This Homemade Strawberry Sauce for Cheesecake is incredibly easy to make. Fresh strawberry topping is perfect for your favorite cheesecake recipe, french toast, pancakes, and more! It's ready in 15 minutes or less with simple ingredients.
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This easy strawberry sauce recipe will bring your recipes to the next level.
Whether you'd like to level up your vanilla ice cream, homemade cheesecake, a slice of angel food cake or pound cake, this homemade sauce is one of our favorite ways to enjoy strawberries.
Try adding this on top of your brioche French toast casserole or sourdough French toast, some waffles, or these sweet cream pancakes.
You may also enjoy this raspberry compote recipe or this raspberry syrup.
If you're looking for more delicious strawberry recipes, be sure to check out this strawberry goat cheese salad, this strawberry latte made with strawberry simple syrup, this strawberry crumble, or this whipped strawberry butter.
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❤️Why We Love This Recipe
- Bursting with fresh strawberry flavor. Fresh berries in peak strawberry season are hard to beat. They'll make for the perfect fresh strawberry sauce.
- Gluten free. Xanthan gum is one of our favorite ingredients for gluten-free baking and cooking. This recipe uses it as a thickener to create the proper sauce consistency. You can use cornstarch instead, and this recipe will still be gluten free!
- Quick & easy. A delicious, sweet strawberry sauce from start to finish in 15 minutes!
- No special equipment needed. All you need is a medium saucepan, a sharp knife, and a cutting board for this recipe.
- Made with only 5 simple ingredients. These ingredients can be found at nearly any grocery store!
🍓Ingredients
Here are the ingredients we used for this recipe. You can find more information for substitutions below.
- Fresh strawberries. Quartered with stems removed. Look for bright red, sweet strawberries with no spots.
- Lemon juice. Adds a bit of acidity and brightness to the strawberry jam.
- Sugar or sweetener of choice. We prefer using powdered sugar, but granulated sugar works perfectly fine as well.
- Xanthan gum. Optional, to thicken the sauce. You can also use cornstarch, or arrowroot powder if you prefer.
- Water. If needed to thin the sauce.
Visit the recipe card for the full quantities and nutritional information.
✨Substitutions & variations
Here are a few suggestions on additional flavors to try, or simple variations to this recipe.
- Corn starch. Corn starch can easily be used in this recipe. We tend to use it less simply because it has a few more carbs per serving than xanthan gum does. You will need about 1 tablespoon of corn starch for one pound of strawberries.
- Sugar free & low carb option. This recipe is easy to make with no added sugar, with sweeteners that measure 1:1 for sugar. We highly recommended powdered erythritol (Swerve) or allulose sweetener for sugar free versions of the sauce. Allulose is slightly less sweet than sugar, so you will need to add a bit more, to taste, than if using powdered erythritol, which is a 1:1 sugar substitute. We made this for our keto cheesecake recipe, and love serving the keto version with our fluffy keto coconut flour pancakes!
- Less sweet. You can certainly make this sauce to suit your preferences. Include less sugar to reduce the sweetness level.
- Add more lemon flavor. Really love lemon? Add in some fresh lemon zest or more lemon juice for more lemon flavor.
- More berries. Feel free to add in more of your favorite summer berries to this sauce if you like, like cherries, raspberries, or blueberries.
🔪Prep work
- Wash strawberries, remove tops, and cut them into halves or quarters.
- Juice the lemon.
- Measure out all ingredients.
📋Instructions
Add strawberries, sweetener, and lemon juice to a small pot over medium-high heat. Stir constantly with a wooden spoon to dissolve the sweetener. (Image 1)
After a few minutes, the sauce will have begun to release some liquid. Bring the liquid to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. (Image 2)
Allow to simmer for 6-8 minutes, and the sauce begins to thicken. At this time, add a small pinch of xanthan gum and stir constantly to dissolve. Simmer for another 2-3 minutes to thicken. You can add water if the sauce becomes too thick. (Image 3)
⭑Pro Tip: A little bit of xanthan gum goes a LONG way! Start with about 1/16th of a teaspoon and very gradually add more as needed.
Allow to cool completely before using. That's it! Enjoy!
✨Tips & tricks
- Use fresh, ripe strawberries. The quality of your strawberries will greatly affect the taste of the topping, so choose strawberries that are in season and ripe for the best flavor.
- Adjust the thickness to your liking. Xanthan gum is a powerful thickener, so start with a small amount and add more as needed to achieve your desired thickness. If the mixture becomes too thick, add water a tablespoon at a time to thin it out.
- Let the topping cool before serving. The topping will thicken as it cools, so let it cool to room temperature before serving. This will also give the flavors a chance to meld together and intensify.
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💭Frequently Asked Questions
You can store this homemade strawberry topping in the fridge in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 10 days. It can also be stored in a freezer-safe container for up to 6 months. Thaw in the fridge.
If you prefer a chunk-free sauce, you can always use a food processor or immersion blender to puree the mixture. Simply pulse or puree at a low speed until there are no more remaining strawberry chunks, or your desired texture is reached.
You can also add in a thin stream of cold water to the mixture while it cooks to loosen the mixture.
Or, cut the strawberries up into small pieces for small bits of strawberries.
More Recipes To Consider
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📖 Recipe
Strawberry Topping for Cheesecake
Equipment
- small saucepan
- Rubber Spatula
Ingredients
- 16 ounces strawberries, quartered with tops removed
- ⅕ cup powdered sugar (can be substituted for granular sugar, and also, please sweeten to suit your personal taste!)
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice (juice of ½ a lemon)
- 1/16 teaspoon xanthan gum (or more as needed to thicken the sauce. Cornstarch can be used as well.)
- water, if needed to thin
Instructions
- Add strawberries, lemon juice, and sugar to a small pan over medium-high heat. Stir constantly to coat the berries and dissolve the sweetener. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer.
- Allow to simmer for 6-8 minutes, then gradually add in a small amount of xanthan gum or cornstarch, stirring constantly to thicken. Pour in a slow stream of water if desired to loosen the mixture.
- After another 2-3 minutes. Pour sauce into an airtight container and store in the fridge for up to 10 days. This recipe can also be frozen for up to 6 months.
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Notes
-
- Use fresh, ripe strawberries. The quality of your strawberries will greatly affect the taste of the topping, so choose strawberries that are in season and ripe for the best flavor.
- Adjust the thickness to your liking. Xanthan gum is a powerful thickener, so start with a small amount and add more as needed to achieve your desired thickness. If the mixture becomes too thick, add water a tablespoon at a time to thin it out.
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- Let the topping cool before serving. The topping will thicken as it cools, so let it cool to room temperature before serving. This will also give the flavors a chance to meld together and intensify.
- To use cornstarch instead of xanthan gum, start with ½ of a tablespoon and add more if needed.
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