tastes great on pancakes, waffles or crepes
Fresh or Frozen Strawberries?
You can use either fresh or frozen strawberries. When making a sauce it just doesn’t’ matter. Frozen berries are already broken down a bit, but for this purpose that’s good. The berries have already started the maceration process, well, not technically but the strawberries sure look like it when you open frozen berries and let them thaw.
What To Serve Easy Strawberry Sauce On or With
Breakfast – Serve the easy strawberry sauce over pancakes, French toast, waffles, crepes or sliced bananas. Or replace jelly on toast. Really anything that calls for syrup you can replace with this recipe.
Dessert – Classic over angel food cake, cheesecake, pound cake, mascarpone cheese or ice cream
Tips, Substitutions Or Variations For Easy Strawberry Sauce With Vanilla
You can make this easy strawberry sauce with just strawberries and sugar. It will be chunky, but with fresh summer strawberries it’s delicious.
You can keep the strawberry sauce chunky or you can whizz it through a blender or an immersion blender to make it smooth.
I like to add some acid like lemon, lime or orange juice or balsamic vinegar. You can even add red or white wine.
Vanilla adds a nice flavor enhancement but is optional.
If serving dessert you may want to add a liquor like Grand Mariner, Amaretto, gin, vodka, bourbon, brandy or rum.
You can cook the strawberries to speed the process or just let the strawberries sit on the countertop for 30 minutes to 2 hours.
The sauce can be made and kept on the counter for up to 2 hours or refrigerated for up to 2 days. The texture will degrade and become mushy, but it still tastes fantastic!
You May Be Interested In These Recipes:
Angel Food Cake With Strawberry Sauce
Easy Strawberry Sauce With Vanilla
Ingredients
- 16 ounces frozen strawberries 2 pints fresh strawberries
- 1/3 cup sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 Tablespoon fresh lemon juice
Instructions
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If using fresh strawberries, wash, hull and cut into 1/2" or smaller chunks.
No need to heat unless you are in a hurry. Heating will defrost your frozen fruit, or in the case of fresh fruit it will hasten the maceration process.
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Place all ingredients in covered dish, shake to distribute sugar. Leave on counter for at least 30 minutes to macerate the berries. You can leave the berries on the counter for up to 2 hours, otherwise cover and refrigerate for up to 2 days.
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OR you can hasten the process by bringing to a boil and then simmering for 15 minutes. the heat will break down the berries quicker.
Heating is purely optional to either speed up the process or because you prefer to serve the sauce hot.
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Leave chunky or mash with the back of a spoon or potato masher. You can also run through a blender for a really smooth sauce.
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